Best Free Protection Combo ?

[k0ntkikker]

New to this forum, and found it quite interesting. Consider myself quite green in terms of security. Although I am concerned about things that could happen, or my pc is exposed to.

My setup: 1 desktop machine, 1 notebook on xp. I use wifi at home, through a WEP router. Notebook has wifi and I use hotspots sometimes. I'm a freelance consultant with my own bizz, therefore work out-of-home quite often. I have had some bad experiences re: safety of data and looking for an entry-level (read freeware) combination of apps to help secure me and keep most evil out.I reviewed this link http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=111264 but think many people are interested in freeware combi's, if they are any good..

At the moment I run the following apps:
* AVG
* ZoneAlarm Personal
* Spybot
* Adaware

I frequently use messenger programs, such as msn and yahoo, have several e-mail accounts I check on the go, and have a couple of GB of sensitive data on my harddrive (incl e-mail folders) that I think should be encrypted in case things get lost. I also have the bad habit of using programmes like Kazaalite and ABC for leisure on occasion, which might expose me however I'm hoping to be able to continue to use these programmes

My questions:
1. what do you think of my current setup?
2. what combination of freeware apps would you recommend (anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware, encryption software)
3. how to protect myself in wifi hotspots, if possible (or just avoid using email and messenger etc?)

Hope to hear some feedback from the experts here.. I think many people are worried about safety, but paying for protection seems to be a bridge too far..

Appreciate your feedback
k-k

[WSFuser]

if ur using p2p, i recommend u get peerguardian too.

zonealarm isnt too good for p2p, but i dont know of any free alternatives that i would use.

for ur AV, i find antivir or avast to offer better protection.

for spyware, u can add ewido to ur list. after the trial, it converts to its free mode; on-demand scanner only.

have u considered a HOSTS file? it can block sites and ads. MVPS HOSTS is good and its not too big.

if u want extra protection, u can get a HIPS like processguard or winpatrol. you can also use a sandbox like defensewall or geswall.

theres also many hardening tools (like windows worms doors cleaner and harden-it) but it can also break a few things in IE.

some last tips:

use an alternative browser. either firefox or opera are good
when ur browsing the web, use a limited account (for winxp)

[zapjb]

-{ Quote: "...I'm a freelance consultant with my own bizz, therefore work out-of-home quite often..." }-
Just to let you know most programs EULA say they are only for personal noncommercial useage. So you probably are imho violating their licenses.

1 It's OK.
2 I'd replace AVG & ZA with Avast home edition & Sygate Personal firewall. Then I'd add ProcessGuard free & maybe WinPatrol. Because PG free is somewhat crippled. Encryption software I don't know. And ewido free for anti-malware.
3 Don't know.

[Notok]

I don't know that I would rely on 100% freeware for full security, I'd get at least one paid app (AV, or other general anti-malware). Firewalls are the exception here, mainly because they don't require a lot of maintenance. You can get some very good deals if you look around, though. One freebie that I can wholeheartedly recommend is SiteAdvisor - http://www.siteadvisor.com/ , preferably for Firefox.

[ErikAlbert]

For encryption :
TrueCrypt (freeware)
http://www.truecrypt.org/

Hostsman (freeware)
http://hostsman.abelhadigital.com/
This software takes care of your HOSTS file. You don't even have to download MVPS Hosts File, because Hostsman downloads it on demand and combines it with 3 other HOSTS file, if you want this.

CCleaner (freeware)
http://www.ccleaner.com/
To clean your history daily.

Eraser (freeware)
http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/
To remove any trace of deleted files.

Using another browser, than MSIE is also a smart move : Firefox or Opera
Mozilla Firefox (replacement for MS Internet Explorer) - Freeware
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
Mozilla Firefox Extension “AdBlock”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/10/
Mozilla Firefox Extension “NoScript”
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/722/
SiteAdvisor for Mozilla Firefox
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ff.html

There is also SiteAdvisor for MSIE :
SiteAdvisor for MS Internet Explorer
http://www.siteadvisor.com/download/ie.html

This one protects you against evil websites, when you use MSIE
IE-SPYAD
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm

Using another email-software is also a smart move :
Mozilla Thunderbird (replacement for MS Outlook) - Freeware
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

I need a rest and a cup of coffee now. :)

[EASTER.2010]

This one app might not be an end all but it comes pretty darn close IMHO.

Has a learning mode but you can quickly catch on to it with some time spent staying with it long enough to set rules THAT YOU not the computer controls for you which always invites intrusions not acceptable and most of the times time consuming and harmful to any computer.

CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF AND DECIDE:

SYSTEM SAFETY MONITOR (http://www.syssafety.com)

It WILL serve your security very well and compliment any and all your other safety programs you reply on and keep them from displaying finds over and over again which is a pure PITA.

ALL THE BEST FROM A SPECIALIST WHO SPENT MANY MONTHS ON THE FRONT LINES IN THIS BATTLE AND STILL DOES.

[WSFuser]

ok, i just thought of an alternative firewall...sunbelt personal firewall. like ewido, it will turn into its free mode after the trial period.

[shek]

My current setup:
install every patches for windows/offices
realtime---antivir + jetico + pg free + registry watcher
backup---ewido + adware + spybot S&D
hostfile management---hostsman
system(especailly ie) immunization---spywareblaster + spybot S&D
webbrowser---opera
mail client---OE, the reason i use it is to receive mails from hotmail. so my setting is to read mails as plaint text

[k0ntkikker]

Thanks for these tips..

I've started testing eraser and truecrypt and both seem excellent utils.. 2 questions:

Eraser; love it, quite easy - how many passes are required until you cant recover the data anymore? I have a large drive here that I don't use anymore, but I dont want to throw it out or sell it, as I'm worried files might be recovered..

Truecrypt; has anyone experienced any problems with truecrypt in terms of data corruption? I have a large external 250GB drive, which could serve well as an encrypted drive when travelling for my laptop to store sensitive client files and designs on. The solution however should be quite robus. The data will be accessed very frequently on a daily basis. OS might be re-ghosted and the disk might be exchanged between computers, might be plugged out as a USB without being properly ejected, or might be subject to power failure (live in SE Asia).. any thoughts anyone..

Thanks!

[squash]

-{ Quote: "Thanks for these tips..

I've started testing eraser and truecrypt and both seem excellent utils.. 2 questions:

Eraser; love it, quite easy - how many passes are required until you cant recover the data anymore? I have a large drive here that I don't use anymore, but I dont want to throw it out or sell it, as I'm worried files might be recovered..

Truecrypt; has anyone experienced any problems with truecrypt in terms of data corruption? I have a large external 250GB drive, which could serve well as an encrypted drive when travelling for my laptop to store sensitive client files and designs on. The solution however should be quite robus. The data will be accessed very frequently on a daily basis. OS might be re-ghosted and the disk might be exchanged between computers, might be plugged out as a USB without being properly ejected, or might be subject to power failure (live in SE Asia).. any thoughts anyone..

Thanks!" }-

I have exactly the same thoughts too...
Eraser - The Gutmann method is literally an overkill and paranoid, anything with 7 passes like DoD is very likely to have eradicated your data. For erasing a whole hard drive, 1 pass will do.

TrueCrypt: Yes! I too, have a 250GB hard drive, and I have experienced the same data corruption problems (write protect error message) which makes me want to switch from TrueCrypt to another alternative (sadly).