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Norton isn't bad. It's not the best, but it's not bad. My major complaints are the fact that it can use upwards of 30% of your computer's resources (excluding active scanning) and you basically can't get rid of it without downloading another program.

   

AVG is far supperior. The IT guys here swear by it

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us ... yware-free
http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/se ... 5.0.50.exe
http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/se ... 28a818.exe

   

AVG is probably the best free anti-virus. It ranks between 11 and 14 overall though, depending on the review criteria.
Currently the two best anti-virus programs on the market are Nod32 and BitDefender Standard/Pro.

   

I had no idea... I'll have to check it out... Are they free???

   

AVG is free for 30 days, right?

   

No. If you want good AV protection, you have to pay for it. Either that or use good surfing habits and learn how to avoid viruses

   

What about the all in ones??? AVG offers a virus, firewall, and spyware protection for just over $50. Do you thing they are affective?

   

Another good free one: Clamwin http://www.clamwin.com/

Disadvantages: doesn't constantly scan everything, just IE downloads and (with an extension) Firefox downloads, everything else is scheduled or manual. And it's not the fastest scanner, by any means.

Advantages: doesn't constantly scan everything. Takes up almost no CPU or other resources when you're not actively using it. Updated very quickly after a new virus gets into the wild, and always free for all use (personal, commercial, etc).

I've been using it for a couple of years, and, since I use Firefox and a webmailer with reasonable security settings (rather than IE and Outlook), it's been more then enough. Due to my habits I don't get any viruses, but I always have Clamwin around for those moments of paranoia when Windows is acting strange (as usual).

   

You can buy the pro version but the free one works excellent,not once have I gotten a baddie running AVG on both my machines.Wish I could say the same for Norton,best it did was tell me I had an infection after the fact.

   

I wouldn't pay for those other things, myself.

If you want a firewall, the XP SP2 one is kind of lousy (since it does nothing with outbound connections, lest you be alerted to all of the spyware features in Microsoft products), but it's free, and even the most technically unskilled can use it. Agnitum Outpost (www.agnitum.com) comes in a freeware version which is very good if you only have 1 network interface, and isn't crippled like the Windows one, plus it's free for ALL use (personal or otherwise). Takes a little more understanding of your system to use, but not an inordinate amount of understanding -- just enough so that you don't deny your operating system access to the Internet. And there are others.

Spyware: If you use any browser except for IE, this will rarely be a problem. If you also get, install, and run "inoculate" every few months with Spywareblaster and Spybot S&D, it will virtually never be a problem.

In short, I don't see any real need to pay for any security products, unless you MUST use IE and/or Outlook. But then, almost nothing will be guaranteed to keep you safe, no matter how much you pay.

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Here's another security tip, for those who are interested. Did you know that you can run individual processes with reduced privileges, so that while, for example, using an administrator account, you can run your browser as "guest"? This can be very handy for reducing risks from (the common) badly written software, or even (the less common) maliciously trojaned freebie you downloaded from an untrusted source. And yes, it's free.

http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1848

   

TY

   

control your network bindings

   

I agree with Hardy, get a good firewall and learn how to use it, and for heaven's sake, don't put it on autopilot. A firewall you don't monitor is pretty usless.

Though I thought outpost firewall only had a free 30-day trial?

And if you want the protection of outpost but want something a little lighter, check out Lavasoft Personal Fire. It's built off outpost but a little more watered down and easier to manage.

   

It's handy having them all in one package, but honestly you get better security picking the best of each catagory.

Ex.
Spybot: $0
Ad-Aware: $0
Firefox/Opera/Mozilla: $0
BitDenfender AV: $39
Outpost Firewall: $49 ? (i think)
Internet Common Sense: Priceless
Effort to actually learn how to monitor/clean system: Priceless
-------------------------------------
Total: $88

It's more expensive to do it that way, but it affords much better protection. One of the most dangerous things you can do with AV softare is get stuck in a brand. For example, right now BitDefender and Nod32 are the two best, but that might change next year. So when the virus subscription is up, time to re-evaluate. Buying a brand new AV program may be more expensive, but it affords better protection. So you have to decide, and balance the money you want to spend with the protection you want.

Honestly, worms are not hard to avoid. I ran one of my computers for 2 1/2 years without any AV software and never got a worm/virus or anything.

   

Shit...After I reformatted the first time there I had a virus before I got an anti virus downloaded. I'd say that they are rather hard to avoid.

   

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