Malware... what is my best form of protection?

The computer security industry is swarming with hundreds of applications claiming to keep your PC free of spyware. Some of them are great, some are just decent, and some are a plain waste of money, or might harm your PC themselves!

Freedom from spyware and adware,malware Trojans can come free, you just have to know the right tools to do so. I recommend these two anti spyware programs, they are proven and tested to be the best of the best, and they won't even cost you a penny. Become an educated computer user, and keep your PC free from spyware infections with these two programs.

Super-Anti-Spyware (SaS)

Super-Anti-Spyware has quickly shown itself to be one of the best free anti adware programs available. It is known to catch many infections that other programs miss, scans fairly quickly, and is fairly simple to use.

 

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (Mbam)
MalwareBytes is also is great for catching the elusive spyware infections. However, MalwareBytes is not as good as cleaning up smaller things such as tracking cookies. I advise people who use MalwareBytes to use it in conjunction with Super anti-Spyware.

What SaS may miss Mbam will find or vice-visa so I keep both programs on my PCs and update them and run them fortnightly. Note run them one after another not at the same time.

Links to SaS and Mbam  can be found in my free software tools section of my blog.

Running the malware programs with Ccleaner  by Piriform and my antivirus keeps my PC's  100% healthy.

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Disabling Start-up Programs in Windows using Msconfig or Ccleaner

The more software you install on your computer, the longer it may seem to take to start up Windows. Many programs add themselves to the list of programs started when you boot your computer, and that list can get long.

Disabling Start-up Programs in Windows using Msconfig

For some programs, it’s smart to have them start with Windows, such as anti-virus and firewall software. However, for most programs, starting them at boot-up just wastes resources and extends start-up time. There is a tool installed with Windows, called Msconfig, that allows you to quickly and easily see what’s running at start up and disable the programs you prefer to run on our own after start up as needed. This tool is available and can be used to disable start-up programs in Windows XP, Vista, Win7 & Win8
Important Note: MSConfig can be used to configure several things other than just startup programs, so be careful what you do with it. If you’re not sure about using it, just follow the steps in this article and you should be fine.

If you are using Windows XP, open the Run dialog box from the Start menu, type “msconfig.exe” in the Open edit box, and click OK.

If you are using  Vista or Windows 7 click the Start Orb in the menu search box type “msconfig” (without the quotes). As you type, results display. When you see “msconfig.exe,” click on it or press Enter, if it is highlighted.

If you are using Windows 8, just type “msconfig” straight into the metro (start-up screen) and you will see msconfig.exe appear in the  results,  click on it

In XP, Vista and Windows 7 click the Startup tab on the System Configuration main window. A list of all the startup programs displays with a check box next to each one. To prevent a program from starting up with Windows, select the check box next to the desired program so there is NO check mark in the box. Click Apply once you have made your choices.

In Windows 8  clicked on the Startup tab select the link Open task Manager here you will see a list of programs however no check box. Under status you can see whether the program is disabled or enabled. to change whether the program starts up or not right click on the program in question and click disable if its enabled  or vice versa.

In XP, Vista and Windows 7 To prevent a program from starting up with Windows, select the check box next to the desired program after unchecking a program box you will have to select apply and a dialog box  will display telling you that you may need to restart your computer for the changes to take affect. Click Restart to restart your computer immediately. If are not ready to restart your computer, click Exit without restart.

 Disabling Start-up Programs in Windows using Ccleaner

The free PC-cleaning utility CCleaner also has a tool that allows you to disable startup programs. In CCleaner, click the Tools button on the left side of the dialog box and click Startup to see the list of startup programs. The Enabled column indicates whether each program is set to start with Windows. To disable a program that is enabled, select the program in the list and click Disable. You can also enable programs that have been disabled.