Best free security right now, but

[nixie21]

MUST be easy. I need to work on someones computer, Is there a free suite right now where the firewall will ask NOTHING? Good AV, AS?? If not a suite, what realtime free apps should I run for this person?

THanks

[WSFuser]

You could try GhostWall for a firewall (packet filter). It has no application control and thus no prompts.

Antivirus...avast is good.

I dont think realtime AS is needed but BOClean is a good supplement for the AV.

[nixie21]

Thanks...forgot about boclean, they have a router, do I even need to bother with a software firewall?

[WSFuser]

Nope. The router should do a good job at inbound filtering.

[StevieE9]

Originally Posted by nixie21

MUST be easy. I need to work on someones computer, Is there a free suite right now where the firewall will ask NOTHING? Good AV, AS?? If not a suite, what realtime free apps should I run for this person?

THanks

A Firewall that asks nothing is not a Firewall.

AV: Grisoft AVG 7.5 full realtime free version
Spyware: Comodo BO Clean
Firewall: Comodo Pro free

[Mrkvonic]

Hello,

iptables ... sorry, that was cruel.

You could try CHX-I, that one is allow-all, unless specifically ruled. So you need to define all the relevant rules by yourself, otherwise everything works ... I hope I'm not mistaken regarding CHX-I. But that's not a simple firewall.

Mrk

[Davidpr]

I would add GeSWall, seems to protect and can be set to be very quiet.

[the Tester]

I would use:
AV:Avast free.
AS:A-Squared and Win Patrol free.
Firewall:Comodo free.
SUPERAntiSpyware free scanner is another good one.

[EliteKiller]

1. Enable Windows firewall if possible to avoid installing a 3rd party firewall ~ Talk to your customer about purchasing an inexpensive cable/dsl router
2. Disable system restore
3. Uninstall all old versions of Java and other malware in add or remove programs
4. Depending on the infections I would start with CCleaner, combofix, & smitfraudfix
5. Install and run SAS
6. Install and run AVGAS
7. Install and run Antivir or Kaspersky 7
8. Run an ESET online scan
9. Run HJT to see if anything is still hiding out

[Alphalutra1]

Originally Posted by StevieE9

A Firewall that asks nothing is not a Firewall.

I knew pf and iptables and CHX-I weren't firewalls They were just too fast, too customizable, has too good of logging, offered the best SPI, but no popups, imagine being hassle free for once (All this was said in jest)

Right now, if you want easy, no ask security, then you can enable the built-in windows firewall, install a free av (antivir is one that has worked well on my computers and has satisfied me, but it may not be the same for you so experiment a little with avast or avg as well), and have the person run in a limited user account as that will definitely help a lot in the long run. Besides this, stay smart and keep updated.

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

[cheater87]

Zone Alarm free didn't have many pop ups IIRC.

[Doc Serenity]

XP firewall of Ghost firewall.
Avira free AV.
Prosecurity free (HIPS).
AVG free AS, A2 free AS, Superantispyuware free.
Good router with NAT and SPI.
Limited user account.
Should work.
Good luck.

[FadeAway]

Originally Posted by nixie21

MUST be easy

SpywareBlaster from Javacool

[innerpeace]

Hi, AVG anti-virus and Windows Defender are simple. If they are running Vista, use it's firewall because it has some outbound protection. You might also check with their ISP as some are offering free suites nowadays.

[maddawgz]

avg suite although not free, avg free and boclean is my pick Windows defender never finds anything

[lucas1985]

For real-time: Jetico v1, GeSWall and a integrity checker of your choice. Not for anyone
For on-demand: There's too much good stuff

[innerpeace]

Originally Posted by maddawgz

avg suite although not free, avg free and boclean is my pick Windows defender never finds anything

SAS, Avira, A-squared, ewido micro and Spybot never finds anything here . Defender does have IDS which is nice, but BOClean seems good too .

