Detection and remediation of malware are equally important. Detection can prevent malware from getting on your computer. No security software can detect 100% of malware, so remediation can get it off your computer when it is not detected by your antivirus or security software. A good remediation program can also clean or repair many files that are corrupted by malware.
Detection starts with a good antivirus or security program. I believe in "defense in depth", which simply means that you use more than one AV or security program, and I believe that 2 security programs are enough,but you need to select 2 programs that are not similar. For instance, many AVs now use Bitdefender's scan engine and virus signatures, so they are basically all the same. However, if one of your security programs is ClamWin with Clam Sentinel (they count as one), there should be no problem. For the other AV, I presently like these free AVs (in order): Microsoft Windows Defender (Security Essentials for older computers), Fortinet Forticlient, and Ten Cent (Chinese). There are other free AVs from the large AV companies, but I like these 3 because they are easy to use. Here are some (in order) that are also good but complicated: Panda Free AV, AVG Free, Avira Free, and Avast Free. I do not recommend any other AVs. Remember to whitelist/exclude the ClamWin quarantine and DB folders from the other AV's scans. In fact, it is a good idea to exclude every ClamWin/Clam Sentinel .exe file from the other AV's scans to prevent false detections. You should also whitelist/exclude the other AV's program/data folders from Clam Sentinel scans and the data folder from ClamWin scans.
Remediation starts with good backup of your important files. I back up these important files each week to 2 separate USB devices kept in separate locations: documents, pictures, Web Favorites, and data files. I do not worry about my programs--I can get the free ones again from the web if needed, and I have CDs for my commercial programs. If a piece of malware gets past my 2 security programs (it has not happened yet), I plan to use these free programs (in order) to clean my computer: Malwarebytes Free (updates itself before running), Emsisoft Emergency Kit (update it manually before scanning), Kaspersky TDSSkiller (updates itself before running), and Zemana Free Antimalware (updates itself before running). If you make sure they are updated before running, they will clean your computer very well. Emsisoft Emergency kit and TDSSkiller just have to be put on a USB, but Malwarebytes Free and Zemana Free require you to install them on your computer, although they are very good at detecting new malware. In addition to daily scans with ClamWin and my other AV, I do a daily scan with Emsisoft Emergency kit, and TDSSkiller. Dr. Web CureIt and the Microsoft Safety scanner are also very good cleaners, but I do not use them because you have to download a new version every week.
Regards,
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Detection and remediation of malware are equally important. Detection can prevent malware from getting on your computer. No security software can detect 100% of malware, so remediation can get it off your computer when it is not detected by your antivirus or security software. A good remediation program can also clean or repair many files that are corrupted by malware.
Detection starts with a good antivirus or security program. I believe in "defense in depth", which simply means that you use more than one AV or security program, and I believe that 2 security programs are enough,but you need to select 2 programs that are not similar. For instance, many AVs now use Bitdefender's scan engine and virus signatures, so they are basically all the same. However, if one of your security programs is ClamWin with Clam Sentinel (they count as one), there should be no problem. For the other AV, I presently like these free AVs (in order): Microsoft Windows Defender (Security Essentials for older computers), Fortinet Forticlient, and Ten Cent (Chinese). There are other free AVs from the large AV companies, but I like these 3 because they are easy to use. Here are some (in order) that are also good but complicated: Panda Free AV, AVG Free, Avira Free, and Avast Free. I do not recommend any other AVs. Remember to whitelist/exclude the ClamWin quarantine and DB folders from the other AV's scans. In fact, it is a good idea to exclude every ClamWin/Clam Sentinel .exe file from the other AV's scans to prevent false detections. You should also whitelist/exclude the other AV's program/data folders from Clam Sentinel scans and the data folder from ClamWin scans.
Remediation starts with good backup of your important files. I back up these important files each week to 2 separate USB devices kept in separate locations: documents, pictures, Web Favorites, and data files. I do not worry about my programs--I can get the free ones again from the web if needed, and I have CDs for my commercial programs. If a piece of malware gets past my 2 security programs (it has not happened yet), I plan to use these free programs (in order) to clean my computer: Malwarebytes Free (updates itself before running), Emsisoft Emergency Kit (update it manually before scanning), Kaspersky TDSSkiller (updates itself before running), and Zemana Free Antimalware (updates itself before running). If you make sure they are updated before running, they will clean your computer very well. Emsisoft Emergency kit and TDSSkiller just have to be put on a USB, but Malwarebytes Free and Zemana Free require you to install them on your computer, although they are very good at detecting new malware. In addition to daily scans with ClamWin and my other AV, I do a daily scan with Emsisoft Emergency kit, and TDSSkiller. Dr. Web CureIt and the Microsoft Safety scanner are also very good cleaners, but I do not use them because you have to download a new version every week.
Regards,