Mobile and Secure.Com

I’m often asked what security software I use on my Windows XP laptop so I‘ve compiled a quick list below. Everything I use is free.

Software Firewall

The first step in securing your laptop is to install a decent software firewall. If you are connecting to various networks, wired or wireless, it’s not a good idea to just hope that the network you are connecting to is secure, you need to protect your laptop and your data.

Windows XP SP2 comes with its own software Firewall, and although I have used it when nothing else is available, I do not use it on my own laptop. I prefer a software firewall that offers more control, blocks everything from the start, and learns what software I wish to allow access to the internet, either temporarily, or always.

I previously used ZoneAlarm, but over time it became bloatware and developed an annoying feature - if you were idle for some time, it would block all internet traffic. The only way to access the internet again was to disable ZoneAlarm or to reboot your computer.

After trying out several alternative software firewalls, I came across Comodo Firewall Pro and I‘ve stuck with it ever since.

Anti-Virus

After your software firewall is up and running, next you need a good anti-virus solution. I use AVG Free Edition from Grisoft. I have it updating daily (manually) so that I always have the latest definitions loaded.

Anti-malware

Next you need a good anti-malware solution. Something that will remove spyware, ad-aware, browser hijackers, web diallers, and other types of malicious software that is not necessarily detected by your anti-virus solution.

I use Spybot Search and Destroy as my anti-spyware tool of choice. I search for updates, immunise, and run a complete system scan once a week.

Web browser 

For surfing I use the Firefox browser with the NoScript plug-in. This allows you to control what scripts run on any web site you visit. For instance you can allow scripts that run a feature of a web site you want to access, but block scripts that server you adverts.