Internet Security or just Anti Virus?

[JAMIOUSE]

I'm hoping you guys will be able to help me out once more? My current Internet Security system Trend Micro's PC Cillin has just expired, after talking to a few people i've found out I don't actually need a firewall. I have XP Home Edition with Microsofts built in firewall, and various spyware programs. So my question is do I need to buy an actual Internet Security program with a firewall included or just buy a new Anti Virus program?

:confused:

[Vaughan]

The easy answer is, you probably really only need Anti-virus.

On the other hand, for spyware and the like I use Ad-aware (Free). For cleaning up Windows stuff I use CCleaner (Free).

I don't have an anti-virus program. Never had one on this machine. However, just a couple months, I downloaded a demo of a program just for laughs, after all, I hadn't checked it in two years. Guess what - no viruses. Not a single one. My free month expired and I deleted the program.

The moral of the tale is: Viruses are primarily about stupid users. If you're smart enough not to click on obvious ruses, you''ll be free from attack. Keep your machine up to date with updates (Free) and you should be fine.

Then again, only two people use this machine, and the other is smart too. If you have kids using it as well, then that's a different story. Just like driving a car, there's a safe way to drive, and a dangerous way to drive.

If you don't trust yourself, anti-virus away.

[LoungeLizard]

I agree with Black. If you want antivirus just go for the minimum. Internet Security packs tend to be bloatware and cause more trouble than they're worth. AVG may be a free antivirus but I always used to find it did the job as well as (if not better) the pay ones.

I use an older version of Zone Alarm as a firewall, with Port Explorer for packet sniffing. Definitely agree with Ad Aware too, plus Spybot as a backup, for ad/spyware.

That's about it really. Minimal software and sensible surfing is all you need.

[bladesew]

I agree with the above. I installed AVG on my girlfriend's machine when Symantec ran out and it's light and effective (and free). I don't run anything on my machine and in fact I have windows firewall turned off too as I have a number of devices accessing it over the wireless network and I can't be bothered setting it up properly - the network itself is encrypted anyway.

I also use Ad-aware and CCleaner.

[NPC]

The XP firewall is slightly more effective than a wet piece of cardboard lettered "please go away". If using another firewall make sure to disable the XP one. Best all round security suite is probably Zone Alarm which combines a great firewall with a Kaspersky based anti-virus and a spyware scanner (not blocker). The new Adaware Pro is rubbish with a background task that gobbles CPU time for no reason. The free scanner is still OK though. Spybot S&D is very good and free. Spy Sweeper is worth a look and Spyware Doctor was top rated for 2005 and 2006 but I'm not sure what the 2007 version's like. Prevx is well worth a go.

[JAMIOUSE]

Is the Windows XP Firewall actually any good? Does it keep hackers etc out? I've just ordered Kaspersky Anti Virus as it seems to get great reviews from everywhere. So my only concern now is the Firewall, XP's own or another?

[LoungeLizard]

I don't run XP so I've no idea how good/bad/ugly the Windows firewall is. I tend not to rely too much on software that has the Microsoft logo on it.

Zone Alarm is an excellent free firewall. I use a much older version (2.6) as some of the newer versions are apparently a bit bloated, and have never had problems with it. It just runs quietly in the background and gets the job done.

[NPC]

The Xp firewall is very poor. Look at AVG, Kerio, Comodo or Sygate, they're all better

[drterror666]

I use:

Antivirus - AVG 7.5 (free)

Firewall - Comodo (free)

Spyware - CA Anti-Spyware 2007 (yearly fee), Ad-Aware 2007 (crashes!) and SpywareBlaster (free)

Plus I use FireFox 2.0 to browse with Adblok Plus enabled. Nothing gets past my PC!

[mushie]

I use:

Avast anti virus
Spybot search and destroy
Ad-aware S.E personal
Ccleaner
Uniblue speed up my p.c
Windows firewall

and my machine runs quickly.