Is this sufficient security?

Hello,
I've been setting up a new HP laptop for a friend, i.e. deleting hidden partitions, reinstalling OS (XP Home), drivers, etc.

I have several on-demand anti-malware programs installed. I have hardened IE as much as possible and automated Windows updates. Mainly I'm concerned about real-time security.

My friend's surfing habits and other criteria:
1. She's a casual surfer, browsing about 1 hour per day, maybe a little more sometimes. She's a shopper and news reader. Main sites visited are ebay, PayPal, Amazon. She uses web-based e-mail.
2. She insists on using IE. Refuses to use Sandboxie or any similar program. Insists on running with admin privileges.
3. She wants as many security apps as possible to be freeware and low on resources.
4. She's computer phobic and doesn't want to have to deal with a lot of pop-ups. I had ZAPro installed on her previous computer. She liked it OK in that she felt secure with it, but she never understood it and never knew what to do with the pop-ups.

What's installed so far for real-time:
1. Router with firewall. She uses wired connection; wireless is disabled.
2. Avast AV Free
3. SpywareBlaster
4. Windows firewall

I want some sort of real-time anti-spyware in addition to SpywareBlaster.

What I'm wondering is this: I've been thinking about installing Online Armour and configuring it for her. I'm concerned about keyloggers and other baddies, especially since she enters her credit card number a lot and other confidential info. With Online Armour installed, based on her limited surfing habits, do you think she can get by with just the Windows firewall as her software firewall?

Basically, I'm trying to set up something that will be extremely easy for her to deal with and not cause frustration (firewall pop-ups, etc.)

If the Windows firewall isn't sufficient, I'm thinking of Outpost Pro with anti-spyware enabled, but then NOT installling Online Armour. I just don't think she can deal with two programs that could conceivably generate pop-ups. I downloaded the latest version of ZAPro. That's also a possibility, but I've not heard good things about it lately.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Do you want only free software?

If not, use NOD32 Antivirus for on-access and Avira Free (for on-demand) - becasue it is good at detecting phishing attacks, etc which may result from those shopping pages.
As a firewall, I recommend you ZoneAlarm or Outpost.

Your configuration is also good and if you want to keep it add just a better AntiVirus software (NOD32, Kaspersky).

 

I think OnlineArmour would be great for someone not too keen on technical stuff, you might want to think about the version that includes Kaspersky AV to limit number of apps instead of Avast.

You can add the free version of Superantispyware.

 

With the description of ur friend,s dealing with pop ups, I will say OA might not be a suitable choice.
I will suggest an SAS as ondemand antispyware.
About key loggers issue, SnoopFree can be tried, again it will give popups but once u use her system for a few days and configure it and she does not install new sofware, she will hardly get any pop up and if ever she gets u can tell her to deny all pop ups from it.
BTW, If she is not in the habit of frequent installs or changing the system settings, U can consider installing DeepFreeze or ShadowUser( might get free) to protect sytrem partition or FDISR or RollBackRx( thougyh I doubt that FDISR will be easy to use for her).

 

Fizzbin,

Since the advertisements are sometimes obscure, check to see if her ISP offers a free security package for subscribers (e.g., although I don't use it, comcast offers a complete McAfee suite to their subscribers). Also check out the free AOL provided, KAV based, AOL Active Virus Shield.

If she is will to go for paid, I'd simply install a decent suite for single point control and configuration. Of those currently available, I'd probably lean towards KIS 6.0, although most of the major vendors (Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, etc.) are fine despite the vociferous whining heard here and elsewhere.

Blue

PS - She could also try Prevx plus a free AV - that could be a fairly decent combo that's low on impact

 

With a user who surfs a limited set of sites and does not install a lot of new programs, OA should be fairly quiet - especially if you make use of the "dont ask me again" feature

OA will also have a firewall very soon - while it's not ready for a public debut just yet, some of the beta test team are having an early play around with it.

Cheers

Mike

 

Prevx ABC is good for most users because of the community database. It ran slowly on my computer, but my computer was quite old. Each build is fairly stable and it's a reliable program. Just be aware that it does a startup scan, and that might considerably slow down bootup time.

Online Armor is also a good choice, especially now since it included an AV component. There might be a few popups here and there, but explaining to her how to deal with such things might be better for the long run.

SpywareBlaster isn't really realtime, but it does provide a layer of protection. Maybe coupling that with Spybot and IEspyAD?

I've had issues with the latest ZA build, but 6.1 has been fairly solid in my experience.

 

Thanks for all the replies -- lots of good suggestions!

I forgot to mention that she doesn't feel comfortable without GoBack (and she doesn't want to try any alternate program like First Defense-ISR). I've thought about Snoopfree but have been wondering if it would play nice with GoBack. I'll have to try it out.

I've got SAS installed for on-demand along with many others for on-demand, like Ad-Aware, Spybot, BitDefender Free, a-squared free, rootkit revealer, etc.

It's true that she rarely installs new programs, so once I configure a firewall and/or something like OA, she probably wouldn't get a lot of pop-ups.

She's willing to pay for some apps, as long as she's not asked to pay renewal fees each year. She used to have NAV, for example, and hated what she felt were unreasonable renewal fees.

