Sometimes the best things are free. Here are 4 applications I would really recommend and why. They are for the PC, although Mac versions may also be available.
AVG Antivirus – Anti-Virus (download link)
This antivirus application is free for non-commercial use. Limited support via support forums is included, but that’s it. Considering the conspiracy theory of antivirus software companies, it’s nice to be able to have a free antivirus application choice. It includes realtime scanning, email scanning, and the standard scheduled scanning. I have it running on my system, and it works great. I’m not too concerned with performance impact, so I didn’t do much research there, other more known antivirus applications may be better there. I still practice safe-computing, aka not opening emails titled, “look at Anna Kournikova’s Rack…et.”
Microsoft Defender – Anti-Spyware (direct download link)
Personally spyware is a virus, although not “techinically” defined to be one because spyware does not self-replicate. The bottomline is that spyware steals your personal information, and often comes packaged together with other applications. The end result could be data corruption/destruction. Microsoft has released Defender to help combat these malicious applications from stealing your personal information and taking control of your computer. I like it. The reason I’m recommending MS Defender over Lavasoft Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy is mainly because Defender offers a combination of easy to use interface, realtime protection of the entire system, and easy updates. If you don’t mind, install all 3. Truth is spyware can be tough to get rid of, and often, each will catch a little more. In real tough situations and as a last resort, I recommend HiJackThis. Just be warned, the website to download HiJackThis does not look professional…you’ll know what I mean when you see it. If all of that doesn’t work, you may have to offer your computer geek friend dinner to come over, or reinstall your entire operating system. Fun! :/
Password Corral (direct download link)
Password Corral’s purpose is simple, to store passwords and keep them safe from prying eyes, and it does both very well. I’ve been using this application for over 10 years, and have seen a great application get better. Offering the ability to generate random passwords, group passwords, and is a few files to install. It’s tough trusting an application to store your personal information, but I’d fall backwards if Cygnus, the makers of Password Corral, promised to catch me.
Irfanview (direct download link)
Last, but not least, is Irfanview. Named after the author, Irfan Skiljan, Irfanview is one of the most flexible, powerful image viewing applications that’s FREE. It’s interface is not the most intuitive, but if you want to resize, crop, flip, rotate, sharpen, etc., Irfanview can do it.
If you like these apps, be sure to consider supporting them–besides Microsoft who I kind of think has enough money already.