In protecting your identity and credit from theft online one of the most overlooked aspects is the anti-virus and anti-spyware programs you have on your computer. Many people use the popular programs that come with many brand name computers such as Norton’s and McAfee but in all reality these do not catch everything and slow a an average computer down so much that by the time they process the exploit or phishing attempt you may have already fallen victim.

There are two free options that will do the job for most average web users with those being Avast and the one I recommend, AVG. In most cases I would say go with AVG as there are more features on the free version that will help you prevent anything such as phishing, browser hijacks, and more. AVG has just recently also developed a system that scans every link on the page without you even clicking it to help you avoid clicking a link that contains a virus on the page. This is extremely helpful as virus’s have become so advanced that once you click most of them there is not much stopping even if you try to cut out the connection as it only takes a split-second to load.

Just having a fast and effective anti-virus and anti-spyware product on your computer will help prevent things such as key loggers, data loggers, and other malicious code that will steal your information as you type or tap into any files the programs feel may be confidential and contain information they can use to steal your identity. Keeping your identity and credit cards safe is an on-going process that requires common sense protections and having a good anti-virus program installed on your computer is key.