Security is of key importance for anyone who’s serious about computing. We’ve talked about it in our last article about the best, top rated antivirus software for Windows. As the development in computer systems advanced, so did the viruses, the malware and everything else of the like. Malicious code has become so complex and evolved today that it can become very hard for even a capable protection software to contain it, in some instances. Then there’s also the threat of external attacks, where a remote user can attempt to gain control of your machine and use it for their own purposes. Combine this all with trojans, worms, root kits, scareware, spyware etc., and you have a pretty scary package to deal with, even if you’re just a regular user!
In this post, I’ll highlight five essential free security downloads, all of which are free protection software that can certainly help make your computing and internet experience more secure and hassle-free.
Free Security Download #1. Avast! Free Antivirus
Avast! has been ranked by several experts as the best free security download and protection software to protect against viruses and malware. While there are several quite capable contenders even in the free application battlefield, Avast! outshines others as it packs the largest feature set with a high-detection rate and resource-friendly implementation.
Main features of this free protection software include:
- A real-time scanner
- Web, email, IM, P2P scanning
- Network, script and behavior shields
- Boot-time scanning
- A lightweight sandbox
Avast! Free Antivirus is a free security download and can be obtained here.
Free Security Download #2. Comodo Internet Security
If your PC connects to the internet in any way, the next free protection software that you’d want after a good antivirus is a solid firewall. On this front, Comodo Firewall for Windows is a part of Comodo Internet Security, a free security download that takes the crown hands down. The main purpose of a firewall is to filter network (and internet) traffic and let you decide the behavior of internet facing applications, and to that purpose Comodo’s performance pars (and outshines) even some the commercial protection software. It packs a highly robust HIPS (host intrusion protection system) engine and offers two-way firewall protection. The only downside to this free security download is that it’s rather talkative at maximum security settings, and would require a lot of user intervention for normal operation.
Download this free protection software suite including Comodo Firewall from here.
On a side note, in case you don’t want to be bothered by a dedicated firewall application, a highly-underrated product is bundled with Windows itself; Windows Firewall. Unlike the general perception, it is quite capable in its own right and can offer quite capable protection. If you’re not using a firewall application, make sure that you have at least the native firewall enabled.
Free Security Download #3. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware
This might seem surprising, but you must have an anti-malware utility along with antivirus for complete protection. This is because an antivirus protection software can only look for viruses, trojans and worms, perhaps, but it does not handle malware such as adware, spyware, dialers, scareware, keyloggers, hijackers, etc. Here, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is quite a solid free security download. It’s available in both free and paid versions (free has some limitations), and apart from offering solid protection with heuristics, it’s available in 35 different languages.
One thing to note here, however, is that MalwareBytes Anti-Malware does not offer real-time protection in the free version. Hence, what you get is an on-demand scanner only, but a very effective one. You should be good with scheduling a weekly scan on your whole PC with this program.
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is available for download here.
Free Security Download #4. Sophos Anti-Rootkit
I cannot emphasize more on the importance and necessity of having an anti-rootkit application. To grasp the gravity of the situation, let me briefly explain what root kits do. They hide malware from protection software. They conceal malware (usually by disabling services, tools, etc.) in such a way that even the best protection software cannot detect it, and while it remains undetected, it can accomplish its goals of, let’s say, stealing your data, compromising your file system and every other malicious activity that it can perform. In short, root kits are bad, and have to be removed.
Sophos Anti-Rootkit is a free security download which is highly-specialized in removing these persistent digital pests. It’s easy to use with its simplistic GUI, but for power users, command line operation is also offered, packaged with a small Help file to assist you with the whole operation.
Similar to MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, Sophos Anti-Rootkit is also an on-demand scanner, and does not offer real-time protection. A weekly scan of all areas in your machine should guarantee sufficiently solid protection against root kits.
Sophos Anti-Rootkit is a free download from their website. It does require registration.
Free Security Download #5. Sandboxie
One of the best free security downloads available for system protection, Sandboxie not only protects your browser but also proactively covers all aspect of your operating system from being changed by any program. While Sandboxie as a product deals primarily with browsers, running any suspicious application in a sandboxed environment will yield better protection.
In its essence, Sandboxie is a free protection software that runs your browser in a virtual environment where anything that is downloaded to your machine – cache files, downloaded material, and even malicious material – cannot interact with the vital components of the operating system. Hence, even if you contract infection, it will be destroyed when the sandbox is closed.
While this approach provides very effective security measure, it does require one to change their browsing habits. For instance, running a sandbox means you need to manually save any files you want to keep, because otherwise everything will be lost. It may take some getting used to, but it is worth it in the end.
Sandboxie is a free security download and can be obtained here.
Conclusion
This list is neither definitive nor exhaustive. These free protection software aginst viruses, malware and root kits, while one from each category, will help you ensure a much safer operating system, and effective protection against malware, all for free. There can be multiple alternatives, and if you have any better free protection software suggestions, please do comment.
You might also want to check out our list of the best, top rated antivirus software for Windows.
To sum it up, system protection is all about how much you can prevent your machine from being a victim, and the best you can do about it is play safe, and let the programs assist you as much as they can.
Dave
August 21, 2011
I all ready have Avast, Malwarebytes. Download Sophos looks good, I fancied Sandboxie but it wants you to install AllMyApps, don’t like Apps that want you to install other Apps.
Thanks for the list though.
Aatif Khan
August 21, 2011
AllMyApps itself is quite useful, and I have never had any troubles with it. That said, I personally don’t fancy products that force you to install any other app, either. The thing with Sandboxie is how useful it is, which may be worth making an exception to this rule.
Nevertheless, glad you liked it.
Vincent
October 11, 2011
BEST ANTI-VIRUS —->> BitDefender 2012