The best free security software

It just says I need to reboot after it deletes the "infected" files.

 

Yes, SAS needs you to reboot after it detects and cleans files when it has run.
This is part of the SOP.
When your notebook is clean and SAS comes up with 0 infections, you don't need to reboot.
Cheers.

 

Av-Comparatives has published their latest test results on 16 different AV products.
16 different programs have been tested.

Conclusion; Avira is still the best out there; here are the overall scores;
Avira 99,2
Avast 97,3
AVG 94,3
(KAV 95,1)
(NOD32 93,0)

Remember these are the overall scores of the full, paid-for products which sometimes include AS programs.
Avira free doesn't have AS fully incorporated like Avast free and AVG free have.
I'll still use these numbers also on page one, based on the scores on viri and macros by those 3 programs where it's still Avira>Avast>AVG.

I still recommend either Avira if you don't mind adding another AS program with real-time protection (like ThreatFire) or Avast if you want the all-in-one AV/AS/anti-rootkit protection.
Both are free and they are the best programs on the market.

Read the full report with all the details on scan speed, number of FP's etc on AV-Comparatives here.
Cheers.

 

I see that the AV-testing results AV-Comparatives has published support the idea that free AV programs perform better than ones for which you actually have to pay for. But why is this sentiment not echoed in other reviews of AV software, especially reviews that come from some of the more respected sources? For example, PC Mag, a source that has proven to me to be highly reliable when it comes to reviews, has rated Norton higher than Avira.

 

well the paid versions have to make money also!

 

1 PC Mag, or any other commercial software magazine, relies on ads to survive.
2 AV companies with the biggest marketing funds usually dominate the test results in the software magazine AV-tests.
3 I somehow think 1&2 are related .
Cheers.

 

haha nice logic. i suppose that's a valid point.

 

I think AVG is probably the best. Just the other day I tried to download a trainer and the AVG before I even asked it to scan it BAM! shot it down. It never had a chance... so sad... tisk tisk tisk

 

Thanks for keeping the list up to date. I recently purchased a HP dv5t and did a clean reinstall. I've installed Comodo, Super AntiSpyware and Threatfire. So far so good. I have two questions.
1. Should I turn off Windows Defender?
2. I picked up NOD32 from NewEgg and plan to install it. Any known conflicts with the above software I've installed?

Thanks!
Bertman

 

Sorry for the late reply, been gone for a while.

About WD, the real-time protection from TF is good enough imao, (however I still continue to use WD as it doesn't bother me).

I've never read about any conflicts between NOD32 and Comodo/TF/SAS.
The only thing is that you might have to install Comodo with NOD's AMON switched off.
You'll probably get a warning from NOD about the optional toolbar when installing Comodo.
Best is, to not install it of course.
Cheers.

 

I used to use ZoneAlarm back when I had Windows XP and loved it. Simple and effective anti-virus/firewall combo. What would you guys recommend downloading in order to get similar service? (I had Comodo Firewall Pro and Avira before but wonder if there is a better/more effective combo)

 

I run ZoneAlarm AV on my Vista notebook

 

I run a combo of windows defender and common sense. Works flawlessly.

 

In the first post, I've removed Jetico Firewall v.1.
This rule-based product is more for enthusiasts and as some folks have been asking for a simple firewall, I've added PC Tools Firewall Plus.
Especially combined with PC Tools ThreatFire, it should provide a decent package.
Both programs are 32-bit only though.

/
@Lowenzorn; I'd stick with Avira or Avast for AV.
Keep an eye on the upcoming Online Armor version for Vista as a replacement for Comodo if you want change.

 

Hi Baserk,

First of all LOVE your new Avatar! Where is this place?

Baserk, I know it is time-consuming ... but I was wondering if you could read the first few pages of your Thread and ADD softwares that were recommended ... and your Ratings and Or Recommendation system ... i.e. Spybot S&D, CCleaner and so forth ... but put them in the correct Categories like you have started.

Also, have you considered maybe making a Suggestion which ones should be installed as a pack! What I mean is for someone who just want to know which ones to install and be done with.

For example Avira + Comodo Firewall + SAS + ... (can someone also install Spybot S&D with this combo)!?!?

