Several Security Qs

Hi I was not sure where to post this as it covers areas so hope here is ok...

My Fatherinlaw has just got a "refurb" Dell D600 laptop running WinXp SP2 , running windows firewall and is about to go onto broadband for the 1st time .. Upto now he has been on dialup and not ventured much onto the web..

In the past he used and liked AVG Free .. So we have intalled it on his laptop , along with AVG Antispyware..We have discussed firewalls but as he is about to get his ADSL NAT router am I right in saying a firewall like ZA is not really needed..? also his wife a complete newbie to pcs wld be very intimidated by a FW constantly checking with the "user" before certain actions carried out, however If a software fW is still recommended I was thinking about Comodo but ould like to know how Alert "noisy" this is ?

Having spent many hours on this forum I am seriously questioning if AVG Free is really the right solution for them now..

I thought NOD32 looked great , but am concerned it cld be too user unfriendly for them..

I also read about Process Patrol Programs like :-
win Patrol, System safety monitor, I know they will ask permission before something is allowed to install. ...but does he really need these?

Online banking & Shopping Security
I read in Wilders that "The best way to do online banking, stock trading, shopping is to use a Linux Live CD. Doesn't get any safer than that " can someone tell me a) what is Linux Live Cd, how do I get one, and what I would need to do to use this?

Sandboxie
Some people have sugested running your browser through Sandboxie will make brosing, online shopping, banking etc more secure- then any exploits that get through would get deleted at the end of the browsing session.. This sounds interesting.. but is it easy to use, does it slow down browsing speed dramatically ? What happens to files created and bookmarks made during that session...

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 was another tool tsugested to enable "vitual surfing" like Sandboxie..what do you think?

In Summary FIL has the following Setup

Firefox,
AVG Free, AVG AS, AVG Anti Root Kit
SAS Free (real time disabled)
LinkScanner free,
windows firewall,
NAT firewall

Spybot S&D- to detect problems
CCleaner - cleanup

Look forward to your replies

Many Thanks
tamba1

 

While you are considering what security applications to set up for your inlaws, you can help them by reviewing safe computing habits and security procedures, to include:

*Awareness of Phishing and Pharming
*Learning to not respond to unsolicited emails

For each of their financial institutions, have them become familiar with their security procedures. For example, one of mine includes this:

Knowing how the financial institutions communicate with clients will help you to identify potential scams.

Other suggestions:

*Have them bookmark the link to their financial institutions, rather then directly typing in the URL

*If you do get another firewall, consider having a separate Browser HTTPS Port 443 firewall rule with the IPs stored as trusted or custom addresses. This is an added protection against Pharming.

-rich

 

I think you are "ok" as is. Nod32 is a better AV, and it's fine as far as user friendliness goes too, so you could go with that if you wanted. Firefox is good. For any online banking or related activity, I would just not store any passwords on my PC, and never click on any links to bank stuff that you might get in emails etc etc.. Just use some good sense. Also don't think you need any software firewall with a router. If you want to check outbound traffic, then you can use a HIPS or behavior blocker, but then you will most likely get some prompts with a HIPS, which might be difficult for your users to figure out. As mentioned, the best defense is just good common sense and some general user education.

If interested in the Linux live cd idea, try PCLinuxOS. Just google it and go to their web site, download the ISO and burn it to CD, then reboot from the CD. You can browse then. But I don't think you need to go to that extent to be safe.