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1) Free antivirus
The most important feature of any internet security suite is the antivirus. An antivirus allows you to protect yourself from malware by carrying out a real-time check on all files we open or create. Antiviruses aren’t perfect, but they are the primary level of protection for a Windows computer.
On Windows 10 and Windows 11 we find it pre-installed as antivirus Windows Defender, more than enough to stop the most common cyber threats. If we don’t know how to use this antivirus we can read our guide on how to use windows defender.
Alternatively we can enhance the real-time virus scanning replacing Windows Defender with one of the following free antivirus:
- Sophos Home
- Avast Free Antivirus
- AVG Antivirus Free
- Panda Free Antivirus
- Comodo Antivirus
We install only the essential components offered by each antivirus, so as to obtain an excellent level of protection without overloading the system too much. We remind you that only one antivirus resident in memory can be installed otherwise there will be conflicts and delays.
To learn more we can also read our guide to best free antivirus for Windows.
2) On-demand malware scan
Even if any antivirus has its own scanner to check for viruses and malware on your computer, it’s worth asking for a second opinion (like you do with a doctor). look for malware that escapes the antivirus.
Since another program that checks real time cannot be installed on a PC (also because two antiviruses together are incompatible), you can still have a program that only does scanning for viruses for malware as well as spyware and adware which are often overlooked by antivirus programs.
The best programs to use for periodic PC scans are:
- Malwarebytes
- AdwCleaner
- Spybot
- ESET Online scanner
Let’s install our favorite scanning program and remember to scan every week or every month. It is also worth keeping one aside portable antivirus to do emergency scans in order to always be ready in case a virus deactivates the main antivirus.
3) Firewall
The security suites also include the firewall; though on Windows there is a built-in firewall it may be a good idea to install a third-party one, but only if it is not very invasive and really effective (otherwise you might as well keep the one offered by Windows!).
The problem is that by choosing any third party firewall, for the first few days we will be bombarded with warning windows of programs that want to access the Internet: a wrong answer and a program could stop working or worse, pass a virus; for this reason we will only recommend firewalls with learning mode and app signature verification system, so as to pass truly safe programs and leave us the choice on unsigned or suspicious programs.
The best third-party firewalls that can be installed on Windows are:
- Convenient Firewall
- ZoneAlarm
- Free Firewall
- Glasswire
In case you choose Comodo we can use only one free product and get both the antivirus and the firewall, like a true security suite. Alternatively we can use the always effective ZoneAlarm or the new Free Firewall, to be combined with the security programs seen previously.
To learn more we can also read our guides to best free Firewalls for Windows PC.
4) Browser security
The browser is the main gateway to web threats, so it pays to strengthen its security if we want to avoid the worst malware out there. As a safe browser we can use both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox making sure to always keep them updated to fix bugs or vulnerabilities that can be exploited by new threats.
To strengthen the security of both browsers reported, we recommend that you install the following extensions:
- WOT (Chrome e Firefox): addon useful for reporting the reputation of sites and avoiding those that are dangerous or reported as spreading malware.
- HTTPS Everywhere (Chrome e Firefox): forces pages in HTTPS mode and prevents the opening of unsafe pages (often full of viruses).
- Avast Online Security Privacy (Chrome e Firefox): addon designed to monitor links on a page, reporting and blocking those that hide threats. Also useful for scanning download links before the operation ends.
- Bitwarden (Chrome e Firefox): excellent addon to save personal passwords and generate new secure passwords, to be used on sites at risk of data theft (such as Facebook or Gmail).
By installing all the recommended extensions we will have a virus-proof browser, ready to open any page without fear.
5) PC cleaning and optimization
Many security suites also have the function of cleaning the PC of junk files and obsolete data and optimizing the performance of the computer. These programs often clean too much (even useful files or system files) or do not clean at all, unnecessarily slowing down the PC.
The only program of the category that deserves to be installed on the PC is CCleaner more than enough to remove useless files, delete private data for the privacy of the various browsers on your computer, erase the residues of previous installations and keep the disk really clean.
6) Other useful tools
Companies that develop security software are always adding new features to their programs to cover more areas to be protected. Whatever feature is present on these large paid suites, just know that you can get it for free.
- Parental Control: to set a parental control on the use of the computer in order to also filter out inappropriate websites. As a free program we can install the easy program on any Windows PC Microsoft Family Safety or a program like Qustodio.
- Anti-theft program: useful for tracing the laptop if it is lost or stolen. As a free program we can use Prey, one of the best ways to find lost or stolen laptop.
- Automatic program update: By always keeping your programs up to date, we will avoid viruses and malware that exploit known vulnerabilities. A good free program is upToDate Downloader, but we can also use one of the other programs in the guide on how download Updates of programs, apps and software installed on your PC.
Let’s install them all to increase the security of any computer with a Windows operating system.
Conclusions
By installing all the programs recommended in the various chapters we can recreate our DIY security suite resistant to any type of malware. We will increase the security of your PC in an intelligent and free way without having to buy paid security suites (often very expensive too).
Those who want single free program with all integrated protection tools, one of the best free and complete security and protection suites for Windows pc.