computer security

rachel_green

Hello I have a computer which is conected to the internet does not have security on it.

I am not techie at all but was going to buy
Norton Internet Security Performance Pack 2010 - 3 Users
it is under £30 in my local WH Smiths, is this ok to buy or do I need something else

I don't use the home pc for banking, flights etc only for googling and visiting websites.

rachel_green

Argos has
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 - 3 User

for £24.99 so probably going to get it instead

swvillafan

rachel_green wrote: »

Argos has
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 - 3 User

for £24.99 so probably going to get it instead

I know you said you dont use it for banking, but if you use bank with Barclays, you can get Kaspersky for free. We do and its great!

fwor

If you don't use it for anything critical and don't expect to in future, one of the free ones will probably be just fine.

Microsoft Security Essentials is quite good, for example, because it integrates with the Windows Security Centre and tries to ensure that Windows Updates are turned on - which is probably a more important security measure than any other.

esuhl

Personally I wouldn't pay for security software. Used in combination, the following will (in my opinion - and I have done a fair bit of research on the issue) provide much better security.

Avira AntiVir (antivirus)
Spybot - Search & Destroy (blocks malware & can scan for it)
SpywareBlaster (blocks malware)
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (scans for malware)
Secunia PSI (scans your PC and identifies potential security issues)

It's also a good idea to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer as it doesn't use ActiveX, which seems to be commonly exploited by malware.

hethmar

I have the kaspersky freebie antivirus suite from my bank. I also use Malwarebytes (free) and anti spyware which I run now and then. I used to have several freebie downloads but some seemed to conflict and so on and I found it is more comforting to have the lot in one suite.

JasX

fwor wrote: »

If you don't use it for anything critical and don't expect to in future, one of the free ones will probably be just fine.

Microsoft Security Essentials is quite good, for example, because it integrates with the Windows Security Centre and tries to ensure that Windows Updates are turned on - which is probably a more important security measure than any other.

that combined with making sure you are set to automaticallly keep windows up to date with security patches will be fine if combined with abit of common sense around not installling and clicking ok to everything you come accross on the internet and not opening dodgy email attachments

simon.griggs

Dear Rachel Green,

Stop! Keep your £30 in your pocket! As esuhl has said, it is possible to do the whole lot for less than that. A lot of people buy an Internet Security Suite, Norton or McAfee and end up with tools that are not needed.

If you have a router to access the internet these days, you are sitting behind a good hardware firewall. Download a copy of Spybot Search & Destroy and you have a good package to defend against Spyware. Get as esuhl has recommended a copy of Avira, or something like AVG Free to protect against viruses, and then you should be good to go.

I would also like to claim that I know a bit about this as I build Servers for a living. Having connected a lot of stuff to the internet over the past few years, you get to know what works and what doesn't, also what is worth paying for and what isn't. Save your £30. In fact, if you want to PM or email me, I can give you a file that contains all those packages, to save you having to search for things.

Regards


Simon.

gonzo127

for the basic security i would suggest either microsoft security essentials or avast free for the anti virus (yes Avira is better but the pop ups can pee you off) - make sure you only run one anti virus program due to possible conflicts

make sure you have at least got windows firewall turned on or if you want better protection the latest virsion of Zone Alarm seems to be getting some very good reviews as it is very unintrusive and has a small footprint (been a while since i have suggested ZA) HOWEVER if you get this make sure you then turn off windows firewall - only every run one firewall on your system

for malware get malwarebytes anti malware and run it once a month (after updating it of course) this doesnt offer real time protection hence the manual scans but it is a great program

dekh

If it is for home use you don't need to shell out for antivirus.

I was running AVG but it was getting more and more sluggish.

Now I'm running Windows firewall which does fine and avast free edition
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
on my home computer.

No complaints.

Just don't run more than one piece of AV software and let it do a scan once a day.

esuhl

hethmar wrote: »

I used to have several freebie downloads but some seemed to conflict and so on and I found it is more comforting to have the lot in one suite.

The programs I recommended above definitely don't conflict on any of the systems I run them on (including XP Home, XP Pro, Vista Enterprise 32-bit, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit & Enterprise 32-bit).

You will (almost certaintly) have problems if you try running multiple software firewalls or antivirus programs on the same PC. Also, some security suites (Norton used to be notorious for it) do not uninstall properly, which can cause a lot of problems. They came up with a special "removal tool" to clean up the mess left over on your PC. If you have any problems, it might be worth seeing if special "removal tool" programs are available for any security software you have uninstalled.