7 Must-Have Free Software To Protect Your Laptop

Traditional computer security measures are not enough to protect your laptop and netbook. You have to pay attention on various laptop related security risks such as insecure public wireless network, laptop theft, laptop search, about which you don't worry with your desktop computer. Whether your laptop is stolen or not, your privacy can still be at risk by simply traveling with your laptop. The Homeland Security Department and other authority can search your laptop to look for evidences on any illegal activity and illicit materials stored on your laptop such as unlicensed songs, movies, software or unlawful images of children. However, good laptop security does not necessarily cost you money. Here are 7 easy-to-use, useful and free software that can help you protect your laptop, your sensitive data and your privacy.

1. Encryption - TrueCrypt is a trustworthy encryption program that can protect your data against unauthorized access. www.truecrypt.org

2. Backup - Cobian Backup is a backup program that can protect your data against loss. www.cobiansoft.com. An alternative is Mozy free edition, which is an online backup software with 2 Gbytes space. www.mozy.com

3. Antivirus - AVG free edition provides protection against viruses, spyware and other malware. http://free.avg.com/ww-en/download-free.

4. Firewall - The built-in Windows firewall can protect your laptop against hackers while you're online. (but make sure it is configured properly)

5. Alarm - LAlarm is like a car alarm for your laptop. The software can help prevent your laptop from theft, and can also recover and destroy your data in the laptop in case of theft. www.lalarm.com

6. Tracking - Prey is laptop tracking software that can locate your laptop if it is stolen. www.preyproject.com

7. File shredder - Eraser is a data sanitizing program that can permanently delete sensitive data such as passwords, Internet browse history, personal information from your laptop. http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Eraser

Thank you to Eric Lo for sending in this tech tip.

With the release of Windows 7, there are things to know before taking the plunge and making the switch.  Here are some important points to understand before attempting a Windows 7 upgrade:

• If you have Windows XP, you do not have to upgrade to Windows Vista first.
• Unfortunately, when you do upgrade to Windows 7 from XP, you have to do a clean installation.  After the installation is over, you will need to restore backed up data, settings, and reinstall applications separately.
• Your systems' requirements for the upgrade are as follows:
  • 1Ghz or faster 32 bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1GB of RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB of RAM (64 bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32 bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  •  DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• If you want to know if your system can handle Windows 7, go to this web page and download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

Follow the instructions on this page to download and run the advisor.

• As a precaution, you should create a complete disk image of your computer so that you can switch back to XP if you need to without too much trouble.
• To create a complete disk image, you can use the product featured on this web page: http://www.undisker.com/products/undisker/disk-images.html

If you are ready for a Windows 7 upgrade, this information should set you up for success.

Are you looking for free anti-virus software that also offers a firewall?  One of our developers had the same dilemma.  He wrote this little saga about his search.

The hunt started last month when my subscription for the Zonealarm Internet Security suite ended. Though the Zonealarm product is a combination of a full fledged Anti-virus that also offers a firewall plus anti-spyware; it did have some sore points including being a resource hog on my 4 year old laptop, especially when it went into scanning mode. The auto-update feature would slowdown all other applications during the update cycle and would not let him quickly shut it down. So I would sit there twiddling my thumbs for quite a while the machine whirred and did its stuff.

When the time came to renew it, I looked at the options: I could stick with the current one and upgrade to the latest version which promised to be faster and lighter or I could look at other options. Since the older laptop was not my primary machine, I wasn't so keen on spending anything extra on it.

I considered searching for and installing some reliable freeware versions. Googled around and found a lot of options. Most of them were stand alone free antivirus software or free firewalls. Lots of excellent choices to select from, tried & tested and commented on by many , but I wanted to make things even easier on myself. I wanted just one package with both features; Anti-virus that also offers a firewall. This would be a simpler affair, letting me configure and control all settings from a single interface.

A single package would also be smaller and use up less resources. I checked out the reviews on several options and finally settled on a product called Comodo Internet Security, which has a free version for non-commercial use. Apart from the Antivirus + Firewall, it also has an Anti-spyware too. Downloaded it, installed and rebooted and viola! I was all set.

Performance-wise, I have no complaints. It does its job without taking up too much of the system processor time and has enough options and features to let me fine tune it to my requirements. So here I am, a happy man! If you are looking for a similar option, just fire up Google and search around for free Anti-virus that also offers a firewall, do a little bit of research on which one best fits your bill and go ahead with it.

Over time, surfing on the internet you may lead you to download adware.  This article defines what adware is and some instructions on how to remove it.

Adware is software which is supported by advertisements. The advertisements often offset development costs and allow the user to download the software at little or no cost.

Adware will often open advertisement pop-ups and other forms of ads when you are using the software. The most usual adware programs are toolbars that can be downloaded and installed on our desktop or our Web browser.

The most inoffensive of adware simply shows ads in the form of banners or pop-up windows, but adware may also be packaged with other software that has less than respectable intentions.

Adware which carries other applications is known as spyware which may capture keystrokes, erase files, or track sensitive user information.

When downloading a toolbar or other advertising supported software, make sure that it comes from a reputable company. Regardless of who distributes the software, read the terms of use and all other documentation very carefully.

There are many software applications that fight against spyware, some of the well known applications are:

Ad-Aware by Lavasoft

Spyware Terminator

There are also several online sites that have an updated list of all of the toolbars and other software that comes with adware and spyware. It is a good idea to do a little investigation before installing ad based software onto your computer.