You want to be very careful about some of these free and shareware anti-spyware and anti-virus programs. There is some free and shareware software on the internet that is spyware and adware. If you see a popup telling you that you can check your computer for free to check for spyware or viruses don't click on that!
I have become very leery of most free software and shareware. The most recent time I downloaded the free Spybot Search & Destroy I could not get it completely off my computer. Stuff like that makes me very angry and although I still think Spybot Search & Destroy is good software I avoid it now. Plus I really don't think that program and Ad-Aware really offer that much protection anyway. I prefer SpySweeper for an anti-spyware program. I am not even all that certain of the quality of Microsoft's Windows Defender although I guess it is okay as a backup program. If you use Norton Anti-virus or Bit Defender those two programs will shut off Windows Defender anyway.
For free anti-virus programs I don't like AVG as much as I used to. I do like Avast!
I used to use an anti-Trojan program called A- Squared. It found a possible back door in Firefox!
Based on what I have been able to find out these are my recommendations for a person using a Windows Vista computer: There is nothing wrong with the Windows firewall-use it AND a hardware firewall; get a good anti-virus like NOD32; Windows Defender is probably okay as a backup program but get a good quality anti-spyware program like SpySweeper or Spyware Doctor. Aside from Avast! and Ad-Aware the freeware stuff does not impress me anymore. I consider Ad-aware average at best so I really don't believe much in using free stuff. Avast! is probably pretty decent as an anti-virus but I think in the long run you will be more happy with NOD32.
And the thing that people never take into consider is the responsibility of the COMPUTER OWNER! You can have all the defenses in the world and you are probably going to be in trouble if you keep visiting the darker parts of the internet. Porn sites, peer-to-peer file sharing sites, pirated software sites, and sites where the bad guys like to hang out (we should not call them 'hackers'-that was once a term of respect), are all just trouble waiting to happen. Don't believe it? Well, keep visiting sites like these and see what happens! There is even a Trojan Horse program today that can nail Apple Macintosh owners if they like visiting porn sites!
Too much stuff just blogs down your computer. Use the Windows firewall PLUS a good hardware firewall. Use a good anti-spyware program in addition to Windows Defender. And have a good anti-virus program. Have good passwords. Be careful what you download. You probably should not click on that strange email attachment and you probably don't really need that free butterfly screensaver.
