Anti-virus suite aside, the next better thing you can do to protect yourself is to setup a security sandbox for your users to access. Within this zone, any virus or security threat won’t be able to make changes to the system files and folders. BufferZone Pro is one such software that provides security sandbox, and it is free. What BufferZone Pro does is to create a virtual zone where you can surf the web and IM chat with your friends. Within this zone, all potentially threatening programs and files remain isolated from your personal files and your PC’s operating system and your personal and private information (especially when you are doing Internet banking) stay in a separated trusted environment. Download BufferZone Pro and install it in your Windows computer. There’s almost zero configuration required. Once you are done with the installation, BufferZone Pro will scan our system for software that access the Internet. When you open your browser or any other app, you will see a big red border around it, which means the session is being sandboxed and protected.

When you open the BufferZone dashboard while you are surfing, you can see the number of activities it is monitoring and the number of privacy and system threats prevented.

If there is a program that is not protected by BufferZone, you can also manually add it into the virtual zone.

Other features include creating a snapshot of your current virtual zone and the ability to restore from it in the future. You can also hide confidential files so it won’t be detectable on the web. Personally, I have tried BufferZone Pro and I am surprise that it doesn’t affect the speed of browsing, nor does it slow down the system. Other than the big red border (which is rather ugly) that signifies its existence, everything run as per normal, except with the added security. Even if you already have the best anti-virus suite around, it doesn’t hurt to install an extra layer of security to protect yourself and your computer. Give BufferZone a try, especially if you are a system administrator or technician. BufferZone Pro Image credit: CarbonNYC