I’m always on the lookout for “review” articles that pit the best products in a category against each other. I recently stumbled upon the Best Security Suites for 2009 at PCMag.com.
*UPDATE* There is also a Best Security Suites for 2010 in the works.
A number of folks have asked me lately what I considered the best “Antivirus Security Suite” for their computer. Trust me when I say the discussion around security software can get quite long (just read the review… haha!), technical, and boring. Also, trust me when I say that computer viruses aren’t the only thing threatening your computers and your online experience. Probably the best piece of advice I can give anyone asking about antivirus software for their machine is a phrase I heard awhile back: “Defense in Depth.”
The second best piece of advice I can give you is to watch how your security software is licensed – some vendors allow multiple installations with 1 user license! This makes it pretty cost-effective to maintain your home computers or small office!
“Defense in Depth” is the idea that you should have multiple layers of protection on your machine, not just antivirus software. One easy way for a home computer user (or even a Small Business user) to achieve a sensible level of protection is by using a “Security Suite,” rather than simply an “Antivirus” program. The Security Suites generally contain a software-based firewall, anti-spam, anti-phishing, and sometimes backup protection in addition to anti-virus protection. They sit quietly in the background on your computer, and generally only warn you when something goes wrong or is potentially problematic.
For the benefit of all, I’ve compiled my favorites into a Desktop Security Suites Amazon A-Store to make it easy to find them. I also have links to them with some descriptions on my vendors page. If you have any additional questions about Desktop Security Suites, phishing, viruses, spam, etc., feel free to Contact Me.
Related posts:
- Microsoft Security Essentials – A Free Supplement To Your Microsoft Patch Security Scheme
- 10 Behaviors of Highly-Effective Small Business Technology (Part 1)
- Blackberry Desktop Manager for Mac
- Manage your Macs: Client Management for Apple Hardware
- Windows 7 Reviews: Sneak Peaks, Tests, and Benchmarks
[...] While I’ve provided more information on my favorites before (in my previous post Not Just Antivirus, and on the MW2ML Vendors Page), I wanted to let you all know of a newly released free desktop [...]