3. Activate Shields
If you're
willing to pay to protect your system from
malware, and get some extra firewall protection
to boot, we recommend you install our Editors'
Choice security package, Norton Internet
Security 2009. Its defense against spyware and
viruses is extremely effective, and impact on
system performance is minimal.
If you don't
want to pay, you can set up a pretty good
one-two punch with AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.0 (free.avg.com)
and another Editors' Choice, ThreatFire 3.5 (www.threatfire.com).
The former uses virus signatures to detect
problems; the latter uses behavior analysis.
Thus they don't conflict, as two anti-malware
programs running on one machine usually do.
(Keep in mind that ThreatFire can be almost too
effective, and should probably be turned off
when you're installing new software. Otherwise
it may see the new program as a threat.)
Everyone on a
broadband connection needs a software firewall
to control which applications on your PC can
access the Internet. The firewall in your
network router is not enough. When it comes to
free firewall software, Comodo Firewall Pro (www.odo.com)
remains our top pick.
