Vagrant0 Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 Well, my question is not only for my own uses, but also as information I can pass onto others who might be running into these sorts of problems. It may have taken 20 years, but being a knowedgable about computers finally has its perks. Anyway, I was hoping for more simplistic solutions that even an idiot could put in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Raven Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 THE LIST for Vagrant0 I think it is important to point out that I use these applications as additions to a fully featured comprehensive antivirus/firewall product such as AVG Internet Security 7.5. (I can no longer recommend Norton, and for virus and internet protection the free products do not meet my professional standards) But as a second line of defense I doubt you will find better in pay for packages. General InformationAntivirus, Firewall, & Spyware - Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com Anti-Virus – Free Top Rated AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition - Reviews and free AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition downloads at Download.com Avast Home Edition - Reviews and free Avast Home Edition downloads at Download.com Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic - Reviews and free Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic downloads at Download.com Firewalls – Free Top Rated Comodo Firewall Pro - Reviews and free Comodo Firewall Pro downloads at Download.com ZoneAlarm Firewall (Windows 2000-XP) - Reviews and free ZoneAlarm Firewall (Windows 2000-XP) downloads at Download.com Security Software Highly Recommended – FreeAd-Aware 2007 - Reviews and free Ad-Aware 2007 downloads at Download.com CCleaner - Reviews and free CCleaner downloads at Download.com Spybot - Search & Destroy - Reviews and free Spybot - Search & Destroy downloads at Download.com SpywareBlaster - Reviews and free SpywareBlaster downloads at Download.com Spyware Terminator - Reviews and free Spyware Terminator downloads at Download.com This is the best of the best, Tried and Tested. Need more info just PM me Stormraven--- 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Raven Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I apologize for double posting however; I felt that changes in the original post required notification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vagrant0 Posted February 25, 2008 Author Share Posted February 25, 2008 Ad-Aware has just become a buggy piece of garbage which actually seems to come bundled with spyware, so that's out. Spyware blaster was getting bad reviews due to bad updating method, and being unable to really do anything about detected issues... So that's out. Spyware terminator sounded good, till it got to the point where people mentioned it blocking some other useful things which are part of other security software. So that's out. Any other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenxander Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Zone Alarm isn't a bad program to use in this case. Also I tend not to have any issues when I use "SlimBrowser", a browser that behaves almsot identically to I.E> (and even lets you access the microsoft update site) but doesn't seem to have the issues I.E. has. I'd recomend it, as it's free, just like Opera browser is free. Slimbrowser and Zone alarm, with Spybot and your virus protection program should be fine (for -MOST-) of your issues... "most" because nothing as stated, is ever 100%. I also have the "desktop armor".. it's found through a link from spybot and I have to say it's very nice and to me at least, was worth the minor amount of money to register it. Also, if you KNOW what you're doing, registry cleaners like "Registry Mechanic" aren't bad either for their real-time protection against registry changes. all in all, I use Desktop Armor, Registry Mechanic, spybot (passively), and Zone alarm. and every once in a while, I'll run "Memturbo" to defrag my ram and then turn off the program again (too many residual programs -even ones that 'help' you, eat up ram obviously :P ) Edit:Stormraven!!!! DON'T USE BLUE! Blue is HARD to read on this forum... *sigh* sorry for shouting, but seriously, don't use blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Raven Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Ad-Aware has just become a buggy piece of garbage which actually seems to come bundled with spyware, so that's out. Spyware blaster was getting bad reviews due to bad updating method, and being unable to really do anything about detected issues... So that's out. Spyware terminator sounded good, till it got to the point where people mentioned it blocking some other useful things which are part of other security software. So that's out. 1. Ad-Aware should only be downloaded from lavasoft or cnet where the download is certified. Otherwise, as in the case of many other utilities, it’s hard to say what you are going to wind up with. I am always careful to uncheck any bundled add-ons, toolbars, or other software so that they are not installed automatically. Many of these bundled add-on’s I would certainly classify as spyware. I would certainly be interested in any links to ‘documented’ cases of spyware. (‘Buggy piece of garbage’ sounds more like an opinion to me.) Until then it’s in. 2. I only use Spyware Blaster, as an additional database to Spy Bot S&D own Immunization database, as explained on Spy Bot S&D’s support pages. In this situation, Spy Bot S&D’s resident application is more than capable of doing something ‘about detected issues’. I don't use Spyware Blasters update engine I just DL new version on major updates. So I’ve not encountered those problems. 3. Spyware Terminator must be configured properly, in order work with other applications, just like Zone Alarm or any other of the above listed utilities. You would be the first one to say if you can’t be bothered to read the documentation don’t use the product. @ Xenxander I have no problems reading blue on this board. If you find any color difficult to read, just highlight the text, and that should solve YOUR problem. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTerminator2004 Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I once tried to install Zone alarm... I had to restart my PC after doing so, at which point Windows refused to start. At all. I was forced to boot up in safe mode, forcibly uninstall it, clean out all its registry entries, and then reboot before Windows would work again. And I know this issue isn't just specific to my PC, as my dad had the exact same issue when he installed it on his PC. Unfortunately for him, his PC doesn't let you boot Windows in safe mode, for some reason. You have no idea of the sheer hell those 4 hours we spent trying to undo the damage it caused were. To this day, his PC still has a few problems from the methods we had to use to fix it (it always tries to install a nonexistent windows update every time its shut down, for example). I'd be very careful if you intend to try it out. As for Slimbrowser... rather than using that, I'd go with Firefox - you get far superior security (as if slimbrowser lets you use windows update, it must allow at least some activex controls to run, which means it still has at least some of the security risks inherent in ie), and a better browser to boot. If for some reason you don't want to use Firefox, you could also try Seamonkey, which is a much lighter version that uses the firefox rendering engine, so should still work with all sites. you could always try Opera or Netscape, etc, but many sites dont display properly using them, so they're a far from ideal solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Raven Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I once tried to install Zone alarm... I had to restart my PC after doing so, at which point Windows refused to start. At all. I was forced to boot up in safe mode, forcibly uninstall it, clean out all its registry entries, and then reboot before Windows would work again. And I know this issue isn't just specific to my PC, as my dad had the exact same issue when he installed it on his PC. Unfortunately for him, his PC doesn't let you boot Windows in safe mode, for some reason. You have no idea of the sheer hell those 4 hours we spent trying to undo the damage it caused were. To this day, his PC still has a few problems from the methods we had to use to fix it (it always tries to install a nonexistent windows update every time its shut down, for example). I'd be very careful if you intend to try it out. The same thing happened to me the first time; fortunately, I had Go Back installed at the time, and was able to go back to before the time I installed it. Upon reinstall, I set up the standard permissions before I rebooted. After a little tweaking and a better understanding of the manual I was able to use the program very effectively. I no longer use Go Back because of the performance drag. I do image the boot drive before any major software installations. That way I can always return it to a working condition if there are serious problems. It is also useful for testing out a series of utilities and accessories. Once I work out any problems then I can go back to the drive image and reinstall the useful stuff then create a new drive image. If anyone is interested on Drive Imaging and how to save yourself the nightmares of starting all over from scratch, please let me know. I will be happy to go into more detail. 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordNyghthawk Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Actually, I've used Panda AV (not bad), and Avast (pretty good) with the standard Windows firewall, and I've never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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