What Security do you use?

aliEnRIK

clueless1 wrote: »

Hi everybody, I am not a very techi person so I could do with a little help.
Having experienced previous computer viruses, I would like to make sure that my new computer has adequate protection. After trying to understand all the different free programs available out there, I have installed the following the programs.
Please can someone tell me if these are sufficient or am I just duplicating programs which do the same job and also check my understanding of how I manage them.
Avast - Active protection, scan + update once a week
Spybot - inactive, scan + update once a week
Adaware - inactive, scan + update once a week
Spywareblaster, active, update once a week
Malwarebytes - inactive, scan + update once a week

Do you have a firewall or are you using windows built in one?

clueless1

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Do you have a firewall or are you using windows built in one?

i am just using the windows built in one. Is that enough or not?

aliEnRIK

clueless1 wrote: »

i am just using the windows built in one. Is that enough or not?

Well its better than nothing but id suggest you get a proper one
There are 2 main free ones ~
Comodo ~ which I use
Zonealarm ~ which a lot of other people recommend but ive had problems personally with 'compatability' issues.
If you use comodo it also has a DEFENSE mode though if its too intrusive you can switch it off.
You can get comodo here ~
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html

clueless1

Thank you alienrik
so if I get a new firewall, do I switch current one off or keep both?
and looking at my security programs, have I got too many?

aliEnRIK

clueless1 wrote: »

Thank you alienrik
so if I get a new firewall, do I switch current one off or keep both?
and looking at my security programs, have I got too many?

If you install the comodo one it will auto switch off the inbuilt firewall anyways (You should NEVER run with 2 firewalls at the same time)

As for the programs you listed ~
"Avast - Active protection, scan + update once a week
Spybot - inactive, scan + update once a week
Adaware - inactive, scan + update once a week
Spywareblaster, active, update once a week
Malwarebytes - inactive, scan + update once a week"

I dont have any experience with the last 2 so couldnt say for sure but I think id be tempted to switch off the blasters 'active' scanning as it will slow your computer down AND may conflict slightly with Avast.
Id personally get rid of the last 2 myself as I see no need for them (shrugs)

For absolute safety if youve read a few posts back I also recommend using FIREFOX instead of internet explorer with the NOSCRIPT plugin for web browsing

Any questions ask away

tradetime

clueless1 wrote: »

i am just using the windows built in one. Is that enough or not?

Out of curiosity are you running XP or Vista?

clueless1

tradetime wrote: »

Out of curiosity are you running XP or Vista?

Vista. does that make any difference?

[Deleted User]

It's fine.

patman99

Interesting thread this.
Personally I use -

Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 (on Laptop, no problems)
Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 (on main PC, one or two issues (reported to Kaspersky but not yet rectified))

Both machines also dual-boot with XP & PCLinuxOS2007, the Linux distro has ClamAV with KlamAV front-end. DansGuardian provides the linux firewall (not that linux needs one)

I also have installed on the PCLOS system -

Photorec - A superb free file recovery program

Why dual-boot?, well if your Window$ goes belly-up, you can boot into a safe, non-Window$ O/S, then carry-out virus scanning, malware removal & file recovery prior to doing anything destructive to your Windows system.

Why PCLinuxOS 2007?, Because after installing it and tailoring it to your needs (adding/removing software), you can use an inbuilt command to build a bootable 'Rescue' CD that yu can use on any other PC to virus scan, and carry-out file recovery on Windows-only PCs.

tradetime

clueless1 wrote: »

Vista. does that make any difference?

Quite frankly unless you're a techie into setting up rules and the like the Vista Firewall is more than adequate. I currently use the XP default firewall.
My suggestion would be install a browser such as Firefox, or Opera, generally more secure than IE and browse using a sandbox such as sandboxie

Or possibly consider running a virtual app such as Shadow Defender or Returnil the latter has a free for personal use version. I use Firefox, Returnil and Sandboxie, along with Avast anti-virus and Windows firewall, altogether quite light on resources and very secure.