Suggestions on the best virus/computer protection downloads?

[DaiKaijuGojira]

Can you techies give me the best suggestions on which computer virus protection and maintainance programs to use on my computer?

I want to thank all who reply. http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif

[Timberwolf]

I just DLd E-Trust anti-virus from ComputerAssociates (trial version). I had been using Norton AV2002. I'm thinking that I'll be ordering the full version of E-Trust.

I also use ZoneAlarm's freebie firewall (I don't need a lot of protection and it does the trick nicely) and Norton's defrag utility...only b/c I don't have a lot of stuff in the box and haven't been shown/told anything better.

[tacitus]

I use eTrust from Computer Associates (http://www.ca.com). Never had a problem.

[DaiKaijuGojira]

Gentlemen, I thank you,


TW, do you recommend Norton antivirus 2000?

[nosferatuscoffin]

I do not recommend anything from Symantec (who makes Norton products), except maybe their defragger. Also, do not put anything from McAfee on your system. Sometimes it is harder to get rid of than AOL.

On the AV front, the only way to go is E-Trust. It is far more robust than the others, and catches a hell of a lot worms, trojans and viruses than Norton etc., do. Not to metntion it is cheaper than the others.

On the firewall side, it depends whether you are on a broadband or dialup connection. If you are dialup, then a firewall like ZoneAlarm or BlackICE is fine. If you are on a cable or DSL connection, I highly suggest that you buy a router with built-in firewall. You can get a Netgear or Linksys one for about $60 at your local Staples, Office Max etc.

[Timberwolf]

[ QUOTE ]
DaiKaijuGojira said:
Gentlemen, I thank you,


TW, do you recommend Norton antivirus 2000?

[/ QUOTE ]
Not anymore...on that front, ya best be listenin' to nos. He da man!!!

Nos...you really think I oughta get that Netgear router on my cable hook up, huh?? What was the model # on that one you mentioned a week or so ago??

[nosferatuscoffin]

[ QUOTE ]
Timberwolf said:
Not anymore...on that front, ya best be listenin' to nos. He da man!!!

Nos...you really think I oughta get that Netgear router on my cable hook up, huh?? What was the model # on that one you mentioned a week or so ago??

[/ QUOTE ]

If you are broadband, for certain, get a router. ZoneAlarm is fine for dialup connections, but you will get much better security with a router. You can go to Netgear's site and check out their routers here (http://www.netgear.com/products/prod_details.asp?prodID=131&view=). That link is to the cheapest router that they have. It runs anywhere from $50 to over $60 depending where you get it. Amazon was the cheapest piece I saw, at $49.99.

Da man? Oh yeah! http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[DaiKaijuGojira]

Thank you NOs, I did have a problen with Norton 2002. It was making my computer do weird things and not operate as smoothly. So I had to remove it.
Currently my computer is "naked" with no protection. So You guys are helping me do my homework. http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif

Thank you again.

[The_Finman]

Bah, builld your own firewall. http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon2.gif

If you have an old computer lying around it's easy.

Linux Router Project (http://www.pigtail.net/LRP/)

[DoctorDoom]

I swear by NAV 2002/2003 (same software), but it's a Ford vs Chevy thing. Head to head tests of various AV proggies show that they ALL miss some that others catch. The question is, do they stop the ones that anyone is likely to encounter in the real world? It's irrelevant if they flag a virus that hasn't been in the wild since the Pentium was the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that has yet to infect anyone outside the test labs.

I have not encountered one via email that has not been caught by NAV. Chances are that all of them will stop all the new viruses. Take your pick.

Re the "trial version" of software, be damned sure it's a limited-time rather than a limited-function program. The former will give you full functionality for a set period, usually 30 days. The latter might allow you to use it forever, but you don't have access to all its features, and in the case of security software, that's simply unacceptable.

As far as viruses go, a little common-sense security awareness will prevent them from infecting your box. The number one item is to issue a stern warning that ANY user of the machine caught clicking on an email attachment, even if it's from gramma, will be typing with their noses because their fingers will be in casts.

