AntiVirus – Page 2 – Justin Cooney

To get straight to the point: I’ll start this post by saying that in the past I have found both paid for and free Anti-Virus (AV) software to be ineffective in identifying and containing malware infections. I’m sure this will meet a lot of resistance since using the popular Anti-Virus software is easy and gives the average user a feeling of being in control of their system.

I’ve had my share of chasing malware and trying to track down sources of infection. When it comes to tracking down malware I am still constantly learning, so I do not intend this article to be any kind of definitive answer to whether one should buy or use AntiVirus software. As you read this article, keep in mind that I am still learning the basics of malware detection, and would appreciate your feedback and experiences doing the same.

Also, I’m definitely not suggesting that anyone should go out and uninstall whatever Anti-Virus program that one is using; I’m just saying that one should never consider an AntiVirus scan to be an accurate summary of a PC being clean of viruses. I think there is some benefit to using Anti-Virus software, but I am definitely concerned how often people seem to be confident that their systems are safe or clean just because their Anti-Virus software didn’t detect anything.

Continue reading “PC Security Basics – Is Current Antivirus Software Accurate?” →

WinPatrol takes snapshot of your critical system resources and alerts you in real-time to any changes that may occur without your knowledge. — WinPatrol - Essential Home PC Anti-Malware Software

I was thinking about what security software I would consider essential when setting up a new home computer. There are a few options that come to mind, but in my opinion WinPatrol is absolutely necessary to have. When I talk with people about it I’m surprised at how few people know about it or use it. I have been using the software for the past seven years and would not feel safe using my PC without it.

WinPatrol comes in free and paid-for versions, but the free version does a great job of protecting your PC. Although WinPatrol has many really cool features, it’s primary purpose is to run in the background as you use your computer. WinPatrol keeps snapshots of important system files and will warn you if malware is trying to modify these files or set itself up as a start up program. Specifically, WinPatrol monitors modifications to the host file, prevents keylogger driver installation, rogue Active X and browser helper objects, and malicious startup programs.

Bottom line is: WinPatrol will allow you to stop many malware attacks dead in their tracks before they can even get properly started. Continue reading “WinPatrol – Essential Home PC Anti-Malware Software” →