Best security for my mom's PC

15 years ago

My mom is 79 and still very capable and independent. She does her best to keep up with email and views an occasional web site we send her or does a little on-line shopping, but she's not a heavy computer user or web surfer, nor does she care to be. My brother set her up with online banking but she prefers to pay her bills the old-fashioned way. She likes to keep things as simple as possible. We'd like to keep her set-up running as smooth, simple, and as safe as possible. This means striking a balance between optimum security and maintaining a simple, user-friendly experience for her.

Her PC is approx. 2 years old and runs Vista.

A few weeks ago we downloaded the free Zone Alarm for her. Now she is getting the pop-ups asking if she wants to allow or deny access to sites, and doesn't know what to do with each one. Now I'm tempted to remove it and let her use the Windows firewall instead, but I'm concerned about potential vulnerabilities.

At that time, we also fixed an issue with her Windows Email that would not allow her to send mail. That's working now, but I'm considering getting her a Gmail account to use instead. She'd need to connect via browser and learn a new tool, but she is capable of that and I think it would be safer.

I'm wondering if she needed ZA at all. Can anyone explain the basics she needs to let her enjoy staying connected in a simple fashion but also keep her safe? We live about an hour away so I can't just drop by around the corner to check and fix things -- and she'll want to give up if things get even a little bit complicated.

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Comments (7)

criticalmass048
15 years ago
I would use 'avast!'. It's free, and she won't have to do a thing!

Here is a link that might be useful: avast! website
camp56
15 years ago
Avast is antivirus, not a firewall. I think the firewall in Windows Vista is doing an ok job.
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kudzu9
15 years ago
Yes, ZoneAlarm , despite its merits, can be frustrating to someone with minimal computer skills. I agree that the Windows Firewall in Vista should be adequate for her. Also, however, make sure her computer has the latest Windows updates and that the computer is set up to install the updates automatically.
jenn
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks. Do the Windows updates include the latest firewall?

And what about her email? I'm considering getting her a Gmail account so she can check her email on-line rather than downloading it to her computer, especially since she has had one major problem with Windows Email (couldn't send it -- AND the program didn't even alert her that the email couldn't be sent... it just behaved normally and she kept wondering why no one replied to her email!).
cynic
15 years ago
May the computer gods forgive me for this, but based solely on what you've said so far I'd say, and OH it pains me... but yes, go with the Windows firewall.

However... I'd also set up an antivirus and spyware remover and make sure they're run regularly. Also make sure ALL Windows updates are automatically installed.

And lastly, give that lady a hug and a kiss and congratulate her for not being scared away from the computer!
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
15 years ago
I am sure she could grasp using gmail it is fairly easy and all she has to do is use her browser and she does that to view any website just save gmail as a fave so she can find it easily. I personally would set her up with firefox instead of IE for ease of use and safety and then you could simply put the gmail link directly on the bookmarks toolbar so it is right there for her to click on and set gmail up to remember her info.

If she has Vista the firewall in it should be ok for her just make sure once you remove za you turn on the windows firewall in security center.

for antivirus I am not sure what you are using but I also like AVAST free you do have to do a real easy quick registration that they send to your email but then it is set , you have to do the register thing about once a year.

I would make sure you put some good anti malware programs on there and show her how to open them update them and run a full scan with them have her set up a schedule once a week to run her scans when her pc is on, these 2 are the best
SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
she will have to remember to hit the update button before scanning.

Also good to have is spywareblaster, this one is not a scanner for it just open it once a week hit update, hit enable all protection, the shield turns green that is it.
SpywareBlaster

and I agree congrats to her for being willing to take on the technology world!

Definitely set up windows auto updates to do them automatically for her she definitely wants to get those and make her understand she does have to leave the computer on so that her programs get their updates. That is one big issue I run into with some elderly, they think they only want to turn it on when they need it then the pc gets way behind on updates and when it is turned on everything tries to update at once and it can be a big mess. leaving it on does not hurt anything mine stay on 24/7. for that reason it is really safer to leave it on rather than keep it off!
She could schedule her scans to happen at night while she is asleep.
kudzu9
15 years ago
jenn-
The firewall in Windows comes with every Windows installation. If there is an update to it, it would just be included in the various other sets of updates.

Best security for my mom's PC

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criticalmass048

camp56

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Best security for my mom's PC

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criticalmass048

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