What security software do you use?

Discussion in 'Computer Science & Culture' started by Norsefire, Jan 3, 2010.

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What security software do you use?

  1. McAfee

    1 vote(s)
    3.2%

  2. Norton

    2 vote(s)
    6.5%

  3. Trend Micro/SpySubtract

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%

  4. Avast

    4 vote(s)
    12.9%

  5. AVG

    7 vote(s)
    22.6%

  6. Malwarebytes

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%

  7. BitDefender

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%

  8. Avira

    4 vote(s)
    12.9%

  9. None

    7 vote(s)
    22.6%

  10. Other

    6 vote(s)
    19.4%
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  1. John99

    John99 Banned Banned

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    22,046
    He gave it to me for fixing his computer.
     
    John99, Jan 4, 2010
    #21

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  3. Enmos

    Enmos Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    43,184
    And yet you kept it :shrug:

    Edit: Oh never mind, I misunderstood

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    Enmos, Jan 4, 2010
    #22

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  5. Dr Mabuse

    Dr Mabuse Percipient Thaumaturgist Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    714
    Avira Antivir Premium.

    Spyware Doctor.

    The best combination possible for a while now.
     
    Dr Mabuse, Jan 4, 2010
    #23

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  7. Blue_UK

    Blue_UK Drifting Mind Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,449
    [rant]None. I don't download crap and I'm safe behind a firewall. Only danger is my housemate on the LAN - but fixing malware once in a while (which in the modern day rarely cause damage beyond annoyance) is a small price to pay for a much faster computer. AV seriously gets on my nerves. When looking over reg or disk traces of my work machine I really see just how much stuff the AV is doing.[/rant]

    But if you always click on ads and visit dodgy sites ending in rare TLDs, then I'd recommend going for a popular name (that isn't Norton or McAffee, because I'm prejudiced). In modern Windows OSes, 'User Access Control' (thing that nags you ever time you need to perform an administrative task) is a must. Occasional ad-hoc scan with Malware Bytes is also very good practice.
     
    Blue_UK, Jan 4, 2010
    #24
  8. James R

    James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,426
    Yes, but Microsoft's firewall is largely unconfigurable. Also, it only protects your computer from things coming from the internet. If you get a trojan, keylogger or something from some program you install (for example), Microsoft's firewall won't complain as your computer initiates connections to dodgy websites.
     
    James R, Jan 4, 2010
    #25
  9. leopold

    leopold Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    17,455
    microsofts firewall protects against inbound traffic only.
    it does nothing to stop spyware from "calling home".
     
    leopold, Jan 7, 2010
    #26
  10. PsychoTropicPuppy

    PsychoTropicPuppy Bittersweet life? Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,538
    Only have a firewall active, and some cleaning software.
     
    PsychoTropicPuppy, Jan 7, 2010
    #27
  11. firdroirich

    firdroirich A friend of The Friends Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    565
    firdroirich, Jan 8, 2010
    #28
  12. Scaramouche

    Scaramouche Registered Member

    Messages:
    432
    Scaramouche, Jan 8, 2010
    #29
  13. Dinosaur

    Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    4,885
    I use McaFee, but believe that the following is the best way to protect your system.
    I posted the above to another thread.
     
    Dinosaur, Feb 4, 2010
    #30
  14. BlueRidge

    BlueRidge Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    141
    Amen! .
    My baby is a Linux Mint machine I built. I don't buy jack, I build my own.

    I have XP machines, and am building a 98SE machine for my classic games. None of anything is worth more than AVG. I used to use Trend, then Panda, then AVG. I use AVG on everything now. Will be installing Clam or AVG on my Linux just in case.

    The worst threats are sniffers and key loggers. Few if any production software packages protect against them.
     
    BlueRidge, Feb 26, 2010
    #31
  15. sandy

    sandy Banned Banned

    Messages:
    7,926
    I like Kaspersky and McAfee the best.
     
    sandy, Feb 26, 2010
    #32
  16. Dinosaur

    Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    4,885
    A friend recommended MalwareBytes.

    Does anyone here have an opinion on it?
     
    Dinosaur, Feb 27, 2010
    #33
  17. LuckAse

    LuckAse Registered Member

    Messages:
    86
    I use none.

    Its all a gimmick. As long as your not downloading pornos from shady sites and opening random emails you'll be fine.

