Features ProSecurity Free - SSM free

Info about the free versions is a bit difficult to interpretate. I checked the basic process control of SSM free, and showed what it included in ProSecurity options. SSM calls some things basic, but when you try the registry monitor of th efree version you are able to add new reg-entries to protect.

Looking at the free comparison SSM free beats ProSecurity free on almost every feature, except basic fire wall functionality.

Still ProSecurity offers the free version as a cut down paid version (so the free version is up to date), while the SSM free version is a very old version.

My question: when looking at the feautures SSM-free wins, when looking at the actuality ProSecurity free wins.

Any ideas on how weight actuality versus features, opinions any one?

 

I can see this thread being very useful for people deciding which to use, several people have been tossing over SSM or ProSecurity for a freeware programs and i think this is a very nice thing for people to see
Nice one

Its very hard, there are similarities, but some functions are in one and not another, plus as you say SSM free is a very old version.

 

?, three months isn't that old, at least for me . Also, it still has support and bug fixes, despite being at a lower priority than the full version.

But, although I haven't used ProSecurity, I still find SSM free to provide very comprehensive protection, with minimal resource usage. Also, it is a very mature project that has been around for several years, and I have liked it since the beta days when max was programming it. Also, it does what it says it does, and does it well.

Cheers,

Alphalutra1

 

i think ssm looks like a good program, but the interface just is a real turnoff to me. I dont feel like its the kind of program i would use. If there were no other programs i think i would pain my self to learn to love it as i did tiny firewall long ago, but i think at 22, i am starting to listen to my gut and just stay with the programs that jump out at me as having the ease factor coupled with powerful'ness

Perhaps i am just tempered by ProSecurity, but i just cant seem to get my head around ssm plus i dont actually intend to use it anyway since i have PS paid.

 

I think the concept of SSM being an "old" application is a misconception. It's one thing if we're speaking of an and AV or AS product that has gone a long time without updating its signatures, versus a HIPS like SSM. The latest free version of SSM is not old at all, having been updated only a couple of months ago or so. Considering SSM's functions, what is there that needs constant updating? It is not signature based like AV or AS, so it doesn't need to be regularly updated in order to be effective. It seems to be that there are a couple of people who have made the comment that SSM is "old," and people are simply parroting their statements without really examining the facts.

I agree wholeheartedly. I have used both PS and SSM. PS caused me some real problems, and I didn't feel it offered me the amount of control I have with SSM. It gave me multiplied more prompts (even after running it in learning mode for almost 2 weeks) than I've ever received from SSM. As for SSM being difficult to use, it does take a little bit of study to use SSM properly, but it's well worth the effort. I rarely receive any prompts from SSM - it just sits quietly in the background doing its job, just like my AV. At the same time, while I have an XP system, I use Linux (via VMWare) to surf the net. That kind of makes all of these security apps somewhat moot.

 

SSM offers more overall protection however i find it harder to use than PS mainly due to its UI which doesn't suit me at all.

 

LOL if you run Prosecurity for learn mode for 2 weeks, the only way you are going to get bombbarded is if you leave your pc for that whole 2 weeks and do nothing, or run it in a vmware and pause it and then come back to it 2 weeks later and say "Its been running for 2 weeks in learn mode"

Perhaps you tried an older version? I have no idea all i know is i never had any of these troubles. In the old pre 1.10 i had tones of problems but since 1.10 i never had a BSOD never got locked out or anything. Perhaps you could revisit both products again.
?

 

Well i have not totally researched into ssm's capebilities, but i do know that i agree that with me the GUI does not suit me either. I tend to get used to a program and something else looks alien. So i think thats my issue. As i said in another post if there were no other hips, i would force myself to love it like i did with tiny firewall (which took days and days)

 

odd you dont like the interface because i really liked the interface when i tryed ssm.
lodore

 

as i have said before, i think my thing is i get used to a program. I dont really know what it is, it to me just does not fit my logic?? i think ProSecurity's Interface is quite logical, clean and easy to interprit. When i look at SSM, i see it may be a good program but for me it just looks wrong somehow ?? i dont know perhaps i am just a little . . . . "Set in my ways"

 

I ran PS on my system for well over 2 weeks (Version 1.24) and made it a specific point to run every piece of software I had multiple times to ensure PS learned my software's habits. It was running on my regular system; I did not have VMWare nor any sandboxing utility of any kind installed on my computer at the time. What made you think I did? Also, what made you think I did nothing for two weeks? Would be nice to have the facts before making such derogatory comments. Did you take into consideration that there may have been mutliple bugs with that particular PS release? That being said, I do not want to turn this into a personal argument, but I do feel your above comments were rather insulting, not to mention being incorrect as well.

As stated, this was version 1.24, not an older version. All I know is that PS left me with some nasty problems even after uninstalling it. I do not plan to revisit it again, as SSM has been problem-free and does what I need it to do.

 

KDNeese, i think TECHWG was just mentioning these as possibilities and not referring to things you've done.

Moreover,if you allow me,i DONT think that suggesting one used VM or other assorted technicalities is 'derogatory' or 'insulting'.....

 

My messages are not designed to be insulting or anything of the such, all i am doing is stating my thoughts and suggestions as how i feel. Vmware is a very useful way of testing more than one program, you make a standard XP install and make snapshots , one clean, another to test ssm and another to test ProSecurity. This way you can try all of them. I have said i think SSM is a good program by my personal thought is the interface is not good "For me" i dont like that. So please dont take any offence by anything i type. Its not meant in this manner

 

The reason i say you must leave the pc for 2 weeks is, if you "learnmode" for 2 weeks, the number of rules you must have made is very very large. and the only popups you should recieve are for new programs. This is why learn mode is very good in ANY hips software. You make it learn all your standard things if you use your pc completely during a learn mode which only should take 2 days max. so 2 weeks i am saying i would say you should absolutly and posatively never have a bombardment of popup messages. I just dont see how this is possible with any hips software.

