Expert: James Filmer - 4/14/2009

Question
The industry changes so much that it is hard to keep up. Need assistance with security in my computer such as anti virus, anti spyware. I am currently using the free avg, but will no longer be aval(free). Please help me out with maybe others that i could use for free.Also using Mozilla fire fox.

Answer
Hi Ruben,

What anti-spyware applications do you already have? Have you tried and removed some you didn't like? Need to know more in order to make suggestions. See also enrgy21.com for links to some of them, and to support sites/reviews of others.

About AVG Free, AVG Free 8.5.285 is available but has limited features for non-commercial use:
Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, LinkScanner Active Surf-Shield, LinkScanner Search-Shield, but no Anti-Rootkit, Identity Protection, Web Shield, Firewall, technical support, or anti-spam. You can also try a full version free for 30 days (see link on enrgy21.com).

About Mozilla Firefox, it does provide a larger selection of security addons than others, but be careful not to add on more than you need, or are able to manage effectively.

The best thing you can do is continue learning about various aspects of computer system and internet security in relation to your needs and desires, then tailor your system and browser accordingly.