Security software

[Chaser]

I am buying a new pc in the next days and with it I would like to get some new software to make my pc safer. I have tried to find out what to get but I only want to get one programme that includes a firewall, antispamfilter and that also protects me from viruses, trojans and so on. And I find it really hard to decide.

Which software is the most effective?

I don't think you will find an all in one software that will protect you as well as the best of the best 'firewall, antivirus, antispyware' and even asking a simple question such as 'what is the best firewall' will bring you at least 6 answers, so to be blunt mate there anit one.

[Aragorn]

to CF

To advise you best we could do with more info.

Are you planning to buy a branded (eg, HP, Advent, etc) PC or a system from a dealer (or even build your own)? Most branded PC's will already have most of that installed, althought it may be trialware.
Windows XP home OS - or something else?

Are you a BroadBand or Dialup user?

What do you use a PC for - Surfing, Banking, Downloading music/video (using a torrent?), online gaming, gambling?

Those might give us some pointers about which way to go.

[homealone]

Hi



It also depends on whether you want freebies, or want to pay.

I can't think of a free 'all in one' security suite, wheras the commercial companies, like Zone Labs, Symantec, McAffee, etc do 'all in one' software - but at a price.

[Halcyon]

For about £20 you can get Nod32, a virus scanner that runs in the background and uses nearly no resources. It isnt power hungryl ike Norton and is known as a very good Anti-Virus software.
See http://www.eset.com/ to dowmnload.

Then you need a firewall, Most of the free ones such as ZoneAlarm will do the job adequately.
Free to download from www.zonelabs.com

Then, once you have your PC, forget about usin gInternet Explorer and get yourself Firefox for a better all round browsing experience.

You should also download Lavasoft Adaware and run it every week or so to clear out any adware anf spyware junk.
www.lavasoft.com

Then download CCleaner and run it every couple of days to keep your PC clean from unneccesary temp files, cookies, temp net files, etc.
It can also be used to keep your registry nice and clean.

[ADd]

AdawareSE Personal is very good, but not on its own. Best form of attack is several anti-malware programs. Try:

Spybot S&D free
Ewido 14 day full trial, then on demand scanner with manual updates - this is an excellant malware scanner!

As said above a good anti-virus :

AVG free edition
Avast free edition

Firewall:

Sunbelt Kerio Firewall
or the afore-mentioned Zonealarm are good.

If you wish to check the firewall, Shieldsup is a good website.

[HulkHogan]

I will suggest an actual suite, as I use Norton Internet Security myself.

It has what you ask for, and that is what you will need, too. An anti-virus solution, firewall, and not only a spam blocker, but also one for pop-ups in your webbrowser, too.

Also, getting an all-in-one package has the advantage that the programs recognize each other, don't prevent each other from working and really cover you against different risks.

[David F]

Originally Posted by HulkHogan

I will suggest an actual suite, as I use Norton Internet Security myself.

.

NIS is the spawn of the devil.
set your net up behind a router with a hardware firewall and just stick with windblows firewall and the router.Or if your overly para stick zonealarm on it
Avast free virus scan is an awesome bit of kit but resource hungry when running full scans (so do this in bed)
Google toolbar for pop up blocker again free
Adaware and spybot for scanning but clean all cookies and net cache first as most adaware sits in yoru cookies.
And most importantly dont be a yes man. Read what you click so you wont be installing bildge in the first place.
These measures have kept me secure for 7 years the only viruses ive had in years have been attatched to web pages and avast has delt with well

[basa]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

And most importantly dont be a yes man. Read what you click so you wont be installing bildge in the first place.

Best bit of advice I've seen for years and one most often overlooked. Even with the best software you'd be surprised what crap gets installed by default if you say *yes* to everything on install.

[HulkHogan]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

NIS is the spawn of the devil.

Hm, ever since installing it I failed to note a bunch of angry horsemen, oceans of blood or, in fact, any problems with the software. Care to elaborate? (on the software, that is, I probably have the signs of the devil all wrong anyway ...)

[Red Skies]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

NIS is the spawn of the devil.

A very mature response Perhaps you wish to explain why you believe this to be the case, or perhaps its just conjecture?

[David F]

Originally Posted by Red Skies

A very mature response Perhaps you wish to explain why you believe this to be the case, or perhaps its just conjecture?

excuse me????
Ok ive had a lot of problems with norton and symantec software the only piece worth using is ghost.Its system hungry and misses viruses free scans find enough for you?
Ive been building a setting up and repairing pcs for some 6 years all self taught and in that time ive experienced a lot of systems. I have a set of security software that I support and all systems I sell and set up are installed with these. I support these programs cuz they work well and are low users of system resources.NIS most definately isnt supported by me at all

[MadGamer]

PC Cillian Internet Security?

---------- Post added at 09:06 ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 ----------

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

excuse me????
Ok ive had a lot of problems with norton and symantec software the only piece worth using is ghost.Its system hungry and misses viruses free scans find enough for you?
Ive been building a setting up and repairing pcs for some 6 years all self taught and in that time ive experienced a lot of systems. I have a set of security software that I support and all systems I sell and set up are installed with these. I support these programs cuz they work well and are low users of system resources

you go Zingle

[Red Skies]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

excuse me????
Ok ive had a lot of problems with norton and symantec software the only piece worth using is ghost.Its system hungry and misses viruses free scans find enough for you?
Ive been building a setting up and repairing pcs for some 6 years all self taught and in that time ive experienced a lot of systems. I have a set of security software that I support and all systems I sell and set up are installed with these. I support these programs cuz they work well and are low users of system resources.NIS most definately isnt supported by me at all

Couldn’t you have explained that in the first place? Going around just saying things are "the spawn of the devil" isn’t helpful in the slightest. You have to back your comments up. Rather then, what allot of people like to do, just slag of the big companies because they’re “nasty� and have lots of money.

Personally, I've used Symantec’s products for some years, I still use their anti-virus software, and I've never had any major problems. It's just a personal preference thing.

[bringerofnoise]

hi all
im with zinglebarb on this one, i got norton internet security with my mobo disk. my computer slowed down alot and i thought it must be a virus so i scanned with norton internet security it found nothing ewido on the other hand found it and 2 others and sorted it.

on another note NIS is also known for finding a virus and then saying can't clean.....whats the point lol