Newbie's questions...

Hi,

I am new to Wilders and have spent the last couple of hours browsing through the forum. It's a great forum! Everyone seems to be so helpful! I hope some of you would be kinda enough to answer some of my questions. They may sound silly to you, but i am a complete idiot with these things (the only security utilities i have ever used were Norton Internet Security, Norton Anti-Virus and ZoneAlarm Free).

1
Norton is causing a lot of problems on my laptop, and i am considering McAfee Internet Security 2006. I read from their website it's subscription based. Can someone tell me what do they mean by that? Does it mean after the initial 12 month subscription, i will have an option to extend (or upgrade) it? If i extend my subscription, will i get to use the 2007 version? Or am i stuck with the old 2006 suite?

2
I've read a lot of positive reviews about KAV and KIS 2006, and am quite interested in them. But i am such an idiot with these things and wonder if they are too 'difficult' for a newbie. It seems KAV and KIS 2006 are not compatible with a lot of other software, and there are instances where the speed of the connection are affected. Is KAV 2006 compatible with ZoneAlarm Free? If not, is KIS 2006's firewall too difficult for a newbie? Coz' i only have experiences with ZoneAlarm Free, and nothing else.

3
Another suite i am considering is the F-Secure Internet Security 2006 (coz' a local retailer is selling it at a special price). How does it compare with McAfee and KIS? Is it on a subscription basis? Just like McAfee (i cannot find any information on this)? I have read it's a resource hungry application. My laptop runs a P4 1.8 CPU with 1GB of SDRAM. Is it capable of running F-Secure?

4
The aforementioned suites, which in your opinion is the better one? In terms of protection, ease of use and the amount of resource they use?

5
Are there any other suite or combinations which you think is idiot-proof?

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I know the best way to find out is to try them one by one (i am sure a lot of you would give this advice). But i am really such an idiot with these things. I am afraid things would go horribly wrong during the trial period and i have no knowledge or whatsoever to solve them. Please give me some helpful tips or advice before i throw myself into the thick of things...

Many thanks in advance.

 

Hi there, MessOfBlues!

I can answer question number 2, 3 and 4 for you..


2. a. If KAV is compatible with ZoneAlarm Free, I don't know exactly, but since KAV is just an AV and doesn't include a FireWall, I guess there should be no problem or conflicts.. but don't take it for sure.
b. KIS's FireWall should be much easier to use since it includes A LOT of white listed programs in its database, compared to ZoneAlarm.. I'm using it myself, and I've never had any confirmation boxes about internet connection authorization, if any it's been plain and simple making it very easy to understand, but how many it's also depends on which security level you've set.
There's 'Low Security', 'Training Mode' and 'High Security'.


3. a. F-Secure is what I call a kind of stealer.. It uses KAV's engine for its AV and Ad-Aware SE as its Spyware Security Solution, even though, it's not updated as frequently as KIS because it just steals their database, making KIS a better choice (in any case since it should be better at both sides). So if you see that F-Secure gets identic results in AV tests, you know why.
b. I don't know exactly, but atleast I think it's..
c. That fact is kinda true, cause even if you'd sit at a high end system, it's gonna get much slower anyway..
d. No doubt it can handle it, but it's going to be slower.


4. That would be KIS.. It has superior protection (their AV, Anti-Spyware and FireWall got top score at PcMag - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1960857,00.asp), it's very easy to use and it uses a very small amount of resources.



Hope this information helps!

 

Hello . You are not an idiot We can't know everything and that's why we ask somebody else who knows what we know . I am sure you are really good at something else , different from computer security.

Well , I am not sure about McAfee because I don't know their policy . You may wish to ask in their forum for this http://forums.mcafeehelp.com

Generally , YES , but I have heard many people complaing about that.

Everyone has its own opinion , my opinion is that Kaspersky 2006 products are not so good as a whole. ZoneAlarm is extremely good firewall and works with almost everything without any issues.

