PC Software Guide

I wrote this PC software guide more for myself than anything else to be honest. There is so much confusion when you go to buy the many different types of software, that I just needed to understand what I really needed, what I didn't need and what would the nice to haves.

It was an even bigger minefield than I had first thought but I think I have now hot my head around most of it and wanted to share this basic knowledge to help everyone else.

If your laptop, desktop or any type of PC is connected to the Internet then you will want to make sure that the information you have on there is kept safe. This is especially true if you use it for online shopping and banking. Initially I am going to look at these and then at the other options for PC software.

There are three main types of virus that you will want to protect yourself against. These are:

• Spyware - this virus collects information about PC users without their knowledge
• Trojan - a virus that pretends it is a real program
• Phishing - scam websites which trick you into entering personal details like your passwords

Those are the three main types of attack that any PC user in the world may be prone to from pathetic people better known as hackers. They are basically thieves but the online version.

If you buy and install an antivirus software, this software then scans your PC and removes any spyware and trojan attacks. In addition to this all Internet Security Software has something called a firewall which protects against phishing.

Most good PC security software will also have some type of back-up and recovery software should your PC ever crash, and then you will be able to restore it to health.

There are quite a number on the market but the three main players are:

• Norton
• McAfee
• Kaspersky

Prices for these range from around £40-60 ($60-$100) and usually offer a year's protection. As new viruses are made most of these PC software packages update to prevent them whenever you go online.

My advice is that if you are going to do this and you should go for a software that does all of the above. The price difference is small. You could pay $70 for Spyware and Phishing whereas $100 protects everything and gives you back-up and peace of mind.

At one stage or another with different PCs I have used them all and they more or less do the same job. Now that you know what you are up against at least you know what protection you need.

Watch out for this though!! When you buy always check the number of users it will protect. Most are sold as a single user and if you have more than one PC in your home or business then you will need to buy one that has more users. They often forget to tell you this when you are buying it, so watch out.

I had to include this one. I know many people say there are some great alternatives out there and that is somewhat true. However by far this remains the most commonly used and it is a standard in industry. I use it everyday in work and the new 2010 version is amazing. I use Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Onenote every single day and I can find nothing to complain about, other than the price.

Then when you consider the price and the value for money and the use I get out of it, I believe the price is fair until you add Outlook and then for me it become silly. It can jump by $200 just to have Outlook added but again that is almost a standard in the business world.

Google docs have a great free set of editing tools and you can access all your information everywhere and I do use those for my personal stuff. I like these also but when it comes to business I have not made that switch yet. The Open Office also has a great set of products but for me it is about compatibility, and Microsoft just doesn't have that issue.