Free Microsoft Tools to Help Your Computer
With the almost daily barrage of news about computer viruses, hacker attacks and other malicious intrusions, it is no wonder that people find computer security a daunting, almost intimidating venture. There are so many sources coming at you from all directions, that it is hard to know what is important (do it as soon as you can), and what should be considered urgent (do it yesterday).
The other thing that amazes me is the seemingly endless supply of people who want to **sell** you the same tools you can get for free on the Internet – good tools at that - to allow you to clean up your computer and keep it safe. Walk into Best Buy (or CompUSA, or Circuit City...) and there is always some "expert" waiting there to tell you that the ONLY thing that will help your poor computer is the $159 suite of tools on their software rack. I am not dissin' the hard working college kids that work there - I am simply saying that these folks are typically not "experts," and usually only know enough to parrot what they have been told by the person who trained them. One of my hobbies, after all, is to hang out in computer stores and eaves-drop on the conversations that these people have with customers. It is amazing the amount of hyperbole and B.S. that these kids spew out in order to make a sale.
Having said that, I can now tell you the good news – there are a lot of tools available for free. Microsoft has really done a good job of improving information about security updates for their software. Not only that, but they are making a wide variety of tools available for free as well. Now you can get all sorts of things from them that will help you to eradicate spyware, remove malicious software, tune up your hard drive, provide phishing filters, and even find out about the latest patches and updates.
Windows Live Safety Center (Beta):
This one is a free online suite of tools for checking for and removing viruses, cleaning out your disk drive and registry, both of which will help improve your PC’s overall performance.
Malicious Software Removal Tool:
This is also an online tool that scans your computer for a variety of malicious software. If any are detected, it allows you to select the right tool to remove the specific malware that it caught.
Windows Defender:
Still in Beta, this utility catches and removes a wide variety of spyware. Windows Defender evolved from Microsoft Antispyware Beta, a tool that Microsoft bought from Giant Software. In my own testing, this one got rid of spyware that AdAware and Spybot S&D weren’t able to. Both of the others found the spyware but couldn’t clean it off whereas the Microsoft product did.
Microsoft Security Bulletins Summaries and Webcasts:
Find out about the latest patches here. If you are extremely curious (or it is your job, as in my case) you can sign up for and attend free monthly webcasts that discuss the implications of the patches being released on “Patch Tuesday” each month. You can even sign up to get advance notification.
Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 3):
This is the next version of the Microsoft browser. This version (also available standard in Windows Vista) will include phishing filters, malicious web site warnings, RSS feed viewer, and tabbed browsing. I will caution you though – it is unlike your current version of Internet Explorer in every way. IE7 has a completely different look and feel. Don’t install this unless you are willing to take the time to learn this new browser, however.
So before you go out and spend a ton of money at Best Buy, because some pimply kid tells you that you can’t live without their $79 antispyware package, give some of these free tools a try. I guess what I am telling you is that you don't need to become a computer geek to be informed - you just have to know how to read - the sources above are a good place to start. You will find many of these tools embedded in the new version of Windows (Windows Vista) due out in 2007, but can take advantage of many of them now.
For more computer stuff, see my main web site!
The other thing that amazes me is the seemingly endless supply of people who want to **sell** you the same tools you can get for free on the Internet – good tools at that - to allow you to clean up your computer and keep it safe. Walk into Best Buy (or CompUSA, or Circuit City...) and there is always some "expert" waiting there to tell you that the ONLY thing that will help your poor computer is the $159 suite of tools on their software rack. I am not dissin' the hard working college kids that work there - I am simply saying that these folks are typically not "experts," and usually only know enough to parrot what they have been told by the person who trained them. One of my hobbies, after all, is to hang out in computer stores and eaves-drop on the conversations that these people have with customers. It is amazing the amount of hyperbole and B.S. that these kids spew out in order to make a sale.
Having said that, I can now tell you the good news – there are a lot of tools available for free. Microsoft has really done a good job of improving information about security updates for their software. Not only that, but they are making a wide variety of tools available for free as well. Now you can get all sorts of things from them that will help you to eradicate spyware, remove malicious software, tune up your hard drive, provide phishing filters, and even find out about the latest patches and updates.
Windows Live Safety Center (Beta):
This one is a free online suite of tools for checking for and removing viruses, cleaning out your disk drive and registry, both of which will help improve your PC’s overall performance.
Malicious Software Removal Tool:
This is also an online tool that scans your computer for a variety of malicious software. If any are detected, it allows you to select the right tool to remove the specific malware that it caught.
Windows Defender:
Still in Beta, this utility catches and removes a wide variety of spyware. Windows Defender evolved from Microsoft Antispyware Beta, a tool that Microsoft bought from Giant Software. In my own testing, this one got rid of spyware that AdAware and Spybot S&D weren’t able to. Both of the others found the spyware but couldn’t clean it off whereas the Microsoft product did.
Microsoft Security Bulletins Summaries and Webcasts:
Find out about the latest patches here. If you are extremely curious (or it is your job, as in my case) you can sign up for and attend free monthly webcasts that discuss the implications of the patches being released on “Patch Tuesday” each month. You can even sign up to get advance notification.
Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 3):
This is the next version of the Microsoft browser. This version (also available standard in Windows Vista) will include phishing filters, malicious web site warnings, RSS feed viewer, and tabbed browsing. I will caution you though – it is unlike your current version of Internet Explorer in every way. IE7 has a completely different look and feel. Don’t install this unless you are willing to take the time to learn this new browser, however.
So before you go out and spend a ton of money at Best Buy, because some pimply kid tells you that you can’t live without their $79 antispyware package, give some of these free tools a try. I guess what I am telling you is that you don't need to become a computer geek to be informed - you just have to know how to read - the sources above are a good place to start. You will find many of these tools embedded in the new version of Windows (Windows Vista) due out in 2007, but can take advantage of many of them now.
For more computer stuff, see my main web site!
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