Q: Do I really need to use parental controls?

Yes, you really do. There are all kinds of dangers hiding on the internet. Online predators can deceive children and get personal details and images. Scammers can trick kids into giving away sensitive social security and financial data. Media websites can embed malware in files that are aimed at children. Predators can use AR games like Pok é mon Go to target kids. There are also numerous reports of children experiencing trauma after being exposed to violent, hateful, and graphic content on the internet. Furthermore, studies have shown that children and teens are particularly susceptible to the harmful consequences of screen addiction. From mood disorders to developmental delays, there’s a ton of data that kids need limits on screen time. All the programs on this list help protect kids against all of these threats. Whether you’re trying to keep your child and your devices safe from predatory users, or you’re just trying to safeguard your child’s mental health against the consequences of screen use, parental controls are a necessity.

Q: Can my kids deactivate their parental controls?

Sometimes, yes. There are different levels of control with different parental control apps — some of them can’t be changed without a password, while others send the parent’s device a notification if any changes are made. Some programs, like McAfee , give kids options to reach out and make requests for certain websites to be unblocked. I found that enlisting my kids in the decision-making process has made them more tolerant of my parental control choices. Unfortunately, however, many apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, and Signal offer encrypted messaging, so there’s no way to track what our kids are doing in those apps. That said, all the programs on this list include app blocking features, so you don’t have to worry about your children downloading encrypted messaging apps.

Q: What’s the best free malware removal tool?

Avira Free is the best free antivirus on the market, and it comes with a powerful and effective anti-malware scanner. That said, all free anti-malware software has some kind of limitation. Avira, for instance, limits its best features to its Avira Prime paid antivirus — offering better web protections, better optimization tools, and a much better VPN. Free products are good for basic protection and prevention, but when it comes to cybersecurity, you get what you pay for. If you want the best malware remover along with other protections, you’ll need to invest in a good paid antivirus. Norton 360 is my top malware removal tool of 2021 — it uses a variety of advanced detection methods to scan for, find, quarantine, and remove malware, plus it comes with a firewall, anti-phishing tools, identity theft monitoring, a VPN, a password manager, and parental controls to help protect against malware attacks in the future.

Question 1

Do I really need to use parental controls?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you really do. There are all kinds of dangers hiding on the internet.

Online predators can deceive children and get personal details and images.
Scammers can trick kids into giving away sensitive social security and financial data.
Media websites can embed malware in files that are aimed at children.
Predators can use AR games like Pokémon Go to target kids.

There are also numerous reports of children experiencing trauma after being exposed to violent, hateful, and graphic content on the internet.

Furthermore, studies have shown that children and teens are particularly susceptible to the harmful consequences of screen addiction. From mood disorders to developmental delays, there’s a ton of data that kids need limits on screen time.

All the programs on this list help protect kids against all of these threats.

Whether you’re trying to keep your child and your devices safe from predatory users, or you’re just trying to safeguard your child’s mental health against the consequences of screen use, parental controls are a necessity.

Question 2

What is the most effective parental control for my family?

Accepted Answer

You are the most effective tool for protecting your family online. The fact of the matter is, no parental control app can completely protect our kids. Even if you block every potentially inappropriate app, read your child’s every text message, block every streaming site, and ban every sensitive word from your child’s search engine, kids will find a way to break the rules.

Many studies have suggested that honest, age-appropriate conversations are the best way to keep your kids and your devices safe online. That’s why Norton’s parental controls come with a Smart Talk template to help parents and kids come together to set smart limits for their children’s device usage.

Despite our best efforts, our kids are going to encounter the dangerous and disturbing parts of the internet some day. The tools on this list can help you keep track of your child’s browsing and search history, limit access to risky apps, and limit screen usage. But ultimately, it’s up to us as parents to help our kids navigate the digital world.

Question 3

Can my kids deactivate their parental controls?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, yes. There are different levels of control with different parental control apps — some of them can’t be changed without a password, while others send the parent’s device a notification if any changes are made.

Some programs, like McAfee, give kids options to reach out and make requests for certain websites to be unblocked. I found that enlisting my kids in the decision-making process has made them more tolerant of my parental control choices.

Unfortunately, however, many apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, and Signal offer encrypted messaging, so there’s no way to track what our kids are doing in those apps. That said, all the programs on this list include app blocking features, so you don’t have to worry about your children downloading encrypted messaging apps.

