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seeking some input about a new Internet Security Program. My subscription to Norton's Antivirus and Firewall are about to expire and I don't want to renew them at this time. It seems like Norton System Works 2005 and Norton Personal Firewall are both huge files and resource hogs. I don't want to upgrade to Norton's 2006 due to all the bad reviews I've read but I don't want to pay $40 to renew 2005. I'm seriously considering ZoneAlarm Internet Security 6.1. It has gotten great reviews. The problem is I can only find the newest version 6.5 which seems to have numerous problems from what I've read on their forum. Anybody else have any luck with any other programs?thanks,Mike

Quote, originally posted by mspalmer »seeking some input about a new Internet Security Program. Anybody else have any luck with any other programs?I am in the same situation Mike. I know there is free stuff out there. I dont mind paying for quality AV and antispyware but I resent having to pay more to have multiple home computers protected. Many people have a laptop and desktop. But these multiple subscriptions cost much more than the single license. Again, any suggestions?

I'm thinking about the new Microsoft Windows Line One Care program - it's on sale this week at CompUSA for $30 - good for up to 3 computers.

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »I'm thinking about the new Microsoft Windows Line One Care program - it's on sale this week at CompUSA for $30 - good for up to 3 computers.That has got to put pressure on other vendors to reduce their price. Do you know if it is available as a dload?

I have been using AVG Anti-Virus for the past few months, with relatively good results. And, it is free!http://free.grisoft.com/doc/av...pl/v5

the Microsoft one is a memory hog!Try Escan, we used it at my school for oncampus windows machines and it worked great. It uses the Kaspersky scanner for viruses which is a very nice and powerful one made from some programmers in russia i think.

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »the Microsoft one is a memory hog!Try Escan, we used it at my school for oncampus windows machines and it worked great. I like the idea of having an combined set of security software from one company ie AV and Antispyware at the least. I went to their website http://www.mwti.net/products/e...t.aspUnder license size it starts at 1 user and then jumps to 5 users. Naive question but if one needs to protect 3 personal computers one needs.....?

I have been using Trend Micro 's products for years never had a problem!! http://www.trendmicro.comA.K.A. PC-Cillin

Quote, originally posted by 21Rouge »I like the idea of having an combined set of security software from one company ie AV and Antispyware at the least. I went to their website http://www.mwti.net/products/e...t.aspUnder license size it starts at 1 user and then jumps to 5 users. Naive question but if one needs to protect 3 personal computers one needs.....?Well for testing we used 1 user license, but IF it was used on more than one pc there wouldnt be any conflicts........ (I take no responsibility for anything done with that info...)If you wanted 3 computers to have it you would need to buy the 5 license. I used escan on my pc last year and never had 1 problem with a virus or spyware (i use a couple other anti spyware apps too). You also have to be careful with some Home AV apps as they will not scan into lots of compressed files. For example norton AV will not find viruses in the restore files used on some HP/Compaq/Sony pc's that have that extra partition for the restore. BUT symantecs Corp. AV will find the virus and remove it. Through my univ. I get symantec AV corp for free and its a nice AV client aswell. but escan was a full security suite, my symantec is just a AV but works well and is not bloated.

Stay off the pron sites and you'll be safe. Switch to Firefox and use a web based email service like Gmail so that you never actually download email, these two things slash your chances of infection by ten fold.Avast is what I switched to after tiring of using Norton or dealing with AVG. It's been really good to me and most of my family that switched. Some still pay money for Norton, but when it breaks... phew it's a mess.Maybe a little more than you wanted - Build your own dedicated firewall using an old PC and two NICs. Use free open source software from Smoothwall (www.smoothwall.org) and you can have a rock solid, ultra secure firewall. I've been using an old 333mhz celeron for months without a reboot or hicup - love it. It'll run just fine on a 486DX or faster... Drop me a line if you have any questions - I set up a few of those. It won't keep you from getting virii from websites or email, but it will protect your network from worms or hackers. Highly recommended for anyone that is only using Microsoft's built in firewall... if a hacker is able to get to your NIC - it's too late.

Quote, originally posted by Baltovibe »I have been using AVG Anti-Virus for the past few months, with relatively good results. And, it is free!http://free.grisoft.com/doc/av...pl/v5Me to for about a year now with not problems. All in the background and updates all the time. Excellent program.

Quote »I have been using AVG Anti-Virus for the past few months, with relatively good results. And, it is free!Same here. I've had AVG for about 2 years now.

Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »I have been using Trend Micro 's products for years never had a problem!! http://www.trendmicro.comA.K.A. PC-CillinI have been using PC-Cillin for about 5 years myself. Never had a problem, and not nearly the memory hog of past products I've used. Also one of the top rated virus programs out there...

my whole package of security programsas a college student i get symantec corp for free but i'm running a dual boot of windows xp and xp 64 bit. for 64bit i'm using avast which is free and its been great, it found stuff that symantec didnt. for web browser i'm using opera 9 cause its the best (tried firefox n didnt like it, its missing features that i use). for firewall i only use the built into xp one cause i've had issues with others messing with random other software programs and antispyware i use adaware and spybot, may use xoftspy too.

