what do you think?

lately guys,

ive been thinking, do i really need all the bells and whistles to protect me.

i have a laptop with XP SP2 which has the windows firewall, and im behind a NAT firewall in my router,linksys.

is there really any need for me to have anything else other that an AV that scans for spyware / adware aswell?

would be nice to get some opinions of the AV experts here,

 

NAT router + a good AV = Thats all you need !!!!

Well...that plus some basic common sense ! Practice safe hex

 

The better AV products get with handling spyware, the better chance spyware companies will fold unless they do just the same. Spy Sweeper and a AV, Online Armor and a AV, more to come. We really are about at the one product do all stage.

 

No (of course, I wouldn't rate myself as expert either).

Toss in the free CCleaner just to ease wiping things up periodically and you should be in fine shape.

Blue

 

if i dont need all the bells and whistles with the setup i have with the nat firewall, im thinking of giving my brother my trend licence and going for a simple 'just an av' on my laptop.


obviously i will keep my avg suite on my pc, and everything should be fine, plus i could always chop and change between the 2 whenever i get bored.

 

Personally C.S.J, I use the Windows Firewall and Dr.Web Antivirus, prior to that I was using F-Prot Antivirus. I had F-Prot Antivirus installed since 1999, back then there was no Windows Firewall, so I used the free Zone Alarm Firewall running Windows 98SE, when I migrated over to Windows XP, I removed Zone Alarm and started using the Windows ICF, then later, the Windows Firewall with Windows XP SP2. In all these years, I've encountered one virus, F-Prot took care of that, in the early years, I had a few adware problems that were easily removed, I've never had any real spam issue, I use Hotmail for everything and Outlook Express for my personal email correspondence. Any Spam I get, goes to Hotmail address, where I filter accordingly.

For the last couple of months, I have been trying alot of different antiviruses, to see what all the fuss was about, but to tell you the truth, the only program that came close to what I like in an antivirus, was Dr.Web. I think the new F-Prot version is going the way of the others. I'm not into all the glamor and glitter when it comes to an antivirus program. I much prefer a utilitarian type software, that works, and works effectively. Dr.Web meets that criteria for me, adware/spyware detection and removal is a plus, if I should encounter a problem that it cannot resolve, I will download the necessary tools to fix the problem. I never worry about something that may get by my current protection, there is always a solution available.

As long as my antivirus stays current with the "real world" threats that are circulating at the moment, continues to improve in technology and provides solid system performance, I will be a satisfied user of that product. So far, Dr.Web is the only antivirus, out of all the ones I have tried, that I am satisfied with, it's a pure, unadulterated av program. Some people, like their av to have the best accolades, certifications and recommendations, (that warm and fuzzy feeling) other people like to tout their av scores the highest in independent tests and therefore, it's the best, (because it can detect a sample set, that some av vendors may or may not be willing to add to their database) to each their own, I differ from those opinions greatly. I think, I have found a very viable solution in Dr.Web, I'm confident in my choice, and feel well protected using only the Windows XP Firewall and Dr.Web.

 

C.S.J., you will be fine with AVG., but you might want to add something Superantispyware, (inactive), just for periodic scans.

 

i know avg is fine... but the suite is one licence is the firewall etc in the suite is a waste really as im beind a nat firewall and windows firewall already.

i was considering dr.web, as it does everything but the firewall thing.

obviously im going to keep my avg suite as its good software, but im talking of my laptop that doesnt need all the extras, i just wanted to know... as it stands, would i be secure?

 

Not an expert but I'm more than convinced that for me in about the same situation but with Buffalo wlan, I don't need anything but Firefox 2.0, COMODO Free firewall Beta for (in-)/outcome protection, AntiVir Classic for viruses, worm and trojan like nasties and CyberHawk just in case.

I've never seen ad-/spywares in my laptop when I'm using Firefox, when I tested my laptop a couple of weeks ago with AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5, CounterSpy, Spyware Terminator, TrendMicro AntiSpyware, Webroot Spy Sweeper, Ashampoo AntiSpware etc.

Best regards,
Firefighter!

 

I dont know if you already know (i didnt when i had avg plus firewall edition before i upgraded to the suite),but you can uninstall the firewall or spam module if you wanted to use just the av.
ellison

 

yes i knew,

but i paid for the firewall etc in the suite, so might aswell use it... got it on one pc now, my laptop is now dr.web (which is what i use most, as i can chill in bed with it)