Best suite for Vista

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by trjam, Aug 24, 2007.

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  1. trjam

    trjam Registered Member

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    This is a honest trial of different suites over a 2 week period to see what works best with Vista. This test is about as valid as all the rest.:cool:

    1. Kaspersky-Good suite but missing some key componets for Vista. Chkdsk is still a issue with Vista. One hell of a cleaner though.

    2.Eset-Its beta, what else can I honestly say at this point. Only time will tell so it isnt fair to comment good or bad.

    3.Norton-works well, no issues, but it still is Norton in my book.

    4.Mcafee-took me 2 hours to install and uninstall, beware of this crap.

    5. F-Secure-worked well, seamless and no issues but still has that "K" tie that scares me.

    6.Avira-I know what you are going to say, but I swear it is like I look for reasons to dump them and keep coming back. No issues anywhere except updating maybe in the start. Firewall works the best and it is the fastest as far as operation on my PC with Vista.

    So for now Avira has the best suite for Vista. This can change rapidly as we know, but this is straight from heart, it works well.
     
  2. Meriadoc

    Meriadoc Registered Member

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    Coming from someone who doesn't normally run an antivirus on workstations/PCs I'm impressed with what I've seen and how they've turned Norton around!

    Rewritten, a different look and feeling light probably one of the best suites at the moment, they did well in getting a product out quickly for Vista with no issues.

    I don't agree with some of the default settings especially in the firewall but, alot of Norton users are not advanced and still the settings can be changed.

    One tip I gave to someone recently was to turn the protection for symantec product off in his case and use another program to protect it! This protection while good can sometimes affect backing up and can really bog down a system when something tries to access symantec files which can be quite normal. Using NIS on a Vista family computer P4, he reports the machine is very responsive and feels like its running without anything.

    When I looked at McAfee I thought you couldn't really get much more into a suite. With the normal offerings, registry alerts and Networking McAfee is big. It was the first suite the above Norton user installed (eventually after some problems) but slowed his machine down.
     
  3. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    Why bother with a suite with Vista? The firewall is competent and thre is built in anti spyware and anti spam. All that is needed is an AV.
     
  4. Trespasser

    Trespasser Registered Member

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    After all my "trying this HIPS and trying that behavior blocker"...I'm beginning to think you are right.

    P.S.
    Though I got to admit this Comodo Firewall Pro beta 3 is very, very good on Vista. Very light feeling.
     
  5. midway40

    midway40 Registered Member

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    I have to disagree on two points. First by default Vista has no block outbound rules just "Allow all". Configuring Vista's outbound filtering has been described at best Herculean as you have to manually set outbound rules yourself via the Advanced Firewall Control snap-in in MMC. Here are a couple of links that explain this:

    New Vista firewall fails on outbound security

    When is a firewall not a firewall?

    This is one of few disappointments I have with Vista.

    Two, unless things have changed drastically since earlier this year WinDefender is lackluster in dealing with spyware. A test earlier this year revealed it's detection rate at around 46% if I remember right. You are better off installing SAS than using WD.

    I do agree about the spam blocking. Windows Mail anti-spam always catches the ones that get past my ISP's Postini.
     
  6. Zombini

    Zombini Registered Member

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    NIS 2007 was a BIG improvement. It runs great for me on Vista, I have this one machine thats been switched on for 5 months now, still no issues with NIS2007.

    On my vista laptop, believe it or not NIS2008 seems even better in two aspects - booting. The system boots even quicker and overall system responsiveness is improved significantly.
     
  7. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    Mitch,

    I read those links and and simply think the authors are trying to make up a problem. Outbound filtering can be set up to block everything that is not specifically allowed. A default set of rules allows networking. After that, make rules for IE, firefox (if you use it) etc.

    Custom rules for svchost.exe limited to the update and time services take care of those items. This actually allows more granularity than any other firewall I have seen for these issues.

    AV's vary for Nod32 allow nod32kernel.exe or else it will not update, thats about it.

    Anyone having trouble just post and PM me to get my attention & I will try to help.

    There is no doubt that initial tests of Defender were unimpressive. Likewise One Care was a dog. One Care has improved tremendously over the last few months and I am willing to bet the next time Defender is tested it will show similar improvement. I would only be concerned if using AV's like the free versions of AVG or Avira which omit spyware definitions.

