Here is a list of security programs that I use to protect my computer from viruses, spyware, and hacks. I have put these in my Win98 system and my father's XP, they have cut malware problems down to near zero, and the best part is all the below are freeware:
Firewall:
Outpost Firewall 1.0 - I really haven't tried any others, and don't know of any other free versions, this one suits my needs and I like the interface. Settings to block Java, Javascript, ActiveX, cookies, referrers and popups.
Antivirus:
AVG Free Edition - I think this and AntiVir are the two best antivirus programs on the net.
AntiVir Personal - This also doubles an excellent antitrojan. My father had Norton and Tauscan installed on his at the time. He was skeptical when I installed it, but he became a believer when it caught 3 trojans on his machine. I like this one because it follows behind the computer and scans every file it uses for viruses in real time. It catches email viruses right as they come in.
Antitrojan:
A2 Free - The home page says it has over 22,000 trojans in it's database, as well as other malware. I haven't caught anything with it yet, but it is the only other decent free antitrojan program I could find on the net.
Hijackfree - Shows you what's running on your computer to see if any malware is running.
Antispyware:
Spybot S&D - Excellent program, make sure to use the Teatimer resident blocker.
Adaware Personal - This is a top notch spyware scanner, as good as or better than Spybot S&D.
Spyware Blaster - As of now this only protects the IE Explorer browser.
ID Blaster - Changes your Windows ID settings at the interval you set. Makes it hard for hackers and spyware to track you using your ID numbers.
Disk Cleaners: - Good disk cleaners are important. Though Spybot and Adaware will clean temp files and such they take awhile to run on most computers, and it's alot easier to do a quick scan with a disk cleaner for the basics.
Disk Cleaner - Gets all the basic stuff. Very quick and easy to use.
Ccleaner - This is an unbelievable program. It gets all sorts of junk files off your hard drive while cleaning up your registry as well. I have used other disk and registry cleaners, this thing got a boatload of stuff that the others missed, including a number of Java and ActiveX junk files. Many registry keys from deleted programs that would 'regenerate' after other registry programs cleaned them were wiped off with Ccleaner.
Spam stoppers:
Mailwasher - Use this to bounce email before you use your email client, so you Inbox doesn't get cluttered with spam.
