Question about ThreatFire used with Windows Defender

Hi,

I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium, and for security I run AntiVir PE Classic, Windows Defender and ThreatFire, along with SpywareBlaster. I use ASquared Free and PrevX CSI as my back-up scanners.

With the extremely positive review that ThreatFire received from PC Mag, I was wondering whether I still needed Windows Defender, seeing how that app gets some pretty unenthusiastic reviews.

So basically I'd like to know whether I should just ditch Windows Defender and use the one-two punch of ThreatFire/AntiVir or not. Am I just using up valuable resources by running Defender? I know the app is fairly light, but if I can eliminate something no problem, why not?

Your thoughts are much appreciated.

Thanks,
BC

 

Id get rid of Defender; Avira + ThreatFire is good.

 

I like Windows Defender. Although i've always been under the impression that it just detects simple stuff like Cool Web Search Bar or Bonzi Buddy or some junk that you would be smart enough to avoid anyways. For real trojans and nasties Avira + Threatfire is a top notch choice.

So my answer is dump Windows Defender realtime to save resources and just use it as an on-demand + handy system analysis tools.

If you are working in a machine for Grandma though, i'd definitely reccomend keeping Defender on. It seems easy enough and you know how much Grandma loves her Bonzi Buddy :-D

 

Thanks, guys. I got rid of Defender, and right away I felt naked. Then I was looking on ThreatFire's site and it seemed to be more of a anti-trojan/keylogger/rootkit/virus than "spyware." Whatever that means these days. So I just re-enabled it.

I don't know, even if it's a placebo effect, it makes me feel safe. Besides, I don't know of any other free anti-spyware apps out there that provide good real-time protection. I tried SpywareTerminator and didn't like it so much with the HIPS feature turned on. But having ThreatFire, I doubt I'd need that anymore...

Which makes me wonder if I'd be better off with SpywareTerminator than Defender?

 

It's probably a toss up between Defender and ST, but many would advise using ST. To add to the confusion, you might also consider Comodo BOClean which is now free. http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html It's kinda different in that it works in the memory so do a little reading to understand what it does. http://www.comodo.com/boclean/supboc.html

I've used Defender on Windows XP and liked it. I didn't use it much for on-demand scanning as I had better scanners. SuperAntiSpyware and AVG AS are also 2 very good free on-demand scanners. I would pick one to supplement A-squared. It's always good to get a second opinion in the remote chance that you do find something.

Don't worry about feeling naked without a certain program running. I have felt that way a lot after changing programs. It goes away after time and after gaining confidence in the new program. Reading and learning also helps in feeling more confident in our choices. Not everyone has the same setup and we all reach a certain 'comfort' level with our setups in time.

IMO, using Avira with Threatfire would be good. This is based on using Avira and hearing the good things people liked about Cyberhawk/Threatfire. HIPS or behavior blockers programs are not for everybody. Run whatever your comfortable with and you can always try the others later.

 

Defender is a weak scanner.
Run it if you want and follow Innerpeace's advice regarding a free scanner or two.

 

FWIW, my feeling is that Defender's only strength is it's real-time scanning. And in that regard, it's fairly decent. In a recent test at PC Mag, it was the only scanner that gave a warning for all new registry startups and startup folder changes. But, that said, as a manual scanner, IMO, it's virtually worthless...

 

Well I don't know if I agree with that. From what i've been hearing it has poor detection rates. If realtime is its greatest strength, then the overall package is pretty weak. I'd consider Defender's Analysis tools its greatest strength.

 

Agreed that the analysis tool is quite nice. And no question that Defender's poor manual scanning ability is something no one should ignore. But for a free alternative, Defender's real-time scanner is worthwhile. If used in conjunction with the excellent free manual scanner (IMO) SUPERAntiSpyware (the free version has no real-time component), the 2 make quite a good combo...

*NOTE*
For Defender to give the best real-time notification info, be sure to check the option to notify you about "Software that has not yet been classified for risks"