Protecting a small business PC - remain with Zonealarm??

KG

I'm doing some maintenance on my Aunt's PC which she uses in the course of running a small hotel. After running malwarebytes anti malware software and coming up with 765 infected files I am guessing her security isn't working that well.

At the moment she is using only Zonealarm as far as I can see. Am I right in thinking she needs additional protection?

She's not that keen on Zonealarm anyway as it's forever popping up telling her that a program is trying to access the internet and she's never sure which ones are legitimate from the info that comes up based on her limited techie knowledge. It also seems to throw up problems using other software at times and has clashed with Microsoft updates before now rendering the internet unusable.

I followed the free PC protection article on the site about installing antivirus stuff for my PC and I was wondering about doing the same with my Aunt's PC. Basically I have AVG anti virus installed and run Malwarebytes occassionally. I also have a firewall through my BT homehub whcih my aunt doesn't so i would look at giving her firewall protection too.

Question is should I do away with Zonealam and use another firewall? And do you have any advice on the rest of what I have said?

Thanks

KG

phildamb

I would get rid of zone alarm and replace it with comodo security. It has AV and firewall as well as malware. Ive been running it for a few months now and its a pretty good program. plus its free!

aliEnRIK

Zonealarms one of the best firewalls around
Only replace it if theres a problem with it (And id recommend PC TOOLS FIREWALL)

I DONT recommend comodos anti virus package as ive seen bad reviews on it so far

Install AVIRA anti virus
http://www.download.com/Avira-AntiVir-Personal-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10322935.html

Installing SPYBOT
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-amp-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html
And using the IMMUNISE feature will also protect from a lot of nasties (Update and immunise weekly)

Conor_3

If it's a business, don't monkey around with free antivirus solutions. Get either ESET NOD32/Smartsuite or Kaspersky.

Marty_J

Kapersky Internet Security 2009 is £13.24 from Amazon. It's definitely worth the investment if she uses her computer to run her business (and even for those who don't, it's still worth considering).

aliEnRIK

Marty_J wrote: »

Kapersky Internet Security 2009 is £13.24 from Amazon. It's definitely worth the investment if she uses her computer to run her business (and even for those who don't, it's still worth considering).

Seems to be a lot of people dont like the new 2009 edition according to amazon reviews!

Conor_3

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Seems to be a lot of people dont like the new 2009 edition according to amazon reviews!

Just the same as people who don't like Vista. It's because there's a GUI change and they have to learn where stuff is.

[Deleted User]

I second the fact that if it's a business then you're in choppy water with free AVs legally wise... Carefully read the terms of use for each application you plan to use.

My choice for a paid AV would either be ESET NOD32 or Kaspersky with, for me, NOD32 winning.

If she's unsure about what to allow through and what not to allow through I see there being no point in having an outbound firewall. Turn on XP / Vista's inbound firewall.

See this thread for a discussion of whether outbound firewalls are really needed:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1371573

1. I'd also run CCleaner
2. Run an anti-spyware scan e.g. http://www.superantispyware.com/
3. Run an anti-malware scan e.g. http://www.malwarebytes.org/
5. Check the VRAM settings i.e.:

- Click Start, then open the Control Panel.
- Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Under Performance, click Settings.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Under Virtual memory, click Change.
- Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file (virtual memory) settings that you want to change. In almost every case, this will be your C: drive.
- Click to select the "System managed size" option, then click Set.
- Click OK three times and restart your computer.

6. Run a Windows Update
7. Go to Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs and uninstall anything not needed.
8. Run a defrag
9. Investigate msconfig
10. Finally install Firefox and try not to use IE

Again it's very important before installing any software you read the terms and conditions to make sure it's legal and allowed for your particular use.