Virus - AVG Free from GrisoftFirewall - ZoneAlarmSpyware - Windows Defender (yes, really)Follow it up with ditching IE for Firefox and you should be fairly well protected.

firefox isnt as safe as everyone thinks, it doesnt load up as fast as IE, but it does block some of the active X and stuff ie doesnt default. MS anti spyware is good, but you also are going to need, spyware gaurd, spyware blaster, a squared free, and spyware doctor (got the best rating for removing spyware). AVG free is a ok AV client but ive seen better but you have to pay to play Or use mac/linux.....

1) Firefox is safer than IE. Period. It's not the 'holy grail' of security. But it's yards safer. Yes, it does take longer to load and is a 'memory hog', but as people have said, nobody really knows how much of IE is already resident in memory since it's so entrenched in Windows.2) Having multiple spyware programs doesn't neccesarily help, and can sometimes hinder, as you have multiple programs potentially doing the same thing. Windows Defender should be sufficient enough, and you really shouldn't have a spyware problem unless you're in the habit of downloading, installing, or visiting really questionable webpages3) AVG is an 'okay' anti-virus. If he wants to pay for an AV solution, then i'd suggest NOD32. But if he doesn't want to bother to pay for a year's renewal, then he probably wants something free.

Thanks for all the input, I'll probably decide what to do next week sometime when I have a couple days off from work.Mike

Every "new" user in my family that gets a computer I make a few recomendations... (if they ask... )Use an external firewall/router of some kindDownload FirefoxUninstall IE, Outlook Express, and MSNUse a web based email program - I recommend GMAIL or Yahoo... but Hotmail/live is getting better. Most ISP's you can redirect your existing pop mail to other addresses or use their web based email.Use a free AV software package like Avast or AVG - so that you never have to worry about running out of updatesInstall Microsoft's anti-spyware application and download another just to have as a backup. I'm with Jahntassa - unless he's going to really seedy areas, he should be fine. Although, there are webhosts that have gotten infected with worms that will infiltrate known good sites - so it's never 100% safe all the time.I forgot about NOD32... I was impressed during the trial I ran, if avast goes wrong on me - I'll switch to that.

Quote, originally posted by Jahntassa »1) Firefox is safer than IE. Period. It's not the 'holy grail' of security. But it's yards safer. Yes, it does take longer to load and is a 'memory hog', but as people have said, nobody really knows how much of IE is already resident in memory since it's so entrenched in Windows.2) Having multiple spyware programs doesn't neccesarily help, and can sometimes hinder, as you have multiple programs potentially doing the same thing. Windows Defender should be sufficient enough, and you really shouldn't have a spyware problem unless you're in the habit of downloading, installing, or visiting really questionable webpagessomething free.I agree firefox is safer to use, but im usually on a mac (safari) or on my windows i put on ie 7 and it seems to be ok. I love how with firefox you can add little extra's like weather or skins and such. Another reason I like firefox is that they update and fix security problems way more often then ie, which is a big reason why its safer For the multiple spyware apps, the ones i listed all do semi diff things. spyware gaurd:"spywareGuard provides a real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster's protection method" spyware blaster revent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software.Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted sites in Internet Explorer.It does this with out running in the background so it doesnt hog any resources.a squared : this is a malware, trojan, virus remover, again this does not run in the bakcground just when you scan.All of those are free I run those, plus MS's antispyware thing. Another big helper is keeping windows updated. Spyware doctor was highly rated for one of the best spyware removal tools that runs in the background. I helped run tests at the univ. to test which anti spyware removal tool works the best and spyware doctor found much more than ANY other one we tried.

I would go with:AVG Antispyware (free)Lavasoft Ad-Aware Anti-Spyware ($26.95)Lavasoft Personal Firewall ($29.95)http://www.grisoft.comhttp://www.lavasoftusa.com

also check with your ISP to see if they offer anything. I have cable, and they provide a free anti-virus program. (download) They don't advertise this service though.Don't remove IE. Firefox is great and I use it for 95% of my browsing -- but there are still sites that require IE. Plus so much software has help files designed for IE. When I open that kind of help, IE opens, even though I have Firefox as my default browser. It's possible that Firefox would have opened if IE wasn't present, but I wouldn't want to take a chance.

I finally decided on ZoneAlarm's Internet Security Suite 6.0. I found it at CompUSA for $6.00 after 2 mail-in rebates. I've installed it and it is working well. Still scanning for new viruses/spyware. I appreciate everyone's input on this thread. I really like the firewall component.Mike

i use Grisoft's AVG Free Anti Virus. no problems and working/running very very well. i have 3 laptops and a desk top running on it and so far, no problems. now... as for Norton or McAfee....

Quote, originally posted by mspalmer »I really like the firewall component.Just a Q: If one uses a router is it necessary to have a software firewall?

Quote, originally posted by 21Rouge »Just a Q: If one uses a router is it necessary to have a software firewall?The jury is still out on that. I generally say "no", but it really depends on how safe your browsing habits are. The router only prevents inbound access to your computers, and will not prevent malware that gets installed on your computer from "calling home". On the other hand, software firewalls may prevent such malware from calling home, but they are also vulnerable to attacks from such malware (which disables the firewall thus leaving it useless). If you have a router, AV software and real-time spyware protection (Windows Defender, Ewido, SpySweeper, etc), then you should be OK without a firewall on your computer.