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Keith Hall
04-06-2005, 10:44 AM
It is time to renew my Norton internet security system. I have had this system for a long time, but am wondering if there is something better on the market. I have had no trouble with it, but it may be time to move on/up. Any suggestions, advise or coments will be appreciated. Thanks, Keith. :)

Jason Roehl
04-06-2005, 12:45 PM
Keith, I'm not real big on Norton. I think it's overpriced based on what is basically free out there. I use a multi-point defense:

1. Router/firewall, since I now have 2 computers hooked to my cable internet provider.

2. Windows software firewall (WinXP Home on both).

3. Grisoft's AVG Free anti-virus. It seems to do the job, as I have had no noticeable virus-type activity and my computers run well. I had a nasty virus once, and my computer was a dog until I got it squared away.

4. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal (free). This one needs to be run manually once in a while to check for/clear mal-ware.

5. Spybot Search & Destroy. Also needs to be run manually from time to time. It has some overlap with Ad-Aware, but they each catch things the other doesn't.

6. Non-Microsoft mail client and browser. Microsoft has the widest distribution (and seems to be a significant hate-magnet), so Outlook, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer are the most common hacker targets. I use Eudora (free version, of course) and Mozilla Firefox (again, free), but occasionally have to use MSIE since not all websites work perfectly with Firefox.

7. Throw-away e-mail addresses. Anytime a website wants me to "register" to go any farther, I either don't do it, or use a free, online e-mail address, such as Yahoo. Hotmail and Google are other options, but I've heard Hotmail attracts A LOT of spam. I get some in my Yahoo mail, but it's pretty obvious what it is, and it's no more than about half a dozen per day. I just delete them without opening them.

8. Avoid downloading free "utility" programs. These are often a good way to distribute uninvited guests.

Since I started doing all this over a year ago, I have basically had ZERO problems, and my desktop computer gets used quite a bit, and stays on/online 24/7.

Hope that helps, Keith!

Jim Becker
04-06-2005, 3:18 PM
I agree with Jason on all points except the Windows Firewall...it only protects one way. ZoneAlarm is also free and protects in both directions so you know if something tries to send out information or contact other computers without the need to do so...like in the case of an accidental trojan or spyware infection. ZoneAlarm Pro is even better, but has a reasonable cost for it.

I will also be switching to AVG for virus protection as soon as my subscription to McAfee runs out...it's less bloated and free.

I will likely embrace Firefox more in the future, but for now have stuck with IE simply because it works on some sites I use (Firefox doesn't) and there is yet to be a spell checker released for Firefox...something I can't live without.

Jason Roehl
04-06-2005, 3:32 PM
Hmmm...good point on ZoneAlarm. I quit using it because it didn't play nice with my DSL connection, but now that I'm on cable, I may have to give it another go. (It can be found at www.zonelabs.com).

Jim Becker
04-06-2005, 3:39 PM
Hmmm...good point on ZoneAlarm. I quit using it because it didn't play nice with my DSL connection, but now that I'm on cable, I may have to give it another go. (It can be found at www.zonelabs.com). (http://www.zonelabs.com).)

'Not sure why you would have trouble with ZoneAlarm on DSL, unless you were not using a hardware router and the PPoE client wasn't compatible with the firewall at the time. At any rate, I've been using ZA for years on dialup, cable and now DSL...and it will stay on when I get FIOS sometime this year, hopefully. I only wish I could use it on my work machine, but they (corporate IT) stuffed the McAfee firewall down the pipe and I cannot even configure or manage it...

Keith Hall
04-06-2005, 7:47 PM
Jason and Jim, thanks for the quick replys. The advise looks solid, and I must make up my mind by 5/31. I have also thought about the XP system as my
windows 98 is getting long in the tooth. Good choice?

Jim Becker
04-06-2005, 8:09 PM
I have also thought about the XP system as my
windows 98 is getting long in the tooth. Good choice?

Only choice (for Windows) as long as your system can handle it or you buy a new one that can. Win98 pretty much is no longer supported for things like security updates, etc.

Ken Fitzgerald
04-06-2005, 8:26 PM
Keith...I'm running Windows XP, Zonealarm, Norton Antivirus and using Spybot and Ad-Aware. It's the most stable system I've had yet. You can download ZoneAlarm, Spybot and Ad-Aware for free and they work well. Good luck with you new setup!

Tony Falotico
04-06-2005, 9:07 PM
I will likely embrace Firefox more in the future, but for now have stuck with IE simply because it works on some sites I use (Firefox doesn't) and there is yet to be a spell checker released for Firefox...something I can't live without.

Jim, there is s spell checker for Firefox........ Spellbound 0.7.3

http://spellbound.sourceforge.net/

Works great in both Firefox & Thunderbird.

Jim Becker
04-06-2005, 9:13 PM
Thanks, Tony. This never came up in my searches for some reason...I'll give it a try in the next few days.

John Hart
04-06-2005, 9:17 PM
I have 2c. John Miliunas directed me to Microsoft Antispyware. I have to say that it is a nice comprehensive piece of software. Right now, it's in final Beta and free for download on the Microsoft site http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx


It takes care of all the know spyware and adware and even picks up viruses.

Thats my 2c....now I don't have any sense left.

Michael Cody
04-07-2005, 12:28 PM
Kieth, I do this stuff for a living (for the past 15 years or so anyway) ... and Jason has a pretty good plan. I use Zone Alarm Pro (paid version) for web filtering to keep my 16 year out of place he's not supposed to be .. but I also use it for Anti-Virus (it's got CA ETrust version built in). Cost is about 75$ bucks a year. However if you don't need the web filtering -- Zone Alarm Personal for free & AVG Grisoft free anti-virus is a great combo and will do the job. I in fact now use AVG paid version for corporate AV software where I work (I run the network for our shop, besides being a full time hdw support engineer. My shop is full of programmers, consultants and worse salesguys -- we get all kinds of fun stuff from the 100's of customers we work with).. the AVG pro product is very good. The only Norton product I recommend is Lotus Notes & Microsoft Exchange integrated anti-virus which is not a issue for you.

The 2 biggest things you can do though is avoid Internet Explorer & Outlook Express... go with FireFox or Opera for your web browsing & use web based email - that is bold for a reason!.

I like Yahoo, but Gmail looks pretty cool. Web based email is awesome for a home user because everything is virus scanned & spam scanned. Yahoo is very good @ spam scanning, I get 1500-2000 spams a week on my personal address, bet no more than 5-6 get through to my inbox, everything else is dumped out to my junk box. That might be the biggest thing you can do to protect your system, as most virus activity is in email and a normal POP3 account downloads it all to your machine, then scans it. I like making sure it never get's to me. I compare it to locking the city gates instead of letting everyone inside the wall and locking all the doors of the buildings. The second best part is that you can check email wherever you can get at a web browser, great if you travel a lot or are on vacation, any public site with a terminal, you can get your email and you won't lose it if you lose a harddrive w/o backing up.

Spyware is another story, all you can do is scan, scan, scan. I scan my system automatically every single day ... I use Microsoft Spyware Beta & Ad-Aware -- works good but I still got a CoolWeb spyware on a IE only page I used, took me about 3 hours to clean it off -- a real pain.