what essential security software?

[jxing62]

these days when working with computer is very very annoying! i think i spend more times in solving the security problems than my actual work now.

then what are really essential softwares to install on my computer, i dont mean to install more than necessary software. it may waste my computer resources i think.

take ie for example, ie has the option that we can set the zone and security level, does this secured?
we can also set the privacy option in ie and doesnt it secured? do we need another software such as privacy guradian?

ie also have the pop up blocker and phising filter, then windows xp has the windows defender, then do we need to install other 3rd party security softwares?

so, what is the minimum security softwares can any expert pls advice me so that after i install these softwares then i can concentrate 100 % on my work without wasting times to surf the internet for security solution! thanks in advance.

[monkey_1]

A firewall, an antivirus and an antispyware...

[jxing62]

then do i need to install rootkits sofware? and if i have the firewall installed, is it mean i can disable the phishing function in the browser and also the pop up blocker,as i notice these function make surfing slow, am i right? rgds.

[vecchio]

hi
i would like to suggest to you do NOT disable fishing filter as it is a inportant security tool
as a rootkit scanner i suggest to you to use the new sdv5 or a squared free as a free option, and also the PCT firewall (free)
hope it helps

[DaltonLauer]

nod32, spywaredoctor, zonealarm firewal are all u need.

[mjq424]

If you want protection against rootkits (in real-time) most antivirus/antispyware software come with this. As a standalone scanner/remover you can try AVG Antirootkit

[jxing62]

thanks for the feedbacks.
as for my case, i install spybot s&d, ad-aware and avg , which are all free and sure the windows defender and the windows firewall. That mean i save all my money in protecting my computer for years without any serious related problems . and i was using my notebook well and efficiently and never have to bother about security products.
then lately, i try to look into the security of my notebook see if there are new and better products available in the market then i aware there are lots of threads nowadays, these are malware, spyware, rootkits,broswer hijack,trojan and bla bla bla and also confused with all these names and also reluctant to study into details as i think i dont want to be securty expert but i just want to get my jobs done,as i am doing marine engineering not software engineer.
then i was thinking if anybody can advice me of the best and economic combination of the security software that i would purchase( i mean purchase not freeware this time) and sleep well without to worry about the security threat and then work well with the marine jobssss.
one more question, if i install a very good firewall and if it is availble in the market, as it can block evrythings that is harmful, then i dont have to install any other security software, right? is my logic right?
thanks

[josefz]

one more question, if i install a very good firewall and if it is availble in the market, as it can block evrythings that is harmful, then i dont have to install any other security software, right? is my logic right? No, it's not. It's not right because of there does not exist a program which can block everything that is harmful. An anti-virus, an anti-spy and a firewall is bare security minimum.

[vecchio]

hi..i would like to suggest to install pctools firewall plus as its a free product and will protect you MUCH better than windows firewall

[vecchio]

sorry..in response to your question..the best commercial package is no doubt SDv5 with integated AV and my opinion for a good paid version of firewall is zonealarm antispyware 7(no conflicts with sdv5)

[jxing62]

i am now having a paid version of sd with av and free version pctool firewall. but still, i was infected by trojan! maybe i should try zonealarm firewall?

[mjq424]

Hi jxing62
If you are worried about Trojans, you can try Comodo BOClean (http://www.boclean.comodo.com) (free) or AVG Antispyware (http://free.grisoft.com) (free/paid). As a subscriber to SD+AV you are also eligable for a free Cyberhawk license (http://www.novatix.com/cyberhawk/free/) (please wait on this as the registration process is broken at this time)
Hope that helps.

[jdharm]

...so, what is the minimum security softwares can any expert pls advice me so that after i install these softwares then i can concentrate 100 % on my work without wasting times to surf the internet for security solution! thanks in advance.


Just my $.02USD.

"...What is the minimum"?...none. I don't use any on my personal systems. The key to getting away with this is being really alert about what you are doing with the computer and spending a little time exploring the security settings already available as built-in options in the OS/apps/hardware interfaces.

My wife is the primary user of our home's desktop system and even though she is Admin the desktop is clean too. It wasn't always so, but through educating her bit by bit over the past few years she too has learned to be careful about what sites she goes to, how to properly respond to popups and errors, and how to be wary of email. Combined with a few simple security tweaks to the OS, IE, and router both systems are trouble-free.

Now, the caveat. Those tweaks took some time and thought to get right. It took some time to find the balance between security and usability. It took some experience to learn how to behave. Those 3rd party security softwares are actually nice. In my opinion, the purpose to them is not to do something you can't do in your 2nd party software, but rather to make the task simple and easy and to make it so you don't have to spend time thinking about it. When I run into usability issues with my tweaks I have to make up a workaround...with the 3rd party software it is usually just a one-click-and-you're-done solution. Once I got everything the way I wanted it maintenance is virtually nil, but there is a time investment from the outset, something the 3rd party software writers have already done for you.

Personally, I hate to see my resources eaten up...a distaste I developed back with Win98 on the 200MHz machine that has survived to this day. So that's why I took the time to figure out how minimalist I could go with the 3rd party stuff.

P.S.
Caveat II: I'm not foolish enough to think I can get away with this forever. So despite the success I have had for a few years now I am always ready for catastrophic failure. Back up data and don't keep sensitive data (like passwords and credit card numbers) on my machines to be stolen or lost. Again, a little time. But disaster will happen to all computers eventually, so my focus is more on disaster recovery than disaster prevention. And its still not quite as much time as supporting/maintaining a bunch of security apps. (I believe, that is.)

[jxing62]

jdharm, sorry for late reply.
i totally agree with you as not to waste the resources of the computer and will only install those really essential software. sometimes, i have to control myself as not to install unnecessary tweaking software unless it is a must for my work.
thanks also to mjq424 and i will try the comodo boclean since it is free, hahaha.

lately, i found out a nice site,
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic3616.html
there are lot of softwares as a replacement to commercial one.

rgds to all

[tom.tdw]

these days when working with computer is very very annoying! i think i spend more times in solving the security problems than my actual work now.

then what are really essential softwares to install on my computer, i dont mean to install more than necessary software. it may waste my computer resources i think.

take ie for example, ie has the option that we can set the zone and security level, does this secured?
we can also set the privacy option in ie and doesnt it secured? do we need another software such as privacy guradian?

ie also have the pop up blocker and phising filter, then windows xp has the windows defender, then do we need to install other 3rd party security softwares?

so, what is the minimum security softwares can any expert pls advice me so that after i install these softwares then i can concentrate 100 % on my work without wasting times to surf the internet for security solution! thanks in advance.if you choose the right programs you can actually use less resoreces

get safari/firefox with noscript as a browser and thunderburd for mail, they each run 2x as fast as microsofts equivilents and are infinately more sercure. also get ccleaner/desktop mechanic as it protects your privacy plus speeds up your pc. next get sandboxie as it avoids you having to tweak browser settings to protect you on that frount. + forget phisining filter for site advisor

a bootable scanner and system resuce CD are always good to keep around just incase

anything made by microsoft will offer little or no protection

[mercury]

Running the OS in ram is another alternative to avoid infection of virus, once it occurs, just reboot the computer and all viruses will be destroyed.

[julycheng]

Running the OS in ram is another alternative to avoid infection of virus, once it occurs, just reboot the computer and all viruses will be destroyed.

could you tell us more details ?

[mercury]

could you tell us more details ?

Please visit http://www.disklessangel.com for detailed information about running the OS in ram

[forever]

yes! I have read about it and dowmload the production !
My system is faster and even the importent is avoid infection of virus