Anti-Spyware - McAfee or ZoneAlarm or other prog??

Crabman

Hi there,

Now m'broadband's up and running, I found the free McAfee Personal Firewall Plus software that AOL provides.

However I've currently got Zonealarm running but wondered which one is better??

:beer:

Crabman

Oh and on my laptop I've got Zonealarm with Windows Defender Beta2 but not installed the McAfee yet. Does that mean I need to remove ZA??

Little_John

Only have 1 software firewall running they can argue just like antivirus software. well not really argue but you may allow on 1 program and not on the other it can make things dificult to manage. as for whihc one to use. god knows I ditched ZA ages ago for Kerio but I have internet security suite on my laptop which works ok once they are set up they dont really bother you that much

Quasar

I used to have Norton, but I since joining MSE I refuse to pay for internet security when I can have a good system for free. Therefore I have uninstalled Norton from both my lappies and have donwloaded/installed:

AVG
Spybot
sygate
Ad-aware

Plus Ccleaner for getting rid of cobwebs from the system.

It all works a treat, and I find both lappies have even speeded up a bit.

chatta

Quasar wrote:

I used to have Norton, but I since joining MSE I refuse to pay for internet security when I can have a good system for free. Therefore I have uninstalled Norton from both my lappies and have donwloaded/installed:

AVG
Spybot
sygate
Ad-aware

Plus Ccleaner for getting rid of cobwebs from the system.

It all works a treat, and I find both lappies have even speeded up a bit.

I am going to install these as my Norton expires at end of this month, silly question but do I uninstall Norton first???? Could you just tell me what each one is for, I am slightly confused. Which order is it best to do them in.

Crabman

Quasar wrote:

I used to have Norton, but I since joining MSE I refuse to pay for internet security when I can have a good system for free. Therefore I have uninstalled Norton from both my lappies and have donwloaded/installed:

AVG
Spybot
sygate
Ad-aware

Plus Ccleaner for getting rid of cobwebs from the system.

It all works a treat, and I find both lappies have even speeded up a bit.

Ad-Aware - I've got this on our desktop PC but it doesn't have any real-time capabilities I also forget to run/update it and tbh I only just remembered I have it when you mentioned it just then :rotfl:

Has no-one heard of McAfee Personal Firewall Plus then?? It seems a good program - clean tidy and easy interface but techies always know more than simple folk like myself

Browntoa

Mcafee is fine, unistall zonealrm after turning on the Windows built in one, install the Mcaffee and then turn the windows one back off

tawnyowls

Yes, uninstall Norton, but prepare for it to put up a fight.

AVG: anti-virus program
Sygate: depends which one, but presume Quasar means the firewall, which guards your PC against intrusions from outside your PC and unapproved contacting of websites etc from things inside your PC (this was what the OP was talking about, not actually anti-spyware)
Spybot, Ad-aware: anti-spyware programs, which remove programs that can spy on your system, and for instance, log your keystrokes.
Ccleaner - removes temporary files and other dross Windows leaves behind.

I'd go with the recommendations on all these, apart from Sygate, which I've never used, but I'm sure it's good. For an alternative, I use Kerio firewall, which is a 30-day trial and then it'll switch to the free version which hasn't got as many bells & whistles, but protects just as well.

Browntoa

chatta wrote:

I am going to install these as my Norton expires at end of this month, silly question but do I uninstall Norton first???? Could you just tell me what each one is for, I am slightly confused. Which order is it best to do them in.

yes as above , turn ON the windows firewall to give you some protection, uninstall Nortons completely fro Add/Remove Programs , then install the Mcafee , then turn off the windows firewall again

chatta

My son has gone on about using these for a long time he is 15, but why do we think that because we pay for something its got to be better. I am going to have to eat a lot of humble pie If I hadnt discovered this site i would never have thought about changing security so thanks.

Crabman

I can't get any video through Realplayer now that I've got rid of ZOneAlarm and put McAfee PLus in place. It doesn't seem to ask for permissions as muich as Zonealarm did.