Security Tools News & Tips

The windows itself is of course not free. If you want a decent, free, and secure operating system then you might give Ubuntu Linux a try. Anyway, here we’re addressing a different question, since more than 90% of the desktop computers are running windows. So, the question is: Is it possible to secure the windows with free softwares? The answer, as you might have guessed is Yes!

Here are 6 basic, free softwares to secure your windows pcs.

1. Install Windows XP Service Pack 2 (if you’re using windows XP) and turn automatic updates on. For other windows version you should get the latest patches using windows update. Since you already paid for your copy of windows these updates are free.

2. Install Anti-virus software. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition does a good job and is free for personal use. It has standard features that are available in commercial anti-virus softwares like, on-access and on-demand scanning, regular and automatic virus database updates. Realtime protection of files and e-mails.

3. Install Anti-spyware software. Microsoft Windows Defender does a pretty good job. As for myself I combine it with SpyBot S&D because there are spywares that are not detected by MS Defender which can be detected by SpyBot and vice versa.

4. Install Personal Firewall (disable windows firewall because it monitors only incoming connection). ZoneAlram basic firewall free edition does an excellent job. It’s much more powerful than Windows firewall.

5. Install Firefox browser. Dump and never use Internet Explorer except if you need to do manual windows update. Firefox is much secure, lighter and uses less memory than Internet Explorer. It offers a clean interface, supports tabbed browsing and you can install numerous useful Extensions.

6. Install Thunderbird email client. Forget about Outlook and Outlook Express unless you are using an Exchange server. It is definitely more secure than Outlook Express, has userfriendly interface, Junk Email Filter and a lot of Extensions.

Keeping yourself 100 percent safe in the internet is not an easy task and requires more knowledge on users part. But I can assure you that if you use these 6 free tools I’ve recommended you’ll be safer than 80 percent of the Internet population.