As a result of the mounting fear over personal data loss some Nervous Nelly’s can have Norton AntiVirus, Ad-Adaware, Spybot Search & destory, Windows Defender, and Windows Firewall. Is this too much or is this a case of being better safe than sorry?

The answer to this question really depends. If users have all of these running at all times, this really is too much. If you have more than one antivirus program running at the same time and or more than one firewall it is quite likely that your system performance will be severely impacted. In addition, having multiple AV programs which are in effect performing the same function possibly at the same time can result in conflicts. The end result is that instead of providing superior protection, your system can be left unduly compromised.

If we consider that an antivirus program checks every file opened or downloaded for malware and that a good firewall controls what comes into and out of your computer over a network, under most situations, the advice I would offer is to have a security suite providing anti-virus capability along with a firewall OR (not AND) two security programs which are always active and running in the background: an anti-virus program and a firewall.

It is a good idea to supplement these with an on-demand malware scanner. On demand Malware scanners are similar to antivirus programs however instead of operating in the background they run when the user chooses to execute or run the application or program.

To summarize most users will be sufficiently protected by having and using the following:

  • An anti-virus program
  • A firewall
  • An on demand Malware scanner

Going a step further, the number of options available can be daunting so users could consider the following freeware:

  • Anti-virus program:

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 2011 provides core protection and keeps tough online threats out.

  • Firewall:

 ZoneAlarm Free Firewall is an excellent inbound/outbound OS firewall solution suited for users of every level of experience.

  • On demand Malware scanner

SUPERAntiSpyware  provides quick, complete and custom scanning for the detection and removal of spyware, adware, malware, Trojans etc