Freeware replacements for Norton Internet Security?

[Tx2]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money on
this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and zero
cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience issues
with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security warning,
that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

Comments.

 

[Ron]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money on
this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and zero
cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience issues
with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security warning,
that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

Comments.

My father has 4 computers, and uses nothing but, AVG anti-virus, and
Ad-Aware anti-spyware with Windows XP which has it's own firewall.

He has never had a problem.

Even after I sent him a copy of Spy Sweeper (commercial ware) the
sweep turned up negative. (tracking cookies only)

IMO, Spybot and any firewall except for Kerio, is not for
"beginners".

I agree with using Spyware Blaster since basically it just keeps
"bugs" away.

I also like Spyware Terminator as a easy to use program, with it's
"shields" off.

This is a really good site for freeware http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

 

[Ron]

My father has 4 computers, and uses nothing but, AVG anti-virus, and
Ad-Aware anti-spyware with Windows XP which has it's own firewall.

He has never had a problem.

Even after I sent him a copy of Spy Sweeper (commercial ware) the
sweep turned up negative. (tracking cookies only)

IMO, Spybot and any firewall except for Kerio, is not for
"beginners".

I agree with using Spyware Blaster since basically it just keeps
"bugs" away.

I also like Spyware Terminator as a easy to use program, with it's
"shields" off.

This is a really good site for freewarehttp://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

I meant to add, that McAfee Site Advisor is a very good tool to keep
from downloading adware / spyware.

 

[Victek]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money on
this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and zero
cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience issues
with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security warning,
that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

I think your selections are good. I would add an antispyware application
with a resident shield. Currently I'm using Spyware Terminator and like it
a lot. During installation it offers the user different configurations
based on skill level, such as Beginner, Advanced, Expert, with descriptions
of how it will work for each level. If you install it for your friend and
do a complete scan you can classify all of the software it doesn't initially
recognize. That minimizes the pop-ups later on. I also suggest keeping the
HIPS feature off as it demands a lot of user interaction which might
overwhelm your friend.

FWIW, an inexpensive router could be installed between the ADSL modem and
the computer for the added security it would provide. I just saw one on
www.newegg.com for under $20.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2000400028 4093&bop=And&Order=PRICE

www.spywareterminator.com

 

[M.L.]

My father has 4 computers, and uses nothing but, AVG anti-virus, and

Ad-Aware anti-spyware with Windows XP which has it's own firewall.

He has never had a problem.

Even after I sent him a copy of Spy Sweeper (commercial ware) the
sweep turned up negative. (tracking cookies only)

IMO, Spybot and any firewall except for Kerio, is not for
"beginners".

I agree with using Spyware Blaster since basically it just keeps
"bugs" away.

I also like Spyware Terminator as a easy to use program, with it's
"shields" off.

This is a really good site for freeware
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

For most of my customers I install AVG, Spyware Terminator and turn on
the Windows firewall. Although I think Outpost is the easiest firewall
to manage, I learned it was too much fuss for the average user.

 

[Bullseye]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money on
this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and zero
cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience issues
with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security warning,
that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

Comments.

I would agree with Spywareblaster, Winpatrol, MVPS HOSTS File. Zone Alarm
Free is a resource hog and not the best of firewals in the free category.
Since the user seems to be somewhat of a novice I won't suggest a HIPS,
although Neoava Guard is very effective & can be configured for beginners.
For the firewall, I think Comodo is much more difficult to master than the
newer versions of Kerio, which are basically set 'n forget. I used Kerio
when I knew absolutely nothing about firewalls. I would suggest
downloading Kerio 4.2.2 from filehippo.com, as it uses much less resources
than the newer Sunbelt versions (about 12-14 MB as compared to the current
version's 40 MB usage). I think Comodo, especially with its HIPS-like
features, would probably freak a newbie out. I have used Winpatrol to
monitor startups as well as changes to the HOSTS file. Spybot S&D is
pretty much outdated, although useful in some instances. A free AS app
like Superantispyware is a much better choice. With Antivir, you don't
need a resident antispyware app. However, the one concern I would have is
that Antivir produces a large amount of false positives, and the
possibility of a novice deleting a needed file is very real. Another AV
choice would be Active Virus Shield, which is essentially a free version of
Kaspersky AV (minus some features), and produces very few false positives.
Personally, that would be my choice if I decided not to pay for my NOD32.
I would also suggest something like HostsMan or eDexter to manage HOSTS
file and also speed up web-surfing.

