What else do I need?

I apologize if this is in the wrong section, however I have a question.

I just got a new laptop, and want good protection against viruses and malware, spyware, adware etc. I basically don't want my computer to get infected and start to slow down and become less efficient.

I currently have NOD32 antivirus, and MalwareBytes anti-malware.

Is this sufficient in completely protecting my computer from anything bad infecting in? If not, what else do I need?

Thanks

 

keep your machine current with updates. Use common sense. Consider using a firewall of some kind. Disable scripting in your browser and only enable it for Trusted sites. Otherwise you are good

 

what does a firewall do?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(networking)

 

Unless you have a specific need to be an administrator, which you probably are, you should use a LUA (Limited User Account). If you don't know that you have a specific need to be admin, then you should probably use LUA. If you do nothing else but become a User instead of an Admin, you negate many threats.

A firewall is useful if you are not using a router. An anti-virus will help to keep you informed of any thing it finds, as long as it knows about it. Brand new viruses can hit you until your anti-virus deploys updates which detect them.

You could consider, depending on your level of experience, either using Sandboxie, and browsing etc within that, or using something like Returnil free. With Sandboxie, you sort of 'compartmentalize' the browsers etc, so they are kept seperate from the rest of the real system.

When you use Returnil, you basically tell your computer to ignore anything that has changed since I engaged Returnil's protection. With Returnil, you do your stuff like normal, but when it is engaged, anything you did will be gone when you reboot. It is easy to use.

There are of course a smorgasboard of other things you could do, but these should cover most bases.

If you plan to use LUA, see the sticky in this forum, specifically looking at the LUA/SRP threads. A tool such as SuRun you might also look into. All depends on how you use your computer.

Sul.

 

Hi there,
You've got valuable information in this thread, there isn't much to add except to think how to backup your computer. I know this seems to be a daunting task, if you haven't done it before, but this alone can give you a 100% recovery solution not only against the worst malware scenarios, but hard drive failure, and serious configurations mistakes.

Some companies to test: Acronis, Drive Snapshot, Macrium Reflect, Image for Windows, Paragon, and ShadowProtect Desktop (my own choice).

Nowadays, with a bit of reading these applications have become easy to use even by users with little computer knowledge.

 

Cudni mentioned keeping your computer updated which can be a daunting task sometimes. Use the link in my signature and run an online scan at Secunia's site. It will tell you if Windows and your programs are up to date. It checks for things like Java, Flash, QuickTime, media players, instant messaging, etc. They also have a downloadable version if you prefer. Run the scan at least once a month.

 

Along with what others have mentioned, I suggest you also use Firefox with WOT and Adblock Plus and OpenDNS to minimise the chance of infection.

 

Use "Shadow Defender" or "Returnil"