Keep Your PC and Yourself Safe for Free

I'm constantly amazed at the vast number of people who are online without software to keep their PC and even their lives safe. Most are casual users who, I assume, are thinking, "I won't be online that long and, besides, the software is just too expensive for me to buy." What else could they be thinking to take such daring risks online? If a hacker can get your email address and associate it with you, the person can get other information about you. Although many people have switched to high-speed connection or wireless connection, the same things can happen to those people that have happened to those on dial-up. Hackers can find you within seconds of you logging into the Internet.

I must admit that in order to find what you need to stay safe online, you must first be online to find those websites. It's a "catch 22" situation. The manuals that come with your brand new PC do have a small section where the manufacturer tells you about software they suggest but it's always the ones like McAfee and Norton Utilities which will cost you anywhere from about $29 to $50 to have and maintain. Don't get me wrong. Both of these companies have excellent software. They're just too expensive for what I can afford and I bet there are quite a few who are like me. What I use to feel aggravated about was that there should be some decent free software out there somewhere that would suffice my needs. And there was! I just didn't know about it because I didn't know where to look.

You must have been told somewhere along the way that you must have a good anti-virus program before going online. As I mentioned before, both McAfee and Norton Utilities excel in this area. But Grisoft also knows their stuff when it comes to anti-virus software programs and they have a free version for those who need it for their home or their self-employment operation. The AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition virus database updates are available and automatically installed per the scheduled tasks that you have full control over. You just need to be online at the time you scheduled the program to start its download. If you can't be online at that time, just manually start it the next time you are online.