Message: I was having issues with the firewalls and security, and conflicts
with my norton security I disabled the Vista and ended up with everything
disabled,...
<snipped for brevity>
The retail version of Norton can play havoc with your pc. Uninstall it
using Norton's own uninstall tool:
http://service1.symantec.com/suppor...5033108162039?OpenDocument&seg=hm&lg=en&ct=us
and get a refund
Assembling your own 'security suite' is a better alternative.
Here are some suggestions.
You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW and Vista in
itself due to the advanced features the FW and Vista are using.
PFW Criticism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_firewall#Criticisms
"Personal Firewalls" are mostly snake-oil.
http://www.samspade.org/d/firewalls.html
Jesper's Blogs-
At Least This Snake Oil Is Free.
http://msinfluentials.com/blogs/jesper/archive/2007/07/19/at-least-this-snake-oil-is-free.aspx
Windows Firewall: the best new security feature in Vista?
http://blogs.technet.com/jesper_johansson/archive/2006/05/01/426921.aspx
Exploring The Windows Firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/VistaFirewall/default.aspx
"If you try to block outbound connections from a computer that’s already
compromised, how can you be sure that the computer is really doing what you
ask? The answer: you can’t. 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. This is why
outbound protection didn’t exist in the Windows XP firewall and why it
doesn’t exist in the Windows Vista™ firewall."
Tap into the Vista firewall's advanced configuration features
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877-6098592.html
"...once you discover the secret of accessing its advanced configuration
settings via the MMC snap-in, you'll find it to be far more configurable
and functional. At last, Windows comes with a sophisticated personal
firewall that can be used to set up outbound rules as well as inbound,with
the ability to customize rules to fit your precise needs."
Or
Configure Vista Firewall to support outbound packet filtering
http://searchwindowssecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid45_gci1247138,00.html
Or
Vista Firewall Control (Free versions available).
Protects your applications from undesirable network incoming and outgoing
activity, controls applications internet access.
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/
There are many good free AV applications available, and almost everyone has
his favorite. Most of the users are emotionally attached to their av
application and will have excellent reasons for not recommending any other
brand.
The most important thing here is that all of the available choices listed
here are better in some respects than in others, and which choice is better
for *you* depends on what you do, how you work, and which features you use.
The way you use your PC is different from others.
Have a look at this:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
and be guided accordingly.
Good info can be obtained here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
and here:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
If the above is too deluging consider this:-
Real-time AV applications - for viral malware.
Do not utilize more than one (1) real-time anti-virus scanning engine!
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection.
Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic - Free
http://www.free-av.com/antivirus/allinonen.html
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm
or
Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
It includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs
Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class
GMER technology.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)
or
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/
(Choose custom install and untick the email scanner plugin.)
or
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 7.0 - Not Free
http://www.kaspersky.com/homeuser
or
ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free
http://www.eset.com/
and (optional but *highly* advisable)
On-demand AV application.
(add it to your arsenal and use it as a "second opinion" av scanner).
David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV.EXE (Vista and XP)from the URL:
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/
A-S applications - for non-viral malware.
The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss, (grab'em all).
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
and
Ad-Aware 2007 - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
and
Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and
Windows Defender - Free (build-in in Vista)
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."
A clarification on the terminology: the word "malware" is short for
"malicious software." Most Anti-Virus applications detect many types of
malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, etc.
What AV applications usually don't detect is "non-viral" malware, and the
term "non-viral malware" is normally used to refer to things like spyware
and adware.
Some more useful applications:
SpywareBlaster - Free
"SpywareBlaster is not a scanner application. It blocks the installation of
most ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers and other
unwanted programs from the user's computer. SpywareBlaster works by
blacklisting the CLSID of known malware programs, effectively preventing
them from infecting a protected computer and also allows the user to
prevent privacy hazards such as tracking cookies."
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
GMER - is an application that detects and removes rootkits.
http://www.gmer.net/index.php
Rootkit Revealer - Free
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/RootkitRevealer.mspx
CCleaner - Free
Cleans temporary internet files, cookies, history, recent urls, application
MRUs, etc. ...
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/
If Windows Defender is utilized go to Applications, under Utilities
uncheck "Windows Defender".
CW Shredder - Free
Is the premier tool to find and remove traces of CoolWebSearch – the name
for a wide range of insidious browser hijackers– from your PC.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Popup-Ad-Spyware-Blockers/CWShredder.shtml