I need anti-virus software help

mart44

I'd guess not many would agree but Norton Internet Security is much changed since the 2009 version came out. I've been using it without problems ever since then. A good 'set and forget' program. However, I'd say it's best not to rely on any antivirus program, anti-malware program or security suite to keep you safe. They can all have a failure rate. Also use Sandboxie as was suggested in a previous post.

Gillor

The internet can be a pretty dangerous place and as they say, if you roll around in the mud you’re going to get dirty.

However, whatever your browsing requirements don’t rely solely on a traditional signature based anti-virus to keep you clean; if it hasn’t got a signature for it most of them are pretty average at recognising zero day attacks. You really need a layered security approach.

As a silver surfer non techie who has had to learn the hard way can I suggest the following which has worked for me after some really sh**ty experiences with apparently safe but hijacked websites:

As Waddler has said make sure your OS, browser and installed programmes are kept up to date.

Make sure you are behind a strong firewall. If you have a router, its firewall together with Windows inbuilt firewall should be sufficient. For added protection make sure outbound protection is activated (Vista and Windows 7). Otherwise install something like PC Tools Firewall if you want simple but effective protection, or Online Armor for perhaps the best firewall protection but requiring greater user involvement.

Next you need an anti virus to choke off most of the cr*p which is floating around the internet.. Whichever you choose is really a personal decision based on which one you feel most comfortable using and which plays best on your machine. All the free ones do a reasonable job and the paid-for ones aren’t necessarily much better, they just have more bells and whistles which generally can be found free elsewhere.

To make sure you have some indication as to the safety of any site you visit download WOT ( Web of Trust) which traffic lights every site with a red, amber or green marker to indicate the security level of each site, Visit red marked sites at you peril. Green marked sites not 100% but pretty close in my experience.

Add a second opinion scanner like Malwarebytes and scan at the end of each browsing session. You can run Malwarebytes alongside any traditional anti virus software on your system. That’s what it’s designed for.

At this stage you should be pretty safe but if your browsing is likely to take you into some of the potentially darker areas of the internet then your anti virus is going to let you down. It will not be able to cope with the amount of malware which is being created on a daily basis whose sole objective is to avoid recognition by anti virus software.

So the next step up the security ladder is to prevent an infection rather than trying to cure it by isolating your system from attack by sandboxing or virtualisation.

In a previous post Dogmaryxx referred to Sandboxie which I have used now for the best part of 3 years and thoroughly recommend. Difficult to get your head round initially but once you understand the concept it’s a piece of cake and now I would never browse the internet without it. If you accidentally or intentionally download anything suspect just empty the sandbox and it’s gone without ever getting on to your system.

You can even set it up to minimise the risk of keyloggers and phone-home malware.


For belt and bracers protection take look at something like Returnil where your whole system is virtualised. In other words whatever you download, viruses, malware adware, whatever changes are made tour system, whatever you have added or deleted your system is simply returned to its original state when you reboot.

However, nothing is 100% safe. As someone once said the only truly secure computer is one buried in concrete, with the power turned off and the network cable cut.

ada1988

There are lots for you to choose,and maybe you can have a choose from the list .
1. BitDefender Antivirus Plus 2012
2. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012
3. Norton Antivirus 2012
4. Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012
5. ESET Nod32 Antivirus 5
6. AVG Antivirus 2012
7. McAffee Antivirus Plus 2012
8. Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus + 2012
9. Avira Antivirus Premium
10. Vipre Antivirus 4

macman

I'd be deleting McCrappy from that list.

GunJack

ada1988 wrote: »

There are lots for you to choose,and maybe you can have a choose from the list .
1. BitDefender Antivirus Plus 2012
2. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012
3. Norton Antivirus 2012
4. Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus 2012
5. ESET Nod32 Antivirus 5
6. AVG Antivirus 2012
7. McAffee Antivirus Plus 2012
8. Trend Micro Titanium Antivirus + 2012
9. Avira Antivirus Premium
10. Vipre Antivirus 4

this list as presented is for the paid-for versions (although some of them listed have free versions). Stick to the free ones

miamoo

Thanks everyone, thats really really helpful!

I work for Lionbridge rating internet website, most sites are ok, but its only a matter of time before I pick something up.
The fact that I dont know a thing about computers doesn't help, I dont know if I have a firewall. How can I find this out?
(I do have a router, are firewalls built in?)

I am going to have another proper read of all your suggestions now, thanks again x

miamoo

I forgot to say I have to use Firefox for work, but I use an older version as the latest version doesn't work with their website. I didn't realise this made me more at risk.

mikemaple

I'm quite a fan of Threatfire - it sits along side your A/V.

Well worth a look.

GunJack

miamoo wrote: »

I dont know if I have a firewall. How can I find this out? (I do have a router, are firewalls built in?)

yes, there's a "hardware" firewall in your router, and you should have windows firewall enabled on the pc - open control panel > windows firewall and ensure it's switched on

Andrew1472

miamoo wrote: »

Dogmaryxx wow that looks great, I have never heard of anything like that before, and for my work it looks perfect. Is it easy to use if you dont know much about computers?

Another +1 for Sandboxie.
Given your, less than ideal, situation it could be a lifesaver.
It will repay the time it takes you to get used to it many times over if you do hit a compromised website.