Anti-Virus Suggestions Please

[Edna]

WXP Pro SP3, Desktop 3.6 GHz 2.00 GB Wireless to Laptop DSL; Office 2007;
Quicken & QuickBooks:; Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus 2008; Spyware Dr expiring
don't like so I won't renew; Spyware Blaster; Spybot S&D; EasyClean; old JV
16 Pwr Tools.

My 2008 Norton Internet Security has now expired so it's either renewing or
choose another Anti-Virus Protection program. I haven't incurred any
problems with Norton but I've read it's a resource hog and too, in some
opinions, it's not as good as other Antivirus programs on the Market.

I've checked out Reviews on:

1. PC Security Shield Deluxe 2009 Antivirus & Anti-Spyware. @ $22.49 w
Coupon
Powered by Kapersky Antivirus 6.0 recommmended in About.Windows.

2. ESET NOD32 Smart Security with Personal Firewall & Antispam @ $59.99
I'm not sure from their Site if this includes AntiVirus - it must.

3. Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite $39.95US/$48.81 Cdn Includes Firewall
Antivirus and Spyware.
ZA Suite is provided free of charge from my ISP. Problem is I have horrific
memories of installing their V7.0 within days of it being issued in Jan07.
Something about the Kapersky software they were using appeared to have caused
my problems. I ended up having to do a format after spending hrs on the ph
with my ISP T/S. If I'm advised it is superior, I'll give it another try.
The problem must be resolved by now as they're on V8 I believe.

Darn I'm unable to recall now the names of other Anti-Virus programs I read
of.
I must have checked AVG and McAfee but didn't make Notes as I've done with
the above.
If I missed out a good one, pls suggest it. I'm not looking for free
although I've entered a cpl prices I had noted for the benefit of Readers,
but rather "Efficient".

Should I make sure a Firewall is included. I thought it might be best
buying a full Suite of whichever one chosen. Maybe not. I'm presuming I can
keep Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster installed should I end up
buying a Full Suite.

I thought by reading Reviews i could make an intelligent decision but ...
All of the Reviews I read on these and others too, have many favourable and
many unfavourable experiences described. Hence I'm seeking what I believe to
be expert advice from the NG Advisors.

Pls advise because it appears, the more reading I do, the more confused I've
become. Thx so much for any suggestions.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

WXP Pro SP3, Desktop 3.6 GHz 2.00 GB Wireless to Laptop DSL; Office 2007;
Quicken & QuickBooks:; Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus 2008; Spyware Dr expiring
don't like so I won't renew; Spyware Blaster; Spybot S&D; EasyClean; old
JV
16 Pwr Tools.

My 2008 Norton Internet Security has now expired so it's either renewing
or
choose another Anti-Virus Protection program. I haven't incurred any
problems with Norton but I've read it's a resource hog and too, in some
opinions, it's not as good as other Antivirus programs on the Market.

I've checked out Reviews on:

1. PC Security Shield Deluxe 2009 Antivirus & Anti-Spyware. @ $22.49 w
Coupon
Powered by Kapersky Antivirus 6.0 recommmended in About.Windows.

2. ESET NOD32 Smart Security with Personal Firewall & Antispam @ $59.99
I'm not sure from their Site if this includes AntiVirus - it must.

3. Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite $39.95US/$48.81 Cdn Includes
Firewall
Antivirus and Spyware.
ZA Suite is provided free of charge from my ISP. Problem is I have
horrific
memories of installing their V7.0 within days of it being issued in Jan07.
Something about the Kapersky software they were using appeared to have
caused
my problems. I ended up having to do a format after spending hrs on the
ph
with my ISP T/S. If I'm advised it is superior, I'll give it another
try.
The problem must be resolved by now as they're on V8 I believe.

Darn I'm unable to recall now the names of other Anti-Virus programs I
read
of.
I must have checked AVG and McAfee but didn't make Notes as I've done with
the above.
If I missed out a good one, pls suggest it. I'm not looking for free
although I've entered a cpl prices I had noted for the benefit of Readers,
but rather "Efficient".

Should I make sure a Firewall is included. I thought it might be best
buying a full Suite of whichever one chosen. Maybe not. I'm presuming I
can
keep Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster installed should I end
up
buying a Full Suite.

I thought by reading Reviews i could make an intelligent decision but ...
All of the Reviews I read on these and others too, have many favourable
and
many unfavourable experiences described. Hence I'm seeking what I believe
to
be expert advice from the NG Advisors.

Pls advise because it appears, the more reading I do, the more confused
I've
become. Thx so much for any suggestions.

IMHO:

Avast, or AVG (both freeware) for your anti-virus.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0
http://free.grisoft.com/ww.download?prd=afe

Do a custom installation and opt out of e-mail scanning.

Avast:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

In the case of Avast, choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.


If you use a router with firewall capabilities, that and the Windows
firewall is sufficient.

If not, Comodo (freeware) is a good choice.
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html

If you decide to get rid of Norton, (a good idea), run this tool to get rid
of all traces of it.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

Symantec uninstaller may not finish the job:
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/080207#story1

 

[Bruce Chambers]

WXP Pro SP3, Desktop 3.6 GHz 2.00 GB Wireless to Laptop DSL; Office 2007;
Quicken & QuickBooks:; Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus 2008; Spyware Dr expiring
don't like so I won't renew; Spyware Blaster; Spybot S&D; EasyClean; old JV
16 Pwr Tools.

My 2008 Norton Internet Security has now expired so it's either renewing or
choose another Anti-Virus Protection program. I haven't incurred any
problems with Norton but I've read it's a resource hog and too, in some
opinions, it's not as good as other Antivirus programs on the Market.

I've checked out Reviews on:

1. PC Security Shield Deluxe 2009 Antivirus & Anti-Spyware. @ $22.49 w
Coupon
Powered by Kapersky Antivirus 6.0 recommmended in About.Windows.

2. ESET NOD32 Smart Security with Personal Firewall & Antispam @ $59.99
I'm not sure from their Site if this includes AntiVirus - it must.

3. Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite $39.95US/$48.81 Cdn Includes Firewall
Antivirus and Spyware.
ZA Suite is provided free of charge from my ISP. Problem is I have horrific
memories of installing their V7.0 within days of it being issued in Jan07.
Something about the Kapersky software they were using appeared to have caused
my problems. I ended up having to do a format after spending hrs on the ph
with my ISP T/S. If I'm advised it is superior, I'll give it another try.
The problem must be resolved by now as they're on V8 I believe.

Darn I'm unable to recall now the names of other Anti-Virus programs I read
of.
I must have checked AVG and McAfee but didn't make Notes as I've done with
the above.
If I missed out a good one, pls suggest it. I'm not looking for free
although I've entered a cpl prices I had noted for the benefit of Readers,
but rather "Efficient".

Should I make sure a Firewall is included. I thought it might be best
buying a full Suite of whichever one chosen. Maybe not. I'm presuming I can
keep Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Spybot and SpywareBlaster installed should I end up
buying a Full Suite.

I thought by reading Reviews i could make an intelligent decision but ...
All of the Reviews I read on these and others too, have many favourable and
many unfavourable experiences described. Hence I'm seeking what I believe to
be expert advice from the NG Advisors.

Pls advise because it appears, the more reading I do, the more confused I've
become. Thx so much for any suggestions.

You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.

I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a
good choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining
stand-alone products.

I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton
Internet Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP,
all without any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that.
But it's been several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee
products. Their quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were
acquired by Network Associates.

However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton
Internet Security came up for renewal (at a cost substantially higher
than the preceding year's subscription), I decided to try less expensive
solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of GriSoft's AVG
(http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved to be easily
installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable improvement in
my PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec product. Another
free (for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! 4 Home Edition
(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what I've used
without problems on both WinXP Pro and Vista Business.

