Security

We tested five products that deliver remote SSL/VPN connectivity. Here's how they stack up.

Facebook users are constantly being told that their privacy is under siege. Here are seven apps that can help secure your personal data.

Tools for protecting passwords, browsing anonymously, and encrypting our most precious documents.

G Data InternetSecurity 2013 ($35 for one year, as of 12/19/12) is a comprehensive security suite with an excellent protection record: It blocked, detected, and disabled all of the malicious files we threw at it, and cleaned up 80 percent of infections in our system cleanup test. However, it's not the most user-friendly suite, with a tedious installation process and an advanced-users-only settings panel. As a result, it ended up toward the bottom of our rankings.

AVG has given its Internet Security suite a makeover for the new year. AVG Internet Security 2013 ($55 for one year, as of 12/17/12) now has a pretty, Windows 8-style tiled interface, complete with large, colorful buttons that are optimized for a touchscreen. That said, it seems as if AVG has put most of its effort into improving its program's looks, as the suite managed a respectable, but below-average, showing in our tests.

Avira Internet Security 2013 is an acceptable antivirus program--if you happen to be an expert in security jargon and working your way through a somewhat unfriendly user interface. This particular security suite passed our tests (though,

Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 ($60 for one year and three PCs, as of 12/19/12) is a solid antimalware suite that provides admirable protection and an excellent settings interface. This program looks a little different from the other suites we tested, mainly because of its teal-and-white colors, in contrast to the green-is-good/red-is-bad user interface that most other security packages use. But once you get past the fact that teal is sort of the same as green (trust us, this takes a moment), it's a good program that will keep you safe from most incoming attacks.

If you're like a lot of people, when it comes time to renew your security software, you may ask yourself, "Do I really need to upgrade to the latest version?" The answer is yes. Keeping up-to-date is generally a good idea, as new threats surface constantly. And if you value mobile security or use a social network, this year's crop of security suites is worth paying attention to.

Samba's open source alternative to Microsoft's domain controller is a good start, but not ready for prime time

As a researcher once said, the ideal password is one that is hard to guess, impossible to write down, and can only be used in one place. This combination of requirements is very hard for a human to achieve, but AgileBits's 1Password 4 makes it an absolute breeze.

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) servers are common in enterprise networks to offer centralized authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) for access control. But RADIUS servers can also be useful in small and midsize networks to enable 802.1X authentication and WPA2 (802.11i) security for Wi-Fi nets.

Having your Web browser remember your passwords and/or credit card details can be convenient, but it poses some security risks. How much of a risk depends on which browser you’re using, whether you sync with other devices, and whether you’re using any of the browser's extra security features. Here are the main vulnerabilities in some of the most popular browsers—Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox—and ways you can protect against those weak spots.