Hello, This is regarding my consideration for my upcoming purchase. I know enough about security related measures and follow all test results of AV-C etc. My query is regarding IS vs AV. Does the firewall a good reason now than it was earlier to purchase IS over AV. As far as I know, Windows firewall is pretty decent now and in fact some AV vendors use the same in their internet security products ( with some alternations ofcourse. Although I am not sure whether they actually do something over top of it which adds real value or its just marketing gimmick.) So, I want to know experts view ( particularly those who know about firewalls) whether should I spend much more for buying IS than AV. I know some Firewall in some IS such as Kaspersky are reputed to be strong but not sure whether its leads to additional performance impact. My view: Its not worth it( at-least for me who have decent knowledge about security issues but I am concerned about my family who have no knowledge about this). Need your opinion. Thanks in advance
I'd say for family members use products like Norton Security. Even trend micro now offers great for the price.
For regular IS, it's not worth it. for Kaspersky IS, it MAY be worth it. The reason is that KIS has one additional feature on top of merely a AV+firewall - application control (HIPS). It's well worth it IMO.
If I am not wrong, HIPS is part of AV also and not just IS. HIPS is core component of malware detection based on behavior. It must be included as part of AV in all vendors. Am I missing something ?
I think HIPS only exists in some AV product, such as F-secure. but for KAV, there is no HIPS. Kaspersky call HIPS as "application control". "Kaspersky Anti-Virus lacks certain features found in Kaspersky Internet Security. These missing features include a personal firewall, HIPS, Secure Keyboard, AntiSpam, AntiBanner and parental control tools.[2]" http://support.kaspersky.com/8602
Not sure if Stem is active nowadays, but we still have our resident experts here, hopefully they chime in. Anyhoo, I've read that third-party firewall drivers are not loading fast enough to protect computers at start up while some introduce incompatibilities and/or slow downs. The following threads are dated, but might help. https://www.wilderssecurity.com/thre...not-loading-their-drivers-fast-enough.356387/ https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/firewalls-that-dont-fully-protect.365110/ https://www.wilderssecurity.com/thre...and-other-non-leak-tests-of-firewalls.361001/ https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/av-comparatives-firewall-test-03-2014.362063/ It seems that the stock Windows Firewall (on Windows 7 and up) is good enough to protect your system, plus I'm pretty sure you have SPI enabled on your router, this should greatly help with your network security. So to answer your question, I think it's not worth having to cough up a couple more dollars to have the firewall feature of Internet Security products.
I prefer separate AV and FW components. If I have had to select an All-in-One product (i.e. a Security Suite), it would have been Kaspersky.
I am really surprised that AV does not include HIPS Thanks. This is something I was looking for. Infact, it says Win FW is better than some paid Firewall. Since it is not professional test, I wont take it on face value. I dont know about SPI Firewall in router ( feeling silly ). I do have Firewall enabled in router if thats what you mean.
I'm using BitDefender IS & I think it's well worth it. But I paid pennies for a boxed version. In fact I never pay full price for security. Moved from Emsisoft to BD a year ago because of a huge price difference at that moment in time. If I was paying $20-$50 more for IS I'd probably go AV only. But if I bought retail & difference was $10 or less I'd go IS.
Yes, the difference between IS and AV is less if you know from where to buy. But I also wanted to know whether its still worth it despite whatever be the price. For eg: The reason I like AV more than IS is it doesnt have so many things I dont need. So, I am paying less and getting everything I need. Infact for IS, I had to uninstall plugins, disble anti spam etc etc. The only thing that was significant in IS is Firewall. So, I wanted to analyse whether Windows Firewall now can be equivalent contender as paid products.
IMO, It depends which IS product/s that you talk about/is interested in, as they are not all the same and the feature set and functionality differs somewhat between them too.
Norton Firewall Automatic Program Control enabled, in addition to checking the characteristics of the traffic itself, the Smart Firewall also identifies the program requesting access and either allows it or blocks it, based on the trust level that Symantec has assigned to the program through actual testing. A hash is used to prevent a malicious program from masquerading as a legitimate one. What criteria do you use in deciding if a connection is suspicious?
