How much Protection.

[Badcompany]

Hello Forum,
How much protection do you really need to be safe.This is what i have, am I TOTALLY safe from hackers,Keyloggers,etc. Kaspersky Antivirus, Zap 6, Spy Sweeper, and E-trust Anti-spam.Is this enough.Your comments would be appreciated.
Badcompany.

[ErikAlbert]

How is your behavior on the internet : carefull, dangerous, something between ?
Do you download objects from an unknown source, including P2P ?
Do you visit dangerous websites ?

The more discipline you have on the internet, the less security softwares you need.
In that case your actual security setup is enough, but not 100% or TOTALLY.
That's impossible.

[Devinco]

Well said ErikAlbert! :)

[Notok]

At the same time, you don't want to go thinking you're totally safe just because you don't visit shady websites. I've seen malware, including rootkits, come in through popups and banner ads on otherwise legit sites. There is also always the possibility that the site will get hacked and distribute malware unknowingly. That's not to say that you shouldn't avoid such sites, quite the opposite, just that good habits are no substitute for a proper defense.

That said, to the original poster I would say your setup is just fine. Just use an alternate browser, such as Firefox or Opera, with an ad-blocker, and an email program other than Outlook or Outlook Express. SiteAdvisor (http://www.siteadvisor.com/) is another great thing to have.

[Badcompany]

That said, to the original poster I would say your setup is just fine. Just use an alternate browser, such as Firefox or Opera, with an ad-blocker, and an email program other than Outlook or Outlook Express. SiteAdvisor (http://www.siteadvisor.com/) is another great thing to have." }-
Hi Notok,
You said i should change to Firefox or opera, are these really beter than IE, and for my e-mail the only one i know is outlook ex.

Ps. thanks for all your comments.

[ErikAlbert]

Here are a few usefull links :

Mozilla Firefox (replacement for MS Internet Explorer, but keep MSIE for Windows Update)
http://download.mozilla.org/?product...win&lang=en-US
Mozilla Firefox Extension “AdBlock”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/10/
Mozilla Firefox Extension “NoScript”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/
Mozilla Firefox Extension "SiteAdvisor"
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ff.html

-------------------------------------------------------
MS Internet Explorer "SiteAdvisor"
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ie.html

-------------------------------------------------------
Mozilla Thunderbird (replacement for MS Outlook)
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/
Mozilla Thunderbird Extensions
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/?application=thunderbird

[Badcompany]

-{ Quote: "Here are a few usefull links :

Mozilla Firefox (replacement for MS Internet Explorer, but keep MSIE for Windows Update)
http://download.mozilla.org/?product...win&lang=en-US
Mozilla Firefox Extension “AdBlock”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/10/
Mozilla Firefox Extension “NoScript”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/
Mozilla Firefox Extension "SiteAdvisor"
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ff.html

-------------------------------------------------------
MS Internet Explorer "SiteAdvisor"
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ie.html

-------------------------------------------------------
Mozilla Thunderbird (replacement for MS Outlook)
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/
Mozilla Thunderbird Extensions
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/?application=thunderbird" }-

Hi Erikalbert,
Thanks for the links, do i just install fireFox over IE, and the same with thunderbird.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Hi Erikalbert,
Thanks for the links, do i just install fireFox over IE, and the same with thunderbird." }-

No, you just add Firefox and Thunderbird as new softwares.
You keep MSIE and MS Outlook, don't remove them, just don't use them anymore.

Windows will only ask you which browser will be your default browser.
MSIE is still my default browser and I use Firefox for surfing. The choice is up to you and you can use both browser at the same time.

For email Thunderbird must be your default email-software, because Thunderbird is much better and safer than MS Outlook.

[Badcompany]

-{ Quote: "No, you just add Firefox and Thunderbird as new softwares.
You keep MSIE and MS Outlook, don't remove them, just don't use them anymore.

Windows will only ask you which browser will be your default browser.
MSIE is still my default browser and I use Firefox for surfing. The choice is up to you and you can use both browser at the same time.

For email Thunderbird must be your default email-software, because Thunderbird is much better and safer than MS Outlook." }-

Forgive my ignorance, but do you mean add Firefox and Thunderbird to my desktop and use them on demand.

[ErikAlbert]

Just install Firefox like any other software and you will see what happens.
You will get a new icon for Firefox, just like for MSIE.

Wait with Thunderbird, get used to Firefox FIRST.

[Notok]

-{ Quote: "are these really beter than IE, and for my e-mail the only one i know is outlook ex." }-I originally started using Firefox because I like it a million times better than IE, just as a browser, before I had any real security concerns. Check out the extensions, they can be addicting ;) When it comes to security, though, switching from IE to FF or Opera will cut down the amount of malware that can get through significantly. Most of the exploits out there are specifically for IE.

As far as email goes, Thunderbird is made by the same folks that make Firefox, it's free and easy to use. Opera comes with an email program as well, although I've never used it. I use Thunderbird (free) for my work email, and I use PocoMail (not free) for my personal email, and would personally never turn back :)

[Badcompany]

-{ Quote: "Just install Firefox like any other software and you will see what happens.
You will get a new icon for Firefox, just like for MSIE.