 

[RedForeman]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money on
this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and zero
cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience issues
with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security warning,
that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

Comments.

First and foremost, run the Symantec tool to remove NIS from the
workstation. And then download one or all of the following

aVast home - register it and it'll be great.
FreeAVG - again, it's great.
Computer Associates EZAntiVirus - not as obvious, but still does a
great job.

As for a firewall, you probably don't need it if your internet
provider gave you a router, most routers do NAT, which hides you
behind the device, and the 'need' for a router is lessened by that...

 

[M.L.]

As for a firewall, you probably don't need it if your internet

provider gave you a router, most routers do NAT, which hides you
behind the device, and the 'need' for a router is lessened by that...

Like the Microsoft firewall, routers only provide inbound protection.

 

[Ron]

First and foremost, run the Symantec tool to remove NIS from the
workstation. And then download one or all of the following

aVast home - register it and it'll be great.
FreeAVG - again, it's great.
Computer Associates EZAntiVirus - not as obvious, but still does a
great job.

As for a firewall, you probably don't need it if your internet
provider gave you a router, most routers do NAT, which hides you
behind the device, and the 'need' for a router is lessened by that...

Where can you get CA for free?

 

[Heather]

Where can you get CA for free?

http://store.digitalriver.com/DRHM/Storefront/Company/caconsum/staticContent/PYPCtrialUS.html

or use this snipped url one which is the same as above......
http://snipurl.com/hh6r

My usual link didn't have the freebie, so still had this one.

Cheers.....Heather

 

[Ron]

http://store.digitalriver.com/DRHM/Storefront/Company/caconsum/static...

or use this snipped url one which is the same as above......http://snipurl.com/hh6r

My usual link didn't have the freebie, so still had this one.

Cheers.....Heather

So it's just a free trial version?

And for some reason it says 1 yr free trial, but when you click on
download, it says 90 days.

 

[MoiMoi]

So it's just a free trial version?

And for some reason it says 1 yr free trial, but when you click on
download, it says 90 days.

I think that's an orphaned page on the Digital River site from a
previous CA offer where you really could get a year free.
Notice that the download link returns to CA site.

I might not even work at all, since the only CA AV now touted through
the main site entrance is the $50 CA AV 2007. There is a "trial" there
also, although it doesn't say how long it's for.

Btw, this is typical of CA: hit and miss, bait and switch.

MM

 

[Heather]

OK....it was late and I didn't check further. Obviously Microsoft and
CA are no longer offering a free one year trial of EZ Trust. That is
the one I am using at the moment.

Btw, this is typical of CA: hit and miss, bait and switch.

For shame, MiMi......CA would never bait and switch, lol. I honestly
have used it for some 7 or 8 years. Paid for it for a couple of them,
then switched over to the MS/CA freebie.

FiFi

 

[ellis_jay]

A friend of mine has Norton Internet Security 2006 on her PC, the
subscription of which has now expired.

I am personally not a fan of NIS in any form, and have suggested she
look for an alternative solution to her Internet 'protection'.

Her financial situation means she is not in a position to spend money
on this, and nor is she particularly proficient on the PC, so I have
suggested a combination of the following for both ease of use, and
zero cost:

Antivir, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, WinPatrol, and an MVP
HOSTS file.

Is this a fair level of 'security' utilities to install on her PC in
place of NIS?

My only concern is ZoneAlarm, as I do read some folks experience
issues with it. I would alternatively consider perhaps Comodo
Firewall?

She connects to the Internet via a USB ADSL modem, so doesn't have the
protection a router would otherwise offer, so needs 'uncomplicated'
programs that will 'look after' her in the event of a security
warning, that is, give her a recommended course of action to take.

Comments.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

--
When people are engaged in something they are not proud of, they do
not welcome witnesses. In fact, they come to believe the witness causes
the trouble. ___John Steinbeck

Ellis_Jay

 

[Richard Steven Hack]

aVast home - register it and it'll be great.
FreeAVG - again, it's great.
Computer Associates EZAntiVirus - not as obvious, but still does a
great job.

I'd add AOL Antivirus to that. Ignore the fact that it comes from AOL. It's
really a stripped down version of Kaspersky V6.0 AV which is one of the
top detectors.

As for a firewall, you probably don't need it if your internet
provider gave you a router, most routers do NAT, which hides you
behind the device, and the 'need' for a router is lessened by that...

I recommend a software personal firewall even if you have a router,
although that's a personal choice. Comodo makes a decent free one which is
one of the better detectors of outbound leaks.