SECURITY
The following applications do an
excellent job of cleaning up extraneous files, spyware, and viruses in
Windows. These freeware versions do not
usually scan at user-defined times
(the paid versions do). It is better to run them one at a time,
preferably in the SAFE MODE, but I have not (yet)
encountered problems with running
them concurrently overnight as an administrator and in the regular
mode. Before running them open them with
administrator priveleges and click
on Update icons (paid versions usually update automatically).
Because automatic updates can interrupt what
you are doing I
recommend that you deselect automatic updating where possible.
Purifying an entire computer will typically take several hours
and I therefore run them
simulataneously overnight . DO NOT INSTALL MORE THAN ONE ANTI-VIRUS
PROGRAM - otherwise they will interfere
with one another and, at best, slow
down detections.
REVO
UNINSTALLER
Deletes detritus left over by
sloppy or nefarious programming. I liked it so much I bought the paid
version (ca $55 for 3 computers),
BUT THIS APPEARS TO BE A SCAM -
when installing the purchased version the supplied registration
number is never
asked for (but it may include extra
features that, if so, should have been indicated when updating).
Apparently you pay $55 and get the same product
as the free version, with continued
messages asking you to "upgrade" to the paid "pro"
version.
MICROSOFT
SECURITY ESSENTIALS
Apparently excellent and
(remarkably) unobtrusive. But ZONE
ALARM is
probably better.
AVAST
ANTI-VIRUS
Recommended by Consumer Reports.
ZONE
ALARM
A superb firewall plus anti-virus package.
CCLEANER
Cleans out unnecesary files,
browser cookies, etc. Also the only reliable registry cleaner I have
encountered. You should repeat executions
until nothing changes (MS Internet
Explorer files are especially stubborn).
SPYBOT
Allows immunization against known
spyware. In my experience it catches the most malware of any of the apps.
If you insist on just one
malware removal app, this is the one.
RKILL
Stops Malware running to allow its
removal. Can be run less frequently than those above.
TDSSKILLER
Removes specific rootkits. Can be
run less frequently than those above.
SECURITY
TANGO (Windows, Linux, Mac)
An orchestrated sequence of tasks
to rid your PC of the most persistent malware. Print out the list of instructions
before using. This site also
contains links to much freeware. However, the red-underlined
links above to security apps
will remove most malware.