    IMO, the soon to be finished Comodo firewall for Vista looks promising.

    I briefly tried Zone Alarm 7.1 with the KAV engine enabled. Bootand shutdown times were extended and the system seemed slower. For that matter, Avast Pro AV caused a major system slowdown. Avira Classic AV made a mess of the security center which required me to rebuild the repository. My favorite Vista AV is Nod for the time being. No issues other than the geekish interface. Symantec Enterprise AV for vista worked nicely, but I don't like using their stuff because all the malware writers test their latest procucts against Symantec/Norton.

    Other than the above I guess there are the usual objections to using suites as in layering and the advantage of snowflake obscurity when combining different solutions.

    -Ron
     
  8. midway40

    midway40 Registered Member

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    Hi Ron, I was just pointing out that, by default, Vista's firewall allows all outbound. If you google this you will find a lot more links of others who discuss this fact including Symantec. People may be put in a sense of false security because Vista's firewall is being touted as bi-directional (it is, but only inbound rules are set up by default). Since I am a "suite" person it doesn't really matter to me about Vista's FW. But people should be aware of certain facts.

    As far as configuring goes, this is beyond the scope of average computer users. I read this and decided I wasn't going to jump through hoops just to configure a firewall. But in retrospect, if MS had made a simpler firewall that asked you if you want a certain program or process to access the net all these third-party FW companies would be up in arms.

    I like things to be simple. Technology has progressed to the point that things should be simple. I love Vista and won't go back to XP but there are certain realities that cannot be ignored.
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2007
  9. Trespasser

    Trespasser Registered Member

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    midway40,
    The link in your last post contained quite a find for Vista users who wish inbound/outbound/denial control for applications with only a small footprint. The name is Vista Firewall Control by Sphinx Software. There is a free version as well as a paid. Give it a try.

    Here's a link:

    http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html

    Also, I tried Windows Firewall with Advanced Security (located in Control Panel>Administrative Tools). Under Outbound Rules it is possible to create custom rules (local, remote, specific address, allow/deny, etc.) just like a regular firewall (such as Outpost). Just click on New Rules.
     
  10. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    Midway,

    I agree, the outbound control on Vista is beyond the average user. However, it could be set up in an enterprise setting and do its job silently. I am not an average user. Nuts, perhaps.

    If you are a suite guy, I hope the girls notice, and swarm all over you :)
     
  11. midway40

    midway40 Registered Member

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    Lol, suite guy :D I didn't even think of that when I wrote that.

    If MS had put the firewall control they have in OneCare it would be ok. But like I said it would probably result in lawsuits from third party firewall companies.

    As it is now, configuring Vista's firewall is more for geeks and IT pros. In my younger days I used to like challenges like this but as I get older I am getting lazy, lol.
     
  12. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    I am not a pro, so I must be a geek.
     
  13. Hangetsu

    Hangetsu Registered Member

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    Using the tool isn't too hard. The problem is knowing what services for Windows Vista you need to set up as allowed. Windows Update, Defender, and Time don't have default rules - And those are three I knew of; Who knows what services / OS apps should have access that even an experienced user wouldn't know of.

    Right now, I'm using the default firewall with Norton AntiBot and NOD32. I'm really hesitant to put a 3rd party firewall on given my internet access screams at the moment. However, if there was one out there that was fast and didn't chew up resources... I'd consider it.
     
  14. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    I don't think a separate rule is needed for windows defender. It updates through windows update.
     
  15. Firecat

    Firecat Registered Member

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    Maybe you should try out AVG Internet Security for Windows Vista, trjam ;)

    The AVG suite in Vista has a firewall which is (apparently) rewritten from scratch, so it may be better than the just average firewall offered in the Windows 2000/XP edition. :)
     
  16. trjam

    trjam Registered Member

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    sorry firecat I didnt see this. May do it after I see IBKs newest reviews this week. Someone is going to be a surprise and I think it is either AVG or Avast.
     
