Absolutely Free Software -
Best Windows Security Freeware

No shareware, no nagware, no adware. Reviewed constantly. Categorized conveniently.

This page is updated regularly. Last update: October 17, 2005.

Free AntiVirus and Security Software

Without the most recent Windows updates, an unsecured PC will become infected within minutes of being on the internet. Amazing, but true.

For home use, don't, don't, don't buy Norton, McAffee, or any other of those so-called "security suites" that you see shrink-wrapped in you local WalMart's electronics section. They are over-priced, bloated, and very often slow down your computer more than many viruses themselves. A typical home user needs exactly three pieces of software to secure their system. Anti-virus, firewall, and anti-spyware. These are all available as freeware applications. If you share a computer, or have particularly sensitive information, take a look at the encryption and secure deletion tools as well.

Free Anti-virus

AVG AVG Antivirus 7.0 Free Edition

Avast Avast!

These are both equally good and differ mainly in their interfaces. Avast! requires you to re-register the software occasionally, I've used AVG for many years and have been more than happy with the product.

http://free.grisoft.com/ (AVG)

http://www.avast.com/

Free Firewall

Kerio Kerio Personal Firewall

ZoneAlarm ZoneAlarm

Everyone knows what a virus is and that you should protect against it, but what is a firewall? A firewall does two things: 1. It blocks intruders trying to access your computer from the internet or a network. 2. It blocks unauthorized programs on your computer from accessing the internet. Okay, you see why the first thing would happen, but why the second?

One very common reason is spammers trying to use your machine as a "zombie pc". If you have a compromised computer, you may be unknowingly sending out thousands of spam emails. This happens invisibly to you with the only symptom being a slow-down of your computer and internet speed. Sound unlikely? Experts estimate that most spam is now generated from compromised computers. Simply put, you need a firewall.

Both Kerio and ZoneAlarm are excellent free firewalls that work on all current Windows versions. Microsoft has also added a firewall to it's latest Windows XP updates which should probably be sufficient (if you're running Windows XP).

http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html

http://www.zonelabs.com/

Free Spyware Remover

MS Antispyware Microsoft Antispyware Beta

Ad-Aware Ad-Aware SE

Spybot-S&D Spybot-S&D

updated! August 30, 2005

Spyware and its even more evil brother, malware, are the most common reasons for computer slow-downs and the number one reasons for people seeking computer repair. Simply put, spyware tracks what you browse on the web and reports this information to advertisers. More malicious forms of spyware actually hijack your browser and deliver advertisements to your computer in the form of pop-ups. If you use the internet, and if you've never checked for it, you almost certainly have spyware.

Where does it come from? Remember that little email joke that your Aunt Petunia sent you? You know, the one where you run a program that shows a dancing kitten showing a greeting card? Bang! You're infected. Or what about that neat utility that shows the weather on your screen? Or that cool screensaver of windmills and waterfalls? All these innocent diversions are potential containers for spyware. Even worse, if you do not have the most recent Windows security updates or have your browser security settings set too low, you can become infected by just browsing certain websites.

Microsoft classes its anti-spyware product as beta, but it is actually the best product out there right now. Also very good are Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Spybot-S&D. You can't go wrong with any of these products. Many people run two or all three. These same people wear both belts and suspenders. No seriously, you do run across infections that are better handled by one product over another.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Free File Encryption

AxCrypt AxCrypt

Very simple to use. Right-click on any file and select "encrypt". To open, double-click and enter password. What could be easier?

http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/

Free Drive Encryption

TrueCrypt TrueCrypt

Outstanding product. Create virtual drives of any size with several different encryption techniques. One very interesting feature is the ability to create a "plausible deniability" drive, so that if you're tortured to reveal the password, you can have a spoof drive with fake data. In case you're worried about being tortured.

http://www.truecrypt.org/

Free Secure File Deletion

Eraser Eraser

Most people know (or should know) that if you delete a file, it's often recoverable with the proper tools. Even if you've written data over the exact spot on your drive where the file formerly existed, there's a good chance that an expert can recover it. Additionally, Windows squirrels temp files all over the place, and there's a good chance that multiple records exist in more than one place. Thus the need for secure file deletion.

Eraser is an excellent product and is probably overkill, but you can be confident it will get the job done as well as possible. It writes over the original file with random data several times, it purges the paging file, temp file, etc. It can also wipe a disk clean or clean out unused space. Short of chopping up your drive with tin snips, this is about as good as it can get.

http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/

Free Password Protector / Password Manager

KeePass KeePass

new! updated October 17, 2005

I know what you do. All those different passwords you need to register for those websites? You use the same one, don't you? Your mom's middle name, right?

It's really hard to keep track of all the passwords and PIN numbers we need today. A password manager saves them all with a master password, so you only have to remember one. Then you can use a different one when registering at that cat-fanciers website.

I used to recommend PINs for this category, and I still believe it's a great piece of software. However, KeePass is open source, meaning that anyone can view its source code to verify that the algorithms that encrypt your data are implemented correctly. For any type of encryption software, this is a big plus.

thanks to Kai Duebbert for the lead!

http://keepass.sourceforge.net/