help?

How much security is enough i have avg and windows fire wall is that enough.
Any advice ?

 

I think the answer to that question varies from user to user.
But if you want my opinion, if you use common sense and practice safe surfing you should be fine. I educated my sister in basic online safety and set her computer up with just an antivirus + windows firewall, made her use firefox and shes been fine for a long time now.

 

hi...
1. security depends on surfing habits..safe surfer with all programmes patched would be fine with your setup...maybe a better firefall ,OA free is good
2.avast/avira are better free av.
3. Mbam or sas free on demand good for second opinion
4.Returnil and or sanboxie for virtualization.
5.most imp.- disk/drive backup-paragon,acronis or rollback...

 

Some good advice above... I agree and will say that how much you need is directly dependant on your internet habits. Typical setup is the AV + Firewall. Those more concerned might add a HIPS or sandbox approach. As mentioned, perhaps Avira or Avast are better AVs.

For peace of mind, I'd also add an imaging solution. If you have a good image of your HD, then just about anything can happen and you will be covered, just restore the image and you're back in business. I take that approach myself, and use minimal security apps on a daily basis, and rely on the image as my safety net.

 

Thats good advice. A good AV, inbound firewall (like the windows one) and understanding how you get infected will dramatically reduce the risk of infection. Check out http://wiki.castlecops.com/Understanding_Computer_Infections http://wiki.castlecops.com/Understanding_Computer_Infections_-_Part_two http://wiki.castlecops.com/Understanding_Computer_Infections_-_Part_three

 

All good Advice above and IMO IF its not broke don't fix it.If you are doing well minus infections then your doing something wright and if you are being infected often then you would need to re evaluate your surfing habbits what you download, where you download from etc etc.If thats the case and you are a risk taker or happy clicker then you would need to layer more or change to stronger approaches.

 

Hello Katie,
i would say try using an alternate browser if you arent already using one such as firefox or opera.
a second opinion such as superantispyware never hurts.
using an imaging product such as paragon or shadow protect desktop would be a very good idea.
the free version of drive backup should be good enough (feature wise)link

a firewalled router i would definatly reccomended. how do you connect to the internet? i ask because you may already have a firewalled router.

 

If you do online banking, purchase products/services online, and/or use a web browser to remotely access resources at the office (e.g., SSL VPN), consider using two web browsers.

Use one web browser for casual things such as youtube, facebook, etc. Use another one for anything involving money or business and the less of this sensitive stuff that you do simultaneously, the better.

This approach can reduce your exposure. It does not mean that one can blissfully do anything, visiting any site with the 'casual' browser without consequences. This simply reduces one's exposure to common attacks that transpire within a web browser.

For example, if with one web browser, one tab is connected to a bank portal, and another tab is connected to an unfamiliar site you Googled, if that Googled site is malicious, it can potentially steal information that you're exchanging with that bank portal in the other tab. Using separate browsers frustrates this 'one' attack vector.

Cheers,

Eirik

 

All good advice above. One common theme I frequently see, browsing "help" forums, is software that is out of date. Especially Java. Out of date software - where it has been patched/updated because of a discovered vulnerability, which is frequent (just look at Windows updates)- represents a common port of entry/control for malware.
So I'd suggest making sure everything is up to date. This can be done manually, say, on a weekly basis (bit of a hassle, but good for the very-hands-on folk, and a good learning experience) or by using all installed programs' internal updaters (I've found this can be a bit hit-or-miss), or by using a third party tool, which is what I do.
www.secunia.org has an online scan for just this, and/or a downloadable application called PSI which will monitor all the common apps on your 'pooter for you, and alert when any need updating. It's free. I find it excellent.
There are other similar tools around.
[edit] better web address for Secunia, with the online scan and PSI download easier to find.

 

Over & above what you now have, good basic security for a high-risk (or paranoid) user would consist of...

1- An SPI-capable router (SPI = Stateful Packet Inspection)

2- Imaging software such as: (a) Drive Backup 9.0 Express (free) or (b) Image for Windows (not free) -- recommended to make an image at least every 8 days or so, AND before installing complex software such as security apps, Windows patches, etc.

3- Behavior blocker-HIPS (for 0-day & morphed malware) such as: (a) Threatfire (it's free) or (b) Mamutu (not free)

4- Sandbox for web surfing & email such as: (a) Sandboxie (free & non-free versions available) or (b) DefenseWall (not free).
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For a low-risk user, just add #2 & #4 above & you're good to go.