Stay safe in a virus-ridden world

Today, who dares work and go online without the protection of a set of security tools?

You can do it of course — if you don’t use a computer at all in your work. But the moment you climb into the Internet, there is no choice. A strong security application is just as essential to using a computer as its operating system.

Of course, those who use operating systems such as Linux and Mac OS may not need an anti-virus as badly as those who run Microsoft Windows. That is because the majority of the personal computers in the world run Windows, and it gives the mentally deranged virus makers a strong incentive to be creative in the totally wrong way.

There are a lot of ways viruses, Trojans and worms — Kaspersky chooses to call them collectively “malware” — can wreak havoc on our computers. Most common nowadays are those that come through email, hidden programs on websites and exchanges of USB drives.

There are a number of great anti-virus programs out there. They include AVG, McAfee and Norton. Most of them are available in bootlegged CDs or DVDs and we can get these media in almost every shopping center in Jakarta.

One thing that we are all aware of is that new viruses are created all the time and the pirated security programs will have to be updated continually. And if you do get a pirated version, remember they are usually out of date and will not protect you from the latest threats; as it isn’t a licensed copy, you cannot get the latest updates from the Web.

My daughter recently got a new HP Compaq notebook because her course required her to take her assignments wherever her teacher wanted to hold their class meeting. The new Compaq came with different Internet security software, but I wanted to use the notebook to try out Kaspersky Internet Security 2010, which the company distributed to the media for review purposes. My daughter also needs strong security protection because her friends may use the notebook with different USB drives.

Erwin Yovitanto, Kaspersky product manager at Astrindo Starvision, one of the main distributors of Kaspersky products in Indonesia, told me that I had to uninstall any security software already on the system before I could install Kaspersky. That was easy. The Compaq notebook had Windows Vista, so all I had to do was go to the Control Panel, click on the Programs and Features icon, select the existing security package and remove it completely. The installation of the full package was very quick.

Once installed, Kaspersky checked to find out whether its data files were current. To make them current, all I did was click on the Update Now button.

At a glance, the Kaspersky main window reminded me a lot of McAfee’s, although the green corporate color was obvious. Erwin explained that underneath the interface are a lot of improvements in the features that the previous version already had.

For example, Parental Control now allows us to limit the time a child can use the computer or browse the Internet per week. We can even specify from what hour to what hour a child can use the computer on which day. Of course, if necessary, we can block access to websites that contain pornography, gambling or any other unwanted materials.

Safe Run is one of the most important improvements in Kaspersky Internet Security 2010. It serves as a sandbox, much like the one that DENSUS 88, the Indonesian police’s antiterrorism detachment, uses when detonating a bomb. So, if you really need to run a downloaded program that Kaspersky considers dangerous, it will be run in quarantine. If the bomb explodes, the damage will be contained.

Another important feature is called Urgent Detection System, or UDS, although this is also available in the competing security packages. It allows participating users to send the results of their scans to Kaspersky servers to be analyzed.

In addition, Kaspersky will intelligently monitor and evaluate suspicious software on our computer until it is considered safe. This feature makes use of the data sent by around 10 million Kaspersky users who willingly participate. The good thing is that these users remain anonymous.

What I like about the latest and complete version is that, while it has more features, it runs lighter even on Vista. By the way, according to Erwin, its compatibility with Windows 7 has also been perfected. Let us see the truth when Windows 7 is launched next month.

How crucial is it to have security protection on your computer? In this country, it is exceedingly important. Indonesia has quite a bunch of virus makers who are very productive in creating security risks that put careless users in misery.

Apparently, Indonesia is so important that Eugene Kaspersky, the co-founder and CEO of the security company, will be visiting Indonesia from Oct. 7 to 11.

Regardless of which of the competing Internet security products you choose, one thing is extremely clear: You must invest in a good one and renew your subscription every year to get the latest updates.