Opinions about this net security kit

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by alakazooo, Feb 24, 2007.

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  1. alakazooo

    alakazooo Registered Member

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    I would like to have some experienced opinions on those scurity programs:

    Spybot Search&Destroy, Comodo firewall, Ad-Aware SE personal, AVG free Anti-Virus (best freeware-PC Magazine), AVG anti-spyware, CleanUp, jv16PowerTools, SpyCatcher-Express (best freeware-PC Magazine), StartupMonitor(best freeware-PC Magazine) and ZoneAlarm...



    I've only installed ^^Spybot Search&Destroy, Comodo firewall, Ad-Aware SE personal, AVG free Anti-Virus, AVG anti-spyware, CleanUp, jv16PowerTools^^
    and I want to know if I should try those other ones.
     
  2. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    i dont know if this qualifies as an experienced opinion but:

    Spybot Search&Destroy - of limited value now; theres better choices.

    Comodo firewall - a good firewall and it can block many leaktests. all for free.

    Ad-Aware SE personal - refer to Spybot Search&Destroy

    AVG free Anti-Virus - light AV but its detection rates are average

    AVG anti-spyware - good detection and its resource usage isnt too bad

    jv16PowerTools - small utility with lots of features. pretty good at finding junk on your computer.

    ZoneAlarm - decent firewall but its been getting bloated lately.
     
  3. alakazooo

    alakazooo Registered Member

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    Thanks a lot for those short but nice resumed opinions!

    Could you had what you're using and if it's free(permanently) or not? (I haven't started my careered life so I can't afford all those progs for my protection, but i'll probably buy one when i'll be able...wich is probably the safest choice...is it?)
     
  4. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    realtime protection:

    Ad Muncher (not free)
    NOD32 (not free)
    Online Armor FW (not free)
    Prevx1 (not free)

    on-demand scanners:

    SUPERAntiSpyware (free)

    **********************

    if you want a free security setup, u could get avast antivirus and comodo firewall. then use avg antispyware and/or superantispyware for ondemand scans. also use firefox or opera for web browsing.
     
  5. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    Hi, Change AVG antivirus with Avast free.
    Remove adaware and spybot, u can use free versions of AVG antispyware and Superantispyware for on-demand scans.
    Firewal-- Cmodo will be Ok.
    If u want more u can add a sandbox like GesWall or Sandboxie( fre versions).
     
  6. acr1965

    acr1965 Registered Member

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    I would ditch SSD and maybe Ad-Aware. Also get rid of AVG anti-virus. Keep Comodo or go with an earlier version of Zone Alarm, like 4.5. Either should be fine although between the two I like ZA 4.5 better. Keep the AVG anti-spyware and if the free trial is up and you do not intend to pay for a subscription then just make sure the AVG guard is disabled or else it will just keep running in the background without providing any protection. As a nice compliment to AVG AS download SuperAntiSpyware. It is a real nice on-demand scanner- regularly updated and cleans well. http://www.superantispyware.com/

    Then instead of another free anti-virus try F-Secure for 6 months free. A link is here- http://www.f-secure.com/protectyourpc/ - just scroll to the bottom of the page. Sure the subscription is up in six months but that'll get you through nearly September. By that time there is no telling what the internet security landscape will look like. But I think most will say that F-Secure is a pretty good AV.

    Besides the above, you may want to check out a HIPS program like System Safety Monitor (effective but has a few more pop-ups than some people enjoy).

    http://www.syssafety.com/

    Or try something like Cyberhawk if you want a quieter bird watching your computer. http://www.novatix.com/

    Another HIPS is ProSecurity- http://www.proactive-hips.com/index.php

    Each of the above HIPS has a pro and free version.

    If you would rather not mess with a HIPS but still would like an extra layer of protection a possible answer would be to download Spyware Terminator and take advantage of its realtime shield. The HIPS and Clam AV components of ST are nothing special and should be disabled (at least be sure to disable Clam AV) but the realtime shield is nearly impenetrable. I would put pretty much any paid AS realtime protection up against it in regard to browser hijacks and Spyware Terminator is a free program. Also, I would not even bother scanning with ST if you have the other mentioned programs as ST has a fairly high amount of false positives.

