Mac guys needs help securing a Windows box, I'd really appreciate your help!

So, it's been a long time since I built a PC, but I'm doing it on a shoestring budget with some leftover older parts I have and some stuff I ordered from newegg so that my sister can have a "new" machine. She's on a shoestring budget and only does internet, email and itunes, so speed & storage is not a priority. Even so I think I found a great mobo/cpu/ram combo deal on newegg that will fit her needs.

She has been using a 6 year old compaq that has had its share of problems both hardware and software related at this point.

I have XP ready to roll for when my parts get here. Additionally, I've been told to use avast and spybot by a buddy at work, but i'm looking to go further than that.

I am wondering what's the best way to make this system secure so what has happened to her current computer from a virus/spyware/malware/popup standpoint doesn't happen again. I'd even consider locking it down so that she can't install things on her own and I can use RDC to connect and do it myself.

I would appreciate your suggestions! Thank you!

 

For a FREE Anti Virus, the best is Avira Antivir.
and for the best malware/trojan protection I would go with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.37 & SUPERAntiSpyware 4.26.1004, but do remove them from start up, as they will consume resources, just run them every other day or so to clean up the system from all the malicous / harmful sites she might have visited.

Links:

- Avira AntiVir v9.0.0.394

- SUPERAntiSpyware 4.26.1004

- Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.37

 

My vote also goes to Avira free although Avast is an excellent alternative.
Avast offers a more granular approach but that's probably not needed.
I wouldn't use a firewall+HIPS combination but XP's FW and a behavioural blocker like ThreatFire.
TF offers real-time malware protection and doesn't require (much) user input, it's also low on resources.
Learn your sister to use Firefox with Adblock Plus (or another browser with a rigid adblock option).

Most important (imao), is to make a limited user account for her and also use a backup-imaging program.
As soon as everything is installed, make an image and any future reinstallation will take 20/30 minutes instead of hours.
Could you teach your sister to install the backup image herself?
If your sister is (much) too young for all this, I'd simply nail it down also ( SteadyState)
Cheers.

 

I also use Avira and would recommend it.

 

she's 24...but doesn't have a lot of common sense when it comes to computers at all it seems.

Thanks for your suggestions, I'm still open to any others as well.

 

Personally if you are willing to pay - Kaspersky is quite good (and my favorite)

If you could run Vista rather than XP - that could help too... (if UAC - User Acount Control) is used correctly...

But Vista will depend on specs.

 

I have no interest in Vista whatsoever. Nor does she. Her work computer had Vista and she complained so much that they switched her to XP.

 

Possibly another "Vista problem" caused by bad hardware, bad drivers and bad tech personel...

Ah well... - whatever.

 

jup. vista is great. but often installations at work suck (independent on the os. i've seen even bad mac setups haha).

the most extreme thing you could do is to lock down the pc with windows steadystate. so after each reboot, it would reset itself to the state you've configured it in. this obviously only for one of the two partitions you would then set up. user data would then happen to be on the second partition, while the os and apps all are on the primary.

when ever she catches any virus or so, a reboot makes it gone

it's an extreme solution, ment for pc's that are outside and accessible for anyone f.e. (kiosks, hotel surf pc's etc).

it's configurable so you can chose if you want the autoreset, or if you just want to lock down the apps she can use, etc.

securitywise, vista would be great, but it doesn't matter that much. make her user a default user, so she can't install and such. and personally, i recoment avast antivir. it is one of the few apps people understand the moment they catch a virus big warning sign and sound going on, then

i wouldn't use any other software like spybot or such. never believed in them. you could occasionally check manually with such tools, but for her, it would only be confusing.

 

I have to agree on the terribly installed vista thing. Being at university I frequently go on other peoples laptops, and I must say some of the set ups are absolutely shocking. In 95% of cases though people can not be bothered to go through and fix it up, instead deciding to just complain and moan about it. There is however this thing where people who know absolutely nothing about what is actually wrong with Vista go through and bash even if they have never tried, or come to that opinion because that is what other people think.

Oh and on topic, I would just bite the bullet and buy something, NOD32 or Norton. I played around with free stuff for over a year and never really felt comfortable with it, got Norton and since been fine.