Fight That Malware!

This is obvious enough to some people, and yet many still don't have a proper antivirus program on their computers. My friend told me today that his computer got infected with a trojan after downloading some music, and I simply could not help but shake my head when I asked him if he had an antivirus program.

Why does one need an antivirus program anyways? The internet's popularity has grown over the years, and with that popularity comes those who want to take advantage of ignorant users by compromising their systems to do their bidding. One such example would be the Conficker virus, estimated to be found in thousands of computers around the world.

The main purpose of a virus is to gain private information or to force someone to buy phony software claiming their computer is 'infected'. This allows the creators of such viruses to gain a tremendous amount of wealth, and all you get on the receiving end is a sluggish, infected computer.

With these reasons in mind, everyone should have an antivirus program installed.

Now I know what's on your mind. "I'm going to have to pay for a product like this aren't I?" Well, that isn't necessarily true, but I do advise a paid piece of software. They tend to do better than their free counterparts.

For paid antivirus programs, I suggest:

1. NOD32 [http://www.eset.com/]
A good piece of software that comes with the whole gamut (firewall, antivirus, antispyware, spam protection, etc.). At $60, it is somewhat pricey, but it could potentially save your system.

2. Kaspersky [http://www.kaspersky.com/]
Another personal favorite of mine. Their support is wonderful and the product is superb. You can get Kaspersky Internet Security for $59.95 and can be placed on up to 3 computers.


Free doesn't necessarily mean bad, some do just as good as the paid for ones. These are probably the only two I can recommend. They do as advertised and for a cheap price of $0, its definitely worth a shot.

1. AVG [http://www.avg.com/]

2. Avira [http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php]

If you have any comments on antivirus programs or viruses, feel free to drop a comment.