Note: Please see my updated article on computer health, before considering what is written below. Since this article was written, I have changed some recommendations.
Lots of people ask me which software is the best for keeping computers clean and free of malware. I’m not sure which is best, technically, but I can tell you what I use and why I’ve found it to be very effective.
Anti-Virus:
I like Avast Internet Security for anti-virus software, for several reasons.
First, there’s a built-in feature for their Smart Scan that will tell you about out-of-date software on your computer. Flash is a great example of software that goes out-of-date a couple of times every month, and you’ll want to keep it updated because of security flaws in old versions. Avast not only tells you about this out-of-date software, but it will fetch the update and install it for you. Great feature:
Next, Avast is light-weight—meaning, it doesn’t require a lots of system resources to do its job (as some other anti-virus does). It also scores quite highly in malware tests, so its ability to stop malware before it becomes a problem is excellent.
Avast also has an option to scan the computer the next time you boot it, called boot-time scanner. This is great when you’ve got malware that cannot be deleted because it starts when Windows starts. Using the boot-time scanner, Avast checks your computer the next time you restart it—before Windows starts. This allows pesky viruses to be removed when they otherwise cannot be after Windows has been started.
Last, there’s a free version of Avast that’s quite effective for most users on a tight budget. After the free version is installed, Avast will often offer their paid Internet Security software at a discount, sometimes as low as $20/year.
Anti-Malware:
You mean there’s more to a clean computer than just anti-virus software? Yes, unfortunately, but it’s important to know about this.
Traditional viruses used to be spread commonly via infected email attachments. These days, however, it’s much more prevalent through corrupted web pages and compromised web browsers. Also, not all malware is technically a virus, so it’s important to use software that protects against these other forms of malware.
My favorite anti-malware software is Malwarebytes.
One of the most common elements found by Malwarebytes is a type of malware that’s classified as Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs). These are things like browser toolbars, helpers, and the apps that attach themselves to things like Flash player downloads. The problem with these PUPs is that they bog down your computer, slow your internet, and eventually cause much bigger problems by inviting all their best friends to infest your computer. When running a scan in Malwarebytes, I recommend you delete all detected PUPs you didn’t deliberately install yourself.
Malwarebytes does have a free version, which can be run on-demand, but it lacks a critical component of active monitoring. For this reason, I recommend people purchase the paid version if they’re computer has been previously infested with malware.
Alternative Browser:
If you’re using Microsoft’s built-in Internet Explorer browser, you’re asking for trouble. This browser is notorious for bugs and leaks which can compromise your computer. For Windows 10 users, Microsoft created the Edge browser, which is much better in these regards, but still has some problematic glitches and incompatibilities.
My favorite browser is Mozilla Firefox.
Firefox has a huge offering of add-ons, which are sort of like mini-apps that you can add to Firefox for specific features you’d like to use. One top add-on, for instance, is Adblock Plus, which blocks the annoying ads that often take over so many popular web sites.
But my favorite add-on that does the most to keep your computer healthy and clean is NoScript. I don’t recommend this for everyone, as it does require a bit of learning to use it properly, but those who use it can immediately knock out almost all of their web-based vulnerabilities simply by using Firefox as their default browser and employing NoScript. This is because most web-based malware infections make use of special scripts on web pages that allow infections to be transmitted to your computer. NoScript, by default, will not allow any scripts on any web site to run except those you specifically authorize. So even if you visit an infected web site, those running NoScript will likely not be affected at all—because the scripts used to transmit malware are blocked before you even visit that site.
Why not use Google’s Chrome? After all, it’s a fast browser that also has a wide selection of add-ons. This is a personal preference, but I’m increasingly uncomfortable with Google’s data mining techniques, and would prefer a browser not directly linked to such practices. (Here’s an old article from 2012 with some details on what data Google has access to, back then. You can imagine this has grown significantly since then.)
So—these are my top suggestions for maintaining a healthy computer for the New Year.
Remember, prevention is better than cure!