Internet Security and Saving

Psych_2

dang. i really need to proof read my posts. an on the fly spell/grammer checker wouldn't hurt either. in fact i'musre there is a free one available somewhere...

theloft

Hi all, I am a real novice when it comes to internet security and this post has certainly helped a lot, as has advice from Debeast (originator). The link posted by Englebert https://www.wilders.org on 14th April is also most helpful. They recommend Sygate Personal Firewall very highly. But - what is the difference between an "application based " firewall and a "rule based" one ?
And which one should I use ??

:-/ :-/ :-/

Psych_2

afaik an "application based" firewall haspreconfigured rules for certain apps, or chooses what to allow based on the app. a "rules based" allows you to completely specify what is to be allowed via a set of rules. eg "allow app x to communicate using protocol y on port z"
a rules based app is generally much better at being accurate in what comes and goes, but a application based firewall is much easier to use, albeit at the risk of possibly allowing harmful packets in.
most full blown firewalls should allow you to switch between different modes of usage. i know the one i use, agnitum outpost does http://www.agnitum.com , and am pretty sure the other biggies, ie norton, zonealarm do as well.

Psych_2

http://www.firewallguide.com is a truly superb site for making sense of the whole firewall, anti-virus/trojan adware/spyware debacle. it also has links to countless magazine based comparisons and reviews, along with their own recommendations.
hope this helps all that are still puzzled.

theloft

YOUR VOTE REQUIRED

As a fairly ignorant net surfer, I am not up to speed on Internet Security as mentioned previously.   I had already installed AdAware and after advice from Debeast have installed SpyBot.    BUT when it comes to installing a firewall (which is probably the most important) I am really confused as to which one to use.    If you log on to downloads.com and read the reviews, it seems as though there are problems with all of them, but I wanted to know what MSE readers think is the best between
1. KERIO  2. ZONE ALARM  & 3. SYGATE.   (free versions)
and are they rules or application based ?    ??? ??? ???

System

If you want to clear all cookies/temp. internet files/history etc. then try Purge IE which is free from:
http://www.purgeie.com/
It's fab and although it appears to be only a 30 day free trial once the 30 days are up just unistall the programme and then go back to the site and download it again! HURRAH!

sspyrou

I downloaded Kerio having read all your advice but it won't install on my PC >:(

It is saying that it has detected McAfee AV (which I have installed) and I will need to remove it !

I want to keep McAfee but also would like to install Kerio

Has anyone else had this problem ?

Also, I am currently using Windows XP internal Firewall. How does this compare to Kerio or Zone Alarm ?

Wombat

Jeanie M - for your spam problem I suggest Mailwasher. I use it alongside AVG, Ad-aware, Spybot, BHODemon, Cookiewall and Sygate Firewall without any problems.

http://www.mailwasher.net/

When I first used Mailwasher I didn't get very good results from it, mainly because I didn't have the time to set the filtering rules up properly. Then I went to the Mailwasher site, FAQ section, and found that there is a downloadable set of rules available. After downloading these I found that about 98% of spam was being caught, with the other 2% easily dealt with.

A few minor "tweaks" are required to the downloaded rules, but full instructions on how to do this are on the website you download the rules from:

http://www.w5hq.com/MailWasher/MailWasherFilters.txt

HC_2

Re stopping pop-ups, ads etc, I use Smart Explorer. Very like IE, but much better. You can get a 30 day trial and then it costs about $20 to buy it. Well worth it - I really like it.

debeast

I downloaded Kerio having read all your advice but it won't install on my PC  >:(

It is saying that it has detected McAfee AV (which I have installed) and I will need to remove it !

I want to keep McAfee but also would like to install Kerio

Has anyone else had this problem ?


Also, I am currently using Windows XP internal Firewall. How does this compare to Kerio or Zone Alarm ?

I haven't had this problem but as a 2nd choice i'd choose the free version of sygate

Xp firewall won't stop outgoing conns so it really only protects you one way !!!!