Is having just one antivirus/spyware product okay?
By
AquaJAWS,
Posted on: 2009-07-05 23:15 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
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I too use ZoneAlarm to detect "phone home" software. I run Spybot S+D and Ad Aware AE in offline mode once a week to check for malware but since I use Firefox with NoScript, Ad Block and Flash Block (I'm on dial-up, I don't need Flash Ads pushed on me) I feel very secure. For AV I use AntiVir and that is actively running.
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I listened to this guy on my AV solution for my workstation. Antivir gets great reviews and is very low on resource hogging, both of which are pluses for me.
I also scan with adaware and spybot somewhat regularly.
But that's on the workstation. My gaming rig still has nothing because I do nothing but game on it.
Be well, people of CoH.
I use Norton 360. Always liked Norton more, but no particular reason. Considering they are fairly large and still around, I think its safe to assume they know what they are doing for virus protection. I haven't had any problems, but then again, I know not to click on the links and emails from my nigerian long lost deceased relative and am careful with the sites I go to.
I also use UniBlue for spyware and just general registry and computer scanning and maintenance. It seems to work pretty well. The older version I had had a dedicated Spyware scanner in it. Don't see it in there anymore, but maybe it got merged into one of the other components.
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I use Norton 360. Always liked Norton more, but no particular reason. Considering they are fairly large and still around, I think its safe to assume they know what they are doing for virus protection.
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Norton used to be a horribly bloated pig. It was terrible. I *hear* it's much better now but I don't have personal experience because I stopped using it over a year ago.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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I use Norton 360. Always liked Norton more, but no particular reason. Considering they are fairly large and still around, I think its safe to assume they know what they are doing for virus protection.
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Norton used to be a horribly bloated pig. It was terrible. I *hear* it's much better now but I don't have personal experience because I stopped using it over a year ago.
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I have this same opinion of AVG and ZoneAlarm. I use Avira AntiVir (free) for AV protection (one of, if not the the best in industry atm) and I dont use a software firewall since I have a hardware router. I do run NetLimiter in the background to keep tabs on the amount of traffic being sent and what is sending it to where. I run Malwarebytes every Friday but it has yet to find anything but cookies so I assume my protection is quite adequate.
p.s. I also use Firefox with the NoScript, BetterPrivacy, and a few other addons that pretty much neuters any malware/scripts from ever doing any damage.
Okay, stupid questions time!
1) If I do get ZoneAlarm and use that for a firewall, does that mean I should have Windows Firewall turned off?
2) Is a cable modem anything like a "hardware router", or are those two different things? (I've got a cable going from the back of my computer to the modem, and another from the modem to the surge protecter/UPC, and another from the surge protector to the cable outlet in the wall.)
3) Does (AVG or Antivir) + (MalwareBytes) deal with spyware at all? A friend of mine says no, which is why she also uses CCleaner and AdAware.
4) Once I've got the new products installed, should I totally uninstall my TrendMicro and Webroot products from my PC, since I won't be using them anymore?
1: Yes, but I don't use either as I count on my router's firewall to handle that.
2: No. A cable modem is just the access point. A router would go inbetween the cable mode and your systems. This allows you to have multiple systems all accessing the cable modem at the same time. Mine's wireless as well as wired.
3: I thought MalwareBytes WAS a spyware cleaner.
4: I'd uninstall the old junk before installing new.
Be well, people of CoH.
Agree with Bill, but I will point out that MalwareBytes, while being excellent at spyware removal, has no real-time protection.
Then again, most of the real-time protection I've seen on spyware products has been fairly useless with some of the newer spyware that is out there.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
1) What Bill said.
2) What Bill said... mostly, as there are a very few cable modem/router combo boxes out there. Like the DSL ones. While it's not very likely in the case of cable, you should be *absolultely sure* what you have. Adding more routers behind routers can cause packets to get too large and broken up. Although, to be honest, I've never seen one in the wild... yet.
3) It is a spyware cleaner. It's just not an active one unless you buy it, so you'll have to manually run it from time to time. Or buy it and have it running like an antivirus . Your friend hasn't tried MalwareBytes AntiMalware yet, I'm guessing. So yes, AVG or Antivir + AntiMalware should cover it... mostly. Nothing is absolute regarding these things, no product out there is. Just being sure you understand that. Kinda like saying you take all these vitamins and antibiotics and you can never be sick... doesn't work that way.
4) Ditto, uninstall stuff first, then install new. Best to do it that way.
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
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Agree with Bill, but I will point out that MalwareBytes, while being excellent at spyware removal, has no real-time protection.
Then again, most of the real-time protection I've seen on spyware products has been fairly useless with some of the newer spyware that is out there.
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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.
However, if real-time protection isn't all that important to you, the free version is just as effective as the paid version, just without a few options, none of which hurts the programs effectiveness in any way.
Well, true. I forget that the paid version does real-time protection since I always just go with the free version.
Then again, I practice safe surfing, so I haven't needed the real-time protection.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
I use ESET Smart Security 4, which boots up great and never seems to slow down my computer. The scan times are pretty nice. The only virus which ever got past it (because of my own stupidity) was trojan (which I don't remember the name), so I had to download Malwarebytes to get rid of it.
Back when I had Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus it was another story.
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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.
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Spybot Seek and Destroy has real time protection and is free.
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Originally Posted by eltonio
This is over the top mental slavery.
