In the booming tech-sphere, online security has become more important than ever – for the SMB, sole proprietorship and large corporation. Hackers are getting more sophisticated at finding ways to compromise your information architecture, which has paved the way for more powerful measures to stop them. These services are being extended even to the individual, as viruses slow down your computer and cause inopportune shut-downs, compromising and losing data.
There are many outfits that have risen to meet the challenge. From the powerful newbies, to the tried-and-true industry stalwarts, you have a plethora of options from which to choose. These companies and products will produce a full financial crime investigation, if need be. But if you want any guarantees, then it’s best to side with history and proven techniques:
- Symantec – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that acquired Norton in the 1990s, Symantec has a hand in it all: Norton AntiVirus suite for both Windows operating systems and the Mac, Internet Security suite to protect you while your browser is connected online, relatively new developments specifically for the mobile revolution, and much more. For the larger business, they have multiple kinds of enterprise security software to protect your entire department. Their software offerings have variable levels of aggressiveness when going after attacks – you pay more for those, of course.
- Trend Micro offers free virus scanners – just like Microsoft does with its Security Essentials software – but if you’re an SMB or corporation, you’ll want something from their considerably more robust suite of paid tools. Their affordable Titanium Antivirus software of 2013 is very much in-line with the current transition to the cloud. It leaves a very small imprint on your computer’s resources – just check the Task Manager to see – because it operates mostly from Trend Micro’s own cloud servers. Ease of use and functionality make it a viable online security option.
- McAfee – despite the founder’s recent troubles in Belize, the online security company he founded is still going very strong, and perennially makes the list of top companies. It maintains its inclusion in this selective club because of the email security, firewall protection, and other aspects of online security offered to individuals, small or medium-sized businesses and giant companies. One of the very first software protection suites to be offered on a shared-business model, McAfee is often bundled with other crucial downloads as an optional download, itself.
- Avira – for safe surfing without too many bells-and-whistles, Avira’s Antivirus Premium suite of 2013 is a winner against malware. It can be used on Windows and Macs with full confidence, and offers the free version of its software – with an option to pay for upgrades and more features. Easy to install and with a user-friendly interface, Avira looks to be in it for the long haul.
- Kaspersky – easily one of the most powerful virus-terminators out there, Kaspersky performs admirably even against the dreaded rootkit. These viruses affect your computer at the root level, rewriting programs and changing code to hide their existence. The price tends to reflect its robustness, but Kaspersky gets the job completely done when it comes to online security.
The above giants are all but guaranteed to safeguard your system from viral attacks and malware; you should also take a look at highly-recommended startups like BitArmor, which was started by a couple of tech school graduates interested in encryption software. A little searching will find companies like these, with reviews of their security products and the attendant success.