Here is a list of some useful tools that help keep your computer safe and running clean and smooth.

• Adaware - http://www.lavasoft.de
  Ad-aware Standard Edition is THE award winning, free, multicomponent detection and removal utility that consistently leads the industry in safety, user satisfaction, support and reliability.
  With its ability to comprehensively scan your memory, registry, hard, removable and optical drives for known datamining, aggressive advertising, and tracking components, Ad-aware will provide the user with the confidence to surf the Internet knowing that their privacy will remain intact. Let Ad-aware protect your privacy.
• Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org
  Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if your browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too
• HiJackThis - http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/
  HijackThis is a tool, that lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, starup items and allows you to inspect them, and optionally remove selected items. The program can create a backup of your original settings and also ignore selected items. Additional features include a simple list of all startup items, default start page, online updates and more.
• Zone Alarm Firewall - http://www.zonelabs.com
  Zone Labs is the leader in personal and distributed firewall technology trusted on over 20 million PCs.
  Our proven firewall technology protects your identity by keeping hackers away from your passwords, account numbers, and valuable data.
  Our advanced privacy solutions stops Web sites from following you online and stops annoying pop-ups.
  We build software that everyone can use. Novices can protect their computers immediately. Advanced users can personalize their privacy protection.
  Zone Labs continues to win its share of industry awards. These are products you can trust!
• Visual Zone (Zone Alarm add-on) - http://www.visualizesoftware.com/
  Although truly one of the best software firewalls around, ZoneAlarm does an even worse job of gathering and displaying information about attacks than BlackICE.
  Meet VisualZone: the end to all your questions! The information that is collected during the intrusion is complemented by all the information ZoneAlarm missed. And ZoneAlarm misses a lot! But don't worry, VisualZone finds all available information you're looking for.
• Kerio Personal Firewall - http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html
  Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) helps users control how their computers exchange data with other computers on the Internet or local network. Within an organization, Kerio Personal Firewall prevents a single computer from attacks initiated by internal users. Remote workstations and laptops running KPF are protected from Internet born attacks.
• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer v1.1.1 -
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/cc184924.aspx
  Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is an easy-to-use tool designed for the IT professional that helps small- and medium-sized businesses determine their security state in accordance with Microsoft security recommendations and offers specific remediation guidance. Improve your security management process by using MBSA to detect common security misconfigurations and missing security updates on your computer systems.
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