Web and Development

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting more difficult. Antivirus software is essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and other malicious programs. These products are designed to protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer through email
web browsers
file servers and desktops.

The programs reviewed below are the best from around the world. In the United States we are familiar primarily with the Norton and McAfee Antivirus programs
but there are many good programs out there that merit serious consideration.

Top 10 Recommended Antivirus Software Programs

Below are my ten top antivirus software programs for 2007.

For a much more detailed comparison chart on these products you can refer to http://www.zunio.com/comparisons/antivirus_review.html

1
Editor's Choice: BitDefender
Softwin
which owns BitDefender
has been around since 1990
and boasts an international team of technical experts who strive to continually improve software and respond to new threats.

2
Kaspersky
Founded in 1997 by Eugene Kaspersky
the Moscow-based company has had great success leading the industry in anti-virus protection

3
Norton Anti-Virus
Owned by global security giant Symantec
Norton Antivirus is by far the most popular and widely used security system in the United States. Norton offers a small range of products for the home user
small business owner and large corporation with 1000+ users.

4
McAfee
McAfee is another big name in Internet security and a large competitor for Norton Antivirus
although their prices are virtually the same.

5
F-Secure
Based in Helsinki
Finland
F-Secure has been in the computer protection business since 1988. The company offers protection for the family computer
to home office users all the way up to corporations with large numbers of telecommuters spread all over the map.

6
Shield Anti-Virus 2007
PCSecurityShield offers protection against viruses
hackers and privacy threats to help keep you and your family surfing safely.

7
Protector Plus
Proland Software offers virus protection with its Protector Plus package
compatible with Windows Vista
XP
Me
2000
and Netware. Protector Proland is proud of its team of experienced engineers
who have been working on anti-virus software and computer protection programs since 1989.

8
DefendGate
Canada-based DefendGate offers everything from protection against viruses and identity theft to office productivity suites and desktop accelerators.

9
PC DoorGuard
This program is PC DoorGuard is designed for those looking to protect their email from spam
viruses
Trojans and worms.

10
CA Antivirus
On its website
CA Antivirus says it provides software to 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies and boasts that it was the first antivirus software to be awarded certification with Microsoft Vista in 2007.


Virus Prevention - Steps to take

A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1
Evaluate your current computer security system. With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to attack in a multitude of ways
the approach of having just one antivirus software version has become outdated.

2
Only install antivirus software created by a well-known
reputable company.
Because new viruses erupt daily
it is important that you regularly update your antivirus software
3
Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or files no matter from where they originate.

4
Exercise caution when opening binary
Word
or Excel documents of unknown sources especially if they were received during an online chat or as an attachment to an email.

5
Perform regular backups in case your system is corrupted. It may be the only way to recover your data if infected.

(c) 2007 Zunio.com

1
It Doesn't Crash

Linux has been time-proven to be a reliable operating system. Although the desktop is not a new place for Linux
most Linux-based systems have been used as servers and embedded systems. High-visibility Web sites such as Google use Linux-based systems
but you also can find Linux inside the TiVo set-top box in many livingrooms.

Linux has proved to be so reliable and secure that it is commonly found in dedicated firewall and router systems used by high-profile companies to secure their networks. For more than ten years
it has not been uncommon for Linux systems to run for months or years without needing a single reboot.

2
Viruses Are Few and Far Between

Although it is possible to create a virus to target Linux systems
the design of the system itself makes it very difficult to become infected. A single user could cause local damage to his or her files by running a virus on his or her system; however
this would be an isolated instance rather than something could spread out of control.

In addition
virtually all Linux vendors offer free on-line security updates. The general philosophy of the Linux community has been to address possible security issues before they become a problem rather than hoping the susceptibility will go unnoticed.

3
Virtually Hardware-Independent

Linux was designed and written to be easily portable to different hardware. For the desktop user
this means that Linux has been and likely always will be the first operating system to take advantage of advances in hardware technology such as AMD's 64-bit processor chips.

4
Freedom of Choice

Linux offers freedom of choice as far as which manufacturer you purchase the software from as well as which application programs you wish to use. Being able to pick the manufacturer means you have a real choice as far as type of support you receive. Being open-source software
new manufacturers can enter the market to address customer needs.

Choice of application programs means that you can select the tools that best address your needs. For example
three popular word processors are available. All three are free and interoperate with Microsoft Word
but each offers unique advantages and disadvantages. The same is true of Web browsers.

5
Standards

Linux itself and many common applications follow open standards. This means an update on one system will not make other systems obsolete.

6
Applications
Applications
Applications

Each Linux distribution comes with hundreds and possibly thousands of application programs included. This alone can save you thousands of dollars for each desktop system you configure. Although this is a very small subset
consider that the OpenOffice.org office suite is included as well as the GIMP
a program similar to (and many people say more capable than Adobe Photoshop); Scribus
a document layout program similar to Quark Xpress; Evolution
an e-mail system equivalent to Microsoft's Outlook Express; and hundreds more.

For the more technically inclined
development tools
such as compilers for the C
C++
Ada
Fortran
Pascal and other languages
are included as well as Perl
PHP and Python interpreters. Editors and versioning tools also are included in this category.

Whether you are looking for Instant Messaging clients
backup tools or Web site development packages
they likely are all included within your base Linux distribution.

7
Interoperability

More and more computers are being connected to networks. No system would be complete if it did not include tools to allow it to interoperate with computers running other operating systems. Once again
Linux is very strong in this area.

Linux includes Samba
software that allows Linux to act as a client on a Microsoft Windows-based network. In fact
Samba includes server facilities such that you could run a Linux system as the server for a group of Linux and Windows-based client systems.

In addition
Linux includes software to network with Apple networks and Novell's Netware. NFS
the networking technology developed on UNIX systems also is included.

8
It's a Community Relationship
Not a Customer Relationship

Other operating systems are the products of single vendors. Linux
on the other hand
is openly developed
and this technology is shared among vendors. This means you become part of a community rather than a customer of a single manufacturer. Also
the supplier community easily can adjust to the needs of various user communities rather than spouting a "one size fits all" philosophy.

This means you can select a Linux vendor that appears to best address your needs and feel confident that you could switch vendors at a later time without losing your investment--both in terms of costs and learning.

9
It's Not How Big Your Processor Is...

Because of a combination of the internal design of Linux and development contributions from a diverse community
Linux tends to be more frugal in the use of computer resources. This may manifest itself in a single desktop system running faster with Linux than with another operating system
but the advantages go far beyond that. It is possible
for example
to configure a single Linux system to act as a terminal server and then use outdated hardware as what are called thin clients.

This server/thin client configuration makes it possible for older
less powerful hardware to share the resources of a single powerful system thus extending the life of older machines.

10
Linux Is Configurable

Linux is a true multi-user operating system. Each user can have his or her own individual configuration all on one computer. This includes the look of the desktop
what icons are displayed
what programs are started automatically when the user logs in and even what language the desktop is in.

And lastly no Bill schmendrick character telling you what you can and cannot do.