I may not be correct, but there was an uninstall problem in 1.24 or a version like that, and this was resolved.

 

i want to say that i look in both programs forums and see a few more problems in ssm forum than prosecurity forum. not a lot more but more. maybe because ssm have more features? this make me want to ask if ssm free has more protection, is prosecurity free enough without the extra protection ssm free have?

 

I feel Wordward, that its all personal choice. Both ssm and ProSecurity will have problems, bugs that will get fixed. Features will be added to both products. Its a simple choice as to if you like the features and support of a specific product. You will make the right choice for your needs. If that turns out to be ssm, then you feel more comfortable with that. If its Prosecurity then equally because you feel comfortable with that. I dont know what elese i can say. personally for me it comes down to the interface and perhaps small things but other than that, they are both very good products in their class.

I would however say that for a complete newbie, i would say ssm may be a little confusing perhaps and ProSecurity seems to me anyway to have a more simple interface and is easier to understand. While both retain the power - My opinion

 

Yes SSM-free beats ProSecurity-free by far in protection (the picture in the firs post clearly states that).

 

Hey TechWG

Being a complete newby I did the following on my new PC:
1. I installed CyberHawk + DefenseWall
2. Let SSM-free run for a month in learning mode (while CyberHawk protected aginst abnormal behavior and DefenseWall for treath gate entries and surfing). Both these aps require NO configuration at all
3. De-selected learning mode, run SSM-free with UI-disconnected and removed CyberHawk and DefenseWall


SSM-free by default learns in paranoid mode (meaning the tightest security), so a security no-no like me just has to select "allow always". ProSecurity was to difficult to set up (could not get to understand to thighten the general rules, which by default are quite 'loose').

So I disagree

 

as i said. personal preference. i disagree with you nothing bad, just my view differes from yours. Doing your same method substituting ssm for ProSecurity would in theory yield the same results

 

i like prosecurity, and just wondered what gained as far as protection ssm free has? i understand diagram at top of thread somewhat, but what does added protection protect against, and is it really needed? my computer is faster with prosecurity than was with cyberhawk, and it only using 9700k of memory. i decide to keep ps free. ssm free looks hard to understand like TECHWG say. i see screenshots of it. i wonder TECHWG do you know if ps free protect against rootkits though, and why some checkboxes grey in Privilege area?

 

The present free version of SSM came out in late October of last year. If three months is old for software, what does that make XP?

I completely agree. It was good when Max was developing it and has only gotten better. Unlike other apps, the free version of SSM is not a weakened or restricted version of the paid version. It's fully functional and IMO, completely adequate for any normal usage.

I haven't used PS, but judging by the comparison in the first post, the one "feature" I'd want that PS apparently doesn't have is control over global hooks. Whether separate control is needed depends on how you look at it. Both PS and SSM will block unwanted processes. In neither case can an unwanted process set global hooks unless the user allowed the process in the first place. If you need or want to control whether allowed processes can set hooks, then the feature would be important.

When you compare the features that one offers and the other doesn't, ask yourself if you need it. If you have a good firewall, do you need another added to the HIPS as well? If you have good registry protection, what do you gain by duplicating it? Combining your protection into one package isn't necessarily an advantage. If a way is found to exploit that app, and it represents all your security combined, you lose everything, whereas if you run separate apps and one is attacked or fails, the rest keep working. Personally, I use a separate firewall and registry protection and would continue to even if the HIPS package equalled the performance of the separate apps I use. When separate, they can defend each other. When they're all one suite, they can't.

What one user calls a feature, another will consider to be an inconvenience or annoyance. SSM for instance allows you to control parent-child dependencies, access to and installation of drivers, DLLs, and several system functions for apps on an individual basis. These "features" are only of value to users who know what they do and how to set them up properly. If you don't know what a specific file is for, how will you decide whether an application should have access to it? Guessing can get you a malfunctioning system or a vulnerable one. Even if the user has the knowlege to set up permissions for every system file, the law of diminishing returns applies here. Once you reach a certain point, you don't get much in return for your efforts.

Regarding protection from rootkits, both apps can prevent the installation of a rootkit by blocking the process that would install it. If you allow the install process by mistake or for whatever reason and your AV doesn't block it, there are no guarantees. The HIPS might alert you to unusual activity or not, depending on how tight it's configured and how well you're using its "features", but you're playing with fire. HIPS is at its best when used with a "default deny" policy where unknowns and malicious processes aren't allowed, period. You take your chances if you allow the process and then hope to prevent it from doing what it was designed for.
Rick

 

herbalist please also remember this thread is only about freeware versions of the two programs. ProSecurity paid has hook protection

 

hmmm .. howdy Herbalist .. One thing to say : just try it .. cause I've been using SSM (not constantly, especialy when Max was developing it) for like 4 years now (it was one of the first and I believe it was earlier then PG developed, but in the beginning it wasn't kernel driven) ..

well, not that I want to judge or downgrade SSM, NOT AT ALL .. but since using PS, I never used SSM again.

PS is simply easy to use (great difference between the two) and the gui is much clearer (at least for me it is).

anyway, I hope you give it a shot

 

well i liking ps free. it is enough protection for me. i only use avg antivirus and ashampoo firewall with it, but should be ok. i may try comodo later. i wonder if zone alarm free ok instead of ashampoo? it look like it give more information than ashampoo and better firewall. if i try zone alarm ok to install with ps free in learning mode?