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drew54 02-03-2006, 08:59 AM The best protection is still yourself.
Dont open suspicious links, visit porn sites, or open Email's from anyone you dont know, or any email that is from some businesses selling things.
As for Norton and ZoneAlarm, I hate these broducts. They are bloated if you ask me. I like running programs that dont hog system resources. Even though I have 768MB of RAM, the average user has 128-256 and these resouce hogs can really slow a machine down.
As for AVG, I have seen it find Viruses on Norton and McAfee protected machines that did have the most recent update. I see no reason to pay for any kind of protection software.
Save your money!
drew54 02-03-2006, 09:06 AM Another sure fire way to protect yourself is by using a Host file full of known bad sites.
Hosts File (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm)
Basically what this file does is when you try to visit any website that is sending out viruses it blocks it by telling your computer to look back at your own computer for the web site. Since your computer is not the host of the site, it will cause a Page Not Displayed error.
My favourite thing about using this is it will block 90% of known ad services so when your visit a site, it washes the ads out of the page. This reminds me of how the internet used to be about 10 years ago when there wasnt pop-ups and constant ads flashing on a web site.
TheMalcolmConnection 02-03-2006, 09:10 AM No porn sites!? :(
TheMalcolmConnection 02-03-2006, 09:10 AM Actually, when you install Spywareblaster and Spybot, they fill up your hosts file with sites that should be blocked. They also add a buttload of sites to your "Blocked List" in IE.
BDBohnzie 02-03-2006, 09:34 AM All these guys are spot on. I've used AVG combined with AdAware and ZoneAlarm and Spybot Search & Destroy, and have never had any problems. Comcast is giving away free McAfee stuff to their customers (Anti-Virus, Firewall, Parental Controls), so if you are a customer of Comcast, check into that.
All these programs have their pluses and minuses, so try a bunch and go from there. Plus it helps to have a router, even if you are the only computer accessing the internet, just for the added firewall protection it gives you.
That Guy 02-03-2006, 09:40 AM As far as AVG v. Bitdefender, I have to disagree with That Guy. I'm not sure where he got his info, but Virus Bulletin gave AVG highest marks (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?display=summary) (free registration required), as did an informal study at Tech Support Alert (http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-vs-paid-av.htm). Maybe he can shed some light on the basis for why he thinks AVG doesn't catch most viruses. After all, I'm always looking for something better!
stats that some pc mag did on heuristic testing (finding virus variants that had no definitions just based on what it tries to do).
lots of links:
real testing of zoo samples (AVG TOTALLY tanks as usual):
http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2005_11.php
comparision (bitdefender, 92/100 2-4 hour response time):
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/chart_test_report/0,chid,6214,prodid,27537,00.asp
AVG (73/100, slower new threat response time - 8-10 hours):
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124491,00.asp#
consumer report type overview:
http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
That Guy 02-03-2006, 09:46 AM use a good hosts file, there are websites dedicated to that... use firefox not IE and don't use outlook for e-mail and you've lowered your chances of infection by over 90%.
Also scan any files you get from the intarweb that could possibly have viruses and don't download attachments from e-mails.
That Guy 02-03-2006, 09:47 AM slow internet, i think the new virus is making its rounds right now... stay safe :P
TheMalcolmConnection 02-03-2006, 10:02 AM Yup, I've been updating the University all morning. Don't open any porn emails!
Not sure if these will find and clear "surfsidekick" ???????? Real pain in the ass! Any thoughts???? Thanx for the help!
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