How to Assemble a Sufficient Computer Protection Package
The Internet is filled with advertising and well-crafted eye-catching techniques to entice or scare you into downloading a free 'virus-scanner' or 'clean-up program.' As tempting and legitimate as these programs may be, you really don't want to download every free computer protection program there is. Here are a few reasons why:
1. You could be downloading a 'privacy' or 'security' program that appears to be necessary for your computer, but it is actually malware or spam. It could actually result in more harm than good.
2. Even if the programs are all legitimate, are recommended by esteemed websites and pc technicians, and do what they say they do, you don't need all of them. Having several programs on your computer that are meant to perform relatively similar tasks (clean up your computer, accelerate your browsing, block pop ups, protect from malware, etc.) will only cause more problems. These programs will simply conflict with one another and not function properly, again possibly causing more harm than good.
3. The majority of downloads like these not only take up storage space on your hard drive, but they are also typically designed to start up as soon as you turn on your computer. If you have multiple programs that must start up and constantly run on your computer, this will take up too much of your system resources and cause the entire computer to run slowly. Many times, a computer technician will look for unnecessary start up programs to remove when their clients are complaining that the computer is too slow.
4. Programs like these usually automatically download updates and upgrades for themselves whenever you are connected to the Internet, which means you are using up your valuable connection speed to update these programs instead of surf the Internet or download other programs you actually want. If these programs are similar, they are most likely downloading the same things, so it's just a waste of time and internet usage altogether.
Look for one, maybe two programs that cover multiple areas of computer clean-up, virus scanning and updates, and try to avoid more programs, especially that cover some of the same tasks. Then, do some background research, find out what others are saying about this product. If it looks legit, and several reputable websites are recommending it, it's probably a good program to use. Lastly, download the program and try it out! If you're not satisfied, be SURE to uninstall it from your computer, and then download another program.