    That should do it-
    Firewall- either ZA 4.5 or Comodo
    AntiVirus- F-Secure, free 6 months
    On demand anti-spyware- AVG AS and SuperAntiSpyware
    HIPS (if you want one)- either SSM, Cyberhawk or ProSecurity
    OR, go with Spyware Terminator for its realtime shield

    Of course, keep the JV16 Powertools. Cleanup should be fine but C-Cleaner, http://www.ccleaner.com/ is a program you may want to check-out in the future. I would not mess with any of that other stuff on your list of programs you were thinking about trying.
     
  7. MalwareDie

    MalwareDie Registered Member

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    get Avira Antivir Personal edition Classic as your antivirus. it is the freeware antivirus with the best detection and GUI. Get rid of spybot and adaware they are very weak. get Spyware Terminator for realtime protection. get superantispyware for on-demand.
     
  8. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    Avira is best free AV but I will recommend best free trouble-free AV to any beginner- I mean Avast.
     
  9. alakazooo

    alakazooo Registered Member

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    Location:
    Canada
    I've scan my computer some of those progs yet:

    In order: SuperSanti-Spyware (found nothing), Spyware Terminator* (found teenserch residues, 180Searchengine residues and some RegKey wich leaded to nothing (residues are probably some spywares who were deleted in past by my other scanners)), Spybot Search&Destroy(found nothing), Add-Aware SE personal (found 18 MRU lists)

    * After I deleted what Spyware Terminator found, I've openend mozilla firefox then close it right after to get in a folder on my desktop(maybe this is a part of the answer) wich i've never seen because my compu simply froze.
    -Anyone experienced that before?
    -Does the real-time shield and mozilla can interfere?

    While you all tell me to get rid of Spybot and Add-Aware I don't know what to think...because they still have a lot of updates (wich make me confident about their lists)
    SPYBOT S&D have an immunization thing wich tell me that it immunize my computer agaisnt approx. 1900 know spywares. Does the other progs do that (never seen that again) and does this immunization will stay even if I uninstalll it? (and there also updates for that immunization every 1-2 weeks)


    Anti-Virus Interferences:
    Does the Clam AV in Spybot Terminator's realt-time shield could interfere with AVG Free ?
    (if not, is true that it's not really good to have to full anti-virus softwares on a computer? )


    Why nobody talk about SpywareCatcher-Express wich was one of the best freeware for 2007 according to PC magazine ? http://www.tenebril.com


    Thanks to read and teach me!
     
  10. argus tuft

    argus tuft Registered Member

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    Spycatcher express does not seem to be very well thought of in this forum, see this thread
    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=156996
    In my case, it found a whole heap of false positives, and caused repeated BSOD's and freezes on my pc, and slowed my pc down quite noticeably.
     
  11. Tarq57

    Tarq57 Registered Member

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    Wellington NZ
    I use SpywareTerminator with Firefox; never seen that before. It is definitely not safe to delete everything ST finds without a bit more research. If you quarantined it rather than deleting it, try restoring the reg keys from the quarantine. If not, you might be best to uninstall then re-install Firefox.
    Firefox runs fine with ST.

    I'm also using Avast, problem (and virus) free for a year.
    If you have the disk space to spare, no need to uninstall Spybot or AdAware. Just that there are other better scanners. (Such as SAS and AVG AS, as mentioned. Asquared is also a very good scanner, free or paid versions.)
    If you uninstall Spybot, I think you will loose the bad download blocker (immunity) Another (free) immunizer that's good is http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
    Theres a sub-forum for it here. Works with IE, Firefox, and prevents the install of known bad ActivEx. Updates every week or two.
    It is generally not advisable, and usually not possible, to have two resident AV's on a computer. They'll conflict, and cause crashes etc.That said, integrating Clam in ST didn't seem to cause conflictions, but I've chosen not to integrate it. Just not necessary. If I want a second virus scan opinion I use DrWeb's CureIt.
     
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