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How secure are you with your computing environment? Spend a lot of time updating, paying for subscription renewals for different proprietary software in some blind hope that it will buy you more time until the next exploit is discovered? For Windows users, this has often felt like a fact of life.

Even while there are some great freeware options for PC security like AVG anti-virus or Zone Alarm firewall, wouldn't it be great if there were some open source options as well? As luck would have it, there are. In this article, I will highlight open source applications that will not only save you some money, but potentially put you back into the driver's seat with regard to your PC's security.

1) suDown

The very idea of running as a super user in Windows may sound insane to the uninitiated. But as luck would have it, I have not only done it myself, I have done it successfully. Being able to sudo into an otherwise insecure OS is simply good thinking.

Think about it this way. Running as an administrator in any capacity is dangerous, and the UAC is only effective when the user is not simply clicking on it to make it go away. This is where programs such as suDown for Windows XP comes in.

Simple enough to get one's head around. All you need to do is install and execute the installation and then follow the instructions to get a sudoer user created.

Benefits

Ensure safest experience in Windows comes from not running as an administrator.

Simple, obvious yet still we lean with UAC among other weak-minded methods of protecting the user from themselves.

Despite being designed for Windows XP, suDown ensures the user have the option of running as a limited user, while being able to run as a "super user" when an application needs to be run.

Better is unlike "Run As", suDown allows the user to provide their own password without knowing the password to the administrator account.

At first pass, it may not seem like a real security threat is going to prevented by some sort of filter. Then again, what if that filter had the ability to detect probable malware or phishing attacks before they ever came to your inbox?

I have used POPFile for years and will say from personal experience that I have indeed been able to fend off an enormous amounts of spam, phishing schemes, and virus ridden email. When bundled along side other protective software, POPFile can prove to be a powerful friend to have in your corner.

Benefits

I think the key benefits are pretty self-evident.

Control of the influx of potentially dangerous email.

The ability to train the software as to what you define as a hazard.

Stop phishing before it starts by providing a means of containing it in a spam folder.

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