PC Security

[ThunderJam]

This is kinda a follow up to my laptop thread...

 

What do you guys think are the absolute best security suits, and or the best free software for security.

[»Lynx]

I like NAV, but only because i've been using it all my life, other programs have been benchmarked to be slightly better though.

[Shock]

Norton is complete failure.

 

I like Zone Alarm.

[Incomplete]

AVG?

 

I have AVG Spybot and Adaware.

Edited May 12, 2008 by Incomplete

[ThunderJam]

As far as I'm reading, norton 2008 and Zone alarm seem to be considered the best two suites out there...

 

Threatfire also seems like a good free tool to get in addition. Another thing that bugs me is that, on my non-ss PC i really like spyware doctor, but ss cant run while spyware doctor is on (and you cant just turn it off, you gotta log off totally then log back in).

 

Anyone know a way to get around the spyware doctor-continumm problem?

Edited May 12, 2008 by ThunderJam

[Incomplete]

I would never get norton, it's too intrusive and annoying.

[Yavaris]

I have Antivir Virusscan and Comodo Firewall, they work perfectly and they are both for free.

 

If you need some suggestions try one of the top ones from these lists:

http://personal-firewall-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

[Suicide_Run]

Zone Alarm is pretty good for me so far. Zone alarm itself is free unless you want the pro version.

[X`terrania]

Norton eats CPU usage. Zonealarm is just lame and annoying. Go AVG and get uhmm.. !@#$%^&*, what's the name.. fairly short !@#$%^&*le, ugh... ESET's Smart Security, that's it. I actually sat here staring at the computer screen trying to remember the !@#$%^&*le.

[rootbear75]

Norton is complete failure.

I would never get norton, it's too intrusive and annoying.

Norton eats CPU usage.

so im not the only one that hates norton... sweet.

 

I have used Zone Alarm in the past, its fine, its not the best, not the worst, but for being free, its fine

personally, i use Windows Firewall. I dont seem to have any trouble with it... I know ur all going to say Windows Firewall prolly sucks, but for me its fine (since anywhere i have gone, i have always had a network firewall as well)

 

I use Sophos AV. It's good, simple, and doesnt take up much CPU.

[»Lynx]

NAV provides a good firewall and an up-to-date definitions database, and if you get used to it, it's only intrusive when it needs to be.

 

I dislike ESET, my friend was using it with up-to-date defs and he still had a load of viruses.

 

Zone Alarm is basic security, but uses a lot of cluttering to make it seem as if it's good.

 

AVG.. Well.. I suppose it's good if you're on the welfare or you don't know about handy little torrents.

 

I managed to crack a 12 year licence of NAV on all my computers, but I couldn't do it recently for my friend, so you might find some trouble getting around their licences.

 

As far as resources go, NAV uses about as much as any other firewall/av combo.

[»CypherJF]

The best norton was the Norton enterprise which penn state gave out to its students.

[Samapico]

If you know what you're doing, AVG is the way to go... it's not intrusive at all, but catches trojans when you try to get a crack or something. The free anti-virus work well.

 

If you really want the firewall and all the crap, AVG Internet Security isn't (legally) free

[Hakaku]

For the time I had it, McAfee was pretty good and I enjoyed it more than I did ZoneAlarm. But since I updated to Vista and McAfee expired, I encountered compatibility problems with free firewalls, so I haven't really run any firewalls since. Yeah, it's pretty bad, but I use Spybot as my backup, which also regulates registry changes. I basically do regular scans and don't need much else, although I might occasionally use Ad-Aware, Eusing Registry Cleaner, and AVG Anti-Rootkit Beta to double check.

 

Oh, I've also used ESET before, and that program, other than making me feel better that it pretended to do something, simply sucked in comparison to Spybot.

[»Purge]

My school gives out free McAfee software, but I use Norton for my laptop.

 

BitDefender is also good. I use it on my desktop.

[Rudemeister]

I swear by Kaspersky Internet Security. Been running that !@#$%^&* for almost two years and my system is still in pristine condition despite all the porn sites I frequent.

[Shock]

I haven't used anti-virus software in years and my computer is as clean as they come.

[Samapico]

What sucks about spam, is that the reason why you get spam is due to your friends getting viruses and getting their contacts list... in part, atleast.

 

So... if you don't have friends and don't go to porn sites, you shouldn't get spam

 

 

but who wants that? ... who would sacrifice porn for this?

I wouldn't.

[enigma-]

Norton is ok most of the time i guess. But yea its very intrusive, popping up everywhere. xP

[»CypherJF]

What sucks about spam, is that the reason why you get spam is due to your friends getting viruses and getting their contacts list... in part, atleast.

 

So... if you don't have friends and don't go to porn sites, you shouldn't get spam

 

 

but who wants that? ... who would sacrifice porn for this?

I wouldn't.

 

Not necessarily true; spammers generate e-mails based on words and random numbers to optimize their potential targets. Just create a new e-mail on any top tier system (yahoo,gmail,hotmail) and you'll get spam.

[»Admiral Kirk]

Having worked on and admined in my lifetime so far well over 10k computers and a few thousand networks, I can say the following very definitively.

 

McAfee sucks, it is _the_ worst antivirus software in existence bar none. However, vieing for second place on that chart would be Norton Antivirus, its not quite as useless as McAfee but it comes !@#$%^&* close.

 

AVG is ok, its not great but its better than either of the other two. 7.5 has a fairly small memory and cpu profile, 8.0 is not quite as good but its still a drop in the bucket compared to what NAV will suck down on a regular basis.

 

Kaspersky in regards to detection rates, cannot be beaten. Its a little more bloaty than AVG or AntiVir but it does a !@#$%^&* good job.

 

If you have XP SP2 or greater (including Vista) than ZoneAlarm is pretty redundant. Most worms and trojens out thier now can easily byp!@#$%^&* its application control feature, which is realy the only innovative thing it offers beyond XP's firewall.

[Suicide_Run]

For some people zone alarm gets annoying as !@#$%^&* really fast. Since anytime something wants connection to your pc or any program that requires internet will cause Zone Alarm to do a mini popup asking you wtf you want it to do. Even thou theres always the check this box thingy, it gets annoying for a certain people. Edited May 13, 2008 by Suicide_Run

[X`terrania]

For some people zone alarm gets annoying as !@#$%^&* really fast. Since anything something wants connection to your pc or any program that requires internet will cause Zone Alarm to do a mini popup asking you wtf you want it to do. Even thou theres always the check this box thingy, it gets annoying for a certain people.

 

I remember the first time I installed it, I ended up sitting in the Battlefield Vietnam loading screen for like 5 minutes wondering why I couldn't connect.

[Chambahs]

Kaspersky Anti-Virus

 

Zone Alarm Pro

 

Spybot Search and Destroy

 

Adaware SE Personal

 

 

been running all those for years, never had a problem

[»SD>Big]

norton is garbage and a hog, only their SAV line of products are good and even then only versions 10 and before, even 11 is a hog now like its NAV cousins.

 

the best protection is Kaspersky for antivirus, they're very highly rated... but a hog too i find.

 

the best balance? NOD32 from eset. super light and super effective. really good product.

 

 

for anti spyware? that's a crapshoot, you'll always find that certain ones catch certains things.... super anti spyware is good, avg too.

 

 

 

 

just don't click yes when that pop tells you to

Edited May 14, 2008 by SD>Big