av & firewall or suite

[larryb52]

Was just curious as to what folks prefer. The suites that emcompass all or the separate parts?, you don't have to add what you use unless you so desire but I just wonder if the companies that have leaned heavily in the area of suites are really capturing folks with that method...thanks

[flyrfan111]

Personally I don't like the idea of suites, I prefer the layered approach. With suites, to me at least, they seem to be much more prone to crashing and then you are totally left in the open. It may take some trials to find programs that work well together and a suite would obviously make that factor a bit easier however.

[Bunkhouse Buck]

Originally Posted by larryb52

Was just curious as to what folks prefer. The suites that emcompass all or the separate parts?, you don't have to add what you use unless you so desire but I just wonder if the companies that have leaned heavily in the area of suites are really capturing folks with that method...thanks

Larry,

I use Comodo 3.0 firewall with defense+ off, Avira Premium, and WinPatrol Plus. They run together smooth as silk, and are only taking about 373mb memory usage with all other processes running. This combination has the least impact on my computer of all combinations I have been willing to test.

The Avira Suite has a firewall problem, and I won't use it for that reason. Spam control on it is much better than most think, and I won't use ESS because the spam filter is terrible plus some other issues with CPU usage from time to time.

Maximum protection in my view with minimal use of system resources.

[Antarctica]

I tried suites,even had a licence for KIS during one year but now I came back to layered defense and personally I like it better that way

[larryb52]

Originally Posted by Bunkhouse Buck

Larry,

I use the new Comodo 3.0 firewall with defense+ off, avira premium, and WinPatrol Plus. They run together smooth as silk, and are only taking about 373k memory usage with all other processes running. The Avira Suite has a firewall problem, and I won't use it for that reason. Spam control on it is much better than most think, and I won't use ESS because the spam filter is terrible plus some other issues with CPU usage from time to time.

Maximum protection in my view with minimal use of system resources.

AFter a half year of playing with some suites I have returned to av & firewall & comodo I'm still trialing it so far so good...

[C.S.J]

simply suites.

i dont need a firewall so i tend to just buy the AV, but if i were to use one, it would be with a suite.

[WSFuser]

I prefer separate parts as the av and firewall I like are seldom made by the same company.

[midway40]

I was using suites because I thought the components would work together better. I didn’t factor in if the suite itself would get along well with the OS (as I just learned ).

[dNor]

Suites

[Niels]

I prefer suite because you know that all features works together without any problems. If you are going to use separate tools you have to think about possible conflicts. I only have 1 security product installed on my computer which is a suite.

[Kerodo]

Usually I go for separates, but am running McAfee Total Protection 2008 right now and it seems well integrated and runs fine here.. If I find a good suite without issues, I am tempted to use it instead of separates... just seems easier...

[JasSolo]

Suites for me as well

[JerryM]

Suites.
Jerry

[clocks]

Originally Posted by Bunkhouse Buck

Larry,
I use Comodo 3.0 firewall with defense+ off, Avira Premium, and WinPatrol Plus. They run together smooth as silk, and are only taking about 373k memory usage with all other processes running.

Only 373k memory? How did you manage that? Comodo 3 alone if 16meg for me.

I prefer a separate firewall & AV program to a suite. Suites tend to to include features that I do not need or want, and often are more bloated.

[C.S.J]

Originally Posted by clocks

Only 373k memory? How did you manage that? Comodo 3 alone if 16meg for me.

I prefer a separate firewall & AV program to a suite. Suites tend to to include features that I do not need or want, and often are more bloated.

maybe he means 373mb memory, which is alot.

because 373k is just impossible, each program alone takes up a whole lot more than that.

[Diver]

Suites.

In my experience there are fewer compatibility and set up problems with the suite. Especially for the beginner who does not want to worry if his firewall is keeping his AV from updating. Most of the compatibility issues that I actually see mentioned around here are with additional resident security programs and not the OS or applications. One of my predictions is that the protection and detection strategies of the suites will become more integrated and eventually reach a level of performance that could not be matched by separate components. My definition of performance includes usability and simplicity. A HIPS that goes off when you try to print a document is not going to work on a secretary's machine. Its much easier for a noob to learn a single consistent interface than to mess with multiple geek panels.

The term layered defenses is an illusion. Its just "mix and match" and hope for the best.

I suspect that around here preferences are driven by the urge to tinker with security software rather than the goal of reaching decent security with usability. I may not be responsible for 5000 desktops, but if you could not roll it out to such an enterprise, it is likely to be useless except as a hobby item. An exception could be had for anything that would meet the requirements of a large organization but for the lack of centralized management.

[Tarq57]

The only suite I've used at home was a Norton one. Bit heavy, bit of a slowdown at times. Very much more involved, and complicated than I thought it should be. I uninstalled it (with difficulty) and have been trying a few separate applications, which I prefer. Have found no conflictions with separate programs, (apart from Zero Spyware, which behaved a bit erratically) but certainly haven't tried all of them!
Settled on Avast, SpywareTerminator, CFP 2.4, and the MVPS hosts file. Works well.

[computer geek]

Suites, as mentioned, can crash more pronly then left in the open. But if you buy something like kaspersky which has anti-termination and regestry protection, malware is not going to find it easy to shut it down. (kaspersky has very good defense) Also, if the suites components are what they say "tied together" and work seamlessly, it will, not only provide better protection but better resource usage. Edit- meaning that if you get something like norton internet security 2004, its defense and resource usage will be very bad. However, if you get something like kaspersky or ESET(defense is weaker, but works seamlessly) it will overally be better.

[risl]

I like to have av and fw seperated, used to like suites back in the day when I didn't know much about computers and these programs. Today, don't feel comfortable with any of the present suites. I always find some part of them annoying somehow, some being over protective and telling me that I'll go to hell if I don't enable their antispam, popup blocker or some parental lock. Some just have a good av, but not a firewall that I want or good firewall but av blows. Then I end up picking the ones that meet my criterias.

[s4u]

can't help myself. I just like suites

[bigc73542]

My opinion is that I believe that the components in a suite probably have a lot better chance of being compatable with each other as where if you use products form different producers there is always a greater chance of incompatability that might not even be apparent at first glance but could have an adverse affect on each of the components ability to performe as it was designed.

[RobZee]

Originally Posted by Diver

Suites.
The term layered defenses is an illusion. Its just "mix and match" and hope for the best.

Agree!

Rob

[subset]

Money makes the suites go round, or is there any free suite

If you pay for it, you can get a nice package of AV and Firewall plus something against spyware, spam, rootkits etc.

If you want it for free, there is no choice, you have to arrange your own suite.
Take an AV (Avira, avast!, AVG...) and a Firewall (Comodo, OA Free, Jetico...) mix it with Anti-Spyware, Anti-Rootkit etc. tools and don't forget to shake or to stir

Of course it's possible to buy an AV and a separate Firewall, but this seems to be a waste of money and of system resources for me.

Cheers

[Xenophobe]

eEye offers a free suite.

[subset]

Originally Posted by Xenephobe

eEye offers a free suite.

1 year free license only if you are located in the United States or Canada.
30-day trial for the rest of the world.

Cheers