Which security should I use?

JVRMac

I've got a PC with Avira free security on it, a laptop with 30days free trial of Trend Micro and a netbook whose 30 day trial of Norton anti virus has just expired.
I've seen that Norton antivirus is currently on offer for about £35 which covers 3 PC's for 12months, and wondered if it was worthwhile buying or whether the free antivirus like Avira are just as good?

santer_2

This is worth a look IMO

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/top-freeware-picks-category-editors.htm#Security

macman

Avira every time. Or Kaspersky is free if you have Barclays online banking (3PC licence).
Remove Norton by running the Norton Removal Tool before you attempt to install Kaspersky (or any other AV).

A.Penny.Saved

Avira is one of the best for detection rate but the free version doesn't include online detection so you will be at risk of drive by virus/trojan attacks. Using Sandboxie can help prevent that king of thing.

The only problem I have with Avira is the latest versions give no option to override any detection which is damn annoying as Avira can be very trigger happy. Even well known software can get detected if the Heuristics is set to high. I am sure it was once possible to override a detection and allow it to proceed as normal. But now it auto blocks it with no override even with interactive mode enabled.

It really lets down Avira for me.

free4440273

23n1th wrote: »

Avast 6 .

yep/ I'd go with the brilliant Avast too//

The_Grandmaster

Avira or avast - depends on which you prefer. But also use malwarebytes which fights against malware (but requires manual updating and scanning). All are free.
Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.50 - FileHippo.com

I used to use norton but it slowed down my computer massively.
http://service1.symantec.com/Support...05033108162039 is the norton removal tool, which you should use after removing norton from the control panel.

GetRealBabe

I use Avast and Comodo firewall on my desktop pc. I checked the firewall logs today and Adobe Acrobat tried to access the internet 89 times.:eek::eek: I only used it to check my online fuel bills and scan a couple of letters. Anyone else check their firewall logs?

The_Grandmaster wrote: »

I used to use norton but it slowed down my computer massively.
http://service1.symantec.com/Support...05033108162039 is the norton removal tool, which you should use after removing norton from the control panel.

I've got Norton 360 on my laptop and haven't noticed any slowing down.

JVRMac

Many thanks to you all, I have now saved myself some pennies and have downloaded Avira and MalwareBytes. It's my son's netbook and he's only 8 but surfs the net like a pro, so I'm pleased to get this sorted. Will wait till my 30 days trial ends on my laptop before I do the same I think.

Great link you posted Santer, will definately keep that in my favourites for future reference.

Knarf44

If I may add my suggestions to the advice already given:

If you have children (especially under 10s) who regularly use your PC/Laptop, another form of protection is to create their own user account but DON'T give it "Administrator" rights. If they do happen to click on a dodgy link and cause an infection this will help limit its effect.

You can also help limit infections by ensuring you keep your version of Windows fully updated and by using appropriate browser add-ons such as Ad-Block and NoScript. You'll find these in Chrome under "Tools/Extensions" and IE under "Tools" "Manage Addons" there's a link in bottom left corner of the box "Find more toolbars and Extensions". Try to limit the number of toolbars you have as many contain spyware.

Another useful tool for helping to keep your PC up to date is the often mentioned "Secunia Online Software Inspector" This will list any vulnerabilities on your system and links to update them. It's particularly useful for checking that you have the latest MS security patches and latest versions of Flash, Java and Shockwave.

If despite all of this and the other advice you still have the desire to visit dodgy websites and click on suspect links then you should be using Sandboxie as advised in post #4 above or you'll just be back here asking the same questions over and over again.

JVRMac

Knarf44 wrote: »

If I may add my suggestions to the advice already given:

If you have children (especially under 10s) who regularly use your PC/Laptop, another form of protection is to create their own user account but DON'T give it "Administrator" rights. If they do happen to click on a dodgy link and cause an infection this will help limit its effect.

You can also help limit infections by ensuring you keep your version of Windows fully updated and by using appropriate browser add-ons such as Ad-Block and NoScript. You'll find these in Chrome under "Tools/Extensions" and IE under "Tools" "Manage Addons" there's a link in bottom left corner of the box "Find more toolbars and Extensions". Try to limit the number of toolbars you have as many contain spyware.

Another useful tool for helping to keep your PC up to date is the often mentioned "Secunia Online Software Inspector" This will list any vulnerabilities on your system and links to update them. It's particularly useful for checking that you have the latest MS security patches and latest versions of Flash, Java and Shockwave.

If despite all of this and the other advice you still have the desire to visit dodgy websites and click on suspect links then you should be using Sandboxie as advised in post #4 above or you'll just be back here asking the same questions over and over again.

Should I use Sandboxie in addition to the one's I've already downloaded?

Knarf44

You could use Sandboxie all the time if you are in a habit of regularly visiting dodgy sites or clicking on links where you are not sure you know what you're doing. Alternatively, you can use Sandboxie to test sites that may be dodgy to see what effect they have on your PC. Anything downloaded within a sandboxed environment can be easily deleted along with the sandbox at the end of your browsing session.

I would suggest you try it out or open sandboxie and allow your son to visit his sites. He can surf secure in the knowledge that any malware etc is being contained within the sandbox environment and not infecting anything else on the computer.

Other than the above, if you don't take to browsing in a sandboxed environment just be careful about what you click on or what sites you visit. Get into the habit of doing regular scans with CCleaner, Malwarebytes and SuperantiSpyware and keep your anti-virus and MS updates up to date.