Question 4

What&rsquo;s the benefit of using an antivirus with parental controls?

Accepted Answer

Standalone parental control apps are great, but they don’t protect against malware.

When I first started using a parental control app, my only thought was keeping my kids safe from predators and making sure they weren’t using their devices too much. But after my son’s device got infected with ransomware, I realized that malware and phishing sites are also targeting our kids. Children are at a very high risk of accidentally compromising their devices, and if that happens, your whole network could become infected with malware.

Bundling parental controls with antivirus software makes sense because it puts all cybersecurity protections into one place.

While there are some really powerful and comprehensive parental control apps on the market, if you want to keep both your kids and your kids’ devices safe, you’ll need an antivirus. The products on this list are some of the best antivirus programs around, and their included parental controls are better than many standalone apps.

Question 5

What&rsquo;s the difference between viruses and malware?

Accepted Answer

Viruses are one type of malware, but there are many other types of malware that aren’t viruses. Malware is any malicious software designed to damage, spread, or provide unwanted access to a computer, device, or network.

Examples of malware include:

Trojan. Any malware that pretends to be a benign program file, then secretly activates after installation to provide hackers system surveillance, remote access, or the ability to damage your system.
Ransomware. Infects your device and encrypts your most valuable files until you pay a ransom to the hackers to unlock your device. Commonly used against businesses and enterprises.
Spyware. Usually bundled with free downloads. Provides hackers access to your screen, keystrokes, microphone, and webcam to steal your personal information and even influence your suggested search results.
Adware. Similar to spyware. Hijacks your browser, collects your browsing history and displays unwanted, targeted ads on your desktop and browser. Many of the linked ads can lead to serious malware downloads or phishing sites designed to steal financial information.
Keylogger. Logs your keystrokes, granting access to everything you type on your device, including your passwords and credit card details.

Viruses are a type of malware in the same way that carrots are a type of vegetables — and just like a chef uses a variety of tools to cook with every type of vegetable (including carrots), the best anti-malware programs — like Norton — use advanced tools like machine learning, heuristic analysis, and cloud-based malware directories to detect the whole range of known malware files.

Question 6

What&rsquo;s the difference between antivirus software and anti-malware software?

Accepted Answer

The terms ‘antivirus’ and ‘anti-malware’ are mostly interchangeable. Viruses are only one type of malware, but every antivirus software is designed to detect a broad range of malware, such as trojans, worms, rootkits, ransomware, and adware.

A simple antivirus decides that files are malicious by comparing them to a directory of known malware. If any of your files are a match for known malware in the antivirus’s directory, the antivirus notifies you that the file is harmful. This is great for catching most types of known viruses, trojans, and worms, but it won’t detect newer malware files that aren’t saved in a malware directory, like cryptojackers, ransomware, rootkits, and spyware.

Advanced anti-malware tools like Norton and TotalAV use behavior analysis, heuristics, and machine learning/artificial intelligence to detect and remove malicious files in real time — whereas lower-quality antiviruses only provide on-demand scanning (thereby leaving your devices vulnerable).

Question 7

What&rsquo;s the best malware removal software for Windows?

Accepted Answer

Norton 360 is my overall favorite antivirus software and anti-malware tool, boasting a 100% malware detection and removal rate along with several standout features that can prevent future cyber attacks. I also like Bitdefender’s intuitive interface and fast malware scanner, making it a good option for Windows users needing a simple (but strong) tool for removing malicious software.

But most of the top anti-malware packages on this list will work well with Windows.

You can read more in our in-depth comparison of the best antiviruses for Windows here.

Question 8

What&rsquo;s the best free malware removal tool?

Accepted Answer

Avira Free is the best free antivirus on the market, and it comes with a powerful and effective anti-malware scanner.

That said, all free anti-malware software has some kind of limitation. Avira, for instance, limits its best features to its Avira Prime paid antivirus — offering better web protections, better optimization tools, and a much better VPN.

Free products are good for basic protection and prevention, but when it comes to cybersecurity, you get what you pay for. If you want the best malware remover along with other protections, you’ll need to invest in a good paid antivirus. Norton 360 is my top malware removal tool of 2021 — it uses a variety of advanced detection methods to scan for, find, quarantine, and remove malware, plus it comes with a firewall, anti-phishing tools, identity theft monitoring, a VPN, a password manager, and parental controls to help protect against malware attacks in the future.

Question 9

Why is internet security important?

