It's unfortunate that we need to run anti-virus programs, but they are a necessity these days, even if you are extremely careful about what you view, download and install.  I've been using Symantec Corporation anti-virus for years and have had very few issues with viruses.  I've never been a fan of these suites that are available that bundle an anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, password encrypter...you name it.  I still run a small networking company and when people call me with issues involving a system that has become extremely slow, or unresponsive, my first question is what did you install and did you install a security suite.

I don't care for these security suites at all (especially Symantec's) as they are resource hogs.  There are some very good free anti-virus programs out there that I've used and have had some very good experience using.  I like Avast!, they update the definitions daily rather than the once-a-week release Symatec/Norton does...yet I still use Symantec Corp for some reason.

Anyways, this blog isn't about an anti-virus, it's about what you can add along with your anti-virus to help protect you against the 'zero-day' attacks, the attacks that the anti-virus companies haven't seen yet.  Your anti-virus program has some ability to detect if malware is damaging your system, but it relies mostly on what's in the definition table to recognize a virus and deal with it accordingly.

I've been using a program by PC Tools called Threatfire for about a month that is designed to work with your current Anti-virus.  Threatfire claims that it can add to your protection by keeping an eye out for new malware that has been released and that your current anti-virus provider has not seen yet.  I've had Threatfire warn me about a few programs so far, mostly they were processes that I want running but it is nice to see that it's working.

I'd love to hear from others that have tried this program, I've been recommending it to people and keep asking them if it has helped protect them.  I'm in no way saying that this will stop everything, all these programs do is put up a wall to help protect you; the best defense is you being careful and knowing what you are clicking on.

If you would like to try this program out head over to Threatfire and read what they have to say about their program.  Remember, please let me know what you think.