Your laptop is really good and compatiable with all security softwares
F-Secure is a product that uses Kaspersky's scan engines and Kaspersky's definitions . Something like a clone of KAV.
How does it compare . Kaspersky is good at detecting malware so F-Secure is good , too

Now , again I'll tell you that everyone has its own opinion and mine is that suits aren't appropriate for most people . I recommend you not to use Suits but antivirus/antispyware system + separated firewall .

The most appropriate firewall for newbie is the built in Windows Firewall or if you want , go on with ZoneAlarm . For anti-threat software , you can use NOD32 . Have you tried it:
http://www.eset.com

 

1)You have the choice to buy McAfee Internet Security as either a subscription package or a download package. Buying the subscription package will entitle you to free upgrades, or so I was told by McAfee customer service.

This means that if you buy a subscription, you receive free upgrades from MIS 2006--->2007 and so on. This is not true for the download package.

2)KIS 2006 is a very nice product, though I feel it is still needing a slight bit of polish. Anyhow, generally KAV 2006 should be compatible with ZoneAlarm.

The KIS firewall is not difficult to configure, do not worry.

3)F-Secure IS is quite good. Its as good as KIS and McAfee IS. However, if you prefer ease of use, I will recommend McAfee.

4)All three suites are very good at protection, though I'd recommend KIS since it has the proactive behaviour based blocker which the other suites do not have.

F-Secure has been known to be resource heavy. KIS is quite light IMO, and McAfee is "medium" when you talk about resource usage.

5)If you like it and can use it, it is idiot-proof. Anyhow, if you ever get confused choosing between the various options and configuring the software, then you can always contact us at this forum and someone will help you.

 

The new (and latest) versions of ZoneAlarm works with KAV6 but not with all users so KAV6 still have problems with ZA (at least many people are complaining)

 

Yes, Kaspersky is compatible with ZA free, no problems there. Neither Kav or Kis are difficult to install, basicly you install it and if you choose the "Interactive mode" during the install instead of "Basic" (Basic is what iwould use in the begining), then you may have to add a few app's to the exclusions in the popups that might come in the begining, thats it basicly, all other settings are pre-configured to a recommended setting default, so no need to mess with this really.

If you decide to try Kav or Kis, then you can contact me at the Kaspersky forum:http://forum.kaspersky.com/, i can help you get a smooth start, if you wish.

 

Like you HiTech_boy I use NOD but shouldn't you preface such comments by stating that your a NOD reseller?

 

I don't think so . I have been working with computers/malware for many years , I have been a NOD32 reseller for 4 moths but I have never liked Kaspersky (as a whole)

 

Hi! I can,t reply ur questions as I am using none of these softwares but will add a little,

- If u are going for a suite, only good suite is KIS( just give it a trial on ur machine- it has beginner and advanced modes, so u will not have trouble and if ever u have, u can always uninstall it.
- If u choose sepate security appliances, I will suggest NOD32/ or KAV as AV. For firewall ZoneAlarn will be good for u. And if u want antispyware as well then SpySweeper or Ewido( Ewido will cover trojans as well).
- It,s all about paid software. If u like to go for free then other options are there.

 

KAV 6 is remarkable light on my computer. The first scan was pretty long, but the subsequent scans were faster, like 10 mins max due to the iSwift technology, which checks only for new/modified files.

I'm very impressed with it, and I've been a NOD32 user up until yesterday when I decided to give it a try.

No complaints here so far.

NOD32 and KAV are both stellar choices. I'd say KAV 6 has a VERY easy-to-use interface while NOD32 is more tweakable and focuses mostly on heuristics than signatures to detect new malware.

Kaspersky is known for their almost-immediate detection of new malware, and in KAV 6, they've implemented some "Heuristic-like" features.

I'm not a reseller, nor a partner of either companies: I'm just an 18 year old guy who cares about security and knows (most of) his stuff about antivirus products.

While NOD32 and Kaspersky are great products, F-Prot, which has seen a lack in development until recently, is rising to the top under a dedicated leader. Watch out for them