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Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of free software because I routinely recommend the use of freeware whenever possible to accomplish whatever the task at hand may be.
But as you probably also know there can be hidden dangers lurking behind the scenes every time you install a piece of free software.
The dangers range all the way from the installation of unwanted add-on software to installing viruses and other forms of malware right along with the programs themselves.
I’m often asked if free antivirus apps are as effective at protecting a Windows PC from virus infections as their “paid” counterparts.
And I must say, that’s an excellent question.
Back in the early days of home computing my answer would have been no because the free antivirus programs available at the time were indeed inferior to the commercial programs.
But that has changed over the years…
Has your computer started acting weird all of a sudden? For example…
Do web pages take forever to load or are you getting pop-ups every time you breathe?
Is your web browser covered in toolbars?
Has your home page or default search engine been mysteriously changed without your permission?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, your PC is probably infected with malware. [Read more…]
As you probably know, malware infections can cause all kinds of strange problems on Windows PCs.
That’s why if your computer starts acting strange all of a sudden it could very well be infected with a virus or some other form of malware.
Most malware infections can be removed by first running a thorough series of scans with the free tools mentioned in this post, but there are some strains of malware that might need to be removed by an experienced computer tech.
I recommend that you always run your own malware scans (if it’s possible to do so) before you take your PC to a repair shop for ANY type of service or repair, even if you don’t believe the issue is malware-related.
There are billions of websites on the Internet, and unfortunately a great number of them are malicious in some way or another.
If you happen to load a malicious web page into your web browser, bad things can happen in a hurry due to malware and other nasties being downloading onto your computer.
Luckily, it’s possible to avoid landing on a dangerous site by simply being careful about the links you click, but there’s always a chance that it will still happen some day regardless of how careful you are. [Read more…]