Spyware Warrior

sabreman

Hello all,
Following my last battle against nasties, successful thanks to Spyware again ( nb Warrior Cypher rah rah ! ), all remains peaceful and well-behaved . [Fingers x'd, hit wood etc...]

Could Warriors help me again please.

My Bullguard subscription is coming up for renewal in a couple of weeks. I am running XP.

Any suggestions or advice about whether to renew the Bullguard, or switch to a free AV/ Firewall provider instead ?
( Securitywise, I have Malabites and AFT cleaner from past Spyware advice, all doing well.)
I also have (I suppose) anything Windows "gave" me at the start.

Alumni will know well that I am not in the first rank of techness so please, as usual, be gentle with me... Rolling Eyes

Osage · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:44 am Post subject:

To sabreman,

In terms of excellent free AV's, IMHO, its a close race between the free versions of Avast and Avira. Although Avira detections are a hair better, lately I have switched to Avast because the automatic updates in the new version of Avira seldom work. Many people are trying the free Microsoft security Essentials, but I am still dubious. And I don't want to be predictable.

Malware bytes is an excellent after the fact scanner but does little for up front protection. So for hips and host files, I run spybot S&D with tea timer, spyware blaster, the comodo firewall, iobit360, and win patrol. And yes, I run win XP as an OS, and firefox. And to check for security holes and outdated prtograms, Secunia PSI. For addition protection you could web surf using a limited account.

I certainly will not maintain that I have the best possible security system, or that other programs could not be used, but this is the security system I have running now as something I regard as lean. But as many on this forum say, computer security is a way of life, and not just a set of programs.

I hope that helps sabreman, but the other thing to point out, is that the bad guys keep getting better and therefore computer security systems have to change with the times.

sabreman · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:47 am Post subject: Late reply...........

Hi Osage - sorry about delay, been rather busy.

I did as you suggested - d/loaded Avast, which seems to be fine.

However, I went for the Comodo Firewall, and had great trouble getting it on.
I managed to d/load the installer, but then every time I tried to go further, it froze the whole PC up.
Had to reboot each time.
Longest I left it saying "installing.." was 50 mins, with no progress observed.

I gave up and installed the Windows Firewall as a stopgap - unless you think it'll do me.

I did have Spybot at one time, but after some problems it was taken off during a "HiJack This etc.." course of treatment - for a virus that had got through Bullguard & Spybot.
I have deleted Bullguard OK and Avast is merrily spinning away, and I presume the Windows wall is working OK.

Osage · Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:29 am Post subject:

To sabreman,

Two comments.

(1) Sadly, unlike the Vista and Win 7 firewall, the XP firewall is only one way. It has some protection against incoming, but lacks any outgoing protections or log files. If you can't get comodo going, you might try the free online armor firewall. Or some other competitor.

(2) Like I said, security systems are moving targets, as long as you don't get hacked, there may be no reason to change.

But that old adage always applies, there never was a horse that could not be rode and never a rider that couldn't be throw-ed.

Knock on wood for me, my security system has kept me safe, but lots of other systems including sand boxing the OS to use, if you do ever get got. My motto is, gotta stay flexible and be open to new ideas. Hopefully other forum members will weigh in on this thread.

mikey · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:27 am Post subject:

free 'Online Armor'

I find it harder to recommend products today than how it used to be. With so many sec tools available now (mostly scams), it is harder to pick and choose. Also, when recommending products, the user abilities must be a consideration.

I can't recommend the tools I use as an end point solution because they are designed for admin and not the casual user...like the Snort IDS(host based). This leaves me a little bit out of touch with common use.

However, I've been doing some recent informal testing of some of the more respected tools in the HIPS category. Of the products examined so far, I find OnlineArmor to be the most user friendly and with equal or better HIPS protection. It also has a strong user base and plenty of help and refs.

HIPS filtering/firewalling is essential today. Remember; " If it can't initiate, it can't infect."

I think that's about 2c worth. Smile

Hey Osage, how ya doing?..been a while. Smile

_________________
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W2K/2K3/XP/2K8/Vista/W7/RHE/DEBIAN/SUSE

Spyware/Adware is NOT freeware, it costs all of us dearly.

Mikey's Stuff

Fiddler and friends...essential web diagnostic, forensic, & development tools.
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mikey · Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:27 am Post subject:

PS BTW OnlineArmor also has what I consider a prerequisite for any HIPS tool, a 'learning mode'.
_________________
-
W2K/2K3/XP/2K8/Vista/W7/RHE/DEBIAN/SUSE

Spyware/Adware is NOT freeware, it costs all of us dearly.

Mikey's Stuff

Fiddler and friends...essential web diagnostic, forensic, & development tools.
-

Osage · Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:40 am Post subject:

Mikey says, "Hey Osage, how ya doing?..been a while. Smile"

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Trying to stay safe from the bad guys. But for what its worth, Mikey,
you were the person who somewhat inspired me to turn to Hips and host files, as well as a prevention based security system.

As Susie points out, and sadly IMHO, this forum is not the dynamic debate center it used to be two or three years ago, but I still try to touch base frequently to see what new nasty tricks the bad guys are up to.

mikey · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:55 pm Post subject:

Osage · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:11 pm Post subject:

Osage · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:50 pm Post subject:

And since I can't edit my post in this forum, there is another thing to point out, not only are computer hackers always a least a half step ahead of the "good guys" , it always points out that an adequate computer security system is always a moving target.

I do check this forum and other computers security forums to see what the bad guys are up to, and this forum could do a better job at
at warning about the the latest new hacker exploits. Forewarned is for armed.