Re firewalls, I use BlackICE PCP, because it's a combination of firewall and IDS.

[DaiKaijuGojira]

Just want to throw out another thank you. All of your replies are very helpful to this "computer illiterate" freecer.

Thanks to all.

[nosferatuscoffin]

[ QUOTE ]
DoctorDoom said:
I swear by NAV 2002/2003 (same software), but it's a Ford vs Chevy thing. Head to head tests of various AV proggies show that they ALL miss some that others catch. The question is, do they stop the ones that anyone is likely to encounter in the real world? It's irrelevant if they flag a virus that hasn't been in the wild since the Pentium was the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that has yet to infect anyone outside the test labs.

[/ QUOTE ]

This has nothing to do with lab testing, but with real word experiences and problems that Symantec AV products in general have with Windows. They are generally more bloated, ues more resources, cost more and simply do not update as often as they should. They miss a good 20% of worms, trojans and viruses that E-Trust simply does not. Not to mention they have been known to corrupt registries on more than few occasions, usually by overwriting or corrupting important DLL or Windows system files. I am glad it is working well for you. That is the luck of the draw, when it comes to PC to PC. I have used several Norton products over the years, and I can safely say that I would not recommend any of them to my clients.

[ QUOTE ]
DoctorDoom said:
I have not encountered one via email that has not been caught by NAV. Chances are that all of them will stop all the new viruses. Take your pick.


[/ QUOTE ]

That all depends whether you download your email to your hard drive or not. Any ISP worth it's salt (this does not include AOL and a few other big names in the SP game) will have already scanned the mail that arrives on it's mail server before it is made available for download to a local PC. I have the same thing with Road Runner. While I always download my mail to my hard drive and E-Trust scans it on the fly, it has already been scanned beforehand. That simply gives me a double barrier against viruses before I acutally read the mail.

[ QUOTE ]
DoctorDoom said:
Re the "trial version" of software, be damned sure it's a limited-time rather than a limited-function program. The former will give you full functionality for a set period, usually 30 days. The latter might allow you to use it forever, but you don't have access to all its features, and in the case of security software, that's simply unacceptable.


[/ QUOTE ]

The E-Trust trial version is the full program, complete with all program features, including auto-updates. When the 30 days run out, it simply will kick in it's deadman switch and stop working.


[ QUOTE ]
DoctorDoom said:
As far as viruses go, a little common-sense security awareness will prevent them from infecting your box. The number one item is to issue a stern warning that ANY user of the machine caught clicking on an email attachment, even if it's from gramma, will be typing with their noses because their fingers will be in casts.


[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed.

[tacitus]

Thanks Fin. You posted this before but I forgot about it. I have an old Pentium sitting here in the office I can use.

[The_Finman]

[ QUOTE ]
tacitus said:
Thanks Fin. You posted this before but I forgot about it. I have an old Pentium sitting here in the office I can use.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your welcome. http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif

I love my custom built hardware firewall..let me know if you have any problems! http://freeconservatives.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon16.gif

[Rhino]

Still Ford/Chevy. I was at a company that switched from E-Trust to Norton and immediately uncovered three viruses on the network that had not been detected by E-Trust. As Doc said, none of them are perfect. I have to agree with nos though about Norton being more bloated and using more resources. If they continue that trend I will likely stop using them too. The price issue can usually be addressed by not buying directly from Symantec, or from a standard retailer.

Use of a firewall is an excellent idea, regardless of how you implement it. XP evens comes with one built in, though I haven't been able to evaluate how good or bad it might be. One thing to consider is that new viruses/worms/trojans are now coming out to take advantaged of newly discovered vulnerabilities, even before the software has had time to craft a patch for the vulnerability (witness Blaster and Qhosts).

If you have the technical prowess and desire, there are also monitoring utilities out there (such as BlackIce Defender) that watch the ports commonly exploited by viruses and worms, and notify you of any unusual activity. That might help detect new threats that have not yet been addressed in virus identity files for your virus scanner of choice.