July 6, 2010

I want to touch again on the security issues with computers.  My opinions may not be shared by everyone, but I always look at computers from a practical standpoint.

First, whether you use a computer for business or personal use, the thing I always strive for is maximum performance and speed.  Considering viruses and malware, there is no software which is able to protect anyone 100%, particularly anyone who indiscriminately clicks on every link they see or opens any attachment in their emails.

All security suites slow your computer down.  If you purchase a new computer you can speed it up dramatically by removing the trial versions of the security suites.  Why, well the answer is obvious, the security programs are checking so many things and monitoring the software you start up, and that takes a lot of processor time.  Considering the fact that the software is still not 100% effective, is it worth the aggravation of slowing the computer down?  In my opinion, no.  However, there are some stipulations, which include not opening any email attachments unless you are positive they are safe, and being very discriminate on what links you click on when browsing on the Internet.

NEVER, NEVER fall for the "click here to improve your computer's speed and performance".  All these sites will mess up your computer, guaranteed.  Most of the time, once you fall for their pitch, you will end up either restoring your computer in order to remove the junk they install, or you will have one of the slowest computers in the neighborhood.

I still stand by my past opinion that all you need to do is install the free AVG Antivirus and be careful of what you do with email and Internet browsing, or you can use one of the security suites and put up with a system which performs sub par, and still have very little total protection.