The real-world mafia is not only busy in heinous crimes — kidnapping, financial frauds, contract killing — they are behind cybercrimes too! They inject ransomware into our computers and demand ransom in bitcoins. They kill our computers by injecting lethal viruses into it. They spy on us through our computers! Further, adware is unwanted guests that spoil our mood to surf the Internet.
Avi Rubin rightly said that with a growing feeling of computer security, our computers are more susceptible to malware attacks. His exact words are:
People’s computers are not getting more secure. They’re getting more infected with viruses. They’re getting more under the control of malware.
Because of this mafia and bad hackers, the remedy is also there. There is much software meant to detect and destroy viruses, malware, spyware and adware. Out of these “Avast Anti Virus” and “Malwarebytes” are immensely popular with a loyal customer base. However, these are pricey in certain non-Dollar countries. So naturally, a question comes in our mind — can we get rid of malware from our computers free of cost? Fortunately, the answer is — yes, we can do that. Intelligent use of a few freeware (or free editions) and Chrome/Firefox extensions can solve our problem.
The Software Kit
Let us first prepare our software kit to do the job. We have to download three pieces of software. These are Malwarebytes free edition, Adwcleaner and Avast Anti Virus (Free Edition). The basic difference between paid and free Malwarebytes is that the latter does not provide real-time protection, that is protected on the fly. But don’t worry, Avast antivirus and AdGuard browser extension provide real-time protection.
Free malware protection kit
Method
We install Avast free edition and customise various protection shields — mail behaviour, file shield, behaviour shield and web shield. Believe me, this works better than many paid antivirus available in the market. The updating of the database is free of cost.
Now we install Malwarebytes. It does not enable its real-time protection in the free edition. So, we have to run it manually at regular intervals. Like Avast, a database update is free of cost.
We then put Adwcleaner .exe file in a folder and add a shortcut to this file on your desktop or on the toolbar. We then run Adwcleaner directly from this shortcut. It is very effective in catching the thief — the adware. Adwcleaner is free is used to detect adware stored in our computer when we accidentally install free software with doubtful credentials. The updating of the database is free of cost.
Now we add Adguard extension in our browser and are unable to all of its options for the best results. All set. Our net surfing experience is now smooth like butter — no advertisements, no pop-ups, no malware. Adguard has various filters — ad blocking, privacy, social widgets, etc. It has phishing and malware protection, which is very effective. Also, we can set our own rules.
Finally, Installing WOT browser extension marks search results with some indicators (red, green, etc.). It helps us to surf healthy websites only.
The Management
Most of the malware comes into our computers via a browser. So after installing Adguard/WOT, we just plugged that hole. Now, despite this precaution, malware may leach into our system. So we should scan our computer from time to time by using Malwarebytes and Adwcleaner. This way, our computer will remain free of malware without paying a single penny!
We are using this strategy in our office computers successfully, and this is the reason we are sharing our experience through this blog.
PS: Gone were the days when Microsoft Defender was not effective and merely a showpiece on the name of the antivirus. But now, it is very effective with frequent updates. You can now drop Avast free anti-virus software and use the built-in Defender virus protection kit given in Microsoft Windows free of cost. Believe me, it gives good results.
(The author is associated with amiestudycircle.com)
Comments