Give up on Norton & McAfee

It may surprise you that the first step I take when servicing a computer is to remove any previously installed Norton or McAfee security products. While these may be two of the more popular Antivirus applications, they are far from the best. Norton and McAfee fall short on their promise to protect against harmful viruses, leaving your computer vulnerable to attacks that can cause permanent damage to your data and privacy. Furthermore, these programs may slow your computer's performance and block e-mail and Internet sites you are trying to access. In short, Norton and McAfee fail to catch a great deal of Spyware and Adware, and can't be relied upon as your primary protection source.

The two Antivirus applications I recommend and depend on for my own computers are AVG Antivirus and CA Antivirus. These programs provide the highest level of security while allowing your computer to run at its highest capability and speed. In addition to the products I've mentioned, I also highly suggest staying away from security suites such as Antivirus, Antispyware, Firewall and Antispam. While these may provide an adequate level of protection, they also slow down your computer and could cause further performance problems.

Here is a list of programs I suggest you have installed: CA Antivirus or AVG Antivirus, Ad-Aware SE Antispyware (free), Windows Firewall, Outlook 2003 or 2007 (for junk mail) or CA's Antispam. If you have children who use your computer I also recommend installing Firefox as your web browser. It is much safer than using Internet Explorer.

Every computer I service leaves my shop with these programs installed and they have preformed extremely well. However, the best way to protect your computer is to just watch where you surf. Using caution and common sense and avoid all types of adult and music file sharing sites.