Virus Protection Overkill

I'd like to comment on something we see all the time - something we like to call Virus Protection Overkill.

Despite what Symantec, Trend Micro, McAfee, etc. would lead you to believe, the only things you really need to protect your Windows XP computer are:
Free virus protection such as AVG Free
Make sure your computer is behind a router so you aren't "naked" on the Internet
Use the built-in Windows Firewall
Make sure you have the latest Windows updates installed (they tackled a lot of security issues starting in Service Pack 2) - using Automatic Updates is the best way to do this
Practice responsible Internet browsing
Use an alternate browser like Google Chrome for most of your web browsing (only use IE when you have to)
Don't download and install a program "blind" - lots of free programs come with adware (because most malware these days is ad-revenue driven), be responsible and do a google search before installing that new software
At the first sign of something odd, run a virus scan and a malware scan (such as Malwarebytes) - don't wait for it to get bad, malware can download and install more malware without you knowing if left untreated

The LAST thing you should do is install large, bloated "security software" from some of the companies mentioned above.

Why?  Well, how would you describe a virus in layman's terms?  Most people would describe a virus as a program that slows down your computer, uses unnecessary resources, causes some applications to crash, and performs a lot of actions in the background without your approval.  Sounds a lot like some of the "security suites" from the companies above huh?

Now, I see that Norton has a new release of their security suite that is much more streamlined, but even still, why waste money when there are so many great free tools out there?  Stick with the steps above and you are going to be covered in 99% of the cases.  However, if you are someone who doesn't want to even think about this stuff, you don't want to take the effort to browse the Internet responsibly, and you have some extra cash, then feel free to try out Norton's new offering and see if it works for you.

One last thing - if you have a Mac, you are in luck.  If you are a Mac user, don't even give a second thought to virus or malware protection - the odds that an antivirus program will screw up your computer are much higher than the odds that you will ever encounter a virus or malware on a Mac.  Yes, I'm sure someday some killer Mac virus will be released into the wild and wipe out a bunch of Macs, but when that day comes, you can be pretty confident that none of the antivirus software on the market would have protected you anyway.  So, for now, be happy you are a Mac user and don't have to worry about this stuff.

Visit http://www.smileyfacepc.com for virus and malware removal.