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Firewall and anti virus

Jim E

Donation Time
Well it is that time again... time to get new protection. Last year I bought the resource hog of the world McAfee. This year I want to try some of the freeware stuff and at least see if it does not free this thing up a bit.

So far I have down loaded PC Tools free virus program and the firewall is Zonealarm 6.5.722 got it on CNET and it was highly rated and free.

Now when I install these I need to uninstall all the McRappie first right then install this free stuff.

Anyone have any sugestions on Virus and firewall before I swap over?
 

tfctpa

Donation Time
Yes, you should uninstall them first. I have used zone alarm in the past and it is a good produce. The issue i have with it is that it is a resource hog, both memory and CPU. I changed over to a small appliance made by NetGear that is a broadband router and firewall. I paid around $50 for mine on sale. As far as antivir software, we use (home and office) AntiVir, whish can be downloaded free from www.free-av.com. As long as it is personal use there is no charge, complete with daily updates. Very happy with it. The model number of the new model is WGR614NA which was been given accolades by PC magazine.
 

tfctpa

Donation Time
The newer Belkins have a firewall built in, Zone Alarm should not be necessary then.
 

Jim E

Donation Time
This may seem like a stupid question but how do I check for a firewall in the router
 

Wombat

Donation Time
I also ditched McAffee for freeware stuff. I am now using the Zonealarm firewall and AVG Free anti virus. It updates every time you boot up and was able to detect the New Year Trojan in a spam email.
 

napa 1

Donation Time
I've been using the free AVG for some time and am happy with it. Also have the free "spybot" :cool: loaded.
 

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
I disagree with Tom (tfctpa) about not needing a software firewall if you have a router. While a router provides a certain level of protection by assigning an IP address which is not readily visible from the WAN side (via Network Address Translation or NAT) and some routers offer stateful packet inspection (SPI), a consumer level router is NOT a firewall and offers no OUTBOUND protection of any kind. If your computer becomes infected by a trojan, keystroke logger, etc. and you do not have a firewall that prevents unauthorized OUTBOUND communication, you can be in a world of hurt. Yes, a router does improve online security, but it does not eliminate the need for a firewall.

Any good software firewall is going to use some resources to do its job. While ZA Professional can be somewhat resource hungry, I have used the free version for a long time (currently on 4 machines) and do not notice any significant performance impact.

Just my opinion and not a knock on AntiVir,but I want the best antivirus protection I can get and right now I think that is Kaspersky.
 

gordonra

Donation Time
You can go to TrendMicro and do a system scan for free by installing an activeX control. http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/home.htm


There are two additional programs that I've used for a long time really help with spyware and adware beyond what some of the more popular programs will do. Both are free for personal use, but they are not the end all for virus, worms and trojans. I typically run these manually about once ever couple of weeks:

Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10401314.html?tag=lst-0-1

Adaware - http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10399602.html?tag=lst-0-1

Hope this helps,

Rich
 

Jim E

Donation Time
I run both those spyware programs but think addaware is better seems to find more things than spybot
 

Jim E

Donation Time
Barry,
This virus progam kaspersky is it freeware? is not one I have heard of before, which does not mean a lot.
 

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
Jim,

Kaspersky (www.kaspersky.com) is not free, but the people who really know what they are doing when it comes to online security are pretty unanimous that it is currently the best of breed. You can download a 30 day trial version for free.

AV Comparatives is an independent organization that tests AV software and publishes the results. This information http://usa.kaspersky.com/products/KAV-Comparison.pdf is on the Kaspersky website, but the % detection numbers are the same as AVC reports. I also like the fact that the virus signature file is updated several times a day rather than once a day (or less often) as many of the AV packages do. Another thing KAV offers (if you wish) is blocking of suspicious activity (registry changes, software installation, browsers opening under suspicious circumstances,etc.). In many cases, it can stop harmful activity by new viruses / malware that have not been identified and added to the signature file.

One thing to remember is that you should have only ONE anti-virus software package and ONE software firewall running at the same time. For the most part, the spyware / malware detection and removal software (Spybot, Ad-aware, Ewido, etc.) does not run in a full time mode and you can (and should) use several since they all have strengths and weaknesses.
 
A

AutoX47

Nod-32 anti-virus and Antigum Outpost firewall

no need for adware/*adaware* etc etc :p
 
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