I'll talk to her about a suite. I hadn't really considered one since I don't like them personally, but she might be fine with that.

Anyway, thanks again. Lots of food for thought!

 

My picks

AOL's free KAV

GhostWall also free

 

As longas she s hapy wit GoBack and it woks for her, it should be fine.
I will suggest that in the presence of SAS, u can remove SpyBot and Adaware.
Also Rootkit revealer is for advanced users as I think, so i doubt it will be beneficial for her.

 

(IMO) this setup is "sufficient", especially with her surfing habits.

You can replace AV and Firewall if you wish with zapjb's suggestions

AOL Active Virus Shield

Once AOL AVS is installed just set it up (for her) to auto delete/repair with backup. AVS (KAV) has very good detection including trojans, keyloggers and spyware.

Ghostwall

One small tweak required (AFAIK) see this post. (Ghostwall does not require any user intervention.)

Just keep SuperAntiSpyware

 

Thanks for further suggestions!

I should have said that I'll be the one performing maintenance on her laptop from now on. So, I'll be the one running on-demand stuff, and I'm generally paranoid and like to tinker, so that's why I installed several programs.

I took out the HD from her old laptop and put it in an enclosure to retrieve the data (her old laptop died). When I scanned it for malware, whoa, it was so infected with adware. Fortunately, I found no viruses, rootkits or other nasties. Anyway, when I saw how infected her old HD was without her even knowing it, it was obvious she needed better real-time anti-malware.

In terms of AOL AVS, she says she doesn't want anything to do with AOL and doesn't believe it's not really adware. Oh well, that's OK. I have to respect her feelings.

Ghostwall is a good suggestion. That's one I hadn't thought of.

Edit: Also, I should clarify, I just have the free version of SAS at the moment for her, so no real-time protection. She may be willing to pay, though.

Thanks again, you all have helped a lot.

 

I respect her as well for not wanting anything to do with AOL! Good for her!

For now, I think the free scanner should be sufficient. Even though an aweful lot of folks in this community have jumped on the SAS bandwagon, it is still a relatively new and unknown product. I've yet to see any conclusive testing that would indicate it's true performance and/or abilities. If it proves itself over time and down the road, perhaps then she could look into purchasing the resident protection. But for now, I think that the free on-demand scanner would be good enough.

 

LAWLS AOL hmmm ewido is good also

 

Run on a limited account when you surf the web.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply. To clarify, it's not me I'm focusing on here; it's a friend. See my first post -- she absolutely doesn't want her laptop set up with a limited account. So, I've set things up with DropMyRights for IE and hopefully that will help.

 

You might want to look at GesWall too. It will give her a good level of Day 0 protection against any Spyware and Malware that might slip by Avast, and it's free.

I haven't seen any professional or expert reviews but there is a good thread here
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=131931

Don't be put off by the early posts, as the thread moves on the protection capabilities of this program become evident.

I've been using myself the past few weeks and it runs very light and unobtrusively. The support is also excellent. I had a number of questions and minor issues when I first started using it but their support (Brian Welche) has been very helpful and prompt in responding.

 

Install IE-SPYAD and MVPS Hosts file. Both prevent infections and won't bother her, because they don't make any noice.

IE-SPYAD
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm
Hostsman with MVPS updating.
http://hostsman.abelhadigital.com/

 

Erik and q1aqza,
Thanks for the suggestions! There are just too darn many good choices; I feel dizzy.

Anyway, she really likes the idea of Ghostwall, so we're going to give that a try. Although I'll be performing maintenance, it is, of course, her computer, so I've been showing her the various apps. She really disliked SAS's interface. (Actually, I feel the same way.) However, she's willing to put up with it. Since I've got ewido paid, I ended up putting ewido free on her system, and she loved it because her favorite color is orange. I should have figured. Seriously, though, she thinks she can handle doing scans with it, so that one's definitely a keeper.

Over the weekend, I'll review everything. I think I've got a lot of overlap and probably overkill, so I'll probably uninstall some things.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

GhostWall or GesWall?

 

Then she'll like playing with all the available colours, particularly the orange colours, that she can configure GesWall to generate on the windows title showing that the brower or application is runnining isolated

 

You know, I realized I wasn't paying enough attention to my friend. I'd say she cares way more about gingivitis than internet security. I was trying to set up the laptop the way I thought it should be rather than how she'd really like it. So, here's what we settled on:

1. Router/firewall
2. Online Armour
3. Avast Free
4. Spywareblaster to immunize IE
5. Windows firewall
6. An assortment of other free anti-malware tools for me to use once a week.

My friend thought the price for OA was reasonable and the yearly update price reasonable as well. Really, I think she'll be fine with this setup, and if not, well, she knows I'll be around to help her out.

Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions!

 

Just add GesWall if u agree on it, its light, good and is free as well. And I will prefer a light outbound control firewall( may be OA will cover here to some extent but I am not sure).

 

I just forgot one thing, when U do weekly scanning just let us know how good this setup is working. It will be interesting to see. Thanks.

 

I wonder why it is needed with NOD.