Cheap/free antivirus and firewall?

lizziem_2

Hi

I hope this is in the right place. We have got wireless internet for the first time. Can anyone recommend a cheap or free way to protect ourselves please?

jadziad

Real-time anti-virus: Microsoft Security Essentials
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Malware checking: Malwarebytes. The "active protection module" is very good - a cheap one-off lifetime license.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

AV/anti-malware is a last line of defence - malware & viruses should never get as far as having an opportunity to either run or download. Keep your OS up to date, update Flash Player & your PDF reader regularly, perhaps switch to Firefox with the NoScript and AdBlock Plus extensions.

Mark_In_Hampshire

The least protected area of wireless home networks tends to be the wireless network itself.

If you are connecting wirelessly, make sure that the router is "secured" - that's to say, usually with a pass phrase which you enter and save when you first connect to your network from one of your machines.

If it doesn't have one, then anyone walking past outside can connect to it, as can your neighbours if close enough. Doesn't mean they can get at anything on your PC if it's secure, but does mean that they can use your bandwidth.

The manual/guide should have some information on this, and it may well be set up this way already.