How is Internet Security Different from Everything Else?

When it comes to PC security and the protection of personal information, it's easy to get overwhelmed with the many choices available to users today. Users have choices for antivirus, spyware protection, firewalls, spam blockers, identity guards, privacy tools, etc and it can certainly make you wonder if you really need all these things.

What internet security suites attempt to do is integrate antivirus, firewall, antispyware software, firewalls and other protective features that can work together in providing the ultimate level of protection for PC users and their systems.

Price-wise these suites cost a lot more because of all the functionality they include and the high level of protection they provide, guaranteeing more than only one single product can.

What to Look for in an Internet Security Suite

There are three essential features all internet security suites typically include in their bundles and they are antivirus, anti spyware and a personal firewall, but other security features like browsing protection, parental controls, rootkit detection, spam blocking and identity protection measures are also important to consider.

The more jampacked the suite is with these features the better your system will be protected from intrusion and the least likely you are to become a victim of identity theft.

Common Threats Blocked by Internet Security

1. Adware - adware are small programs used by spammers to popup advertisements based on the user's browsing habits, in many cases the home page of a browser is "highjacked" or changed to that of a commercial site where products or services are offered to the user. Generally easy to remove, adware can potentially cause more serious harm to a PC and should never be allowed to remain on, no matter how harmless it seems.

2. Spyware - spyware are more dangerous. These programs watch user activity particularly what users type in fields on browsers while filling out forms or entering personal information to log into membership sites or online banking sites. The user's name, email, address, social security number, phone numbers and anything else that's entered can be captured by spyware and collected by a server controlled by hackers.

3. Worms - similar to viruses, worms are designed to go undetected, these are vey small pieces of code that append themselves to open ports on PCs. In the same fashion that botnets work, they sit dormant and wait for commands to inject malicious code into a system and cause more severe harm.

4. Viruses and other malware - these come in many different forms, in many cases injected unknowinly by the user and it can be devastating to a PC rendering a system completely useless. In many cases malware can shut down even the best antivirus programs and malware is typically very good at disguising itself to make it difficult to find and remove.

Malware and viruses can be difficult to remove once installed as they make a lot of changes throughout the registry, so the best defence against these types of threats is early detection by employing an internet security suite that can protect a PC from all angles.

Paid Tools vs Free Ones

There are a variety of tools available online for free that offer protection against spyware, viruses and other malware, but there are limitations to using the free versions:

• There are No Guarantees
• No Technical Support Available (only forums)
• Fewer Software Updates
• Limited number of Features
• Not as Reliable due to the lack of continued development