    I have three pc's all connected to the internet, running 24/7. I have never had one problem. Anotherthing don't use internet exploer, its like 90% of the problem. Letting any site put whatever it wants on your computer, most of it has been fixed now though.
     
    LuckAse, Feb 27, 2010
    #34
  18. Norsefire

    Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    11,529
    Malwarebytes is one of the best security softwares I've ever used. It's elite at killing spyware, adware, rogues, etc

    Though, it doesn't take on viruses, so you should get a Malwarebytes - Avast combo for taking on viruses and all others. Both have free editions that you can get on their websites.
     
    Norsefire, Feb 28, 2010
    #35
  19. mathman

    mathman Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,002
    The first line of defense would be a firewall.
     
    mathman, Feb 28, 2010
    #36
  20. Fraggle Rocker

    Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    You may not have a problem, but you could have malware embedded in an incoming e-mail. When you forward that e-mail to your friends you're passing the virus to them.

    This is one of the best reasons to have antivirus software on a Macintosh. Even though the odds are good that you'll never get a virus that can harm your Mac, you could be receiving PC viruses and forwarding them to all your friends with PCs.
    My computer was loaded with so much spyware that it was slowing it down. Spyware is generally benign, in that it isn't trying to render your computer inoperable, hijack it as a porn site, or steal your personal info. It's just business adapting to the computer age, gathering statistical data about people's internet habits and maybe even trying to figure out which commercial spam to send you. But when you get enough of it on one computer it siphons off too many resources and slows down your own processing.

    Even the reputable sites upload spyware.
    As a former data security program manager, I repeat: You could be forwarding viruses to all of your friends that you received in an e-mail. Please be a good citizen and break the cycle.
    Uh... did you miss the news about all those "safe" websites being hacked by the Chinese? Once they've got a virus, you've got a virus.

    The infrastructure of the internet and all the programs that run on it is just too damn cloogey. They're all patches on top of patches with little patches on top of them. It is impossible to devise a test plan that tests every possible logic path, and I say this as someone who has devised test plans. It's even harder to do it in the typical IT environment, where you've got a salesman breathing down your neck to get the damn product ready for delivery on Tuesday, rather than reporting to an engineer who values quality over deadlines.

    I.e., there's no such thing as a "safe" website.
    When I first responded to the poll, I was using AVG, which my PC mechanic recommended during my last annual tuneup. But he was just out last weekend, and he told me that because AVG was so popular, it became the hackers' holy grail. They finally found a way to hack into your computer and disable your installed copy of AVG while making it appear to be working normally. So my PC was full of spyware.

    Even worse, they've hacked into the AVG website. I received an e-mail from AVG urging me to buy their registry cleaner. Now I know that there's not really any such thing as a consumer-market registry cleaner. Fixing registry errors is just too complicated. If your registry is really broken you need to wipe your hard drive and reinstall everything. So I was surprised that a company like AVG would try to sell me one. Turns out it was bogus! If I had clicked on "install," they would have uploaded some malware to my computer! After asking me for my credit card number!!!

    Anyway, back on topic, my PC mechanic told me to get Kaspersky. I've been really happy with it because it's so unobtrusive. AVG was a resource hog; everything else was slow while it was scanning. Kaspersky runs in background and never bothers me.
     
    Fraggle Rocker, Mar 1, 2010
    #37
  21. LuckAse

    LuckAse Registered Member

    Messages:
    86
    Like i said its not happening. You can claim your bill gates, but that dosen't make you right.

    If you use chrome and teatimer from spybot. Nothing will ever get on you computer. Unless YOU the user downloads it.

    Anti-Viris software is a multi-million dollar buisness, why do you think they want to make everyone so parinoid. Its stupid.
     
    LuckAse, Mar 1, 2010
    #38
  22. Trevis

    Trevis Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    3
    As for me for protecting mac i prefer use ProteMac NetMine.It’s firewall for Mac.I like it.It's helps me a lot.
     
    Trevis, Mar 1, 2010
    #39
  23. iceaura

    iceaura Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    30,994
    I've been using it since a technician I paid to install some RAM and clean up this verdammt PC I have to use on the net recommended it. It has proven friendly to me, a clumsy and ignorant "user". It seems very thorough, but takes a little while to run.
     
    iceaura, Mar 1, 2010
    #40
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