Would Like Input on my Setup

So right now I've got:

1. Iron with Adblock Plus Beta for Chrome, with Fanboy's list, EasyList, and MDL.

2. AppGuard on Lockdown.

3. Panda Cloud free, no URL protection.

4. MBAM and HMP free for on-demand.

This setup works fine, but I'm thinking of going without an AV just because I probably could, as I have not had anything found or blocked in months. However, I would feel kind of naked when I have to turn off AppGuard to run certain things or do Windows updates, and I would be concerned if some malware was on my PC but isolated and then as soon as I turn AppGuard off it would run. Is there any very light program that could supplement AppGuard, or is there a way I could run things with AppGuard without setting it to Off?

 

Instead of Iron I would use Chrome beta.

Chrome beta is on 17, which has the webrequest API.

Chrome also includes integrated Flashplayer, which is more secure than the default Flash.

Otherwise very strong. I'd recommend EMET though.

Because AppGuard is somethig you had to turn off sometimes I'd leave Panda there. Otherwise when you turn AppGuard off you'll be running without much.

 

I kind of like Iron. I know it stops Google from collecting info on you and stuff. Won't version 17 of Iron include the same protection of Chrome 17, minus the built-in Flash player?

 

Whatever is part of Chromium will eventually be part of any browser based on it. So, yes. If Iron version are up-to-date, then if it doesn't already have it, it eventually will.

 

I won't go into the part about Iron not actually doing anything but it will include everything that Chromium includes, you just can't use beta features and it won't have a sandbox'd flash.

 

Is there a guide on how to disable all the information gathering stuff Chrome has to make it as private as Iron? That's the main reason I use Iron, though I guess I use Google as my search engine so they probably know as much about me as if I used Chrome lol.

Doesn't Chrome also have a built-in PDF viewer?

Could I also maybe ditch Panda if I used ScriptNo? I wouldn't surf the web without AppGuard on.

Also you mentioned EMET. I've read a bit about it, but I don't see exactly how it would help. It sounds confusing.

 

Wrench -> Options -> Under The Hood -> Privacy

Uncheck all boxes.

Yes, Chrome also has a built-in PDF viewer.

 

Hungry Man’s suggestion of adding EMET is a good one. If your using Iron why not use Fanboy’s adblock.ini instead of adblock plus. It makes Iron faster. I’m using Adblock Plus but that’s because I’m on Chromium continuous.

Also, if you download Chrome from here: hxxp://dl.google.com/chrome/install/X.Y/chrome_installer.exe replacing the X.Y with the latest version number, I use the dev version. You can check this on Chrome release blog or Filehippo. The current one being 1010.1. So you’d use hxxp://dl.google.com/chrome/install/1010.1/chrome_installer.exe. Then right click, open archive with 7-Zip and extract gcswf32.dll, pdf.dll and plugin.vch and add them to your Iron folder you’ll have sandboxed Flash and PDF in Iron.

 

Fanboy's adblock.ini didn't work properly for me when I tested it on Iron.

 

I didn't like using the adblock.ini because it has to be manually updated and I want a solution to be easy for family and friends to do as well.

 

Fair enough. On the plus side you do get the Collapse Blocked Elements feature with Adblock Plus.

 

Copied those. Flash seems to work, PDF viewer didn't, I disabled the Adobe plugin first too.

 

Odd. They worked for me last time I used Iron but I’m not sure what version that was. Maybe a bug in Iron. Flash is more important though I’d say. Just remember if you use that to update gcswf32.dll from time to time so you get the latest Flash, so just keep up with Chrome releases.

 

You'll be fine if you leave Phising Protection checked.

Also, I always run Chrome in Incognito mode

 

I switched to Chrome, but I'm using the latest stable, so only 16 right now. I disabled everything under privacy except phishing and malware protection. I also disabled location services, and added ScriptNo.

For some reason Chrome seems a bit slower than Iron.

Anything else I should do to it? Oh and is there any way to get rid of Google Update, or is there nothing wrong with it?

 

Your setup is fine with AppGuard and Panda, use the capabilities of your WIndows7 Pro with group policy (gpedit). It hardens your setup. Here are mine for starters.

Just take your time to read the internet and decide to use or skip the settings below (e.g. all old Internet Explorer settings, I am also using Chrome but left them).

 

You could use the 1806 trick.

 

I would add some kind of imaging software to backup your system. That way, if something goes wrong you can restore your system easy.
I don't use Av for a long time and don't feel naked anymore. I install software only from reputable sources and always upload installer to virustotal. With safe computing and proper usage of Appguard, you don't need AV. Just do on-demand scans now and then.

 

IMO Sandboxie would be a nice addiction to help isolate your system. You can couple it on-demand scans of your downloaded files. Something like Panda usb vaccine can also help you prevent infections through pendrives.