Got my 13" Inspiron- Security programs?

SpookyPistolero

SpookyPistolero

Joined
Dec 13, 2005
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Howdy folks-

Got my 13" Dell, I really like it! Very light, but solid. I'm enjoying Vista despite the horror stories online. Like a lot of setups it came with a free 30-day trial of McAfee security center.

Since I'm cheap, I don't like to pay for programs like this, so I need some things for the future.

My previous laptop used AVG free antivirus, Sygate firewall, Winpatrol, and SpyBot.

I'm interested in hearing from more knowledgeable folk- are there better options for a cheap bastard like myself? Are these likely to do more clogging up of my computer than the sum of viruses and spyware?

Thanks for your thoughts!!

-Spooky
 
Avast over AVG

Comodo Firewall [also look at some of the other stuff Comodo offers]

A-Squared for removing nasties

Spyware Terminator [or something else with HIPS]

Sandboxie [or something else to run your browser and stuff in]

These should get you off to a solid start.
 
Thanks Bladtaco! Is something on that list comparable in function to Winpatrol? I really liked the feature that warned me when programs were trying to run at startup, etc.

I will look into all of the above mentioned programs though.
 
I haven't used Winpatrol but I know it is well regarded. Winpatrol uses a heuristic analysis to look for suspicious activity, that sets it apart from the above because it is dedicated to that. To that extent it is rather similar to others such as Threatfire.

A-Square differs in that it is based on definitions that are updated very frequently. As such it is hunting for known badness rather than making a best guess.

Spyware Terminator does both the definitions based thing and also offers you control over things that haven't run before, so it is kinda like a Spyware sniffer but with System Safety Monitor built in.

In all probability you should be able to run all three in parallel with no ill effect.

Sandboxie is a totally different can of worms. Without wanting to make it sound complicated with phrases such as 'virtual machines', it is enough to note that you could think of it rather like a safe playpen. One often uses Sandboxes to stuff something malicious in so it can be taken apart without any spilling out onto the rest of the machine. A simple example with Sandboxie here is that you run your browser from inside it. All changes and whatever, good or bad, will be trapped inside the box. If you deliberately download something you can just fish it out of the box and on to your machine as normal. The advantage is that if something bad happens and you inadvertently download something you don't want you just delete the entire sandbox. Have a peek at the Sanboxie site, it is much more simple than I'm making it sound. And when you have the hang of it you'll find you can use it for other things too [perhaps you have a key gen that you aren't sure isn't compromised or something].

The Comodo firewall scores very highly under leak testing for any software firewall. That it is free is outstanding. They've also got other bits such as convenient ways to secure your mail without needing to go the PGP route, and so on.

I've migrated several machines from AVG to Avast.
 
OK, I've tried to do lots of homework. Right now I'm looking at the following.

-Avast or Avira (is there a reason to choose Avast over Avira? Most reviews seem to choose Avira as tops that I've read)
-Comodo Firewall
-Windows Defender
-WinPatrol

I feel like the last three are easier choices. Winpatrol just because I'm a little more familiar with it.
 
One must be careful about reviews and how they are constructed. For a start the free version of Avira will not scan your inbound e-mail.
 
I have been using AVG, Zone Alarm, Spybot, and Ad-Aware now for many years with excellent results. I have had a couple of compatibility problems with AVG (Red Orchestra) which were quickly resolved.
I tried Avast, but found that when scanning downloaded files it was ungodly slow as compared to AVG, and also constantly asked you to buy the deluxe version.

Back when the excellent "Call For Help" show was still on the air, they consistently found that AVG was superior to the big-name commercial anti-virus programs.
 
I like ConsumerSearch.com as a first call as they claim to be reviewing the reviews - ie: survey all the reviews out there, and come to some concensus - kind of what we'd do if we had the resources.
Even when I don't agree with them - it is still a good resource to the review sites/references etc.

ConsumerSearch on AntiVirus

ConsumerSearch on Firewalls

ConsumerSearch on Anti-Spyware

Hope that helps,

--
Vincent
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Zonealarm offer a free firewall, which is worth a look.

The free version of AVG is limited in the functions it performs compared to a fully featured AV program, but its definately better than nothing.

You do however get what you pay for. I've used Zonealarm Pro and Kaspersky AV for years now with few problems. It costs very little for the licenses.
 
Been shopping for a new computer. Looked at all the Macs because I'm so sick of PCs and their constant "updates". None of the Macs come with any kind of antivirus programs pre-installed. I asked the Apple guys about this and they said antivirus programs are not needed with a Mac. I also understand that Mac has it's own built in firewall that's supposedly much better than even the pay versions of Zone Alarm. Any Apple guys here that can verify any of this? Sounds suspicious and a little unbelieveable.

I've looked around on various geek forums and apparently this is a common belief however.
 
Comodo is a great deal better than the free Zone Alarm. I've got no beef with Zone Alarm, and I run the all singing version on several machines and have done for a long time, but the free one is surpassed now.

Shame this thread didn't crop up a week ago. Zone Alarm just did a 15th Anniversary Promotion and were offering Zone Alarm Pro for free for a 24hr period. That would have made a decent contender. I got mine. That said, I'm not about to take Comodo off one of my machines just to fit that so it is sitting in the spares box.
 
Macs have firewalls and I suppose can be fun if you like playing with routing tables. The thing is 'better' is very subjective. At the most basic end all software firewalls should be the same in what they let you do. Modern firewalls have become more than that. For example; leak testing often puts something on a machine that aims to trick the system into allowing traffic out, and better firewalls make provision for just such events. If the overwhelming majority of such exploits are written to defeat M$ boxes to begin with...

...

It's worth noting that many firewalls score well as all in one solutions because they take on these other aspects too. If you know what you're doing an 'all in one solution' may not be necessary to achieve the same effect.

Anyway, bearing in mind the 'all in one thing'. http://www.firewallleaktester.com/tests.php

And, although by no means am I recommending you start playing with this stuff, here are some old leak tests just to give an idea of what I'm on about. http://www.firewallleaktester.com/leaktest7.htm
 
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I have AVG and Auslogics on my Dell desktop (Windows XP Home), with no problems.
 
OK- pretty big morning computer wise. I've asked around several places on this stuff to try and find a consensus. Here's what I've done:

-Uninstalled McAfee, ran the decrapifier program off McAfee site
-Installed McAfeeSiteAdvisor
-Installed CCleaner
-Installed Superantispyware
-Installed Malwarebyte
-Installed Avast
-Installed WinPatrol
-Ran a program to remove trial program junk
-Installed NOScript extension for firefox

Is a firewall like Comodo also merited here beyond Windows firewall?
 
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