Today’s article will be about Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS). HIPS are usually an application on a single computer aimed at protecting the system from malicious code. HIPS programs compliment the existing security on a computer; the HIPS program does not need to be updated on a regular basis to prevent new malware. HIPS allow the user to monitor applications, drivers, DLL’s, and other activities that occur on the system.
For example, the user is installing software on their computer, they also have a HIPS based application monitoring activity, the HIPS program will alert the user of the activities that are taking place and will ask them to confirm these activities. HIPS programs will also alert the user if something is trying to install without their knowledge. If the user is suspicious about the activities, they can easily deny the activities with the HIPS based application. Here is a list of some free HIPS programs.
Spyware Terminator is one of my favorite free real-time antispyware programs because of the HIPS feature. Key features include:
- Fast spyware scanning
- 100% real-time protection
- HIPS protection
- Antivirus protection
Threatfire is another free HIPS program with excellent protection. Threatfire compliments the installed antivirus and actually raises the amount of protection. There is a chart to see the statistics HERE.
Drive Sentry is another free HIPS program. I went ahead and got the paid version for $16. It was a good investment considering it was just a one-time fee. I use this as my main protection on one of my laptops and it has not failed me yet. Key features:
Security 2.0 Antivirus and Antispyware protection
- Complete protection suite combining antivirus, data encryption, and backup.
- Protects desktop PC‘s and removable storage devices such as USB memory keys.
- Anti-virus, Anti-malware, Anti-spyware.
- Drag & Drop AES 256bit data encryption.
- Premium Support (Email/Telephone/Instant Messaging).
HIPS programs compliment the other security software on the computer. Keep in mind that some firewalls come with HIPS and having two programs can be annoying. If you think, you need host intrusion prevention programs then install one. Added security never hurt anyone, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Tags: antivirus, drive sentry, Firewall, HIPS, host intrusion prevention sytem, Malicious Software, Malware, Real-time protection, Security, Spyware, Spyware and Adware, spyware terminator, spywareterminator, threatfire
