Virus/Firewall protection

[Scottie]

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home operating system
installed and want to start with good virus/firewall protection from day
one. I am fed-up with my computers slowing to a crawl when I get a
virus/worm. I don't want to spend a fortune buying virus/firewall software
so please try and keep to a reasonable price. I also need the software to be
easily configured, as I'm not all that good with computers. Thanks for any
advice.

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Quoth the raven Scottie:

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home operating system
installed and want to start with good virus/firewall protection
from day one.

Wise decision. The average life of a new XP machine is now, what, 12
minutes, before being infected, once connected?

I am fed-up with my computers slowing to a crawl when
I get a virus/worm.

"When" you get a virus/worm? Do you get them often? Something is wrong.

I don't want to spend a fortune buying
virus/firewall software so please try and keep to a reasonable
price. I also need the software to be easily configured, as I'm not
all that good with computers. Thanks for any advice.

How about free stuff?

http://home.rochester.rr.com/bshagnasty/tips.html

I like the Kerio firewall, even though I'm behind a router. Keep in
mind that the XP firewall is Inbound only, while Kerio and most others
will also alert you as to what wants to call out.

Don't connect it to the 'net until it has an active firewall. The XP
one should suffice until you download a better one. Then disconnect,
turn it off, install the new one, reconnect.

 

[Use.Netuser.de]

I'd suggest Kerio (free) for a firewall and I currently use McAfee but then I have
other systems without virus protection as I take due care and even though I use IE
and OE (No script, java, preview etc etc) I've yet to be infected ... but then never
say never.

 

[Casey]

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home operating system
installed and want to start with good virus/firewall protection from day
one. I am fed-up with my computers slowing to a crawl when I get a
virus/worm. I don't want to spend a fortune buying virus/firewall software
so please try and keep to a reasonable price. I also need the software to be
easily configured, as I'm not all that good with computers. Thanks for any
advice.

Kerio v2.1.5 firewall is a good one. Probably
one of the easiest to set up.
d/l
http://download.kerio.com/dwn/kpf/kerio-pf-2.1.5-en-win.exe

Another good one is Sygate v5.5 free or pro. I use the pro.

Unofficial Help:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/i/k/ikpe/SygateBasics.html

Sygate Forums:
http://forums.sygate.com/vb/

Users Guide and Quick Start Guide:
http://smb.sygate.com/support/documents/pspf/default.htm

Compare SPF Pro and SPF Free (See what's inside each one)
http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf/comparison_spf.htm

d/l
http://soho.sygate.com/free/default.php

 

[me]

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home
operating system installed and want to start with good
virus/firewall protection from day one. I am fed-up with my
computers slowing to a crawl when I get a virus/worm. I
don't want to spend a fortune buying virus/firewall
software so please try and keep to a reasonable price. I
also need the software to be easily configured, as I'm not
all that good with computers. Thanks for any advice.

Using another ("protected") PC to get
http://www.cablemodemhelp.com/xpsurvivalguide.pdf
and read it _before_ connecting.
It fits on a floppy (about 1.2 MB)

J

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Quoth the raven Casey:

Kerio v2.1.5 firewall is a good one. Probably
one of the easiest to set up.
d/l
http://download.kerio.com/dwn/kpf/kerio-pf-2.1.5-en-win.exe

Why not get the latest version 4? Maybe not quite as easy to
comprehend, but more versatile and probably better in protection...
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html

 

[JC]

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home operating system
installed and want to start with good virus/firewall protection from day
one. I am fed-up with my computers slowing to a crawl when I get a
virus/worm. I don't want to spend a fortune buying virus/firewall software
so please try and keep to a reasonable price. I also need the software to be
easily configured, as I'm not all that good with computers. Thanks for any
advice.

The current estimate is 20 minutes on line before infection is likely if your PC
is not fully protected.

If on ADSL or cable the best advice is to get a hardware firewall and have it
configured so that it blocks everything not initiated from the PC side. That
and a good anti-virus program, Norton or McAfee, should keep you secure.

If on dial-up then a software firewall should be sufficient. The one that comes
as part of SP2 is a good start. You can add another such as Kerio or Sygate if
you want belt and braces.

I am sure that the shop selling you the PC will configure the firewall for you
for a small fee.

Cheers . . . JC

 

[madmax]

I am getting a new computer today with the XP home operating system
installed and want to start with good virus/firewall protection from day
one. I am fed-up with my computers slowing to a crawl when I get a
virus/worm. I don't want to spend a fortune buying virus/firewall software
so please try and keep to a reasonable price. I also need the software to be
easily configured, as I'm not all that good with computers. Thanks for any
advice.

See my site for advice and links.
-max

--
To help you stay safe see: http://www.geocities.com/maxpro4u/madmax.html
This message is virus free as far as I can tell.
Change nomail.afraid.org to neo.rr.com so you can reply by e-mail
(nomail.afraid.org has been set up specifically for
use in Usenet. Feel free to use it yourself.)

 

[Roy]

Why not get the latest version 4? Maybe not quite as easy to
comprehend, but more versatile and probably better in protection...
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html

Because it's (relatively) bloated and inflexible?

I like being able to design my own rules in 2.1.5, and it's far from being
rocket science. I never did find a way of doing that with the all singing,
all dancing version. Perhaps that was my fault.

I've seen no proof of the lesser protection offered by 2.1.5, but perhaps
I've missed that too.

The enquirer should probably try both, and see which they prefer, that's as
important as anything give the protection both versions offer.

Cheers,

Roy

 

[jch]

Scottie,
I'll buck the advice trend here and say I have a home network consisting of
XP and WinME machines using ADSL service. They're all behind a NAT router
and they all use AVG antivirus software from www.grisoft.com (the free
version). There's no software firewall to configure or hog system
resources. I also run Ad-Aware and/or SpyBot every couple of weeks. The
network is up 24/7 and we've never had a worm or been infected. Good luck
with your new machine and safe computing.