What Security do you use?

chocogirl

I use Norton Internet security, never had no probs, virus etc , but am getting fed up with Norton as about 3 times a year i seem to get probs, with pc running real slow.
Was going to change to Mcafee but have now found out that can cause probs aswell, so now im not sure what to do, got to make a decision quick thou as Norton runs out in 12 days.
Going to look into Spy Doctor,not sure if they have a firewall thou - not very good at these things which is why i went with Norton as Interface so easy.

Widowmaker_2

Absolutely not necessary to spend money on it!...re-read the above posts...Free does not mean no good!

If people want to waste their hard earned cash on Norton or Mcafee...nothing I (we) can say is going to stop them..... But this is Moneysavingexpert and not Moneywastingexpert.com!...So, please...look at all the free stuff out there, before paying a PCWorld Employee their commision!!

chocogirl

What i worry about is that if i have all different internet security with different companies, ie a firewall with Sunbelt Kerio, anti-virus with AVG etc, will it be harder to keep tracks on all of them. Hope this isnt a dumb question?

Widowmaker_2

Hi Chocogirl.
Nope, not a dumb question (and exactly the sort of worry that the Symantec and Mcafee vultures thrive on)
One of the main gripes I have about both of the above programs, is that they are both so intrusive!!
I dont know about you, but I want a firewall and an Antivirus that just does it's job....not one that continually pops up to smack my hand everytime I so much as fart near my PC!

Computers should not become a platform for running Security on!...They are for work and pleasure...it is a mistake to end up terrified of 'out there'
I have found generally, that Virus's (at their worst) usually only amount to a reformat...and you have all your valuable data backed up elsewhere anyway dont you?....................... Dont you?

Firewalls dont usually need to be manually updated....just set them away and
they're fine...and AVG updates itself automatically anyway, and the only time it bothers you, is if it finds a virus.

99.9% of Virus's can be prevented with just a smidge of Common sense (ie run a quick scan on any email attatchments) I havent had a sniff of a virus for about 3 yrs now!! (so come on Symantec....write some more...to scare the populace!)

IMHO Without Dell and PC World.... Mcafee and Norton would be consigned to the recycle bin

Best place for them

rancid-a

I'm using the following...

Norton Antivirus/Firewall. - I've bought this for most of my PCs over the years, it used to get good reviews. remember installing it on my latest PC as soon as I got it - and it immediately became apparent that it slows my PC down on start up/shutdown. Sucks. I daren't uninstall it though as I've heard that it doesn't like to be deleted and can muck up your system.
I do love the way I have to restart my system after every bloody update, which happens with more and more frequency.

Spybot

Adaware to catch the bits that Spybot doesn't get (and vice versa).
I noticed my Adaware wasn't updating over the past four weeks, visited it's website and downloaded the latest version -2007 apparently - maybe someone should tell them.. Anyway it's not as customisable as the old one..unless you pay for the full thing.

superscaper

rancid-a wrote: »

I'm using the following...

Norton Antivirus/Firewall. - I've bought this for most of my PCs over the years, it used to get good reviews. remember installing it on my latest PC as soon as I got it - and it immediately became apparent that it slows my PC down on start up/shutdown. Sucks. I daren't uninstall it though as I've heard that it doesn't like to be deleted and can muck up your system.
I do love the way I have to restart my system after every bloody update, which happens with more and more frequency.

Really shooting yourself in the foot there. Just uninstall it and use the removal tool http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
Any of the free ones are better.

rancid-a

Not long re subscribed Nevermind, It won't be going on any future PC's

tradetime

Agree with some others that the internet is not as dangerous as many make out. There are viruses out there for sure, lots and lots, but by and large the biggest risk to a computer is the bod sitting tapping the keys. Use good net sense, know exactly what you are clicking on and know what you are installing on your machine. If you are behind a hardware firewall such as that found in many (but not all) routers then you are pretty safe from anything that you do not invite onto your machine. If you want more control (possibly read easier control) over outbound traffic then a software firewall is useful, I personally use Comodo, though not the most recent version as I had probs with that. As for AV, I use Avast! have done for years.
Also if you do not use one already, consider using a thirdparty browser such as Firefox or Opera ( my own preference is Opera) this will help improve your security. Another product to consider is a sandbox such as sandboxie, very light on resourses, has a free version, browse all you want then empty the sandbox and all is gone. But don't get caught in the paranoid trap of loading your machine with dozens of security apps, you will vastly slow it down at best, and at worst will encounter conflicts that will cause much more probs.

intranix

I simply just use AVG, and hardware firewall built into router, and simply make sure you arent forwarding all ports.

I dont use any anti-spyware either, I just use Firefox for browsing and a bit of common sense.

My full time occupation is a home pc techie, so deal with alot of PCs every week. Majority of security issues I deal with are Norton related. IMO, All norton software apart from Ghost, is a virus itself. Obtrusive, infectious, slow running horrible software throughout, which I am amazed people pay for. If I cant convince the user to ditch Norton altogether then I often leave unsatisfied while confident they'll be calling me back one day to get rid of it fully (something not so easy).

Widowmaker_2

intranix wrote: »

I simply just use AVG, and hardware firewall built into router, and simply make sure you arent forwarding all ports.

I dont use any anti-spyware either, I just use Firefox for browsing and a bit of common sense.

My full time occupation is a home pc techie, so deal with alot of PCs every week. Majority of security issues I deal with are Norton related. IMO, All norton software apart from Ghost, is a virus itself. Obtrusive, infectious, slow running horrible software throughout, which I am amazed people pay for. If I cant convince the user to ditch Norton altogether then I often leave unsatisfied while confident they'll be calling me back one day to get rid of it fully (something not so easy).

I have the same job as you, and ditto...agree with you totally on that one!