Internet virus infections are best managed by preventing them from happening in the first place. Proactive measures and educated practices are the best protection against internet parasites. Protect your computer with both an active virus scanner and firewall. Always get the latest updates for windows and the virus protection software in order for the virus protection to work.
We recommend the following free antiviral and firewall software:
- http://free.avg.com – AVG Free
- http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php – Ad-Aware Free
- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx – Windows Defender
- http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ – Online Virus Scanner
- http://www.zonealarm.com – ZoneAlarm Firewall
Recommended Sites of Reading
- http://www.washington.edu/computing/virus.html
- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx
- http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm
Free Encryption Software
Guide to downloading and using FreeOTFE Explorer Encryption Software
Free (List of tools)
Most of the software you need is available for free.
Software Sites
You can search for specific software you want on these sites:
http://download.cnet.com – Download the most popular freeware and shareware programs.
Sourceforge – SourceForge.net is the world’s largest Open Source software development website, with the largest repository of Open Source code and applications available on the Internet.
Internet Browsers
Firefox – Popular alternative browser.
Internet Explorer – From Microsoft.
Opera – Fastest browser.
Image Manipulation
The GIMP – Gnu Image Manipulation Program, on par with Photoshop
Irfanview – Simple to use image editing software!
Multimedia Software
VLC – Great free audio and video player. Plays local or network multimedia files.
Audacity – Audio capture & editing software, available for Windows, Mac, & Linux.
WinAmp – Reliable audio player
Email Software
Outlook Express – Included with older versions of Internet Explorer and new versions of Windows Operating Systems
Mozilla’s Thunderbird – We recommend Thunderbird as an email client.
Software Application
OpenOffice – Popular office suite alternative.
Googledocs – Online office.
Online Tutorials
http://cln.vcn.bc.ca/basicskills1 – Excellent for first time computer users!
http://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials/mouse/page1.html – Learn and practice using the mouse cursor.
http://www.w3schools.com/ – Web design and programming.