Free Software and Software Recommendations
eCUBRIA.COM HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS TO HELP PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER AND IMPORTANT DATA . MANY OF THESE ARE FREE!
Many of the software packages below are free, so give them a try. Even most paid applications have free or trial versions so you can try them out before you buy them. But why PAY$$ when you can get better protection for FREE? Our advice is to use a combination of COMODO, AVAST!, and CYBERHAWK!!
FIREWALLS
Without a correctly configured Firewall your PC and your LAN are naked to the outside world. There are bad people in the world who want to get in to your PC network and steal information or do damage. This is not a scare tactic but actual fact. You need to protect your system and your data.
is the new kid on the block and absolutely the BEST of a new breed of software firewalls.
It's Free. Forever. No Catch. No Kidding. And its the only firewall that doesn't leak!
Most firewalls do leak. But Comodo's Firewall is unique in that it passes all known leak tests to ensure the integrity of data entering and exiting your system. Comodo has put firewall through all kinds of sophisticated tests to ensure it's powerful enough to ward off these attacks with default settings. No other firewall has had to work this hard. Note - For XP & 2000 only. Not compatible with Windows 9x. .
Kerio Personal Firewall is another excellent firewall and seems to be the easiest firewall for the average user. The paid version has most of the functionality of Comodo but the free one does not.
ZoneAlarm is also an excellent firewall but is more complex to use and configure. It is for more adventurous and technically inclined users.
VIRUS & TROJAN PROTECTION
Whether you are running an online business, connecting to the Internet with your computers at work, or connecting to the Internet from your home computer, it is vital that you have some type of antivirus software installed to protect your system.
If a virus infects your computer it may actually use your computer to send itself to others. You will not know this is happening until you start getting emails from your friends and relatives wanting to know why you are sending them a virus. Some viruses can even send files from your computer to others. That can be embarrasing or even divulge confidential information.
from Novatix. Traditional antivirus solutions cannot protect you until after they've discovered a new threat and produced a signature to counter it. Cyberhawk is different. It does not rely on signatures, but instead constantly analyzes your computer's behavior to detect and block any malicious activity. Cyberhawk uses behavioral analysis to detect malicious activity. Cyberhawk's ActiveDefense technology intelligently analyzes the behavior of processes & programs on a system and immediately halts any malicious action. It recognizes threats immediately & accurately, and shuts them down so they can't harm your system or compromise your privacy. Even the threats your traditional, signature-based antivirus & anti-spyware can't catch. Cyberhawk is completely effective out of the box. No difficult configuration, setup or maintenance is ever required.
is the latest version of the avast! antivirus kernel features outstanding detection abilities, together with high performance. You can expect 100% detection of In-the-Wild viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses. A new feature of version 4 is heuristic analysis of e-mail scanners. This feature can protect against new, unknown viruses and worms that are not possible to detect by the usual means. The heuristic module performs a thorough investigation of every e-mail message and watches for suspicious signs, that might announce virus presence. When the number of those signs exceeds a user-defined level, the message is considered dangerous and the user is warned.
AVG Antivirus Free Edition offers very impressive protection capabilities. it is relatively small, light on resources, has regular automatic updates, and handles email scanning. It offers a real alternative to the major anti-virus suites.
Ewido is the best of a new crop of anti-Trojan programs and is one of the few products that can reliably detect polymorphic and process injecting Trojans (totally missed by anti-virus products like Norton and AVG). Ewido was purchased by Grisoft and is not included in the AVG products.
TDS-3 and Trojan Hunter offer free trials but eventually you have to pay to keep all the features. These applications offer the more enhanced protection that high risk users may need. If you are sharing files over the internet (running Kazaa or other P2P file sharers) or frequent hack sites you should seriously consider the industrial strength these two products can provide.
Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security is an overall security package. It contains firewall, antivirus, and anti-spyware in a single application. PCIIS protects your PC and home network against all types of viruses, worms, Trojans, and blended threats—including network viruses, like MYDOOM and SASSER. It also blocks hackers, detects and removes spyware, guards against phishing attacks, filters unwanted content, and minimizes spam. New features include Home Network Control and Wi-Fi Intrusion Detection—extending desktop security to your home and wireless networks.
ADWARE/SPYWARE/MALWARE
Spyware today is more malicious than ever before. There's more of it, and it's smarter. It gathers information about a person or organization without their knowledge and relay it to advertisers or other interested parties. Spyware can get in a computer as a software virus or as the result of installing a new program.
Microsoft's Antispyware program is currently available as a free beta to users of Windows 2000 and later. It's based on the Giant Antispyware product that Microsoft purchased late in 2004 and has impressive detection and excellent real time protection against the current plague of browser hijackers, auto-dialers and other scumware products. Microsoft has announced that the product will remain free even when out of beta so it's a good long term choice .
Ad-aware SE works with all versions of Windows. The free version lacks the active protection offered by Antispyware so I highly recommend using both tools. They also tend to find slightly different things .
SpyBot Search and Destroy is another nice tool for those users running operating systems other than Windows 2k and later. (2K and XP users should run Antispyware). This should also be used in combination with Ad-aware as each program may catch things the other misses. .
SpywareBlaster actually blocks the installation of most spyware, browser hijackers, and dialers before they get into your computer. This is another good product but do not run simultaneously with Microsoft Antispyware .
INTRUSION PREVENTION & DETECTION
Anti-virus and anti-spyware products dramatically reduce the chance of infection but you can enhance your protection further by installing an additional layer of defense with an intrusion detection program.
Prevx is a strong recommendation in this category but is only suitable for experienced users.
WinPatrol provides a vital defense by telling you when a product is trying to change critical settings on your PC. It throws up a dialog asking whether you want to allow the change or not.
OTHER VALUABLE TOOLS
is undoubtedly the best disk imaging application we have ever used. True Image allows you to create an exact disk image for the most comprehensive data protection you can get anywhere. The image contains an exact copy of a hard disk, including all the computer data, operating system, and programs. It runs under Windows without the need to reboot. With True Image you do not need separate imaging and backup utilities. True Image does BOTH by allowing you to restore the entire system or simply replace lost files and folders!
Acronis True Image Server for Windows for Windows provides similar protection for Windows based servers.
Running a Linux server? Get Acronis True Image Server for Linux
Organize and protect your PC with Acronis Disk Director Suite. Think of disk partitioning like drawers in a dresser or filing cabinet. Drawers make large cabinets easier to use and the contents easier to access; disk partitioning works the same way. Dividing your hard drive into individual partitions for your operating system, programs, data files, music, and images provides better organization and, most important, much better data safety in the event of your drive crash.
is the top-rated Password Manager and Web Form Filler that completely automates password entering and form filling. This free software was named PC Magazine Editor's Choice, and CNET Download.com's Software of the Year. The free version limits the number of records you can save, but a pro version is available at a nominal cost which removes all limits. .
Wintuneup Pro includes tools like registry cleaner, duplicate and junk-file remover, memory and internet optimizer and many other utilities.
PestBlock is a powerful security and personal privacy tool that detects and eliminates destructive pests like trojans, spyware, adware and hacker tools.
MISCELLENEOUS
is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less that a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!
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