Accepted Answer

Internet security is important because of the huge amount of valuable data most users keep online, and the increasing number of hackers targeting unprotected online accounts.

There’s a growing number of hackers on the internet, and most of them are using increasingly sophisticated malware and social engineering tactics to get access to financial information, online logins, and browsing data.

Without proper internet security protection, you could fall victim to one of these hacks, leaking banking info and credit card numbers, compromising social media accounts, and ultimately becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud.

Question 10

What&rsquo;s the difference between &ldquo;antivirus&rdquo; and &ldquo;internet security&rdquo;?

Accepted Answer

Antivirus software protects against computer-based malware like viruses and trojans. Internet security software protects against network-based malware like spyware and ransomware.

That said, today, many internet security suites (like all on this list) offer both an antivirus engine and internet security protection in the same product.

Many antivirus/internet security packages have:

Phishing, spyware, and ransomware protection
Secure browser extension
Identity theft insurance
VPN
Firewall
Dark web monitoring
Password manager
Encrypted cloud storage
…and a lot more

My favorite internet security suite of 2021 is Norton 360 Deluxe — it’s got 100% malware protection, a fast VPN, 50 GB of cloud storage, a highly secure firewall, and excellent parental controls.

Question 11

Are there any free internet security programs?

Accepted Answer

Free internet security software usually comes with a couple of caveats. It either has severely limited functionality, major product flaws, notifications that prevent you from normally using your device, or a secret agenda (like stealing your data).

That said, not all free security software is bad. In fact, I think there are some good free antiviruses for Windows, Android, iOS + Mac, but none of them are nearly as good as the products listed here.

It’s always better to spend a couple bucks a month on a premium internet security suite like Norton 360 than it is to deal with hassles and limitations of a free antivirus.

Question 12

Are Google Chrome&rsquo;s internet security protections any good?

Accepted Answer

Chrome doesn’t have a lot of online protections — like a VPN, identity theft protection, advanced phishing detection, and encrypted password storage.

Internet security protections from Google (and Apple and Microsoft) have come a long way, but none of them are even close to as good as those offered from major cybersecurity brands like Norton and Bitdefender.

Most antivirus software in 2021 offers far better protection than anything found in Google Chrome.

Question 13

What is Shodan?

Accepted Answer

Shodan is a search engine scanning the entirety of the internet for connected devices. Shodan is similar to more well-known search engines like Google, but instead of indexing websites, Shodan indexes each publicly available device connected to the internet.

Shodan can discover a ton of devices, from home baby monitors to the SCADA systems that are used to run a variety of industrial processes, from water treatment facilities to power plants. Academics, governments, and cybersecurity professionals use Shodan for a variety of reasons, including network security analysis and market research. Shodan can show developers how many users have installed the latest patch, and it can ping subscribers when a new device is added to their enterprise’s network.

Question 14

What can Shodan be used for?

Accepted Answer

Shodan can be used to find vulnerabilities in your devices’ security. Paying users can use on-demand scanning to search for specific IP addresses in order to keep up-to-date on what information their devices are sharing with the web. This is particularly helpful for governments and city planners, but individuals can also disconnect any devices in the home that don’t actually require connection to the internet.

Shodan can also be a useful resource for data scientists, law enforcement officials, and cybersecurity professionals researching about the dispersal of internet of things (IoT) products, operating systems, and server technology.

And, of course, Shodan can be used by hackers to break into your webcam, install a backdoor in your network, or hijack and sabotage your smart appliances. That said, hackers are more likely to use botnets to crawl the internet for user vulnerabilities — Shodan is rarely used by hackers for this reason, although there are some internet pranksters out there that enjoy finding strange and unsettling devices through Shodan.

Question 15

How do I use Shodan?

Accepted Answer

Without an account, users are able to search for free on Shodan.io, but some filters and functions are unavailable for free users. Shodan has 4 accounts available, from more affordable personal plans to costly enterprise plans with a large catalogue of advanced benefits.

The most basic Shodan searches will give you results by country, network, ports, and operating systems. You can also use filters in your queries to narrow your search: for example, if you want to see how many Cisco devices there are in Miami, you would search “Cisco city:Miami”. Your search can be as simple as this, or if you are more technically inclined, you can employ a more sophisticated search method like SafetyDetectives did to uncover a major security breach found in hospital and supermarket refrigeration systems.

