Should I Buy Anti-Spyware or Anti-Virus Software? - Comments Page 2

Ie been using Win98SE since it was red-hot new. I`ve used NAV2001 since 2000 till 2004. It was the first and the last antivirus software i`ve paid for. It was great most of the time. Then I`ve found Bitdefender (freeware). It was great most of the time too. By the way it has freeware version for Linux users too.
AdAware helped me (and not only me) a lot dealing with ***ware. Installing Zone Alarm firewall helped me even more. Then i`ve quit IE and eliminated it from the system (98lite) and became Opera lover as it was freeware by then.

Here the story with viruses, ***wares, trojans, popups ends as I`ve switched to Linux+Opera.

Hi Bob
Thanks for a useful and informative newsletter. You discuss the subjects upermost in the minds of most pc users eg protection (anti-virus malware etc) and performance (cleaning and optimization) together with more than a glance at future developments and trends.
I cannot recall you ever mentioning NORMAN. A multinational (Norwegian HQ) company to whom I have subscribed for a number of years for av protection and it has performed brilliantly intercepting and destroying several virus attacks on my pc. It doesn't seem to feature much in the usual columns but gets consistant high ratings in any multisourced av software comparisons. Do you have any comments about this company and it's products?

Is ErrorSafe a rogue program? People have commented on its method of propagation, which relies heavily on pushy pop-ups. Sounds very suspicious to me, but I can't be bothered to take the risk of actually installing it on my computer!

AVG Antivirus (free), Ad Aware(free), SpyWare Blocker (free), Spy Bot S&D(free), and Out Post Firewall(free) are what I use and have used for the past few years. As a result, I haven't had problems with pop-ups, viruses, trojans, or other bad things. Now I just need an anti-spam program.

In order to make my internet experience as safe as possible I use a layered overlapping defense to meet all threats. I ensure my windows OS is up to date using Ms update and BIG Fix and keep my protecive programs up to date.
HACKERS must bypass a software fire wall- Zone Alarm(free version). I use the free version of PrevX an intrusion detector as backup.
I make use of the programs at http://www.grc.com/ to disable messenger and dcom two routes to HIJACKING. This site also has a security newsletter discussing internet security.
MALWARE is blocked by Spyware Blaster and Microsoft® Windows AntiSpyware. I recommend A squared and/or adaware for people using older operating systems than Windows XP or Win 2K.
Viruses must get past AVG's free virus guard (covers email and downloads) as well as remain hiden from AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic Windows (free version). I have disabled AntiVir's virus guard to prevent problems with AVG's guard.
Lastly I use Ewido to block TROJAN programs. After the demo period the blocker is disabled but it can be updated manually and run to check for installed trojans.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It's a wonder your word processor can still run with all that going on! :-) Here's a challenge. Drop EVERYTHING above. Then run with WindowsUpdates, the XP firewall (or a hardware firewall), AVG anti-virus and Windows AntiSpyware. Report back in a month.

Spybot S&D is great! As a matter of fact everybody that uses it should send the developer a few bucks.
He does this out of the goodness of his heart and if we all pitched in he might keep up the good work. I also think that writers that recommend these programs and emphasize that they are free should also encourage monetary support to keep these programs coming. You can pay what you can afford and you don't have to pay for every update and new version so everybody wins.

I've used Avast anti-virus (free) for several years now on all my PC's and have yet to have any issues. It updates frequently and has all the features most people need, including scanning during screensaver. I've also been a Zone Alarm fan for a few years, but recently the paid version seems to be suffering from the bloat of too many features, some of which I have yet to be able to turn off. It's a great firewall but the extra 'features' are starting to remind me of a Norton Suite. The free version is just the basic firewall and because of that might be the better way to go.

Anti-vir has worked for some time for me and has never let me down. Updates are available daily and best of all, the program is free.

SpywareBlaster is my favorite, since it runs in the background and keeps spyware off my computer instead of having to take time to run Spybot or Adaware. When I used to run the latter two they would find a fairly long list of things to remove, since installing SpywareBlaster they find maybe one thing but usualy nothing.

I've had really good luck with Avast anti virus,Prevx antivirus, Ad-Aware,SpyBot search and destroy and Zone Alarm. Prevx is really sensitive but it can be tailored to remember repeat actions. I tried the latest version of AVG free but it caused problems in my computer. It always worked great before I upgraded.