Free may not be perfect, but it is darn close.

This is very On-Topic:

I agree free is not always perfect but in reality sometimes IT IS!! One only has to look at for one example the old AVG 6 free AV. It guarded my 98SE box very well although there were only a couple times something not yet databased got thru, but then a good firewall should alert you that a dropper or any other program is attempting an "outgoing" connection.

HIPS and behavioral blockers really sum up this title and in some instances trump the notion of "may not be perfect".

CyberHawk comes to mind, also System Safety Monitor, and more recently EQSecure which is currently in beta if memory serves me right, but i found AS-IS from it's first beta version posted here that it had everything one would ever need to solidly secure your system. I honestly believe that because there are so many security developers all jockying to put out the best coverage for Windows systems, that we all have been very lucky recipients of some top notch FREEWARE that at one time or another proved to meet our highest expectations. ProcessGuard, A2Squared and the list goes on.

Personally i tend to lean FIRST to any free version of security ware, and if it without a doubt proves it's metal over time & testing, they've won my investment in a licensed purchased.

The market is become so competitive over the years though, that there are literally plenty of FREE alternatives to the marketed ones "IF" you found yourself fortunate enough to get in on the action early with the Beta's. Some like SSM (beta) had a time-limit fashioned to it, but theres been many others that were not so. How many times have you tried a beta that simple blew you away with it's effectiveness and reliability only to discover later that a fully released version didn't actually provide the same results you enjoyed b4?

 

lot's of good program names thrown around this thread already. some other freebies i would suggest :

geswall - this thing is "gangsta" some of us on this forum have tested it vs the worst stuff out there and it has yet to fail us

sandboxie - an excellent sandbox program (small and light)

DSA (dynamic security agent) - small and light HIPS program with some firewall functionality.

you guys already mentioned other sweet freebies like : antivir, superantispyware, AVG antimalwere, etc.....

 

Jetico 1, Kerio 2.1.5, Ghostwall, CHX-I, PC Tools FW, Proxomitron, Sentinel, Hijackthis, RunScanner, AVG AR, RkU, RkR, Ewido, SAS, Geswall, Sandboxie, Prevx, AVG AV, Avast, Antivir, CureIt, F-Prot DOS, AOL AVS, SSM, PS, PG free, AVZ, TinyWatch, SpywareBlaster, Sysinternals's stuff.

 

As I've written in other threads, there are plenty of great free AV and anti-malware programs available, with enough free premium trials out there so that one doesn't have to pay for security programs.

There's also plenty of offers for great premium security software that's free after rebate. Right now Staples is offering Spysweeper with AV for free after a $35 rebate.

 

I still consider FirstDefense-ISR as my best investment ($70). It keeps my system partition clean, malware-free and trouble-free. If I read the posts where users lost hours and even days to get their system back, then FDISR paid me back many times.
Since malware is becoming more and more sophisticated and hidden, I prefer to base my security more on recovery softwares, than on security softwares. Recovery softwares don't have so much failures as security softwares (free or paid).
FDISR has no free alternative, it doesn't even have a paid alternative, because there is no competition.

 

My system and those of my clients are secured entirely with freeware. I only have one payware app on my PC. Even though I've bought several, all but one have been replaced with superior quality freeware and Open Source apps.

I have yet to find a better web filter than Proxomitron, free or paid.
Show mw a better browser than the top free ones, Opera, Firefox, Sea Monkey.
Show me a malware removal tool that's helped more people than HiJack This.

Software and computer code in general is one of those rare items where the old adage "You get what you pay for" does not apply, not that the industry isn't trying to force it to be that way with software patents, intellectual property, etc. It'll be a sad day if they succeed. Software isn't like manufactured goods, unless the industry giants get their way. Aside from CDs to ship it on, there are no material costs. No labor costs to assemble those materials. Cost per unit doesn't apply. Once the original development costs are recovered, most of every sale is pure profit. That changes very little whether the vendor sells 100 copies or 100,000. Think about that the next time you pay $50 for a CD of code that paid for its development long ago. The majority of that is pure profit.

Freeware may not be perfect, but conventional commercial software fares no better. Start with comparing operating systems or browsers. The conventional pay versions (Windows and Internet Explorer) are the most vulnerable, bloated, and inefficient examples you could ask for. Show me another OS or browser that uses as much disk space and system resources or has as many vulnerabilities, fixed and unfixed. Show me a more bloated security suite than Norton. It isn't hard to find better and cheaper alternatives.