  17. C.S.J

    C.S.J Massive Poster

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    this forum is biased!
    i think microsoft might even do better than the av-test.org one.

    they have hired all the best analyists from all the companys lol

    it would be nice to see if drweb can get out of that standard rating, but i wont count on it, as i will only be dissappointed then :)
    im still a bit pi$$ed that they didnt get 4.44 released in time, and again angry that its still not even out now. o_O
     
  18. ashishtx

    ashishtx Registered Member

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    @Trjam
    Sorry if you have answered this question before, Why do you prefer suite over single component anti malware?
    I am using Eset 2.7 now and found it better than all other security apps on Vista. This does not mean Nod32 is perfect but it comes very close to that mark. My Pc is fast and responsive when using Nod32 while same cannot be said for other security software.

    The only time i feel little disappointed is when i loose my internet connection after startup but a restart does the trick. This happens once every 20-25 days or may be even less. FYI, i am not using any software firewall since i am behind a router and sound enough to know which software are good to install on my PC(It is a single user PC). I used to have lot of security app on my PC but since using vista i don't feel like using them. 90% of time patched windows and standard antivirus will guard your system properly.
     
  19. Davidpr

    Davidpr Registered Member

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    So is anyone running Vista with only the interal security tools and say a 3rd party AV? If so does your system run faster than compared to using 3rd party anti malware prog's?

    It is sure confusing this Vista - good/bad, secure/not secure, better than XP/worse than XP.
     
  20. C.S.J

    C.S.J Massive Poster

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    this forum is biased!
    some people take security, well .... too far.

    i use vista, the windows default firewall and drweb.

    always safe, infact my machine is very responsive actually :)

    also, i do have a router with built in buisiness firewall, but that has nothing to do with what is on my machine :)

    when you see people with spyware programs, HIPS programs, sandbox programs etc etc, i find it quite funny that people are this paranoid.

    forget purchasing those programs, they are not needed, use THIS MONEY instead on the purchase of rollbackrx, and enjoy a less cuttered computer, more responsive and no less secure machine.

    ~snipped off-topic remarks....Please contact an Admin via PM with these type issues\concerns....Bubba~
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2007
  21. Diver

    Diver Registered Member

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    Vista here with the built in firewall (outbound filtering turned on) and Symantec AV, Windows Defender turned off, UAC on.

    I tried ZASS 7.1 and it was definitely a system slow down, but a trial of Avast Pro also slowed things down considerably as well. With Avast programs took longer to load and windows took longer to open.

    My hunch is the effect of a suite on system performance will have more to do with the AV engine it uses than other factors, unless the system is memory constrained and a particular suite eats gobs of memory. If users are complaining about a particular AV slowing things down, suites based on that AV are going to slow things down as well. I suppose there has to be at least one firewall out there that slows things down, but generally you don't see this complaint about stand alone 3rd party firewalls.
     
  22. fax

    fax Registered Member

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    VISTA here with ZASS 7.1... working fine so far.

    I thought "best" type of thread were not anymore welcomed here...

    All the products mentioned in this thread are valid and able to protect user on VISTA to their best capacity.

    There is not a best suite, there are however tools that works better than other on specific user setup. The only way to know which run best is to try them. Something that does not work well for someone may work very well for others.

    Cheers,
    Fax
     
  23. DevilFrank

    DevilFrank Registered Member

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    On Sunday I did set-up a Ultimate 64. It warns me I had no AV installed. I have a NIS2007 and did fire up it. NIS2007 did a OS-check and downloaded the needed Liveupdate. Thats all. The installation was fine, the machine is running faster as it was with XP.

    Vista surprised me. :thumb:
     
  24. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

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    You're right - they're not. However, it didn't start off as an "A" versus "B" thread although it's in danger of turning into one. If it does then, rest assured, we will close it.

    Regards

    Menorcaman
     
  25. midway40

    midway40 Registered Member

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    In other forums I have read some posts from Vista users that don't even run an AV. I wouldn't go that far though. Since I installed Vista I have been keeping up with new malware that have been released on Symantec's Threat Explorer. For months I did not see any that affected Vista but lately I am starting to see malware written to affect Vista now. In the last three days these trojans and a virus have been released that also affects Vista:

    Trojan.Brutecell
    W32.Virut.U
    Trojan.Patchep

    While we (Vista users) had a breather there for a while it looks like the malware writers have caught up with us. I don't know if UAC will help in these instances or not so it is best to have an AV handy to be sure.
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2007
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