Threatfire Updated March 2010

This post was written by admin on March 2, 2010
Posted Under: Antimalware,Antivirus,Free Program,PC Security

Threatfire from PC Tools is a free computer security program for home users which is designed to run alongside existing security applications. It is very light on resources and now has better protection and detection rates with fewer popups and false positives.

It is NOT a replacement for antivirus or antimalware programs and there is NO Pro upgrade version - the 'Upgrade Now' button on the user interface is not to upgrade Threatfire but to purchase PC Tools Spyware Doctor and Antivirus.

It is a very simple to install program and uses a behavior based approach to detecting malware of all sorts including spyware, adware, trojans, rootkits, viruses, worms, keyloggers, zero-day exploits and new threats that emerge daily as users surf the internet, click links, open spam emails and use P2P networks.

This program works by continuously analyzing the behavior of processes and programs on your system and immediately alerts you if it detects any suspicious actions - you can then decide whether to allow or block the activity.

It comes ready-to-use and does not require any difficult configuration and it also offers flexible rule settings that allow advanced users to customize the protection.

Traditional security programs rely upon regular updates but Threatfire uses behavior-based heuristics as well as 'in-the-cloud' technology with its own black/white list of unsafe and safe applications to analyze programs and malware, placing threats into quarantine easily and fills the gap between installed security program updates.

Simply download and install, check for updates using the 'Smart update' feature, then click on 'Advanced Tools' and then click 'Custom Rule Settings' and tick the boxes in 'Custom Rules', this will enhance your protection.

Users can also create new custom rules and add to the 'Processes Lists'. Click 'Apply' after making the changes.

Under the 'Settings' tab users can further customize the settings to suit their own preferences, the defaults will suffice for the majority of users.

When any suspicious activity is detected a popup will alert the user who then has the choice of allowing the process to continue, kill and quarantine the process or killing the process. If it is a known process ie: you are installing or updating a known safe program select 'Allow this process to continue' and also checkmark the 'Remember this answer' box.

Even though there is a massive database of safe and unsafe programs users will still get a popup alert initially for a number of applications, but once you have allowed it to continue and check marked the 'remember my answer' there will be a decrease in popups asking permission.

Should you accidentally quarantine a process simply open the program from the System Tray, click on 'Threat Control' on the left , click on the 'Quarantined' tab and place a check mark beside the item and select 'Restore Selected'.

Threatfire is community orientated and as malware is found on users PC's it is quickly neutralized and results are also sent to the community network so that the database online is updated offering greater protection for all users.

No personally identifiable information is submitted and it is completely anonymous.

The program supports Windows 2003, 2008, XP, Vista and Windows7 32bit and 64bit versions and is free for home users.

Downoad Threatfire free here

Windows 2000 users click here

Online support and forums are available to all users should they have any problems or queries and users can also submit new malware samples or false positives for the research team to analyze and add the appropriate action to the database.

Online help click here
Forum click here
Online support click here