I need to protect my computer - any advice?

system · January 12, 2012, 10:54pm

I have a new laptop (PC) and I’d like to know what the best pieces of software are to protect it with? I’ve had bad experiences with Macafee / Norton, etc…

Any advice would be very much appreciated, in particular around antivirus, firewall, etc.

Thanks!

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Asyn · January 12, 2012, 10:55pm

May I suggest avast… ;D

bob3160 · January 12, 2012, 11:00pm

But before installing avast! you’ll need to totally remove any Anti Virus programs you may have had installed on your system.
You can find the removal tools at:
http://singularlabs.com/uninstallers/security-software/

system · January 12, 2012, 11:37pm

As for the FW…well, assuming (since this is a new laptop) that you are running Win7, you can turn on its 2-way functionality.

The whole thing could be a bit more user friendly, though. To that end there are programs that make the outbound protection a little better.>>http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/ (note: I’ve never used that myself, just an example I know others have used)

There are also the 3rd party options…Outpost…Comodo…Online Armor…also Look n’ Stop if you don’t mind paying.

There is also Private Firewall and Zone Alarm…I mention them separately because these 2 have had problems/conflicts with users of Avast! in the past on multiple occasions…though it might be worthy to note that others have had no problems at all.

system · January 13, 2012, 12:04am

Borolad1.

If you take a look at members’ sig around Avast! forum, you will see that most have one AV, and that will be Avast! of course ;D, one firewall, one antimalware or antispyware, and a few will also have some other extras like Sandboxie, HIPS, keyscramblers, MVPSHost, or OpenDNS. Why did I say most and not all ? Because some will have Avast! Internet Security that is the sum of all the securities, and that is call a suite; AV, Firewall, and AM, and for most people that is enough to be relatively safe. Also remember that the user should use the comp in a secure fashion. No dangerous browsing, clicking and downloading anything he/she encounters in the web or e-mails.

There are others who like to assemble an array of programs to the best of their knowledge because some part of a suite is not good enough for them or because they have taken a likeness to a product, and want to keep using it.

Be as it may. There are great places in the web to look for answers to your question. One of my favorites is here:

Read this first.

http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?PHPSESSID=de3c7tatkb6ek22hcnkfd1ffq1&topic=5855.0

And then this.

http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?board=108.0

There you will find a collection of security programs, most of them free, with their links, how and what they do.

At the end it is just a matter of what you really need for your day to day comp use.

Hope it help.

mchain · January 13, 2012, 1:50am

Borolad1,

Re: iroc9555, Gargamel360, et. al., all good answers!

If you want to pay for a suite, check CNET, PC World, PC Mag, etc., for current reviews of best suite products out there. I think it best to buy a retail copy of the program you decide on.

Free versions are available as well. Avast! Home Edition Free (antivirus) is one I know, and since I am a member of this forum, one I work with all the time.

A little biased, I know! ;D

You should know that Avast! is fast in updating newly released definitions on my system. It does it as soon as I connect to the internet.

Less than a minute to update!

COMODO Internet Security (Firewall only) Free also is updated regularly by COMODO, and works well with Avast! Greatest strength of this firewall is the Defense + feature that proactively blocks unknown executables or files from running on your system w/o your permission.

As COMODO maintains a file whitelist that is sometimes out-of-date, a file on your system may be flagged that is not malicious. Their upload feature usually will take care of that, and it is possible to manually set COMODO to trust that file anyway.

If you can, invest in a disk imaging program such as Norton Ghost, or if free, http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-drive-imaging-program.htm. Clonezilla is one I hear of often.

You will be glad you did, should disaster strike.

Note I did not say if! It is only a matter of when.

Another tool to use (actually two): http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ & http://www.filehippo.com/updatechecker/

Both of these programs will keep the versions of the programs you have installed up to the latest OEM versions.

Do not install beta versions of programs unless you know what you are doing.

For example, Java JRE version 1.7.xxx is still considered a beta. You will see this option when you run FileHippo Update Checker, for example. Always go to http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp and only use the update checker to to check for out of date or obsolete software, not for the actual download of software needed.

Go to the actual website for the newest software needed. Use the above as a tool only.

You do not say, but the type of software is important.

If you have Windows 7 64-bit, then you need 64-bit software. If you have Windows 7 32-bit, you need 32-bit software. This is important, and can save you a lot of headaches in the future.

Wish you safe computing! ;D

Be sure to use the link provided by Asyn. This is very important, as left-over files or services from your bundled antivirus programs will cause problems with whatever a/v you choose to install in its place. Download the a/v file first, disconnect from the internet, uninstall the a/v you do not want, reboot, install the new, and update and scan your system with the new a/v program. If the uninstallation results in no firewall, you need to address that first before you connect for the first time after installing.