So, someone does not go haywire and Install "TOO MANY" antivirus software that would be Conflicting each other.

Love this Thread! THANKS! +rep.

G!

 

Hi gonwk,

Thanks for the kind words!
First of all, the avatar is a picture of a small town in Croatia, it's called Rovinj (45° 4' 48" N, 13° 38' 24" E).
Surely one of the most beautiful places on earth imao .

About the thread, previously I had Spybot S&D in the list but I have removed it.
Because there are better alternatives (although one can make an argument for Teatimer) and because the list was simply getting too big.
And having a list with dozens of 'the best' programs becomes illogical.

I have purposely not added a category with programs like CCleaner because it would make the thread to generic, there already is another 'best free software' thread made by Calvin. (I like CCleaner though, I use it myself).

About recommending ideal packages...
That's a difficult one because while some folks will like Comodo, others will go berserk because of a misconfiguration of Defense+.
I will always try to answer questions on possible conflicting software but what's needed, depends so much on the user, his skills, his 'behaviour', etc.
Cheers.

 

Hi Baserk,

Thanks for the name of the town ... I will look it up and download some pictures ... water is so BLUE and beautiful.

BTW, your response on your Logic how you have arranged the front page makes A LOT OF SENSE! Appreciate the explanation.

Well in my situation I want as much as protection that I can get when I am surfing the web ... mostly "Safe" sites ... but sometimes I get thrown somewhere that I had NOT intended ... so in these cases I want to HAVE Maximum Protection against Spyware, Trojans, Keyloggers, and whatever heck the new stuff is.

With that in mind, I am planning to install the follwoing (all Freeware) to achieve that ...
Avira + Comodo Firewall + SAS + MalwareBytes AntiMalware + Avira Anti Rootkit Tool + Spybot S&D + CCleaner + ???
Q1: What else do I need ?

Q2: Should I disable the "Windows Defender" that came stock with my Gateway laptop? Since I have the above softwares.

Thanks and Keep up the Great work.

G!

 

Here's my list:

Avira Anti-virus: primary scanner, active protection on
Avast Anti-virus: secondary scanner, active protection off
Super Anti-Spyware
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Spyware Blaster
Winpatrol
Online Armor or Comodo, whichever you prefer. I think Online Armor is better. Version 3 of OA is due within weeks and will support Vista.


I like CCleaner, but I don't consider it protection software.

If it's not on here, I don't think it's needed and/or useful. Still, nothing beats safe surfing. The only type of websites that are still rarely secure are illegal stuff, such as, warez.

 

1;You don't need more.
Maybe exchange SpybotS&D with ThreatFire.
2;Comodo's Defense+ is a HIPS and with SAS and MBAM for on-demand scanning you don't really need WD.
Just make sure to read the help files on D+, so you know what to allow/what not and how to make rules.
Cheers.

 

Hi folks,

THANKS to both of you Baserk & Jin07! I am now set to go.

+rep for Jin07 for Sharing your setup.

Later!

G!

 

Hi folks,

I have a Question ... while installing the "Comodo Firewall Pro 64-bit" sinc eI am running Vista Home Premium 64-bit ...

Comodo installation asked me if I wanted to install the "Comodo Interent Search Bar" ... and I said YES!

Q: Should I have done it or do you recommend AGAINST it?

Thanks!

G!

 

I usually NEVER get in those search bars from any program I install, that comes with an option of a search bar.... I always make sure to deselect it or say no or whatever.

But having said that, I don't think its harmful or anything Just one extra tab in your browser... and may be a bit annoying?!?!!!

 

THANKS fonduekid!

I just opened my IE and did not see anything funny ... so!

G!

 

Hi folks,

My laptop came with Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

Q1: Would I be better off running the 32-bit for the Security reasons?

The reason I ask this is because I just noticed that Threatfire offers only VIsta 32-Bit.

Thanks,

G!

 

Hi guys,

It is me again ...

The "Windows Security Center" (WSC) it keep telling me that my "Malware Protection" is not up-to-par ... eventhough I have AVIRA installed.

