Many people ask me if after installing certain programs their computer is safe and protected from viruses, malware and intrusion attempts. In general, as has been repeated several times, a computer is safe if it is used with common sense and if there is an updated antivirus running all the time, nothing else.
If, however, you start to click randomly on the internet by downloading whatever you find and accepting without reading any software that you want to install or any unknown message that you receive via email then there is no antivirus that takes.
However, from a technical point of view, there are some tools to do the security check of your computer .
To make a check on the security status of the PC ( Windows and Mac ) you can install the free program Metadefender Endpoint Management (previously called Opswat Gears) is an elegant and useful tool that analyzes all aspects of security on the computer and provides basic advice on how to resolve any vulnerabilities .
The program is extremely easy to use, there is no complex interface to understand, no settings to modify; just run the Security Score, wait a few seconds for the PC scan, and see the score assigned to your computer.
At the end of the test, an overall score of 100 is obtained with individual scores for seven key areas: antivirus, antiphishing, backup, patch management, encryption, firewall and file sharing.
The program also has a tool for detecting threats and possible computer security problems.
The computer scan is done with 40 anti-malware engines to look for suspicious activity or infections.
Also included is the Session Shield, an extension only for Internet Explorer that guarantees the security of sensitive data while browsing.
Any browsing and download activity of the session will be canceled at the end of the session.
In my test, a computer with Windows 8 in which no external security program is installed, I received a score of 80 which, in the end, is not bad (note that Windows 8 has its internal antivirus)
To know how to improve the security status of your computer, you can click on the area with the lowest score and see what Metadefender recommends.
For example, on file sharing Metadefender gives me a score lower than the maximum because it has detected a uTorrent installation that increases the risk of malware infections.
A 0/10 is also reported in the encryption section of the hard drive, because Bitlocker or a similar program is not used.
The program is useful for quickly checking that the computer (for example Dad's laptop) is adequately protected against malware and attempts by external intrusions.
All in all, it is a good tool for less experienced users to check if their PC's security status.
I point out that this is not a program to judge the goodness of one antivirus compared to another so it is not to be used as a tool to test security programs.
Other alternative programs are:
- Nessus to check if your pc is protected from malware and virus attacks
- Eicar to see if the antivirus is working and protects the computer.
- Belarc Advisor to diagnose PC security problems
The best check is still the DIY one, following the checklist to see if the computer is protected enough on the internet
