Do I need more?

Hello all. Just a few questions. Well, a lot of questions...

Right now I have my setup down to a few basics:

Browser:
Maxathon. [I just can't give up the IE.]

Resident:
ZA Security Suite. 6.1
SAV 10
MSAS

On Demand:
Ad-aware.
Ewido Free.
A-Square Free.

Other:
SpywareBlaster
IE-spyad

Is there really anything else I need to keep secure? I'm low on money, but more so on resources, (Celeron with 256RAM), so if there are any suggestions for things that don't hog my resources, and free, it would be much appreciated.

I have also played around about getting rid of the MSAS... A permanent 20mb of RAM fix is getting to be a drag. Is there anything free that could replace this?

And lastly, would any of the free antivirus software [Antivir, AVG, Avast] be more protection than my SAV 10?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just want to see how well I am rating in my computer security. Thanx.

 

In short, no, you seem to be fairly well covered.

Again, in short, no, SAV will be a long way ahead…

There are various setups of security within the link of my signature.

Hope this helps…

Cheers

 

Ah yes, Thanks Blackspear. I used your link as the Bible to setting up many parts of my computer security. [ie hosts file, trojan protection, locking down IE].

I've also been looking into a few HIPS, like Antihook and Prevx Free. I discarded Antihook because it interfered with some of my other programs, but could anyone vouch for any benefits of Prevx being used with ZASS?

 

I prefer Online Armor over Prevx.

Cheers

 

I see why you prefer Online Armor Black, I see myself skipping a few meals in the near future and installing Online Armor.

 

Doesn't the ZA suite have an AV component and an antispyware component? You have some duplication in your resident programs and could probably ditch A2 as well.

 

Very true Hammer, but I find their Antispyware to be weak, along with their Antivirus. It may be because I'm a bit paranoid nowadays, but I can live with running MSAS. SAV10 is still... well a working process. But I have turned off VET engine in ZA.

Ditch A-squared free? May I ask why? I thought ewido and A2 worked differently and could catch what each misses. ?.?

 

Because you also have Adaware and A2 have admitted that there scanner is nothing more than a gimmick.

 

Ah. Uninstallation complete. Much thanx.

 

See post #11 in this thread.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=89620&highlight=gimmick To really benefit from A2 you would need to run it resident.

 

Wow. It's nice to see the honesty of people. I'd never thought I'd see that happen.

 

Guys,

Take a look at the new version of Prevx1 just released. It has far greater control on how you operate the protection. The strength of the product is now in full view.,

 

Are you from or related to Prevx? Every one of your post so far is about them, or mentions them.

 

As far as I know, none of my fellow staff members at Prevx use that login id.
We tend to be pretty open obout our connections

 

May I ask ghiser1, without quoting anything on your website, without marketing anything, from my current setup, what would the benefits of using Prevx Home Free? And I never did understand the differences between Free and Pro. And what prevx actually did, other than alert. :/ [Please don't just point me to your website. I've been there a million times. ;P]

In another question, I have been looking for a application that uses heuristics to detect threats. Are there any good standalone programs of this type?

 

Hi sosaiso,

First things first, Prevx Home has been discontinued and is now unsupported. The only free Prevx product now (other than free trials) is Prevx1 "R" (for research). This is effectively an ongoing beta version of the paid-for Prevx1. You get it free because you're beta trialing, so it will have more bugs, but you get the benefit of getting functional updates first too. Existing Prevx Home and Pro users are encouraged to upgrade to Prevx1.

Now as far as whether Prevx1 could offer you more protection that your current products, consider the following questions:

1. Does your current AV check the status of each new program on your PC against a central database before allowing it to run? Prevx1 does.

2. How long does it take from your AV company, from receiving a copy of a new virus to them providing you with a signature. With Prevx1 it can be as soon as the first instance of a new virus is seen by any of our uses - depending on what it is doing. And we normally do it on community heuristics - that is without actually needing to capture or analyze the actual file.

3. Your tools that provide real-check checking and blocking of activities on your system. Do they check against a central database to see whether that program is known to be good and has been known to perform that activity in the past? Prevx1 does. This means that, depending on your configured level, you may only be asked about new actions being performed. Now if you don't want to trust the community view, you can put Prevx1 into expert mode and it will ask you about everything it sees (whether the process is known to be good or not).

4. To allow you to make your allow/deny decisions, do any of your tools allow you to see what rules a given program has broken on each system its been seen on? Prexv1 does. The community database is open to all Prevx1 users - actually much of it is public in our Virus Info Center. You can see what its done, what created it, what it created, what file names its used and in what paths etc.

5. Do your current tools need you to perform regular scans of your system? Prevx1 doesn't - it performs an on installation scan to catalogue what you already have.

On your heuristics question, a single standalone program doesn't have a big enough view of the world to determine when a program is good or bad. This is the whole driving factor behind Prevx1. It is effectively a community of heuristic agents working together for the common good.

BTW, the website changed this week, so its worth a visit

Hope this helps,

ghiser1

 

Thanks ghiser1, I feel I have a better understanding of your product now, and I feel like I may need this for my security. How does it fare on resource usage? 256 RAM on my computer is scarce, and I am already rationing it out between work, play, and security.

With this being said, I feel like I am going to give Prevx1 R a spin. I am assuming that this would be the most up to date [it is beta], to the price of being the most buggy. I appreciate this explanation a lot. Thanks again.

 

And I did notice the new layout a few days ago when perusing around. It looks a lot more professional now. [It was a bit awkward and confusing before.]

 

but, in post#11 it says the scanner has good heuristic detection which will help find malware with an on demand scan which doesn't have a sig. so wouldn't it be best to have A2 and Ewido together? i have to admit i don't have A2 installed atm though.

 

I believe the developer is refering to IDS that's why I said To benefit you really need to run it resident.

 

i haven't read the thread, but i'm sure he wouldn't be putting down his work like that and the heuristics will work perfectly well with an on demand scan.

 

People who have the program speak highly of the IDS that's where the value is. I'm simply referring to the on demand scanner which is another kettle of fish and isn't any better than Adaware in my opinion and not as good as Ewido in the(A2) developers opinion. It's all there in black and white, in the thread I'm referring to, straight from the horses mouth.

 

so is adaware good or bad then?

all i'm saying is if the IDS is good because of the heuristics and not because of network tools then the on demand scanner will have the same detection rates.

it's pointless carrying on because i don't know anything about malware scanners, and unless you know for sure then this is ridiculous. i just go with my last paragraph.

 

this thread is what i'm talking about. although it's a F/P, which isn't unusual for an heuristic scan, it shows it's able to catch things ewido will miss.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=636901

 

Adaware is good for what it does. So are A2 and Ewido, but where talking about the free versions here which lack real time monitoring. The on demand scanners are signature reliant because of a lack of realtime. The guy who had all three could have kept all three if he wanted as he probably would detect a few more tracking cookies with A2 after Ewido and Adaware got through but it's probably redundant or he could have dropped Adaware and kept A2. Besides the A2 guy had no problems with his admission so I don't understand why you do, after all it's his program. He was even thanked for his honesty. For the record A2 is a good program but its value is in it's realtime monitor, not so much in it's on demand scanner.