Dead-Fish 2.0

Safer Surfing

There are a few things bugging me at the moment with the internet. Spam, Virii (That's the plural of virus fool ) Spyware etc. This rant was actually a news post, but I find myself repeating this kind of information on a regular basis - this is quite literally a cut & paste from the news page on 12 Dec 03. The internet is a bit like sex with strangers, stupid if you don't wear a condom. That being the case, you PC needs protection which is why this short list of totally free software makes sense, to the tight fisted and the plain sensible.

UPDATE AUG 06:

Oddly enough I was repeating this info on a forum on Aug 06, but using this page as a pointer to save on typing ;) when I realised that some of the information has changed. Therefore I have updated the links to today's recommendations and the current location of the files.

I presently use the following FREE (remember children, free is good) programmes in an effort to protect my PC from the nasties out there in the wild. You only need 1 programme from each category and the first listed is the one in use on my PCs.

Spam Protection

Your ISP may have sever side protection which can be accessed at your settings/preferences page at your ISP's website. Read their FAQ and turn it on if their is one available to you.

Spambayes The Outlook addon (though it works with most POP3 or IMAP compatible clients) is an application of the SpamBayes project. It works with Outlook 2000 onwards in Windows 9x/ME/2K/XP/X64. It does not work with Outlook Express. With a little effort 'training' this programme, virtually no spam is getting into my inbox after 1 weeks use and you can't say fairer than that.

SpamAware. SpamAware is a plugin for Ms-Outlook and MS-Outlook Express.

SpamPal. Works with a standard email program such as Outlook, Outlook Express or Eudora.

Spyware protection and removal

Spybot Search & Destroy. It kills spyware & updates itself across the internet or you can manually grab update files if you prefer. It can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes/ start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies.

Ad-Aware. I used to swear by this one, but a long hiatus between versions a few years ago saw infections occurring due to lack of updates and to be honest, I never forgave them.

Microsoft Windows Defender. The big boys muscling in on the act, but the last time I tested it it was 5 x slower than Spybot Search & Destroy and dailed to find anything that Spybot didn't.

Anti-Virus

AVG Anti-Virus Anti Virus software that can check you HD, Memory, email & downloads for nasties. Free updates across the internet. Top Stuff. Once again, they make finding the free version hard work at their website, I guess they want your money! but the link here has been changed to the current (Aug 06) Free version.

Avast! More of the same, a commercially programme free for home use.

ClamAV. Open source offering ;)

Firewall

Sygate Personal Firewall. A discontinued programme that works just fine with the simplest interface here.

Outpost Firewall Another programme with online updates. Stops unauthorised access to your PC when online or programmes accessing the web without you say so.

Zone Alarm. More of the same, make sure you are looking at the FREE version, they seem to like making it hard to find.