Vista, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, UAC, Avast - is this fairly secure, or is anything else n

[Tuttle]

Vista Home Premium SP1
Windows Firewall
Windows Defender
UAC is on, using Standard user account
Internet Explorer 7 (I'm trying to get user to try Opera)
Windows Mail (his primary mail client)
Avast Home Edition 4.8

Hello all:

I recently setup this new system for a friend (some details above). I'm long
experienced with configuring Windows, but I'm new to Vista. I would
appreciate advice from the knowledgeable folks here.

Do I need to install anything else to help to keep this user secure? Does he
need a third-party anti-spyware tool, or is what he has sufficient to keep
him relatively safe?

Thanks for offering advice.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Vista Home Premium SP1
Windows Firewall
Windows Defender
UAC is on, using Standard user account
Internet Explorer 7 (I'm trying to get user to try Opera)
Windows Mail (his primary mail client)
Avast Home Edition 4.8

Hello all:

I recently setup this new system for a friend (some details above). I'm
long
experienced with configuring Windows, but I'm new to Vista. I would
appreciate advice from the knowledgeable folks here.

Do I need to install anything else to help to keep this user secure? Does
he
need a third-party anti-spyware tool, or is what he has sufficient to keep
him relatively safe?

Thanks for offering advice.

As long as your friend exercises care, he should be ok..


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

 

[Kerry Brown]

That's the configuration I setup with most Vista users. I use NOD32 instead
of Avast but both are adequate AV protection. With that setup IE may
actually be a better security choice than Opera because of IE protected
mode.

 

[Karl Snooks]

Tuttle,
Add SpyBot Search&Destroy.
karl

Vista Home Premium SP1
Windows Firewall
Windows Defender
UAC is on, using Standard user account
Internet Explorer 7 (I'm trying to get user to try Opera)
Windows Mail (his primary mail client)
Avast Home Edition 4.8

Hello all:

I recently setup this new system for a friend (some details above). I'm long
experienced with configuring Windows, but I'm new to Vista. I would
appreciate advice from the knowledgeable folks here.

Do I need to install anything else to help to keep this user secure? Does he
need a third-party anti-spyware tool, or is what he has sufficient to keep
him relatively safe?

Thanks for offering advice.

 

[Tuttle]

As long as your friend exercises care, he should be ok..

Thank you, everyone, for your advice; it's most helpful.

It sounds as though what I've installed and configured for my friend should
be decent protection. Of course, one could always go further and install
more scanners and another firewall, but I want to avoid making things more
complex than they need to be. I appreciate the advice very much.

 

[Tree*Rat]

Vista Home Premium SP1
Windows Firewall
Windows Defender
UAC is on, using Standard user account
Internet Explorer 7 (I'm trying to get user to try Opera)
Windows Mail (his primary mail client)
Avast Home Edition 4.8

Hello all:

I recently setup this new system for a friend (some details above).
I'm long experienced with configuring Windows, but I'm new to Vista. I
would appreciate advice from the knowledgeable folks here.

Do I need to install anything else to help to keep this user secure?
Does he need a third-party anti-spyware tool, or is what he has
sufficient to keep him relatively safe?

Thanks for offering advice.

I will pre warn you that Avast 4.8 does have some issues with vista.
install version 4.7 as recommended by the avast developers.

Dont rely on windows firewall, it still leaves ports open. Zonealarm is
much better and its free too.

to test your security visit shields up here https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?
bh0bkyd2

you will be supprosed on how secure your not.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Thank you, everyone, for your advice; it's most helpful.

It sounds as though what I've installed and configured for my friend
should
be decent protection. Of course, one could always go further and install
more scanners and another firewall, but I want to avoid making things more
complex than they need to be. I appreciate the advice very much.

Too many scanners is not a good idea, neither is the use of two firewalls.

Bear in mind that the majority of computer users will 'forget' to scan with
anything that has to be manually updated and run, so it doesn't matter how
many of this genre are installed.


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

 

[Tuttle]

I will pre warn you that Avast 4.8 does have some issues with vista.
install version 4.7 as recommended by the avast developers.

Where do you get that fiction from? According to two of the most senior
posters in the Avast forums, and I quote:

"FUD.
They don't know avast and are talking non-sense."

"I haven't heard any avast developers recommend 4.7 over 4.8 on vista, in
fact quite the reverse.If avast is running fine on your pc and theres no
conflicts with any other software then just enjoy it.Avast has a good
reputation of very stable releases.

any of the developers and there are a few regular participants in the forum,
they are more likely to want the user to stick with it an they will go a
long way to resolve the problem. Even going to the point of remot connection
to some users systems to identify and resolve the problem."

 

[Tuttle]

Too many scanners is not a good idea, neither is the use of two firewalls.

Bear in mind that the majority of computer users will 'forget' to scan with
anything that has to be manually updated and run, so it doesn't matter how
many of this genre are installed.

Thanks Mike. I agree with you. It's better to keep it simple, to install
just enough to be safe but not to complicate things or risk conflicts.

You're absolutely right about users, even well intentioned users, forgetting
to run tasks manually. Windows Defender and Windows Updates are set to
automatic, as of course is Avast. I've installed CCleaner and Acronis True
Image Home, which are set to run silently via Vista's Task Scheduler so they
will automatically do cleanup and image his system to an external hard
drive. Now even if he somehow trashes his system (as he did his old one a
couple of times) I can just restore from the latest image.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Thanks Mike. I agree with you. It's better to keep it simple, to install
just enough to be safe but not to complicate things or risk conflicts.

You're absolutely right about users, even well intentioned users,
forgetting
to run tasks manually. Windows Defender and Windows Updates are set to
automatic, as of course is Avast. I've installed CCleaner and Acronis True
Image Home, which are set to run silently via Vista's Task Scheduler so
they
will automatically do cleanup and image his system to an external hard
drive. Now even if he somehow trashes his system (as he did his old one a
couple of times) I can just restore from the latest image.

Thanks for your advice!

You're welcome.


--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx