What computer security software? Is the constant question on every computer user's lips. This comes at a time when the rate of attacks have become a cause for concern due to the increased reliance of man presently has on computers and computer related devices. This hubpage was created to share with you, my problem solving approach through, research, analysis, testing and personal success at finding a lasting solution (five months now and counting) that will also benefit you as you reach the end of the page. Another thing I would like to do is to update this page with any new computer security experiences and security software issues that I might encounter. This will of course, lead to the writing of reviews of internet security softwares that were of particular interest and other things that would need to be done to your PC to improve it's defence capabilities.

As an internet enthusiast who works from home, my regular and constant use of the internet, emails, and downloading of various files make me a prime target of hackers, virus attacks, trojan infestations, malware, spyware, and all data security threats out there. Just name it – I've had it. As a result, I've incurred huge losses to my property, personal data and my businesses.

Now I'm no computer security software review expert and I will therefore make this article as lay as possible, so that I don't end up boring you to death with all manner of technical jargons and long descriptions. I will just give you a few strong facts and tell you what has been working for me and let you make your own choices. So if you will make a drink for yourself (as I made one for myself), sit down and do some necessary reading .

SO WHICH SECURITY SOFTWARE SHOULD I CONSIDER?

Now that is the million dollar question, and this is the first thing that lead to my quest for a solution to my computer security issues. To put it bluntly, there is no all encompassing computer or internet security software that can give you total pc protection. Why? Because, there are different considerations when it comes to security software application . Presently, available software can only boast of a strong ability to tackle just a few of these aspects discussed below to a high degree, while having marginal strength in dealing with others . Specifically, you must think of developing security around the following internet and computer security tools:

ANTI-VIRUS

This detects viruses, worms, trojans, and executable files (or DLL libraries) that your system is unwanted by your system. It is essentially a database that must be regularly updated to maintain the maximum level of protection.

ANTI-SPYWARE

Provides pc protection from all kinds of malware (malicious software). This spyware secretly gathers information from your computer. Another kind called adware generates unwanted advertisements on your pc. This is also a database that requires to be kept up-to-date by through regular downloads.

ANTI-SPAM AND EMAIL SCANNER

Uses several form of analysis to maximise monitoring and checking of all incoming email messages and marks unwanted e-mails as SPAM and moves viruses and it's likes to a virus vault.

ANTI-ROOTKIT

Is essentially a scanning tool that searches for dangerous rootkits that are hidden inside applications, drivers or dll libraries. Rootkits are usually a collection of malware that allows an attacker to gain admin level access into a computer or a whole network. The are hard to detect and remove by regular security software tools because they are well hidden in the windows operating system.

FIREWALL

Simply put, a firewall is a tool that controls (allows or forbids) all communication attempts through the internet or inside a network port. It recognizes intrusion attempts.

LINKSCANNER

Works with your internet browser (I use firefox for security) in real-time, to protect you from visiting potentially malicious sites and to provide, you with security rating information before clicking on a listed site in most of the search engines

WEB SHIELD

Provides pc protection against accidentally downloading infected file directly or through instant messaging applications

RESIDENT SHIELD

Is another scannig tool that scans files as they are opened, copied, and saved. It forbids activation if a threat is found and also protects the system files of your pc.

AND THE LOGIC?

My online research helped me to discover that different security software must be utilized to achieve maximum pc security. And so, I tried and tested many software and kicked off with free ones like avira antivirus, avg, microsoft windows defender, spamfighter. I quickly discovered that most of the so called free ones (except those mentioned above) had viruses, trojans, and malware themselves and even fake versions of reliable ones were also delivered by malicious sites also. So beware!

So is computer security software free? Definitely yes but (and I do mean a big but!), there are limitations to what security tools you get. So my advice is that you whip up a mix. It's worth investing money to secure sensitive information from people who can seriously damage your reputation and put you in a state of financial ruin.

I also bought and sort the opinion of those that I couldn't buy. I bought and tried norton internet security, bit defender, and AVG internet security. I also discovered that these were considerably better but unfortunately still inadequate as many of them proved by detecting these threats but doing little or nothing to stop infection. I however discovered small but powerful computer security software tools (like malwarebytes anti-malware) that were very effective at detecting infection and quickly healing them but, were ineffective at preventive measures.

This lead me to try my hand combining the computer security software and tools that were most effective at tackling one, two or even three threat types with, the ones that were effective at detection, real-time prevention and infection healing/removal.

MY PC SECURITY SELECTION
So here are my computer security software choices.

For detection, real-time scanning, firewalls, resident shield and webshield I am currently using AVG internet security. For spyware elimination and rootkit/registry protection, I'm using spywareblaster and superantispyware pro. And for added detection and healing and removal I use the ever powerful malwarebytes anti-malware, combofix, hijackthis and regsearch. These are all a cocktail mix (shaken but not stirred) of free antivirus software, free spyware and malware removal, and buy now pc security software.

I am aware that some of you will have varied opinions about my pc security choices but hey, if it works for me then could jolly well work for you. But if you are critical or have your own ideas, why not add them here in the comments session of this hubpage. And always remember that every pc's computer security is relative and depends on the system's components, it's capacity and what it is used for. This will determine the type of security that it requires. What I have discussed here is for active regular heavy internet users. I am using a microsoft XP professional (OS) with service pack 3, intel pentium 4 (yeah, that old!) and 120 gig of memory.

A word of caution, you have to be aware about how and when to use them so that these software don't unnecessarily slow your system's performance or even harm it. If you can bear with me awhile, I will discuss with you how I effectively utilize these security tools to provide pc protection for my computers (so keep a look out for a link here!). Needless to say, I'm still experimenting. My last system scan shows that my pc is clean and free of all infections, threats and viruses for five straight months now. So until my next update and/or hubpage think computer security and stay safe.

UPDATE: My superantispyware just updated to version 4.27.1000 a few minutes ago. I did a scan using this, avg internet security, no threats, infections. I'm thinking of trying out bitdefender again on my other computer. Keep you posted.

Installed bitdefender and is working okay, now I want to try some new free anti-spyware and anti-malware applications to see if I can get another good combination like what I did with avg internet security and others.

Did I say that it's working okay? Well four days later, it turns out that bitdefender total security is not suited for my system. For one, the program is about twice as large as the AVG internet security this resulted in slowing down my computer. So after just four days of use, I had to switch back to my trusty AVG. After the download, I did an update and ran a routine scan, everything is working. Did a scan with malwarebytes anti-malware, happy to say no virus threats or infections to report :)

PS: I haven't forgotten about the other internet security tools that you should arm yourself with for clean up and for preventive security measures. I will be puttiing all of that into another hubpage soon enough (scout's honour!). I will be giving you a detailed walk through, real soon.

Finally finished the walk through here: Computer Security Software Tools And Guides