Smartphone data plans. Digital cable bundles. We have so many expenses these days that did not exist several years ago. While some are a necessary evil, at least one is avoidable in this day and age: Antivirus software. Norton, McAfee, and many other companies have made millions in the name of protecting computer users on the internet. Many users feel unprotected against the dangers of the internet without one of these programs installed. Why, even Microsoft Windows warns users upon installation that their PCs are unprotected until they find an antivirus program online! While not a bold-faced lie, this is not without deception.
The truth is, viruses, spyware, credential-stealing programs, and worms (all classifed as malware) are on the rise, with more computers infected in 2011 than ever before. Currently, the FBI is involved in a complex workaround to protect potentially infected computers from a particularly devious program known as DNS Changer, which hijacked the connections of hundreds of thousands of users and led them to fraudulent versions of the sites they were looking for, apparently with the sole purpose of forcing them to view (and inevitably click on) advertisements sold by the miscreants. The FBI has shut down the fraudulent servers, but had to implement special temporary servers to preserve the connections of machines still infected and dependent on the fraudulent server for their internet access. These bypass servers will be taken offline July 9, 2012, leaving anyone who has not yet resolved their infection without internet access at that time. Visit www.dns-ok.us to see if your computer or network hardware is affected by DNS Changer.
If you see this, you computer is safe and is not infected with DNS Changer:
If you see this, your computer will need to be serviced before July 9, 2012 to ensure internet access:
This situation is a strong endorsement of virus protection, but most users think that they need to pay for the antivirus program that came with their computer year after year. That is simply not true. There is a much better assortment of free and inexpensive options available on the internet. Many IT professionals prefer free antivirus programs, because while the large subscription programs claim to be comprehensive and secure, they do so by using a larger portion of system resources than they should, and intefere in day to day computer use with constant scans and requests for updates. My favorite option at this time is Microsoft Security Essentials, which is produced by Microsoft and designed to be integral and unobtrusive in the Windows experience. NOTE: There is no subsitute for scheduled maintenance of temporary internet files and registry associations, which can be handled by CCleaner. I have worked on plenty of machines with full security suites that were heavily infected due to lack of basic upkeep.
If you have been using one of the major antivirus utilities and want to switch it out for a free or cheap one, it’s okay to wait until your current subscription expires, but make sure you are timely about it, since you don’t want to be without protection after it runs out. If this sounds like something you feel comfortable doing yourself, make sure you remove the old antivirus program before installing the new one; having two programs running simultaneously will be as slow as any infection! If this sounds a little over your head, you can place a service call and we can schedule an appointment to discuss the right options for you, along with training on how to use these programs. You will be an Antivirus Pro in no time!