Free Internet Security Software  (Tested Sample Configurations)

F R E E

Below are the current free internet security software products that we are running on our primary test system.
(Other combinations that we have tested will be presented soon.)

Firewall : Zone Alarm Free Version (Our hands down free favorite.) The test computer has an always-on broadband connection but is behind a dedicated hardware firewall so Zone Alarm is not as exposed as it might be in some cases. If you are running XP, remember to turn off the Windows Firewall when adding a software firewall.

Antispyware/Antiadware : Spybot Search and Destroy (in advanced mode), Spyware Guard, Spyware Blaster and Microsoft Windows Defender We rarely use just one antispyware product especially when using freeware. (We also had Spy Sweeper and Pest Patrol trials running along with all of these for a couple of weeks. Was overkill but wanted to test a specific issue.)

Antivirus: AVG (as primary antivirus) and Cyberhawk (intended to be used along with your primary antivirus). We have also used Comodo with this basic configuration but we did not try it with Cyberhawk (should work fine though).

Antispamware: eXpurgate (This took quite awhile to configure correctly. This was in part due to a missed step. A repeat setup would be much easier now. Sent mail has failed a couple of times.) Also have used Spamihilator and xTerminator with this configuration.

Other: AOL Active Security Monitor (A great addition!) and VisualZone (to give more details about Zone Alarm events and actions).

Links to all of the above mentioned free products can be found on their respective Free Internet Security Software page which you can easily get to by using the navigation bar below.

You must remember that your results may differ from ours. Your system may run slower or even crash (unlikely) with any given product combination based on many factors including: hardware setup, version of Windows, browser used, existing software, sequence products are added, and many other factors. Always backup any important files before making major changes and create a restore point (if this feature is supported). Also run your system for a few days after adding each product (before adding another) to make sure it is stable.

Good luck and please let us know how this or any other free combination works for you. We will be adding a "configuration comment" page and would love to share your results with our visitors. We will gladly credit you by including your first name and last initial (if you provide them.) In addition please let us know if you have problems with these free products when used with any purchased or preinstalled software and we will also try to pass this information along.

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