The only time I'll consider buying software anymore is when there's no Open Source or freeware alternative. Given a choice, I'll use Open Source first.
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The developers of Open Source software listen to the needs of the end user because they're also end users themselves. Bugs are fixed faster. Features users want are added. They don't deliberately contribute to the industries "planned obsolescense" policy like M$ and the big money vendors do. When usability, efficiency and performance take priority over profit, intellectual property, and user lock-in, we all benefit. Stop wasting your money on inferior code.
Rick

 

I recently won over $300 worth of paid software and have yet to leave my free versions. I have been tempted several times, but what I have works and works well together. I use Avast and consider it a very good AV. It has also been trouble free, which many of the paid apps cannot say. I also use Comodo FW, while not perfect, it's reputation needs no further comment. Many ISP's are offering free security suites as part of their packages. If not for free security software, the internet would be a mess.

The very nature of free items and giving and helping others is what lured me to the internet. When your a newbie you have to take more than you give, but as you learn you can give back. I'm to the point where I can help a little in forums, and almost to the point where I want to try beta's and give feedback. It's a cycle that I cherish and the online experience in my eyes wouldn't be the same.

 

Same here.

But I do my best to get their fake license blacklisted You should do the same

 

well on the topic of FREE (open-source), a UAC-type program for XP:

sudown

lets you run your admin account in limited-user mode, but execute admin tasks with "sudo" just like linux. If you don't like any of the current HIPS, sudown is a great malware-negator. Heck, it does a better job than most HIPS, and since it uses features built into XP, its basically near zero-resource usage.

 

Interesting small program as well as (open-source). So how exactly does this show advantage over similar lower rights apps like DropMyRights etc.?

With that i also must say i have never used any other right than Admin on my XP machines but then my experience is a leading reason why it's been of little consequence for me, as well as HIPS/Virtualization shieldings but then i realize i'm off-base since i'm also actively involved in attracting infection/intrusions because of my research.

Thanks

 

with dropmyrights you have to actually specify that a program runs in limited-mode.

with sudown you actually can use it with your own ADMIN account: it automatically, however, runs you as limited-user access at all times and, just like linux, you have to "sudo" to grant a program admin access

the benefit of this over windows xp "run as" is that all applications installed under "sudo" is still under your account, not another admin account. In this regard it works similar to Vista's UAC.

 

I will try my best to get them blacklisted.
lodore

 

Thats a very good mix if it plays well on the enduser's system

I would happily install it on clients machines after maintenence/cleanup since i would trust that combination more than a pay for *security suite*.

Nothing is perfect,sorry scrub that nothing is 100% fullproof and to believe so is misguided.So $$$'s will not guarantee a silver bullet.

Hi Joe there are horses for courses as the expression goes and as such i have yet to install HIBS on a clients PC.Too much time involved in configuration and explaination to educate these folks and in the end they still require blacklists to do their thinking for them

That said whitelist based HIBS can offer the highest degree of security but ultimetly they are not the full silver bullet too because of the potential of
*Error Between Chair and Keyboard*in their complexity.

 

I agree with you about free software to an extent. Yes, there is enough excellent freeware to keep the "advanced" user clean, and plenty of great pay software that is offered free after rebate. However, I set up friends (a married couple who by no means do any wild surfing) with the Comodo firewall and Avira PE Classic. I also put a few anti-spyware programs on the computer and told them to update and run them occasionally along with the AV program. I also gave them instructions to research warnings by the firewall. In addition, I loaded Site Advisor for their browser and told them to try to use Firefox.

Two weeks later I came back to find Spy Sheriff on the computer!

The moral of the story is that you can't ensure that casual users will remain free of spyware or trojans/viruses with free or pay programs, since they don't take the time to investigate links that are sent to them by well meaning, but just as uninformed friends. How many computer users are downloading pretty cursors and screen savers from questionable sites, and then sending those adware infected files or rogue site links to friends?


These programs do an excellent job for us, but I have a feeling that the computer of the average user is anything but clean.

 

Equally interesting from my point of view is the degree to which security enthusiasts with almost every known product running still seem to report getting infected on a regular basis.

It seems that it is possible to stay clean with free products and to get infected
with paid for products.

My vote goes for free. simply paying for loads of security will provide no protection to those who don't know what they are doing.

 

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I know Ade. I merely was pointing out a very wise choice for those who ARE capable enough to study a HIPS for pinpoint precision in establishing their ruleset. HIPS are far too complicated for the average PC user and plus require more time than most either have or are willing to spend on perfecting one to bring it up to it's highest potential. LoL

For those others in such category of users i highly recommend SAS & Prevx1. They are all but automatic in functionality.