Suggested free software for best security

Avira AV free edition and Anti-Vir PEC free edition are the same thing. I suggest you look at the GUI.

"Avira AntiVir® PersonalEdition Classic" (free)

and

"Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium"
"Avira Premium Security Suite"

 

That is not what you said earlier. Read your own post...

There was no need for your correcting my original post, so let's move on, okay? I think the OP has received some good ideas to consider, yours included. So -- upward & onward with best wishes to you & yours.

 

Sorry but I was pointing out that Avira AV free program has one name. If you didn't want me to come back then best not to have initiated it.

Best wishes.

 

BOClean and SAS can run together. There are different apps wich act in different ways, so no conflicts there.

 

Your Ad-Aware SE Personal has had an upgrade a while ago, but I would advise removing it if you are looking to slim down. It doesn't get good reviews, and having used it, they're right.

 

Dump any and all Lavasoft Products. I don't even like the way the company operates. Comodo products do the job but I wonder about how that company operates too. Take your pick AVG and Avira are both excellent. I prefer Avira I have used both. Spybot. I use it but it is slipping when compared to other free choices such as SAS I currently use the SB 1.4 version. I beleive the system impact is so little with spywareblaster that as a freebie it deserves a place for sure. For a firewall PC Tools, this MikeNash's new upcoming release of OA sounds darn good to me. That is my 2 cents worth.

 

Hi Bellgamin,
DSA how heavy is this on your machine? RAM useage and CPU. I reallly am looking at such apps as this now a days. It does not pester you to much does it? I used CyberHawk and it did not impress me. RAM useage leaped up too.

Perhaps you can help the OP too by answering these questions too.

 

Some folks disdain the significance of the sorts of data you asked about. However, I find them instructive -- perhaps because I once programmed (Forth) for 64K Commodores (et alia).

I include several popular HIPS for comparison purposes.

Data are derived from Process Explorer & are expressed in Megabytes, segmented to: Private / Working (RAM) / Virtual

DynamicSecurityAgent 9.1/13.5/69.9
Safe'N'Sec 17.2/17.8/132.6
SSM beta 619 10.4/12.5/58.7
OnlineArmor2.0 + FW 33.8/16.8/181.5
ProSec 1.4 10.7/19.2/110.2

Of the above listed applications, DSA & OA are the only ones with full-fledged firewall capabilities + HIPS. OA & DSA both offer Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI). OA's firewall is configurable. DSA's is not. The other HIPS do well on leakage tests but (to my knowledge) lack SPI.

CPU usage of all of the above apps is too small to measure.

As to pop-ups during the first few days of usage, ProSec & Online Armor are the least intrusive.

After you install DSA, it will pop-up each time you use an application for the first time. Once DSA has "seen" all the apps that you regularly use, future pop-ups will be few & significant.

All of the above apps except ProSec & SSM & DSA can be large scale PITAs when you install a new application. ProSec has a handy install mode. SSM & DSA have learning modes. As to the others --

 

Thanks Bellgamin. Those who disdain those types of questions...are likely running systems with 1 and 2 Gigs. Not the systems you see below that were purchased in 2001 and 2003. I just can't afford to do better at the moment. So I have to do what I can on the software side as best I can.

By the way about a year ago you suggested K-Meleon. That is fast and so light on that 2001 system.

 

Hi, Online Armor 2 has a learning mode too . Right-click the OA2 tray icon and select 'Learning mode' .

 

I add my agreement to those suggesting ditch AdAware.

Some of the things I include in my own choice of security programs include:
-Do the applications work well together?
-Is the GUI and program operation easily learned/intuitive?
-Are the help files comprehensive?
-Can the program do what it says? (The answer/s to that can be quite subjective until it's put to the "acid test", and sometimes beyond, also. User reviews and opinions, such as I've found here, can certainly help make that "D" )
-Are updates (if applicable) frequent?
-Does the PC run OK with the program installed? (Performance wise)
-Last but by no means least, how good is the forum (or other) support? With free programs especially, the forum is often the only way to get some help. Which is fair enough. There are a lot of really good application forums, some visited frequently by the program developer/s. They include (but are not limited to) Superantispyware, Asquared, Spybot, Avast, Comodo, and SpywareTerminator.

The lavasoft forum, by comparison, doesn't rate. I couldn't even register. My emails went unanswered. Total waste of internet allowance.
Nor could I get AdAware2007 to run without problems.

 

My home set up in my signature is what I've been using for a while now and has worked great.

Also, 'Immunization' via SpywareBlaster + Spybot while using Firefox + addons (NoScript, RoboForm, Firekeeper) adds to the security.

Really all you'd need is one of each of an AV, AM, and a firewall, in my opinion. Pick your favored one in each category and you're good to go.