Winblows safety

Recently a co-worker came to me with his son's laptop. What laid before me was a complete mess - a brand new laptop, barely three months old, loaded top to bottom with enough viruses to send Bono on a world tour. Spyware, adware, trojans, worms... are part of the vernacular of anybody that uses a PC (at least, a PC running anything Microsoft).

Alright, stop your eyes rolling - this won't be Linux snobbery heaped upon you. Though I do admit, as I type this on my Linux fueled laptop that isn't running a single bit of anti-virus software right now, the world might be a better place if more switched over to open source OS's, the reality is it requires a good bit of know-how plus the willingness to immerse yourself in to the world of Linux and open source software.

Nevertheless, even I have two Windows machines (well technically three - the laptop can boot in to either Linux or Windows XcrementP). The idea of wasting my time (more like a weekend) ridding any PC of bugs and viruses as opposed to grilling some form of mammal flesh doesn't set well with me. However, I don't want to deal with an anti-virus program that is almost as virulent as the viruses it claims to try to keep out. Most of these squawk and yell if they're not the first things installed after the operating system; others will give you a pop up box every ten seconds warning that you are potentially, maybe at risk for a virus.

So, whaddayagonnado? Well for starters, pick out a Linux distribution that's to your liking... oh, that's a whole other post. Here are my recommendations for non-invasive software that get the job done without harassing you and your system's resources:

• AVG free edition - this is the best anti-virus program I've found that operates just under the surface, waiting to pounce when something doesn't look right. To show you how much faith I give this (free!) program, I use it on all my work PCs - for that matter, our entire building does. If you leave your PC connected to the internet 24/7 like I do, you can even set a schedule so that it automatically updates at a time when you're not using the computer and run a system test - anything it finds, it "quarantines" until you tell it what to do. It also comes with an email filter that, like everything else, is non-invasive. It just does it's job. And it's free.
• Adaware - this little programs checks for adware, programs that usually aren't malicious in nature but are irritating and can bog your system down. Adware and spyware are generally the same; both are programs that sit on your PC monitoring what your internet habits are, then targeting ads towards you specifically.
  
• Spybot Search and Destroy - consider this the twin yang to Adaware's yin; what one doesn't uncover and find, the other will.
  

All the above programs have been running on my home and work PCs for quite some time, and I haven't had a problem in years. That's not to say they're a catch-all and you can just click about willy-nilly on the internet without worrying about ever getting infected - use some common sense (sorry, can't cover that here - none in stock).

The other reason, besides their non-invasiveness, that I like each of these programs is b/c they're free, unlike Norton and McAfee. Feel free to disagree, agree, or provide other options.