It can cost nothing to protect personal computers
against viruses, spam, spyware and other malware, says consumer
activist groupWhich?
.
Its latest magazine explores the best PC security freeware
against commercial products. It found most do an excellent job of
the basics, but commercial packages provided extra features and
all-in-one ease of use, for about £40-£50.
Which? picked Avg's
Anti-Virus as the top bug killer, and chose Microsoft's
Windows Defender as the best free spyware preventer.
BullGuard's
spam filter took the honours for cleansing e-mails, and
Checkpoint's ZoneAlarm got
the nod for best free firewall.
Top commercial packages were Norton
Internet Security 2009, and BullGuard's
Internet Security.
Which? also offered some security tips:
- Download with caution
- Do not respond to spam
- Keep software updated
- Do not use a single password or store it on or near the PC
- Do not respond to phishing messages