Avast 5 free and Firewall?

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by Gigabyte, Apr 13, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    Friend of mine needs a free av program,so Avast looks like a good one to put onto her pc.Which firewall are you guys running with it? She's not very computer literate,so a set it and forget it firewall would be be nice.Thanks
     
  2. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    What OS is she using? If its Vista or Win7 the built in FW will be fine.
     
  3. doktornotor

    doktornotor Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2008
    Posts:
    2,047
    Well, Look ' n ' Stop at the moment. Can be run pretty much out of the box w/ standard or extended ruleset after a very short training, or configured in detail. It's paid though, 30 days trial :)
     
  4. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    She's using XP sp3
     
  5. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    LookNStop is good as is Private FW. Both are light, the latter is free though.
     
  6. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    Ok,I'll check out Private FW.
     
  7. Woody777

    Woody777 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2006
    Posts:
    491
    There is a free version of look n stop. Its a little cut down though. Outpost Free is nice too.
     
  8. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    Thanks.
     
  9. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    Yea really cut down. You dont get application control. You have to manually enter and configure each application IIRC.
     
  10. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    Which one will give better protection with minimal user input. Outpost or Private FW.Both look pretty darn good. What about online armor free?
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2010
  11. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    They are all good. OA and Outpost have HIPS. Private FW as far as I know is just a plain inbound/outbound FW.
     
  12. Gigabyte

    Gigabyte Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2004
    Posts:
    163
    Location:
    NC,USA
    Ok,looks like OA or outpost.Thanks for the help guys.
     
  13. cupez80

    cupez80 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2005
    Posts:
    617
    Location:
    Surabaya Indonesia
    how bout pctools FW ?
     
  14. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    PC Tools is good, but some have issues with it being buggy. I never personally had any issues with it and it ran light.
     
  15. JerryM

    JerryM Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2003
    Posts:
    4,306
    I used the PC Tools free firewall, and found it worked well. I have a license for LnS, but prefer the PC Tools firewall.

    Regards,
    Jerry
     
  16. IceCube1010

    IceCube1010 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2008
    Posts:
    963
    Location:
    Earth
    Outpost Pro and Avast 5 run great together!
    Ice
     
  17. Dundertaker

    Dundertaker Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2009
    Posts:
    391
    Location:
    Land of the Mer Lion
    Online Armor free/Outpost free. They will complement the webguard of Avast 5.

    I hear PC Tools has good ratings at Matousec but have not used it.
     
  18. chinook9

    chinook9 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2008
    Posts:
    444
    I'm quite sure that PrivateFirewall contains a HIPS...I don't remember the name but it was a well-respected standalone HIPS.
     
  19. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2008
    Posts:
    3,264
    Location:
    USA
    I think your right. System Anomaly Analyzer would be what its called. I think the HIPs portion is only working in x86 architectures and thats why I didnt have it.
     
  20. icr

    icr Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2008
    Posts:
    1,589
    Location:
    UK
    I suggest windows inbuilt one :)
    or Ghostwall:)
     
  21. gery

    gery Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Posts:
    2,175
    i have ZA free and Avast 5 free and works very well and light.
     
  22. Kees1958

    Kees1958 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2006
    Posts:
    5,857
    Not very computer illeterate plus outbound fire wall = fake security = useless


    My advice

    a) Avast Free

    b) Windows XP FW (only inbound no execption)

    c) MBR Guard plus EdgeGuard Free (http://www.blueridgenetworks.com/support/mbguard/mbguard.php and http://www.blueridgenetworks.com/forms/es_register.php and http://www.blueridgenetworks.com/support/products/edgeguardsolo/index.php )
    ==> add all her internet facing software to protect with EdgeGuard Solo, running these programs with limited user rights reduces attack surface substantially, same applies to MBR Guard for nasty rootkits attacking the MBR

    d) Get her Trusteer Rapport Free (protects the browser, problably IE, add her on-line banking site to the protected sites). You can also disable keyboard encryption and download Keyscrambler free for this (works on all websites). Protection webbrowser process all the time, you can remove IE8 from EdgeGuard Solo, so her windows update will always work well.

    ==> by scrambling the keys and protecting the browser process (plus all sorts of unknown add-ons) the chances of critical data theft is reduced, see pic for using keyscrambler plus Trusteer together (also Avast has one of the highest detection rates of malicious scripts)


    Regards Kees
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Apr 14, 2010
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.