Programs You Should Run To Keep Your PC Safe

*** Note - this is advice for Home Computers ***

Customers frequently ask us what tools we recommend to keep their PC safe. Here's our recommended list for home computers - all the tools have free versions (at least for home use) and in our opinion are better than other offerings in the space, which pretty much removes any good argument not to use them:

Anti-Virus

Yes you need an anti-virus tool - our first pick for home use is AVG Free Edition which is free for non-commercial home use - you can download version 9 here.

AVG Free is effective, but light weight so your computer still has some capacity to do the stuff you ask it to.

* A word of warning - computers run really badly with two anti-virus products installed, so if you are going to use AVG make sure you uninstall whatever you are currently running first.

Anti-Spyware

Having a dedicated piece of Anti-spyware is a good choice. Anti-virus and anti-spyware are different jobs, and combined tools don't do the job as effectively as dedicated pieces of software.

In our opinon the best tool in the space is malware bytes. There is a version you can pay for, but the free one is perfectly adequate. You can get both versions at the malware bytes web site.

A Better Browser

Your choice of web browser can make a substantial difference to the security of your PC. If you go with the mainstream choice (like Internet Explorer) you will be using the most widely targeted piece of software around. However, if you go too far from the mainstream (for example Chrome) you may find that websites don't work properly.

In our opinion the stand out product in the space is Mozilla Firefox. Needless to say it is free. It's also the second most widely used browser after Internet Explorer, so you aren't wandering too far from the mainstream.

You can download Firefox from the Mozilla website.

Internet Filtering

We think the best product in the space isn't actually a product - it's a service - Open DNS. The Open DNS project is designed to use the power of collaboration to identify potentially dangerous and offensive content on the Internet.

By configuring your PC to use the Open DNS servers you can then use their categorisation system to help keep your PC safe, and better, keep young eyes away from inappropriate content. Our blog post on Open DNS explains how it works in a little more detail and how to configure your system.

There is one other thing you should do to keep your PC safe. Backups - no one likes to hear it, but they are really important.

Backups can be approached in two ways - files only, or complete system backup. We will talk some more about these in the near future.

Green Light IT scores 100% Customer Satisfaction Again

For quarter 4 2009 Green Light IT has once again achieved a 100% Satisfaction rating with our home service customers.

Between the first of October and the thirty first of December 2009 home service customers once again gave us a 100% satisfaction rating through our after service survey process.

Here's what some of our customers had to say about Green Light IT Home Services between October and December:

"The service and follow up contact and explanation was excellent. I would have no hesitation in going back to Green Light IT and recommending the business to others based on my experience" - Heather, Weston.

"Helpful service, prompt and clear. Will certainly recommend to others." - Luca, Richardson.

"Pickup up and drop off feature is a real plus." - William, Greenway.

"It's about time somebody provided this service." - Norman, Evatt.

"The time for pick ups in the early evening is really convenient and the next day turnaround is brilliant." - Justine, Bonython.

"I was very pleasantly surprised at the friendly and professional service and that everything was explained to me simply and clearly." - Kaye, Scullin.

Needless to say we are always pleased to hear that we are keeping our customers happy.

Green Light IT Home Services Surveys are sent to every Home Services customer. Customers are able to comment anonymously (if they wish) on our services. Our return rate is approximately 50%. Names and addresses have been changed to protect privacy but comments are faithful reproductions of customer comments.