Free Internet security for small businesses

TipsMake.com - In this article we will introduce you some free Internet security tools that can be used for small organizations. These tools will help organizations cut costs but still ensure the security of the entire system.

Protection against Malware threats: Comodo Internet Security

Comodo Internet Security (CIS) provides a feature pack that can prevent viruses, spyware, rootkits, botnets, worms and other malware.

It can be said what the CIS provides is beyond the basic malware protection we still have in other free products, the built-in firewall protects against attacks from hackers and invaders. import. Although the Windows operating system offers a free firewall protection, the CIS firewall gives you more advanced configuration options. In addition, the utility's consistent interface is useful when there are many versions of Windows operating systems used on the network (firewalls in different Windows operating systems have different interfaces).
The program's Defense + feature will analyze and manage executable files to protect critical system files, prevent harmful malware. Automatic sandbox function, this is a function to run strange files in quarantine environment so that they cannot harm the system if there is malware.

Comodo SecureDNS is responsible for filtering websites to block phishing sites, websites that contain malware and other dangerous websites known before they infect your computer. This DNS service is similar to OpenDNS that we will discuss below.

Unlike many other free antivirus products, Comodo Internet Security (CIS) also has a firewall.

CIS allows to adjust a variety of advanced settings such as common scan levels and settings as well as "scanning profiles". Firewall and Defense + features also have high customization capabilities. You can fine-tune to protect rules, policies, define trusted files or networks or other settings.

Computer Security Policy Manager for Comodo Internet Security

CIS configuration management is very convenient for running on many computers. Just configure on a computer, then export the configuration file and import it to other computers. All settings can be backed up, including scanning profiles, security policies and password protection.

If you want to try CIS, you can download the program at here. However, before installing, must uninstall any antivirus program and restart Windows to avoid conflicts. You should also disable Windows firewall if you want to install Comodo Firewall. During the installation process, the setup program will ask if you want to activate SecureDNS. If you plan to use OpenDNS (discussed below), do not enable SecureDNS.

Once CIS is installed, go to all the screens and settings to configure CIS according to your wishes. The default settings are pretty good for most situations; However, for the purpose of full protection, you can enable cloud scanning and rootkit scanning features in the Scanner Settings of the Antivirus component. Also consider and configure the security policy settings of the Firewall and Defense + components.

To reduce unnecessary Internet traffic when using CIS on multiple computers, install Comodo Offline Updater on a computer so that it can download Comodo virus database updates. Then configure CIS settings on other computers in the network so that it can search for updates from that computer instead of from the Comodo server.

To change the server that provides the database upgrade that CIS needs to find, select the More tab , click Preferences, select the Update tab . Then enter the list of IP addresses or host names of computers installed Comodo Offline Updater.

Change the upgrade server to download virus signs.

You should also set the password for CIS and lock the configuration so that other users cannot change any settings. To do this, open CIS, select the More tab , click Preferences and select the Parental Control tab.

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Protection against Viruses and Spyware: Microsoft Security Essentials

If all you need is basic security, consider installing Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), a tool to protect Windows against viruses, spyware and other types of malware. . It is provided free of charge to computers that Microsoft verifies are using their authentic Windows version. However, businesses are not allowed to use on more than 10 computers - so larger businesses will have to use other security software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is much simpler than Comodo Internet Security. When tested recently, MSE gave pretty good results in preventing malware. If small businesses do not have IT staff, who can understand and use more complex products, MSE is a relatively reasonable choice.

Beyond the basic level of real-time antivirus protection, Microsoft Security Essentials also offers two other important features to protect network computers. One of them is the Network Inspection System, which detects malware originating from the Internet or comes from the network before entering the computer. The second feature is Behavior Monitoring, which helps identify and prevent suspicious actions that detection software detects.

Microsoft Security Essentials main screen (MSE).

If you want to try MSE, download the program here. Before installing, uninstall all existing antivirus software and restart Windows to avoid conflicts. MSE has no built-in firewall, so if you use this software you need to turn on Windows Firewall.

The default settings of Security Essentials provide relatively complete protection for most environments. However, if using external storage devices such as USB, external drive scanning must be enabled. To do so, select the Settings tab, click the Advanced menu, and enable Scan removable drives .

Enable external drive scanning of MSE

Content filtering and anti-malware: OpenDNS

OpenDNS is a DNS-based content filtering tool that allows blocking dangerous sites or being infected with malware. This tool enables DNS security like the SecureDNS service included in Comodo Internet Security. OpenDNS also contributes to increased browsing speed through advanced and intelligent features. The basic services of OpenDNS are provided free of charge, premium registration is free, but users will have some extra features.

DNS is abbreviated from the phrase Domain Name System. It is a background service used to convert domain names into IP addresses, allowing users to use domain-friendly people in web browsers instead of hard-to-remember IP addresses. DNS server is used by most Internet service providers (ISPs) and performs the function of converting domain names to IP addresses at a basic level. However, because DNS works during browsing, advanced DNS servers can provide content filtering functionality like what OpenDNS can do.

Since the program works on DNS, you don't have to install any software to use OpenDNS. Instead, simply replace the DNS addresses on your router (to protect the entire network) or the address on a specific computer (to protect those computers).

Set up the DNS address of the router

You can use OpenDNS in three ways, depending on the features or services you need.

The most basic option is to change the default DNS address on the router or computer to OpenDNS 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. There is no need for an account, in addition to allowing fake sites to be blocked to protect your identity, the program also provides some other DNS security features.

Example of setting up DNS addresses in Windows

Another option is to change the default DNS server on the router or computer to FamilyShield OpenDNS: 208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123. Also without an account, the program will block adult websites, fake websites or websites that spread viruses.

The third option is to register an OpenDNS account, using the addresses: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220. Now you can define what type of site will be locked, customize instructions and locked pages, check Internet usage. You can start with a free account and then upgrade to a premium account if you need more features.

The OpenDNS registration process will provide some help to configure your network and router. After logging into Dashboard, you need to add a network to your account. If you're on the network you want to protect, click the Add this Network button to save the Internet IP address to the account.

OpenDNS Dashboard and settings

It should be noted that if you use your OpenDNS account and your Internet connection using dynamic IP addresses (if you still encounter home or small Internet subscribers), you must update OpenDNS with those New IP address.

You can also download a simple updater application to one of the computers in the network or configure the router's dynamic DNS settings and let it perform the update. If you want to work through the router, you need to use the free DNS-O-Matic service when the integrated DNS client does not support HTTPS upgrade. You can use the OpenDNS username and password to log in to the DNS-O-Matic, add OpenDNS as a service, then configure the router so it can upgrade the DNS-O-Matic account, then upgrade. OpenDNS.