Son headed to College. How best to protect his laptop.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pixeler
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Pixeler

My son heads to college in the fall and of course he'll have a new
notebook PC. I'm going to set him up with the necessary protection
software, like a virus checker, antispyware software, firefox and a
hosts file etc. but am curious what the group would suggest to add to
the list. Key criteria is that:

1. Free (of course)if possible
2. Low maintenance.
3. Not too intrusive. (I hate a ton of stuff in sys tray)
4. Low system overhead
 
An insurance or maintenance/warranty policy that also covers accidental
damage to the entire computer. Some policies do not include screen
replacements - read carefully. It's not "if" it gets damaged but "when".

Only criteria of yours that it doesn't meet is #1 - It's not free, but
meeting 3 out of 4 is excellent.

Bob S.
 
BobS said:
An insurance or maintenance/warranty policy that also covers accidental
damage to the entire computer. Some policies do not include screen
replacements - read carefully. It's not "if" it gets damaged but "when".
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. I own 4 laptops, one is a dell
and 2 are Toshibas, had them bewtween 2-3 years and no problems. Last year I
bought an Emachine Laptop and was offered the additional screen/monitor
warranty for 100 bucks but didnt take it because I have never had problems
with any of my laptops. Guess what? Less than a year the screen died and it
cost me 300 dollars to repair. I immediatly went to Best Buy and bought
Warranties for all of my Laptops, better late than never. I totally agree
with Bob, pay the extra for that warranty.
 
Pixeler said:
My son heads to college in the fall and of course he'll have a
new notebook PC. I'm going to set him up with the necessary
protection software, like a virus checker, antispyware software,
firefox and a hosts file etc. but am curious what the group
would suggest to add to the list. Key criteria is that:

1. Free (of course)if possible
2. Low maintenance.
3. Not too intrusive. (I hate a ton of stuff in sys tray)
4. Low system overhead
Click to expand...

A software firewall?

I personally use Sygate, but there are enough alternatives like
ZoneAlarm, Kerio, ...

Regards,
Wald
 
Pixeler said:
My son heads to college in the fall and of course he'll have a new
notebook PC. I'm going to set him up with the necessary protection
software, like a virus checker, antispyware software, firefox and a
hosts file etc. but am curious what the group would suggest to add to
the list. Key criteria is that:
Click to expand...

Leave it at home! ;o)
 
My son heads to college in the fall and of course he'll have a new
notebook PC. I'm going to set him up with the necessary protection
software, like a virus checker, antispyware software, firefox and a
hosts file etc. but am curious what the group would suggest to add to
the list. Key criteria is that:

1. Free (of course)if possible
2. Low maintenance.
3. Not too intrusive. (I hate a ton of stuff in sys tray)
4. Low system overhead
Click to expand...

To stop the crap even getting onto the machine, Spyware Blaster and
Spybot S&D immunizations, Eric Howes' IE SpyAd restricted sites, and a
background registry monitor eg Mike Lin's Startup Monitor.
 
My son heads to college in the fall and of course he'll have a new
notebook PC. I'm going to set him up with the necessary protection
software, like a virus checker, antispyware software, firefox and a
hosts file etc. but am curious what the group would suggest to add to
the list. Key criteria is that:

1. Free (of course)if possible
2. Low maintenance.
3. Not too intrusive. (I hate a ton of stuff in sys tray)
4. Low system overhead
Click to expand...

On-the-fly encryption perhaps, so that the stuff stays private in case of
theft?

Free CompuSec:

http://www.ce-infosys.com/CeiNews_FreeCompuSec.asp

(Be sure to download the manual in PDF form too ), updated 07/21/2005
BTW.

From the site:
<quote>
This CompuSec® Software is a full version without any limitations. It is
not a demo or trial version. It is provided "as is" at the time of
distribution without any warranty. The product has been thoroughly tested
and no bugs were known at the time of the product release. However, we
cannot guarantee that the product works with all possible PC
configurations or is 100% bug free. CE-Infosys commits to maintain the
product and provide future releases. Customer feedback and
recommendations are welcome. The product is free in object code, but not
in source code.
</quote>

And:
<quote>
This software is FREE for both Professional Business use as well as
Personal use.
</quote>

Have used it for quite a while, and it is very stable (I cannot judge the
newest version yet, though)


Regards

Dick
 
Hi Pixeler - Please see my Blog, Defending Your Machine, addy in Signature
below. There's data there that you may find useful.
 
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