Is your antivirus program actually protecting your computer?
by Cate Eales
Appeared June 11, 2012 on castanet.net
Not only does your computer need antivirus protection,
it needs that program properly configured. Also, Firefox 13 was released
and it works great.
Two antivirus programs are not better than one!
Here are the answers to three of the antivirus questions I’m most of the
asked:
- You should be running ONE antivirus + antispyware
program.
- You should have the real time protection turned
on.
- You should have it set to do a full scan daily.
You can pay as much as you want to for an antivirus
program, but there absolutely are good, free antivirus programs for home
users. (If you are using your computer for business, you might not be
entitled to use a free antivirus program.)
My current recommendation is Microsoft Security Essentials which is free
for home and small business users running Genuine Windows, is easy to
install, and just works without throwing ads or scary warnings at you.
You can
read more about it here and you can
download a copy here.
My one knock on the product is that the default setting is to scan every
Sunday at 2 AM. That’s crazy.
(click to enlarge graphic)
Change the Settings!
Once you’ve installed it, be sure to click on the
Settings tab and configure it to run every day at a time when your
computer is usually on.
My second favourite free antivirus is
Avast! available here. Avast! Comes in three flavours, only one of
them free. Make sure you know which one you are downloading and
installing. As with Microsoft Security Essentials --- or any antivirus
program --- check the settings and make sure you’ve turned on the daily
scan. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited a new customer only
to find the antivirus they think has been protecting them was never
turned on.
No single antivirus + antispyware program, free or not, can possibly
protect your computer from everything all the time. In addition to that
program you should use an antimalware program which you run on demand
every so often.
SuperAntiSpyware is a good choice. So is
Malwarebytes. Be
careful to download the free version of the program, not a trial version
unless you want to pay for it. Install it, and run a scan every week or
two.
Firefox version 13 is nice and fast
Mozilla released Firefox 13 and it’s a major update! I’ve been using it
for a couple of days and it is way faster than version 12. Part of the
upgrade was a complete overhaul of the start page and the addition of a
New Tab feature to make Firefox behave more like Chrome and Internet
Explorer.
When you open a new tab in Firefox now you’ll see thumbnails of your
recently visited and frequently visited sites. You can add or remove
thumbnails from that page, or drag to reorder them. Some people really
love this and find it very handy. Others totally want to know how to
turn that feature off! (Click on the grid icon in the top right corner.)
(click to enlarge graphic)
Firefox 13 New Tab page - click the grid to go back to
the old way
You can still use whatever start page you want, but the new default
start page places a Google search bar in the middle and icons linking to
your Downloads, Bookmarks, History, Settings and so on at the bottom of
the page. I’m still deciding if I like that or not.
All my add-ons from version 12 work with version 13 except my Evernote
WebClipper. I can’t be too mad at Firefox for this. Evernote has a habit
of being way behind in updates to the WebClipper. I have my fingers
crossed that they’ll issue an update soon.
If you’re using version 12, you’ll be offered the update automatically.
You can also click on Help | About Firefox and get the
update there, or
download it from the Firefox site. Watch a video about the new
features here.
If you really hate the way things look in the new version of Firefox,
you can
make it look like the old version with this theme or
this theme.
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to
sponsor me in the 30K Bikeathon June 16.
I am so grateful for your support. If you haven’t already signed up to
sponsor a rider and would like to know more,
my page is here:
http://bit.ly/catebike.
The privacy policy for the event website prohibits them from giving me
your email address, so unless I actually know you and already have your
email, I can’t thank you personally. Everyone receives a thank you from
the Gospel Mission. Please also know how much I appreciate any
contribution, large or small.
--
I welcome your comments and
questions. I can also visit your home or office to help you and your
computer get along. Call me at 250-764-7043, email
help@computercarekelowna.com or visit
Computer Care Kelowna on
the web.
You can read previous columns here:
http://rlis.com/column.htm. If you'd like to subscribe to this
column by email, please visit this link:
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618. It's easy, and free. If
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Links
Microsoft Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/mse.aspx
Download Microsoft Security Essentials
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials
Download Avast! Free
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
SuperAntiSpyware
http://superantispyware.com
Malwarebytes
http://malwarebytes.org
Download Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
About Firefox 13
http://youtu.be/HRp4a_24cp8
Firefox 3 theme for Firefox 4+
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-3-theme-for-firefox/
Firefox Aero theme for Firefox 4+
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-3-aero-theme-for-fi/
Cate’s Bikeathon Sponsorship page:
http://bit.ly/catebike
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
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©
Cate Eales 2012 – All Rights Reserved
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