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Keeping Your Computer Safe & Secure

You can help keep your computer secure by installing antivirus and even more importantly keeping it up-to-date. Software firewalls can also help as they will prevent undesired applications from accessing the internet and unwanted people accessing data on your computer.

Not being able to afford antivirus or firewall software is no excuse because there are a number of free products available which are just as good, if not better in some cases, than paid-for security products...

Free AntiVirus

Free Firewalls

Free Anti-Spyware

Additional AntiVirus

The sites linked below are web-based 'on-demand' scanners (except ClamWin) which can be used to check your installed anti-virus product hasn't missed anything. You could use one of the sites below once a month to run a full scan of your computer (note, all online scanners require Microsoft Internet Explorer).

Other Useful Tools

  • BT Modem Protection - If you still have your dial-up modem connected to your telephone line then you could be at risk from 'diallers' which can be unwittingly downloaded from the Internet and dial premium rate telephone numbers leaving you with a large phone bill. It's a good idea to disconnect the computer from the phone line when not in use but you can also use this free software from BT which will warn you when your computer attempts to dial premiuim rate & international numbers. Note, it will only warn you that the call is being made and not automatically stop the calls. Many anti-virus products now also detect & remove known diallers, but this tool provides extra protection.

Additional Links

Note: The products listed have not been personally tested so no warranty can be given as to their fitness. There may also be other free products out there, these are just ones I'm aware of. There are also lots of paid-for products which you may find are better or just prefer to use.

Once you have security software installed, it is just as if not more important to regularly check it is up-to-date. Most products are designed to update themselves but this doesn't always happen. It usually only takes a couple of minutes (if that) to check you have the latest virus definitions so it's worth doing it every few days. It is also a good idea to regularly run a full system scan (perhaps once a week). You should also ensure that your computer in general is 'up-to-date'. Microsoft along with other software manufacturers release security updates for their products which fix potential security exploits. You can ensure your Microsoft products are up-to-date by visiting Microsoft Update and having Microsoft alerts sent to you when updates are released (see here for more info). All this will help ensure that your computer is more secure on the Internet.

For more information also check out the Get Safe Online and Bank Safe Online sites...

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