Next best alternative to ThreatFire (Symantec to Acquire PC Tools)

now that Symantec has bought PC Tools. I am looking for something that has a very low learning curve, but offers good protection. Is there anything?

I know that Symantec has said they would allow PC Tools to live on as it's own division. History doesn't support that statement though. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0426070.htm
This really, really bums me out!

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

Hopefully Symantec will leave PC Tools alone with TF. If not and worse comes to worse, then I will just continue to use the version of TF I have now.

Thanks for the link to the article though, first I had heard of it.

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

My God. Never knew that.

Another fish eaten by a crocodile!!

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

shocking surprize for me too...

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

It will be interesting to see if Symantec continues the line of PC Tools products or just absorbs the technologies into it's Norton line. I could see them wanting ThreatFire, but they already have strong AV, AS and FW products.

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

IMO it will be more profitable for them to let PC Tools continue as it is. Their own technology is already good enough. Even TF they don,t need as they have their Antibot.

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

No they don't. They have Sana Security's Primary Response SafeConnect!

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

A substantial fish, but that's the big boys game spotting a market or a need, buying the right code and ruthlessly making money.

Reading from the cnn link...

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

I know but any way ther are already using it and it,s good enough too.

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

Indeed, but now they own TF.

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

O no, they didn't

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

Appearently they did.

 

hmmm....
never really liked pctools.
they always had fp's in the trial versions of spywaredoctor to tempt people to buy there software...
couldnt really ruin pctools since they wasnt a good companie IMO.
watch this space

 

I learned the hard way to stay away from the largest targets of malware. I had Nortan AV in 2004, seemed like it was always getting bypassed. I switched to AVG later and haven't purchased one since. No more for me thanks.
Semantec is a high priority target. Anything they own becomes a high priority target. It may continue by offering the same business model as before, but it's the size of the target that it becomes that I don't like.

I just started using PCTools FW. I hope OA wraps up their beta ASAP!

I was over my relatives house. They had Nortan Internet Security. "We don't have any problems". I took a look at their laptop with Autoruns.
There was a file they couldn't recognize and I couldn't find any info on.
After deleting it in Autoruns, Nortan immediately updated and found 25 medium to highrisk items, 2 trojans the rest spyware.

PC Tools is going where?

 

I'm running TF on my desktop, along with Sandboxie and don't intend to change any time soon. If Symantec kills TF, then I'll start looking.

 

Damn this is bad news I hate Symantec so much that I've now removed PC Tools Firewall! Experience tells me that PC Tools products will be sucked into Symantec and the bits spat out! Symantec has shareholders to please so they will not allow a smaller company to eat their revenue with free software products!

This is an interesting article -> http://blogs.pcworld.com/tipsandtweaks/archives/007481.html

~interact

P.S. I'm looking for a "free" Internet Firewall to run alongside Drivesentry can anyone recommend a good product?

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

Yes, of course.
Why should they pay prospectively for Primary Response SafeConnect if they own ThreatFire?

Cheers

 

Have you ever tried Kerio 2.1.5?

Free, very light on your system and if you don't care about "Leaktests" it's the perfect Firewall.

 

Oh no

Even if Symantec left PCtool's products alone, Symantec wont resist to add it's bytes and bits of bloatware to them

Bye Bye PC tools

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

Down the drain goes another app. Well, given Symantec's track record of exploding bloat into it's programs, we'll all just have to wait and see if that trend continues. Buyouts are the wave of today and money talks while.............well you know the rest.

Good thing i held on to my CyberHawk versions.

Expect more of these type buyouts, especially from smaller groups that simply can't finance a full fledged lab and support staff.

EASTER

 

IMO...

1- Symantec's decision to acquire PCTools was a truly brilliant business decision.

2- It would have been much much worse if Microsoft had bought PCTools.

3- The uncertain destiny of Threatfire offers a great opportunity for Prevx to break out of its doldrums and UPGRADE PREVX NOW!!!

4- IMO, MalwareBytes Antimalware is an outfit which has the expertise/talent to take advantage of this "window of opportunity". Right now MBAM is primarily blacklist-based. If they add full-on behavior blocking to MBAM they will immediately become a very major player on the security software scene.

Meanwhile, back on-topic (alternatives to TF)...

TF is a behavior blocker, rather than a classical HIPS. In somewhat that same category are...

1- Prevx
2- Primary Response SafeConnect (PRSC)
3- Mamutu
4- Novashield -- new (to me, at least) behavior blocker with no track record.

Of the above, (1) Prevx is in long-standing DIRE need of better support -- not to mention an update. (2) PRSC now caters heavily to Symantec/Norton, who now owns Threatfire so (IMO) bye-bye PRSC. (3) There4, Mamtu seems to be a good alternative-to-TF for now. Like TF & Prevx, Mamutu has recently added a "community-based" feature (hmm -- good idea, I wonder?). Mamutu costs $29.95 for 1st year -- but I'm definitely waiting for a sale price. (4) Novashield?? -- YOU try it & report back, please.

 

As long nobody buys SBIE......

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

I still have the installer for the last version of CH and for the last version of TF that has been released. While I hope TF remains untarnished by Symantec (doubtful) at least I can continue to use one of these versions.

Which do you think is more likely:

1) TF goes the way of the dinosaurs
2) TF survives but loses the free version
3) TF remains free but becomes bloated and difficult to uninstall
4) TF remains "as is" under the control of PC Tools personnel and continues to develop

 

Too early to speculate, but if your a skeptic like myself your first choice might be the one to expect in accordance with #3 in addition in keeping policy.

But that's only knee-jerk speculation at this point, Symnatec will eventually show us if they have the wherewithall to improve it or cram TF to the point of dissappointment or not. They'll either improve it to expectations or destroy it as a viable marketable entity. Come to think of it, they possibly may impliment Norton's AV into it, now wouldn't that be a familiar page from an old book.

EASTER

 

Re: Next best alternative to ThreatFire,

No. 2 I think.