For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:

Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks, and
hiding your ports from probes. What WinXP's firewall does not do, is
protect you from any Trojans or spyware that you (or someone else using
your computer) might download and install inadvertently. It doesn't
monitor out-going traffic at all, other than to check for IP-spoofing,
much less block (or at even ask you about) the bad or the questionable
out-going signals. It assumes that any application you have on your
hard drive is there because you want it there, and therefore has your
"permission" to access the Internet. Further, because the Windows
Firewall is a "stateful" firewall, it will also assume that any incoming
traffic that's a direct response to a Trojan's or spyware's out-going
signal is also authorized.

ZoneAlarm, Kerio, or Comodo are all much better than WinXP's
built-in firewall, and are much more easily configured, and there are
free versions of each readily available. Even the commercially
available Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall is superior by far,
although it does take a heavier toll of system performance then do
ZoneAlarm or Comodo.

Having said that, it's important to remember that firewalls and
anti-virus applications, which should always be used and should always
be running, while important components of "safe hex," cannot, and should
not be expected to, protect the computer user from him/herself.
Ultimately, it is incumbent upon each and every computer user to learn
how to secure his/her own computer.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[W****n S***********g]

You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.

I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a good
choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining stand-alone
products.

I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton Internet
Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP, all without
any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that. But it's been
several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee products. Their
quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were acquired by
Network Associates.

However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton
Internet Security came up for renewal (at a cost substantially higher than
the preceding year's subscription), I decided to try less expensive
solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of GriSoft's AVG
(http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved to be easily
installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable improvement in my
PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec product. Another free
(for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! 4 Home Edition
(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what I've used
without problems on both WinXP Pro and Vista Business.

For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:

Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks, and
hiding your ports from probes. What WinXP's firewall does not do, is
protect you from any Trojans or spyware that you (or someone else using
your computer) might download and install inadvertently. It doesn't
monitor out-going traffic at all, other than to check for IP-spoofing,
much less block (or at even ask you about) the bad or the questionable
out-going signals. It assumes that any application you have on your hard
drive is there because you want it there, and therefore has your
"permission" to access the Internet. Further, because the Windows Firewall
is a "stateful" firewall, it will also assume that any incoming traffic
that's a direct response to a Trojan's or spyware's out-going signal is
also authorized.

ZoneAlarm, Kerio, or Comodo are all much better than WinXP's built-in
firewall, and are much more easily configured, and there are free versions
of each readily available. Even the commercially available Symantec's
Norton Personal Firewall is superior by far, although it does take a
heavier toll of system performance then do ZoneAlarm or Comodo.

Having said that, it's important to remember that firewalls and
anti-virus applications, which should always be used and should always be
running, while important components of "safe hex," cannot, and should not
be expected to, protect the computer user from him/herself. Ultimately, it
is incumbent upon each and every computer user to learn how to secure
his/her own computer.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand
Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

AVG free without email scanning and link scanning.

Comodo firewall. Comodo is a deep firewall with many attributes. dive in.

 

[Kayman]

WXP Pro SP3, Desktop 3.6 GHz 2.00 GB Wireless to Laptop DSL; Office 2007;
Quicken & QuickBooks:; Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus 2008; Spyware Dr expiring
don't like so I won't renew; Spyware Blaster; Spybot S&D; EasyClean; old JV
16 Pwr Tools.

My 2008 Norton Internet Security has now expired so it's either renewing or
choose another Anti-Virus Protection program. I haven't incurred any
problems with Norton but I've read it's a resource hog and too, in some
opinions, it's not as good as other Antivirus programs on the Market.

Save the money and use good-quality freeware and practice Safe-Hex, you'll
be glad you did!

Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
(The free version won't scan your emails.)
Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Ensure your e-mail program is configured to display e-mail messages in
'Plain Text' only.
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm

Windows Defender - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

On-demand applications:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html?productid=SUPERANTISPYWAREFREE
--and--
Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

With respect to firewall application you'd be well adviced listening to the
real experts (the ones who know the innard of the WinXP operating system!)
Steer away from any 3rd party software firewall (PFW). Monitoring outbound
traffic will not in any way enhance the security of your os, quite the
opposite actually!