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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.
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Spybot Seek and Destroy has real time protection and is free.
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Malwarebytes(free edition) > Spybot S&D IMO. I have tried both, and prefer Malwarebytes.
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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.
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Spybot Seek and Destroy has real time protection and is free.
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Malwarebytes(free edition) > Spybot S&D IMO. I have tried both, and prefer Malwarebytes.
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Agreed. I've gotten rid of stuff with Malwarebytes that Spybot went "what infection?" when it was used to scan. Don't get me wrong, I love Spybot, but I've found that Malwarebytes is much more useful to me.
And as I said earlier, I practice "safe surfing" so I don't really need the real-time protection.
If the game spit out 20 dollar bills people would complain that they weren't sequentially numbered. If they were sequentially numbered people would complain that they weren't random enough.
Black Pebble is my new hero.
Since it's a one-time payment of $25 for the real-time MalwareBytes (if I recall correctly), I might go ahead and fork that up. I'm not the only person who uses my PC.
So now it's looking like AVG (free) + ZoneAlarm (free) plus MalwareBytes (paid) -- still a good, cheap solution, from all I'm hearing.
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Since it's a one-time payment of $25 for the real-time MalwareBytes (if I recall correctly), I might go ahead and fork that up. I'm not the only person who uses my PC.
So now it's looking like AVG (free) + ZoneAlarm (free) plus MalwareBytes (paid) -- still a good, cheap solution, from all I'm hearing.
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Best combo you got right there.
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Since it's a one-time payment of $25 for the real-time MalwareBytes (if I recall correctly), I might go ahead and fork that up. I'm not the only person who uses my PC.
So now it's looking like AVG (free) + ZoneAlarm (free) plus MalwareBytes (paid) -- still a good, cheap solution, from all I'm hearing.
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I would substitute Avira AntiVir Personal for AVG. Smaller footprint, more reliable detection and faster scanning. Switch ZA for something else and you will be good to go!
I used ZA Free for many years, but it just became more and more bloated and heavier on the system resources while becoming less and less effective. They have removed so many features that used to be included in the free version, it is just a shadow of its former self. There are other software firewalls that are more effective with smaller footprints.
Here is the latest comparison from ZA own site showing just how little the free firewall actually does. It is clear they want people to purchase their product and the free version is meant as more of an advertising tool than actual protection.
Zone Alarm Comparison
You may find this a suitable alternative. I have used it on a different system that is not behind a router and it worked quite well and is also free. PC Tools Firewall Plus
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Incorrect. Malwarebytes does indeed have real time protection. However, to obtain this level of protection you need to purchase the software. As for its efficacy, it is very effective and has a small footprint.
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Spybot Seek and Destroy has real time protection and is free.
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Malwarebytes(free edition) > Spybot S&D IMO. I have tried both, and prefer Malwarebytes.
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Agreed. I've gotten rid of stuff with Malwarebytes that Spybot went "what infection?" when it was used to scan. Don't get me wrong, I love Spybot, but I've found that Malwarebytes is much more useful to me.
And as I said earlier, I practice "safe surfing" so I don't really need the real-time protection.
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I've found that I like MalwareBytes quite a bit...HOWEVER, it's name is very unfortunate...I was VERY wary to start using it, just by the sound of the name.
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I've found that I like MalwareBytes quite a bit...HOWEVER, it's name is very unfortunate...I was VERY wary to start using it, just by the sound of the name.
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Sort of like telling someone to install HiJackThis and run it.
Also I've been using the free version of ZoneAlarm since seemingly forever (had it on my Win98se system way back when) and it never had any of those other features that the paid version currently have. Oh and their chart is wrong, it does have Game Mode. Right click on the ZA icon in the tool tray to find it.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
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I've found that I like MalwareBytes quite a bit...HOWEVER, it's name is very unfortunate...I was VERY wary to start using it, just by the sound of the name.
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Sort of like telling someone to install HiJack This and run it.
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Exactly.
Damn you're quick. Couldn't even stealth edit.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
I'd recently installed Avira's Personal (free) product and was liking it except that the nag popup was getting on my nerves. Once I found a way to block it, I liked it MUCH better. Its an awesome lightweight AV that is what AVG used to be before it developed creeping featurism.
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I'd recently installed Avira's Personal (free) product and was liking it except that the nag popup was getting on my nerves. Once I found a way to block it, I liked it MUCH better. Its an awesome lightweight AV that is what AVG used to be before it developed creeping featurism.
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What popup is this, and how do you block it?
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I'd recently installed Avira's Personal (free) product and was liking it except that the nag popup was getting on my nerves. Once I found a way to block it, I liked it MUCH better. Its an awesome lightweight AV that is what AVG used to be before it developed creeping featurism.
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That annoying pop-up is why I ditched Avira and installed avast!. Pop-up on start-up... okay a bit annoying. Pop-up in the middle of a mission and mid-fight? Mmmno. I got a few glances from my husband then received a suggestion to uninstall Avira.
Before I switched from AVG, I did discover a way to neuter two of the always-on 'protection' aspects. I think one of them was safe search and the other was putting the green star beside links. It's been a while since I futzed with it.
-- Lady T
I don't have an alt problem. I like trying new things.
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Trendmicro used to be good but they went downhill fast. I use Avira and Malwarebytes and they catch lots of things that slip right past PcCillin.
Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!