How to Choose a PC Privacy Program

The reviews on this site for PC Privacy programs evaluate each product on the basis of:

• Price

• System Requirements

• Ease of Use

• Customer Support

• Effectiveness

• Free Scan

• and Refund Policy

Most of the PC Privacy programs we’ve reviewed come with basically the same essential functionalities – clearing cookies, caches, histories, temp files and recent documents, and so on – which makes it the advanced features that determine the best from the rest.

The following are the finer elements of PC privacy programs that differentiate them from one another. As you read our reviews (and perform further research on your own) you will undoubtedly encounter the terms below numerous times. Their explanations here should help you gain a clearer idea of what it is you’re looking for and whether the products you’re looking at are capable of fulfilling those needs.

Overwrites – Simply hitting “Erase” or “Delete” does not completely erase or delete anything. Traces of the files you wish to be rid of inevitably stay behind on your hard drive. Therefore, most PC privacy programs will now “overwrite” or replace the content of those files with random alphanumeric “garbage” data. The more times the PC privacy program overwritesthe data that you’re trying to clear, the harder it will be for anyone to reassemble any crumbs that may still be left behind despite the software’s best efforts to wipe them out entirely. Multiple overwrites give you extra protection from those savviest of snoops. It’s been said that 3 overwrites is plenty to “sanitize” any file, but the U.S. Department of Defense requires 7-9 swipes to call a sweep fully secure, and this is the standard the most thorough of PC privacy programs go by.

Automatic Cleanings – More than a mere convenience, a scheduling feature of some sort is a timesaver and therefore a lifesaver for people with too much on their plates already to be bothered with remembering to constantly wipe their computer of confidential data. It’s enough to remember to wipe our desks at the end of the day! Even simply being able to run automatic scans and wipes upon ever Startup or Shutdown is a priceless commodity you’ll never stop being grateful for.

Stealth Mode – Hackers, spyware-purveyors, and other online maleficents are getting savvier and savvier, requiring you – or at least your PC privacy program – to do the same. In that effort, many PC privacy programs give you the option to run your scan and wiping procedures under the radar of those spying eyes you’re trying to thwart. There’s no reason to give them the heads up that you’re changing the field on them when they may be perfectly ready, willing, and able to leap a step ahead of you before you successfully derail them.

Safety Check/Alert – Frequently a computer novice computer, alien even to the machinations of their own machine, will unwittingly attempt to get rid of a file that their PC actually requires. Fortunately many PC privacy programs come with a feature that alerts users should they try to delete a needed file, interrupting the deletion until the user confirms or corrects the command.

Plugin Support – Under System Requirements in our reviews (or, for that matter, on the product’s own website) you’ll learn whether your operating system, web browser, and email client is supported by each PC privacy program in question. But it’s also worth looking deeper to see if the plugins you use most regularly are also supported. Don’t be swayed by bold declarations of all the myriad plugins a particular PC privacy program supports. Look for the few that you rely on most regularly – those are the ones that matter to you, and all the rest are (costly) window dressing. Having said that, the mother of all plugin support features is Custom Plugins empowering you, the user, to set up the PC privacy program to support whichever plugins you want.

The definitions herein, and the insight they give you into the intricacies of how your computer can be breached and, in turn, protected ought to prepare you well for picking the right and best PC privacy program for your circumstances.