Security setup for Vista business laptop

Hello,

I need a good and stable security setup for my Vista business laptop.

This laptop I use all time with a wireless internet connection.

On this laptop I have some very important data I don't want to loose due to some virus or something else.

I don't work with a server,i only work with this laptop.

Once in a while I also make a backup.

I also use the laptop to do some online banking.

For email i use an Exchange account on Outlook 2007.

I want to be safe against a virus,spyware,malware etc

For me it doesn't matter if i have a free or paid security setup.

I also would like to setup and forget,so please no difficult settings,i need my time for my business

Can you recommend me a good setup?

If you need more information,please ask me.

Thanks in advance.

 

Avira Premium Security Suite, although you should try several companies and see how they behave with your machine. I don't think there's such a thing as set it and forget it, your are the most important factor in your security.

 

Hi,

I have also busienss laptop and having database too.

I have installed NIS 2009 and it has not asked me anything from last six month and taking all decision itself.

I am not worry for any attack from internet. Laptop is almost 18 hrs connected to internet each day.

So I suggest you to go for Norton Internet Security 2009.

 

To be honest I was also thinking to test NIS 2009,but I also some negative message about NIS2009.

It seems to slow down your pc/laptop?

On the other side,I have 4GB memory in my laptop,so this doesn't hurt I suppose.

And what about Norton 360?

 

my laptop is with 1.5 GB RAM and 120 GB (110 is almost full).

I have not seen any slow down on it.

 

Avira Free or Premium together with Defensewall should give you good protection with minimum pop-ups.

 

Why don't you simply use the functionnality of business edition.

This computer is for your job, right?

So the most efficient way is to run under limited user account, as every user does in a company.

The second thing if you want an extra layer of security is to use GPO (gpedit.msc) to configure group policy, or even setup SRP, so that you make sure nothing unknown can run on your computer.

Thanks to this very light and efficient setup, you can afford a simple yet effective antivirus, even for free, and still remain very safe.

Of course, the drawback is that you need a bit of knowledge, and the fact you ask is maybe a proof you don't, unfortunately...

 

Hi Blackcat,

So this could give me enough protection?
And is Defensewall the same as a firewall,or do I have to use the windows firewall in combination with Avira and Defensewall?

Thanks

 

Hi Lucy,

I run the business on my own and I only use my laptop for this.
So I suppose your solution is a quite complicated for me

 

At the moment I run a trial of Kaspersky internet security.
Till now it runs very smoothly on my laptop.
I also could buy this package quite cheap for my business.

What I read is that Kaspersky Internet Security is a very good solution for what i need.

Can you advice me if this package is good enough or do I need to add more to be safe to protect my data and online banking?

 

limited user account and local security policys is what you will want to use.
along with a decent AV and firewall. I wont turn this in to a versis thread.

 

What do you mean with limited user account and local security policies?

 

to start with create a new account and make it an administrator account.
type "user accounts" in to the search box and start it.
click on manage another account.
click create new account.
call it something like "admin" make it an admin account and add a strong password click on ok once done.
then go back to manage another account and select your main account you use everyday.
click on "change your account type"
change it to standard user.

you are alot safer with that simple procedure.

make sure you dont allow any UAC unless you know what it is and are sure its safe.


windows vista business version has "local security policy"
you will find this by typing "local security policy" in to the search box.
on a standard user account you will need to right click on it and select "run as administrator" you will get a uac prompt and will need to type in your admin password.
its a very powerful tool.
you should do some resarch on it.

 

To elaborate lodore's point of making a "limited" user or a "restricted" user for use ...

Administrators have complete control over the system. If you are on the Internet as an Administrator then viruses can take advantage of your privilages and cause a lot of damage.

Limited users have less privilages. Malware can still infect your system, however it will be limited and generally contained.

Restricted users have even less privilages. Malware can still infect your system, however it will be limited to that single account generally.

