Overall Fortified Net Defenses

Hi everyone, before I begin I just want to say this is a great website, I was clueless about internet security before I was referred here - and after alot of reading and research was amazed at just how little I knew. Great job and keep it up!

My question is this, seeing as I am still new to all this I am seeking advice about my systems overall defenses from you pro's. I have the following security programs installed and running:

-SPYWATCH (S&D) SEARCH & DESTROY (I am using this program until AdAware gets updated)

-ZONE ALARM (Free version firewall)

-VISUAL ZONE (Addendum application for Zone Alarm - some trouble with ZoneAlarm log files -recently managed to fix however)

-KERIO PERSONAL FIREWALL (a second firewall because Im paranoid)

-BROWSER HIJACK BLASTER

-NORTONS: ANTI-VIRUS [Utility in Nortons System Works]

Question 1
I have not encountered any problems with running these programs in conjunction, are there any that you know of? If so recommended replacements?

Question 2
Are these programs enough? If not, can you recommend additional programs for me to get?

Thanks

 

There are many things you still require. Perhaps there should be a thread started with lists them?

You need:

AntiVirus
AntiTrojan
Registry Protection
Script Protection
Mail Protection
Worm Protection
Privacy Protection

...and other things, which I'm sure other board members will contribute to.

 

You need:

AntiVirus
[I have Nortons AntiVirus, as I specified above, are you saying this isn't enough?]

AntiTrojan
[recommendation?]

Registry Protection
[recommendation?]

Script Protection
[recommendation?]

Mail Protection
[several of the programs have mail protection, like ZoneAlarm and Nortons, are these not enough?]

Worm Protection
[recommendation?]

Privacy Protection
I have Spywatch (S&D), as I specified above, are you saying this isn't enough, or is privacy Protection seperate from Adware protection?]

 

Have a look: http://www.wilders.org
If any (specific) questions remain unanswered feel free to ask in the appropriate forums.

Regards,

Pieter

 

No, not at all.

I use a combination of BOClean and TDS.

There are so many of these. One is built into TDS.

ScriptGuard, Scriptsentry...The Proxomitron.

Mailwasher is excellent.

WormGuard, SpyBllocker

Do you mean SpyBot S&D?

I recommend you visit Wilder's software download pages and check out the full range of pay-for and free tools and services available.

HTH

 

I don't know much about this but haven't I read here somewhere before that there was something bad about having 2 firewalls running at once? Or am I imagining this? If so I haven't a clue what it is but I'm sure I remember someone saying not to use 2... Hopefully someone else can say something about that.

When you say Spywatch I am sure you mean Spybot and if you use Internet Explorer I would recommend IESPYAD as a proactive privacy protector since Spybot only cleans things that are already there without blocking them.

Mail protection - your norton surely is adequate for anti virus mail protection; Mailwasher (like Checkout recommended) is excellent for creating fake bounce messages thus getting your addy off the spam-lists REALLY fast.

AT, Reg, worm, and script is still stuff I haven't learned enough about yet.

 

Having two firewalls even installed on the same computer is highly unadvisable. Pick a firewall you can trust and stick with it. I would personally suggest Kerio ove ZA if you are comfortable with configuring it.
If you decide to uninstall ZA, make sure you shut it down totally and the engine is not running in the background. Follow the uninstall instructions found here.
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/support/zapInstallFAQ.jsp
Some people seem to get by with two firewalls installed, but it's what you don't see that is the problem. A good firewall works at a very low level to intercept and filter traffic according to its IDS and or rule set. When you have two programs trying to do the same job, at the same time, and in the same place, there are bound to be conflicts. This could result in neither one of the firewalls performing optimally, and the user may never see the difference. I have NEVER seen a "professional" security person ever recommend using two software firewalls.
People often joke about being paranoid, and I have done that myself, but it is not recommended to make important decisions based on an anxiety disorder.

 

Thanks for the help, Checkout, Detox an root.

And yes, I meant SpyBot S&D, not Spywatch S&D, sorry.

As for the advice against running two firewalls
I decided to uninstall Kerio Personal Firewall, mainly because I also use VisualZone. Although I really liked Kerio ,..it was a tough choice.

[glow=red,2,300]From the Kerio Website:
KPF should always be uninstalled through add/remove programs in the control panel.[/glow]

I used add/remove'd and Kerio uninstalled (as far as I know) sucessfully, though I plan to read up and see if there is anyway to be 100% sure it's properly removed and no longer conflicting with ZA, any advice on this would be appreciated. I ran file search on Kerio, it didn't detect any files, I also checked C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers for the KPF driver (FWDRV) (on my Windows XP), didn't see the driver.

I'll review those programs you suggested, I have looked over the wilders website (extensively) my purpose for this post was to get up-to-date recommendations and advice from the street. And.. to check my systems overall security with you all, and I'm glad I did - next time (as root suggested) I won't let paranoia influence my decisions.

Cheers

 

Another programme that has many useful utilities is Port Explorer - This programme will allow you to see exactly what is coming into and leaving your PC via the LAN or Modem, amonst other things PE will allow you to see what process is active, where it is going & what it is doing
See the Port Explorr forum here o n Wilders