We live in a world of immediate information, where messages, videos, emails, images, and more are sent around the globe in seconds. With so much technology being used to share information becoming the norm, it’s an amazing time to be alive. Mobile phones are essentially miniature computers, tablets have made on-the-go business much easier, and internet speed – pending its avoidance of clumsy ‘fastlane’ control – only gets faster. But with all this informational exchange and technological presence, there lies a bit of danger. It’s an age of convenience, but also one of compromised security.

Be it from malware intrusions or website trackers (those invisible little buggers that track your browsing data), privacy invaders or other malicious attempts at messing with your data, nastiness exists all over the place. If you’re a business, security becomes an even bigger deal because you have precious info to keep safe.  Fortunately, people can fight back with protective software and apps. Here are some that should keep you safe no matter where you go.

1. 1. Avast! Anti-Virus

A personal favorite, Avast is a freeware anti-virus tool that has established quite a reputation for its reliability. Every PC needs some form of anti-viral protection, and Avast does the job. It has in depth software guard tools, constantly monitors for bad sites/intrusions, and doesn’t cost a dime. For advanced features you can choose to pay a subscription. Handily enough, it has a phone app too!

2. 2. Clueful Privacy Advisor

I mentioned privacy being a spot of potential weakness, and I meant it. On your phone especially, it’s likely that various apps you install will want excessive private data to run. It’s pretty ridiculous to think a game app might need access to your phone logs, right? Clueful Privacy Advisor is an android app that informs you about potential data leaks from the apps you have installed, or plan to. It’s a good way to make informed decisions.

3. 3. Privacy Star Text and Callback

You know what’s insane? That we’ve lost the ability to block callers from our phones. Unfortunately, along with the complexity of technology also comes some loss, apparently. You may realize with your fancy android phone that you can’t block spam calls. Privacy Star, at a cost of about $3 a month, will rectify this. You get plenty of call data, can block unwanted callers, and find out caller info. Telemarketers meet their match, again.

4. 4. Kaspersky Mobile Security 9

More phone security? You bet! This android app is aimed at those who may have very critical data on their phones. While the app has plenty of good features like the whitelist, which only allows calls from stored contacts (great for distinguishing between important numbers and junk callers), my favorite is the lost phone feature. Should you lose the phone, you can lock it remotely, track it via GPS, or delete everything from another secure device. No loss, no foul.

5. 5. Comodo Firewall

It doesn’t matter what operating system you use, your tech will always come equipped with its own firewall. However, the Comodo Firewall allows for a deeper customization of settings, monitors inbound/outbound connections, and keeps you free of malware. Combine this with cloud computing and it can protect your place of business too.

6. 6. KeePass

If at any point you have used email or held any other type of online account, then you have a password. The more involved in tech you get though, the more passwords you need. What if you run a company and need to keep track of a plethora of passwords? KeePass, a handy program for PC, not only holds them in a database but encrypts them as well. Nothing spells PR disaster quite like a compromised business password.

7. 7. Lookout Security and Anti-Virus

Maybe Avast wasn’t quite your thing, and maybe it soaks up too much processing power. If that’s the case, a good alternative for your phone is Lookout. It acts as an anti-virus shield, but can also track your phone’s location. Additionally, it’ll take a snapshot of people trying to access your phone. Turns the whole “invasion of privacy” thing right around, eh?