T2W Trading Community

My last article, the Hardware Guide, covered the basic requirements for a capable, reliable hardware setup to trade the markets effectively. Some of you may also be aware of my Techies Corner Guide, which provides some basic information about PC security, and links to a variety of downloadable programs and tests to use for the security-conscious amongst us. Some of the information in both may be duplicated here, but this article brings everything together as a "one-stop shop", and provides a valuable reference point for future use.

There are many problems that we, as internet-intensive users can come across during our daily work. Most of us use ADSL connections, and whilst this type of connection is more often than not essential for our business, it also exposes us to the not-so-friendly side of the internet.

Some of the common problems you will no doubt have encountered will include:

• Viruses
• Spyware
• Trojan Horses
• Firewall attacks
• Spoof websites

If you aren't familiar with all of the above items, you should be. As traders, we cannot afford to show any complacency when dealing with these malicious individuals who write and develop such programs - cut them off at the knees, or better still, don't give them a chance in the first place.

Viruses

Most people (if not everyone) ought to be familiar with viruses. Put simply, a virus is any program which self-replicates and spreads by placing copies of itself into other computer code or documents/programs. Some viruses are harmless, whilst others can destroy your system, delete files, and disable hardware. In short, if you find them on your system, get rid of them.

There are plenty of anti-virus (AV) programs around, as you are no doubt aware. Many are free, others involve an annual fee. Some of the most popular free ones, available for download by either free registration or just a straight link, are listed below. Some products are standalone, and require download, others are accessible through a web interface. However, if you're a Windows XP user, XP monitors your AV product by default and will constantly remind you that either a) you don't have one installed or b) the virus definitions are out of date. You can turn this function off if required by accessing Start -- Control Panel -- Security Centre.

Its worth finding out how effective your proposed or current AV solution is. There are a number of reports frequently published on the web which test the more popular solutions on a variety of platforms and show results. Two good examples are Virus Bulletin and About.

Free AV Programs (standalone)

• Avast! Anti Virus
• AVG 7.0 Anti-Virus
• AntiVir

Free AV Scanners (web based)

• McAfee Freescan
• RAV AntiVirus

If you opt for a standalone version (the best choice, in my opinion), make sure you either update it regularly yourself, or configure the program to check for updates once a day. I say that standalone is best because some AV programs will actively scan the PC the whole time, even if you have not asked it to manually scan for viruses. Avast! is one such program which has in the past alerted me to a problem before I had run a manual scan.

You should only run one AV product on your PC. More often than not, AV products will use the same files and resources as one another, and trying to get two to work concurrently can cause problems - so keep it simple.