[Beavenburt]

Windows Firewall
Avast or AVG antivirus (Both have trouble free automatic updates and run flawlessly on all machines i've installed on)
Firefox or Opera (Both good secure browsers. Pretty much elimates the need for a realtime AS)

You could also add some hardening tools to disable some un-needed services.
Install a couple of on-demand AS for regular scanning.
Install CCleaner to delete all that browser / windows crap.

Job done.

[tlu]

Originally Posted by StevieE9

A Firewall that asks nothing is not a Firewall.

Funny. The first and most prominent task of a firewall is inbound filtering - here you shouldn't get any popups. And if you care about outbound filtering (measured by passing "leaktests") - well, see this remark by stem and a little bit more detailed this posting.

[StevieE9]

Originally Posted by tlu

Funny. The first and most prominent task of a firewall is inbound filtering - here you shouldn't get any popups. And if you care about outbound filtering (measured by passing "leaktests") - well, see this remark by stem and a little bit more detailed this posting.

I'll pass on that since I don't understand what your point is.

My point to the OP was that a Firewall *must* ask for certain permissions, eg when a program accessing the net is installed, or when a program is updated.
If it does *not* ask for user permissions then it is not a functioning Firewall.
I don't think the OP was talking about a FW that had a set of user-defined rules.

[tlu]

Originally Posted by StevieE9

I'll pass on that since I don't understand what your point is.

My point to the OP was that a Firewall *must* ask for certain permissions, eg when a program accessing the net is installed, or when a program is updated.
If it does *not* ask for user permissions then it is not a functioning Firewall.
I don't think the OP was talking about a FW that had a set of user-defined rules.

Again, the most important task of a Firewall is inbound filtering - in this case the Firewall will not ask for any permissions, and it's still a Firewall (an example is the Windows XP Firewall). What you're talking about is outbound filtering whose necessity is debatable - this is described in the second link.

[StevieE9]

Originally Posted by tlu

Again, the most important task of a Firewall is inbound filtering - in this case the Firewall will not ask for any permissions, and it's still a Firewall (an example is the Windows XP Firewall). What you're talking about is outbound filtering whose necessity is debatable - this is described in the second link.

In the context of the OP, I do not agree with you and have never read any security expert suggest such a thing. The OP was *not* philosophising about the more esoteric issues of a Firewall. Bi-directional protection is paramount in the wider context of net security. You are being pedantic in the extreme.

NB: Your first link led to something completely different to your description of it.

[solcroft]

Originally Posted by StevieE9

Bi-directional protection is paramount in the wider context of net security.

The whole idea behind outbound protection is to not leak confidential data to a hacker. There are a multitude of ways to accomplish this, and many of them more reliable than praying your firewall's outbound control works.

[StevieE9]

Originally Posted by solcroft

The whole idea behind outbound protection is to not leak confidential data to a hacker. There are a multitude of ways to accomplish this, and many of them more reliable than praying your firewall's outbound control works.

Well I suggest you talk to the OP - if you read what they say, I suggest they are looking for an easy solution for a user that is not knowledgeable vis a Firewall '...that ask nothing' - we all know that PCs are simply *not* that straightforward if you want to maintain security integrity.
If you think more complex security solutions are the answer...so be it! LOL

In any case, the previous poster is playing silly word games about the function of a Firewall that seem a million miles away from the point of this thread.

[tlu]

Originally Posted by StevieE9

Well I suggest you talk to the OP - if you read what they say, I suggest they are looking for an easy solution for a user that is not knowledgeable vis a Firewall '...that ask nothing' - we all know that PCs are simply *not* that straightforward if you want to maintain security integrity.
If you think more complex security solutions are the answer...so be it! LOL

In any case, the previous poster is playing silly word games about the function of a Firewall that seem a million miles away from the point of this thread.

I'm afraid you don't understand. Inbound protection is necessary - either with a router or a software firewall like the Windows built-in. You won't get any alerts, as they are unnecesary, and that's what the thread starter wants. A completely different question is if outbound protection is needed. Short answer: Keep your OS and applications updated, install only trustworthy software from trustworthy sites and don't execute malware - and you don't need outbound protection. It's that simple.