In my research for yesterday’s article Surf Safely with Web of Trust for FREE I stumbled across a great article on “layered security.”  This was a term that I had never heard and had never really put any thought into.  In fact, it has opened up a new world for me that I am exploring as I write this article.  You see, the hard truth is that no single security program is 100% effective against spyware, malware, adware, trojans, keyloggers, etc.   There are thousands of threats waiting to attack your PC and the best protection you have is teaming up several security programs.

If you wanted to protect your home, you would put in a security system.  If you wanted to REALLY protect your home, you would put in a security system, burglar bars, security lighting and a drawbridge.  This is the same theory behind layered security.  It is a simple idea and comes with a simple blueprint.  Here are the three key components to a good, proactive, multi-program defense:

• One Antivirus Program – You probably already have one of these (if not, you have bigger worries).  Here are a few of the more common programs that fall into this category:
  • Avast! (our recommendation) – FREE
  • AVG – FREE
  • Norton – $$
• One Realtime Antimalware Program – Realtime is the keyword here.  There are many programs that you can run when you remember/feel like it (on-demand), but these realtime programs are always on and looking for threats
  • IObit Security 360 – FREE
  • Malwarebytes AntiMalware – $$ for the version with realtime protection
• One Firewall – A personal firewall is the computer version of a home alarm system and keeps hackers from accessing your personal data while you are online.  Windows includes a FREE firewall, but you should definitely install a separate firewall program on your own.
  • Comodo Personal Firewall – FREE
    **If you install Comodo, pay close attention during installation.  Toolbar trickery is used during configuration.
  • ZoneAlarm – FREE version exists, but $$ version is recommended

WARNING: You notice that we specifically indicated “One” program in each of the 3 categories.  Running multiple programs from a single category, like IObit Security 360 and Malwarebytes AntiMalware could cause conflicts and/or system crashes.

BONUS: You can add on separate programs/add-ons to further enhance your security.  We recommend the browser plugin My Web of Trust (WOT) as a great way to avoid untrustworthy web sites.

Personally, I am testing a combination of Avast!, IObit Security 360 and Comodo on my laptop right now.  Honestly, up until this article, I was only running Avast! and was unknowingly leaving my system open for attack.  I will continue to test this mix of programs and report back any issues or problems that might occur.  If you are interested in a follow-up please leave a comment below and we will be sure to update you.

Tags: Security, WOT

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 9:54 am and is filed under Free Programs, Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.