Wait with Thunderbird, get used to Firefox FIRST." }-

Hi Erikalbert,
Now I understand thank you, Will I also get a icon for Thunderbird, And my antivirus will be compatable.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Hi Erikalbert,
Now I understand thank you, Will I also get a icon for Thunderbird, And my antivirus will be compatable." }-
Yes you will get another icon, but keep in mind that you have to configure Thunderbird to get your emails. Once you have done that and it works, forget about MS Outlook.
Give it time to get used to it. Thunderbird was my best decision in 2005.

I never used your AV, but it worked with my AV. Why not with yours.

[Alphalutra1]

-{ Quote: "Hi Erikalbert,
Now I understand thank you, Will I also get a icon for Thunderbird, And my antivirus will be compatable." }-
To answer for ErikAlbert:

You can choose during the installation whether or not you want an icon on your desktop. Also, you can choose to have one in your start menu.

Kaspersky is compatible with Thunderbird

Edit-------
You answered before me ErikAlbert :( :D
Edit----

Alphalutra1

[ErikAlbert]

Alphalutra1,
Nevermind and your post was INFORMATIVE too, even for me. 8)

[Alphalutra1]

-{ Quote: "Alphalutra1,
Nevermind and your post was INFORMATIVE too, even for me. 8)" }-
Good to know I helped, especially since I am from the planet uranus ;)

Alphalutra1

[Badcompany]

Thanks to you all for your help, very much appreciated. Going to install Firefox, need a beer first.
Badcompany.:)

[Badcompany]

If I install Thunderbird do I still need to use E-Trust Anti-spam.Are they compatible.
Badcompany.:D

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "If I install Thunderbird do I still need to use E-Trust Anti-spam.Are they compatible." }-
Thunderbird has its own anti-spam feature. Not everybody is happy with it, but it's good enough for me and indeed it doesn't detect all spam-emails and that happens almost every day. The quantity of undetected spam-emails is small at least in my inbox.
Because I'm too lazy to build my own spam-filters, I mark these undetected spam-emails as junk manually.

I don't know if eTrust Anti-Spam is compatible with Thunderbird. The only info I find is that eTrust is compatible with MS Outlook Express/200x.

Is Thunderbird compatible with other Anti-Spam software ?
I'm quite sure about that, because some members have used them, because they weren't happy with Thunderbird's Anti-Spam feature.
The problem is I don't remember what they used. So I hope that other members will tell you what they use. :)
(Concerning eTrust, I would try this myself and see what happens.)

[Eldar]

-{ Quote: "Is Thunderbird compatible with other Anti-Spam software ?" }-I should think so, you could use K9 (http://keir.net/k9.html), SpamPal (http://www.spampal.org/), Spamihilator (http://www.spamihilator.com/), PopFile (http://popfile.sourceforge.net/), Mailwasher (http://www.firetrust.com/), ...
The first 4 work as a proxy and it's not that difficult to set it up. :)

Same as Notok I'm using PocoMail, as well as his big brother ;D , Barca Pro,
and I'm using The Bat for work. Both are not free.
Once tried Opera mail, but that didn't last long. ::)

[ErikAlbert]

Eldar,
I stored your 5 links as possible solutions, when I get tired of Thunderbird's Anti-Spam feature.
For the moment I can live with it, but I'm smart enough to be prepared for the future. :)

[Eldar]

-{ Quote: "Eldar,
I stored your 5 links as possible solutions, when I get tired of Thunderbird's Anti-Spam feature." }-My pleasure, besides I've tried them all and more, until I found my email client which does have an integrated Bayesian filter, like Thunderbird.
Of course you need to tweak them, so they'll give you excellent results. 8)
-{ Quote: "For the moment I can live with it, but I'm smart enough to be prepared for the future. :)" }-Best be prepared. ;D ;)

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,
It has already been said in the above posts, but maybe you'll like my style of wording the things.
Security comes from the user - not from the programs.
Invest time in learning how PC and Windows work rather than installing programs and hoping for 100% security - which 99% depends on you.
That said, you can still signifcantly reduce your exposure to the potential malware that you may inadvertently "plant" on your computer through innocent or deliberate ignorance.
Your greatest avenues of exposure are internet-related applications, of course, the browser, the mail client, the chat / im client, the p2p client.
Have these applications always fully up to date, that's tons more important than having this or that anti-virus. Most malware that targets these works on vulnerabilities in these softwares.
Furthermore, use applications that are inherently safe rather than inherently unsafe. For instance, IE or OE are of the latter kind. I suggest you switch to FF / Opera - Firefox is easier - and Thunderbird mail client.
Finally, while browsing the Internet, 99% of exploits and tricks out there on web pages rely on javascript / java / activex engines; Firefox with the right extension allows you to browse the sites with the plugins disabled and only enabled for truly trusted sites. This sounds like an ad, but truly, it's probably the most leveraged security-flexibility solution you can have today.
If you properly limit your passive exposure - updates, browser, mail, chat, p2p (do not download cracked software) - all that remains is your pure human mistakes - to actively download malware and execute it, but in this case, Kaspersky and Spy Sweeper should serve you well.
Mrk