norton security

donnajunkie

of course a big question for me related to the prevously mentioned mistake regarding having no firewall on for a period. if something did get through and is on my pc and not being detectd by norton then what can i do to check and know for sure whether something is lurking? if something was to be lurking and i removed norton and replaced it with free software would the free software be likely to detect it and remove it. or is it a case of once it is on the pc, i need a techy person to sort it out?

lilibeth

donnajunkie wrote: »

do they give full all round protection? do i need to install several different things? do they regulary update? how do i go about getting rid of norton and getting the new software onto the pc without being at risk at any time?

Yes it will update automatically. Personally I would back up anything you need and reformat the computer. Simply because Norton lurks like you wouldn't believe.

However I expect others can guide you through uninstalling and running CCleaner
http://www.download.com/CCleaner/3000-2144_4-10315544.html
Which is probably your prefered option.

'If you do format and reinstall Windows just download one of the programs that has been mentioned and stick it on a usb stick or spare hard drive so you can install it before connecting to the internet.
Then run it and then connect to the internet at which point it will update itself if necessary.

aliEnRIK

donnajunkie wrote: »

do they give full all round protection? do i need to install several different things? do they regulary update? how do i go about getting rid of norton and getting the new software onto the pc without being at risk at any time?

You would need a minimum of a firewall and an antivirus ~
AVG or AVAST anti virus
COMODO firewall
The anti viruses auto update and comodo updates when needed.
I would also recommend SPYBOT (stops certain popups and spyware when browsing the web)
and ADAWARE (Scans for certain spyware etc)

Getting the software ON the computer is simply a case of downloading without installing them. Then switch off the net. Uninstall Norton (Make sure its COMPLETELY gone as it can sometimes be a nightmare to get rid of!) and install one after the other (restarting when need be) then reconnect the net.

For absolute security I would also recommend using FIREFOX 3 with the NOSCRIPT plugin as opposed to using Internet Explorer which really isnt as safe on 'some' sites.

superscaper

donnajunkie wrote: »

of course a big question for me related to the prevously mentioned mistake regarding having no firewall on for a period. if something did get through and is on my pc and not being detectd by norton then what can i do to check and know for sure whether something is lurking? if something was to be lurking and i removed norton and replaced it with free software would the free software be likely to detect it and remove it. or is it a case of once it is on the pc, i need a techy person to sort it out?

If it's decent anti virus then it will detect it. In fact that did happen to me quite a few years ago. Was using McAfee on one pc and got rid of it and installed AVG, it detected a virus almost straight away on my pc and it was a genuine infection (not a false positive). You can always use a couple of online scanners in the meantime (there's a sticky). You can never be 100% sure no matter what you use. But you get to a point where the chances are so small it's not worth worrying about.

lilibeth

donnajunkie wrote: »

of course a big question for me related to the prevously mentioned mistake regarding having no firewall on for a period. if something did get through and is on my pc and not being detectd by norton then what can i do to check and know for sure whether something is lurking? if something was to be lurking and i removed norton and replaced it with free software would the free software be likely to detect it and remove it. or is it a case of once it is on the pc, i need a techy person to sort it out?

Run both Spybot and adaware
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2008/3000-8022_4-10045910.html

No need for a tech

EDIT Too late again

lilibeth

superscaper wrote: »

Although as an aside Linux servers can be a real pain in terms of usability, they're too far locked down and can make companies far less efficient than those using Windows servers strangely enough. Just personal observation from within the group of companies I presently work in. But I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment that free or cheaper doesn't necessarily mean lower quality. In fact Truecrypt is a great example where being open source (and free) is a huge advantage because it makes it more trustworthy as an encryption tool since no backdoors can be built into it. Whereas commercial encryption may well do (and some I know for a fact some do because some companies require backdoors to cover themselves).

Although I'm probably taking this off topic a bit, so apologies. But ultimately you can't generalise either way, there are great programs that are both free and commercial and the best depends on the type of program etc.

That was exactly my point not that free is automatically better but simply that paid does not automatically equal better quality. I think we are in agreement.

Re linux I think it is horses for courses and it really does depend on the individual needs of a particular system. Plus we must remember of course that the various distros can vary quite a bit.

Anyway I agree it's probably best left for another thread.

superscaper

lilibeth wrote: »

Re linux I think it is horses for courses and it really does depend on the individual needs of a particular system. Plus we must remember of course that the various distros can vary quite a bit.

Absolutely and I was only thinking purely about linux servers which is a completely different kettle of fish to running linux on a desktop, in the same way how good or bad a windows server has little to do with how good windows is on a desktop. But in my experience doing some pretty basic company file transfer tasks etc is a pain when the server is linux based.

Yep I think we're in agreement. I do go on a bit especially just to simply reiterate what others have said.

donnajunkie

lilibeth wrote: »

Run both Spybot and adaware
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2008/3000-8022_4-10045910.html

No need for a tech

EDIT Too late again

is it safe to leave both of these on the pc while norton 360 is still on the pc? or will they all cancel each other out like having two firewalls turned on does.

i am thinking of getting kaspersky at the moment. when it was first mentioned i thought no way because i was sure i saw it in a shop for £90 but i have seen it online today for £20 so i must be mistaken about the price i saw in the shop. one review i saw said it is complicated to use though.

aliEnRIK

Spybot and Adaware are just scanners so wont effect anything (Though technically Spybot stops certain popups and spyware in your browser it isnt actually 'active')

donnajunkie

well spybot found nothing. adaware is installing now.