For the average homeuser, the Windows Firewall in XP does a fantastic job
at its core mission and is really all you need if you have an 'real-time'
anti-virus program, [another firewall on your router or] other edge
protection like SeconfigXP and practise Safe-Hex.
The windows firewall deals with inbound protection and therefore does not
give you a false sense of security. Best of all, it doesn't implement lots
of nonsense like pretending that outbound traffic needs to be monitored.

Activate and utilize the Win XP built-in Firewall; Uncheck *all* Programs
and Services under the Exception tab.

Windows XP: How to turn on your firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/firewall/xp.mspx

Read through:
Understanding Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfintro.mspx

Using Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/security/winfirewall.mspx

At Least This Snake Oil Is Free.
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx

Deconstructing Common Security Myths.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2006/05/SecurityMyths/default.aspx
Scroll down to:
"Myth: Host-Based Firewalls Must Filter Outbound Traffic to be Safe."

Exploring the windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"Outbound protection is security theater—it’s a gimmick that only gives the
impression of improving your security without doing anything that actually
does improve your security."

In conjunction with WinXP SP2 Firewall use:
Seconfig XP 1.0
http://seconfig.sytes.net/
(http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Seconfig-XP-Download-39707.html)
Seconfig XP is able configure Windows not to use TCP/IP as transport
protocol for NetBIOS, SMB and RPC, thus leaving TCP/UDP ports 135, 137-139
and 445 (the most exploited Windows networking weak point) closed.

If on high-speed Internet connection use a Router and implement
Countermeasures against DNSChanger.
http://extremesecurity.blogspot.com/2008/06/use-default-password-get-hijacked.html

And (just in case) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) has been
superseded by Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA2).

Routinely practice Safe-Hex.
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
Hundreds Click on 'Click Here to Get Infected' Ad
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2132447,00.asp

Good luck

 

[Ian D]

WXP Pro SP3, Desktop 3.6 GHz 2.00 GB Wireless to Laptop DSL; Office 2007;
Quicken & QuickBooks:; Lavasoft Ad-Aware Plus 2008; Spyware Dr expiring
don't like so I won't renew; Spyware Blaster; Spybot S&D; EasyClean; old
JV
16 Pwr Tools.

My 2008 Norton Internet Security has now expired so it's either renewing
or
choose another Anti-Virus Protection program. I haven't incurred any
problems with Norton but I've read it's a resource hog and too, in some
opinions, it's not as good as other Antivirus programs on the Market.

I would look at Norton Internet Security 2009. It has been completely
redesigned, and they finally got it right. It's very light on resources. It
now only uses one service and 3 processes for a total of about 10MB.
It loads quickly, and I have found that most updates are now completed
within 10 seconds. NIS 2008 sometimes took over a minute. I update
on demand rather than automatically. The user interface is totally new,
and is very quick and easy to use.

Previous Norton AVs have received poor reviews, but 2009 is receiving
good user reviews. In AV Comparatives, NAV has always been among
the top performers.

 

[shawn]

I use AVG free for Anti-Virus and also for spyware I use Spyware Blaster and
Spybot Search & Destroy. All free.

I found that Norton had too many problems on my system. It was really slow,
wouldn't work properly 99% of the time, wouldn't update, etc. I finally
formatted and reinstalled and put on the free stuff. Runs much better now.

 

[Edna]

Pick whatever you want. Your question has nothing to do with the OS
and is totally based on YOUR preference.

Ask elsewhere

Hi there Little Fella! This is an Adult NG consisting of those enquiring
and those advising but all participants are learning.

You'll likely find more enjoyment if you get your Mom to change your dirty
diaper, find your Soother, then mosey over to this Site.
http://www.seussville.com/

 

[Jim]

Nice one Edna , Jim

Hi there Little Fella! This is an Adult NG consisting of those enquiring
and those advising but all participants are learning.

You'll likely find more enjoyment if you get your Mom to change your dirty
diaper, find your Soother, then mosey over to this Site.
http://www.seussville.com/