 

Hi rimo2008

Avast Home ( Free )
If you don't mind running a scan yourself ... Avast Home is very easy to use and doesn't pester
Updates all by itself!
And it even tells you when its updated ( Yep! .. It Talks! )
However!
If you need to have Scheduled Scans ... You would probably be better off with the Paid version of Avast.

If you don't like the idea of Avast...
AVG 8.5 would probably also be OK for you
That also comes in a Free or Paid version.

I always try to stick with easy to use security
I have a little lad
And... Tons of pop ups and children just don't mix

 

Rimo2008,

You see, Iodore and TechOutsider explained better than I did the concept of LUA and security policy. It is what you need.

 

Thanks a lot for this explanation.

I just created an administrator account and changed my own account to a standard account.

The point is that I use Vista Home on the laptop,so i can't use "Local Security Policy"

But with changing the account I already made a good step into the right direction I think

With changing the user account and using Kaspersky Internet Security I will be safe,or can you recommend me to do more?

 

.
I'd say you're pretty safe using a Limited User Account and Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS 2009). I would still recommend giving Norton Internet Security 2009 (NIS) a try. I've used KIS 2009 and I decided to go with NIS 2009 - it installs very fast (less then 2 minutes), updates often (every 15 minutes), and has the lowest impact on performance of any suite I've tried. You can run the trialware for 15 days. Both products are strong though so you're good either way.

 

In first instance I thought also to try NIS2009 first.
The biggest difference for me is the price.

I can buy KIS2009 for €35,- and NIS2009 will cost me €59,-

That's quite a big difference

 

KIS2009 is a plug and play security software

 

Personally, I think the choice of security software isn't as important as your actual configuration of Vista. All of the ones mentioned so far are solid protection, and work with Outlook. What you really want to do is make sure the laptop itself will stay secure if you use it with wifi in public places.

Make sure you are using a Standard Account at all times, unless you are installing software. That's probably the biggest step you can take. Also, make sure you lock your browser down, whether or not you are using IE or Firefox.

I'd recommend trying one or two (most offer at least a two week trial period) to see how well they work with YOUR laptop.

 

For someone asking for advice, set it and forget it style, who happens to have a Vista home edition (the opening post seemed to describe a 'business edition'), and to tell him to go LUA( like you mentioned in a previous post requires some knowledge) it is to say the least far fetched.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=199713

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=141307

We have these two fairly recent polls at Wilders (where paranoia is the name of the game) where most members choose 'Admin mode' over LUA - 173/31 and 120/38 this poll still running. I'm not myself a beginner, but every time I tried to create a standard account, it basically meant reconfiguring my computer from scratch. Now, I'd go through this kind of trouble if somebody else were using my computer, certainly not if I'm the sole user of my machine. Simplicity doesn't equate LUA or SRP at all, which only mean Admin knowledge in a large network of computers of standard users who don't give a hoot if the company machine gets infected or not.

 

To go LUA when you run a business is not an option. If it happens you need 5 hours to implement it, so be it. It is nothing compared to the troubles you would eventually meet running admin. And Vista business is designed for this purpose.

You know, a poll does only represent the ones who participated. What can you tell about people in Wilders? I am pretty sure 99% of them doesn't need admin rights 99% of the time. Do they represent the vast majority who just wants a set and forget?

Security is not a matter of choice. When you really want it, you don't think in terms of compromise, but in term of level you want to achieve. Furthermore, one shouldn't think in terms of tools, but in terms of strategy...

You're right on the point it is not necessarily simple to implement. And it is not what I said either. But it makes things much more simple afterwards.

Concerning the question, I simply proposed a solution based on my own experience, without believing a single minute it was the best one. But it meets the requirements:
- set and forget
- free of viruses... done by installing an antivirus, suite or whatever, free or paid...

And BTW, rimo2008 already answered, by saying SRP was not for him. But he made the bigger step with LUA. If he is not happy with it, he will always be able to reverse.