Pepper said:
My PC came loaded with McAfee. My subscription expires soon, and I am
confused about what I should do. In reading other posts, it is apparent that
few people like McAfee. PLEASE tell me what I should use for antivirus,
antispyware and firewall. I realize that nothing is foolproof, but I want
the best I can get!
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 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'm
currently using without problems on Vista Business.
For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:
Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
As for a firewall, Vista's built-in solution is more than adequate
for most consumers' needs. While it's not quite up to the ease-of-use
standards of Kerio or ZoneAlarm, it has been improved over WinXP's version.
There are two interfaces for Vistas built-in firewall:
1) A simplified one accessed through the Control Panel that is the only
one most people see. Sphinx's Vista Firewall Control
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/) is a piece of freeware that makes the
Vista Firewall much more useful to the average user.
2) And the more advanced "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
(WF.msc), accessed via the Start Menu's Administrative Tools folder, for
the experienced user who wants more granular control.
If you prefer something a bit "chattier," Comodo Firewall Pro is
free for personal use.
To find and/or deal with issues caused by any sort of "adware"
and/or "spyware," two products that are quite effective (at finding and
removing this type of scumware) are Ad-Aware from
www.lavasoft.de and
SpyBot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org/. Both have free
versions. It's even possible to use SpyBot Search & Destroy to
"immunize" your system against most future intrusions. I use both and
generally perform manual scans every week or so to clean out cookies, etc.
Additionally, manual removal instructions for the most common
varieties of scumware are available here:
PC Hell Spyware and Adware Removal Help
http://www.pchell.com/support/spyware.shtml
More information and assistance is available at these sites:
Blocking Ads, Parasites, and Hijackers with a Hosts File
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
The Parasite Fight
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
--
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