Question 16

Is Shodan legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Shodan merely gathers information that’s already publicly available for reference purposes. Shodan doesn’t secretly gather information it isn’t allowed to have.Instead, it collects information already available on the internet.

Although news outlets were quick to label Shodan as a part of the “dark web”, Shodan is a perfectly legitimate website that has many benefits — there are hacker tools similar to Shodan that aren’t publicly available, so Shodan actually helps to “even the playing field” between hackers and IT professionals.

Question 17

Doesn&rsquo;t my device/browser already have a free password manager?

Accepted Answer

Browsers like Chrome and Firefox as well as mobile operating systems like Android and iOS have free built-in password managers, but they just aren’t as useful as third-party password managers. All third-party password managers provide better features and security than the ones already built into Chrome, iOS, and Android.

Free third-party password managers include a variety of unique features that aren’t on built-in password managers, like:

Password auditing. If your passwords are simple and repetitive, it’s super easy for a hacker to crack your logins. Password auditing scans your entire vault for simple and repeated passwords, and LastPass and Dashlane even offer to automatically replace some of them.
Two-factor authentication (2FA). Many password managers, like LastPass and Bitwarden, are compatible with third-party authenticators which use a one-time password to verify your identity. This means that your password vault stays secure, even if your Master Password gets stolen.
Secure encryption. Password managers use 256-bit AES encryption, which is the same encryption used by banks and militaries around the world. Many built-in password managers don’t have as good encryption.
Built-in authenticator. Products like RememBear include a built-in authenticator, saving time when trying to log into 2FA-enabled websites.

Question 18

Are free password managers good enough?

Accepted Answer

Free password managers have a lot of great features, but every free password manager has some limitations that will affect your user experience and security.

For example, LastPass Free doesn’t include emergency access, which means that no one else can access your account in the event of a crisis. And Bitwarden’s free version doesn’t include password auditing or encrypted data storage.

Paid password managers aren’t very expensive, and the best ones include dark web monitoring, encrypted chat and storage, unlimited password sharing, and emergency access in case you’re unable to access your account. Dashlane Premium even provides a surprisingly fast VPN!

Free password managers may be good enough for some people, but I still recommend paying a few bucks a month for a high-quality premium password manager.

Question 19

Are third-party password managers safe?

Accepted Answer

Password managers are designed to protect all of your passwords, as well as credit card information and private notes. It can be scary to trust all of this sensitive information to one program, but password managers actually make you safer online. Here’s how:

Secure encryption. Most password managers store your vault on their servers, which makes it easy to sync between devices. Before your data leaves your device, it’s encrypted using end-to-end 256-bit AES encryption, which scrambles your data so thoroughly that it’s impossible to decipher.
Zero-knowledge architecture. End-to-end encryption means that only the device which generated the encryption can read the encrypted data — no one but you knows what your password are. Even in the case of a data breach or government subpoena, there’s no way to decrypt your data on the password manager’s servers.
Auto-fill. Hackers often steal user passwords using screen logging and keylogging spyware — this dangerous malware can record what’s happening on your screen, as well as every keystroke on your keyboard. By auto-filling your passwords, password managers keep your login data from being seen on your screen or entered into your keyboard.
Password generators. If you aren’t using a password manager, then your passwords are probably easy for you to remember and easy for a hacker to crack. Password generators are built into every password manager, and they create completely random and complex passwords with tons of symbols, numbers, and letters that your password manager can easily remember, but which are super difficult to crack.

Password managers increase your security by protecting you from screen loggers, generating hyper-complex passwords, and protecting your data behind secure encryption. It’s much safer to use one of these password managers than to try and juggle all of your passwords on your own.

Question 20

How do accounts get breached?

Accepted Answer

Password breaches most frequently happen because of user error. Passwords can be stolen using keylogging malware or cracked through brute force attacks — which throws thousands of passwords in the login field until one of them clicks.

LastPass allows you to protect your password vault using authenticator apps like Authy, which generate a temporary one-time password — you need both the one-time password and your Master Password to log into LastPass. This means that anybody using your Master Password to hack your vault remotely can’t do it without also having your physical device with the authenticator app on it.

Large websites can also succumb to data breaches — hackers will break into a company’s servers and release all of their users’ login information to the dark web. Hackers can then access your account on the breached site and use the information from your account to crack into more and more of your accounts. This is why it’s so important to use a password manager that provides breach notifications — like Dashlane and LastPass.

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