Now WSC keeps insisting that the "Windows Defender" that it came with the Microsoft program. And since this program is not updated ... why is WSC asking me to update it.

Q1: How in the world can I remove the Obselete "Windows Defender" program? Or is it advised?

Q2: What other AntiSpyware besides AVIRA should I install ...so WSC will not give me ALERT that my laptop is out of whack and not secured?

FYI ... I hvve installed the following FREEWARE programs at this time ...

- Avira Antivir 8.1.0.331
- Avira Antivir Removal Tool 3.0.1.16
- Comodo Firewalll Pro 64-bit ver 3.0.25.378
- Comodo Safe Surf 1.0.0.6
- Comodo Memory Firewall 2.0
- Super Anti-Spyware 4.21.1004
- Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.28
- Spyware Blaster 4.1
- Winpatrol 15.9.2008.1
- Ad-aware 2008 ver 7.1.0.8

Q3: Which ones should I KEEP or REMOVE?

Q4: What should I ADD ... but it must be 64-bit compliant?

Thanks,

G!

 

I wouldn't change your OS to 32-bit just for ThreatFire.

Avira is an antivirus program so that's why WSC nags.
You can't remove WD but you can disable it.
Disable the real-time protection in WD options as shown here or use msconfig to disable it from running as shown here.
I'd remove AdAware and I wouldn't add more. Piling security programs on top of each other isn't necessary.
The most important thing is your own common sense.
I'd change IE for Firefox though and install the ad-ons AdBlockPlus and NoScript.
Cheers.

 

Hi Baserk,

1) So why are you recvommending the 64-bit over 32-bit ?
Also some of my old Freeware DVD editing programs don't like Vista and 64-bit for sure.

2) I was able to disable the Defender. Thanks!

3) Have you disable it using the "msconfig" route? Is this a good practice!?!?

4) So if the Avira is AntiVirus only ... what is a GOOD Anti-Spyware program?

5) I did uninstalled Ad-Aware ... it Stinks anyway since the new version DOES NOT allow to manually update the new definitions ... anytime a program takes away my flexibility is out of the window.

Thanks,

G!

 

To gonwk > Windows Defender is Not 'obsolete'...

With msconfig, you are just turning off WD from starting up automatically...

To 'completely' disable it, the recommended way is through services.msc from start > run .... browse down for windows defender, and disable it there... *though, I think its better to have WD.*

Check out Superantispyware and MBAM, they are good (links in the first post in this wonderful thread).. you can take SpybotS&D too if you want.. but SAS or MBAM are good enough.

 

Hi fonduekid,

I would LOVE to keep the Windows Defender going ... My laptop is brand new ... the Vista installed was dated May 2008.

But my Windows Defnder is Version 1.0.0.0 created on 07/13/06 (2006) ...

So the "Windows Security Center" (WSC) keep askign me to UPDATE the darn thing ... but I don't think there is any updates for it ... so how can I update it if there is none ...

So, any suggestions ... BTW, what is the version you have???

Thanks,

G!

 

Laptop bought in June '08.. came with Vista Ult.

btw, update as in update the windows defender itself or the definitions??? if its the definitions, you can get it through windows update...

 

See if this works... though the sys requirements doesn't say anywhere 'vista', more sys requirement link gives you the complete sys requirement details for WD

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...8CA5-74F236E9283B&displaylang=en#Requirements

 

Hi Fonduekid,

I have downloaded the darn WD 1593 (64-Bit) ... but each time I try to activate the "WindowsDefenderX64.msi" (the only downloadable file) ... the Installtion is halted and it says you already have the WD.

Q: So, how the heck can I get around this Install Screw-Up?

Thanks,
G!

 

See if this helps!

http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=479680&SiteID=17

and

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;290301

Btw, if you can get the latest definition updates even with *your* version of windows, why don't you just leave it alone? of course, I understand there is this annoying 'new version is available' pop up you are seeing...

If the above uninstall doesn't work, may be you could get in revouninstaller and see if you can do it.

 

Hi Fonduekid,

Problem SOLVED ... friend of mine e-mailed me the WD v1.45.22.0 that it is a .EXE file vs .msi and it worked and it is a newer version ... so problem solved. So, lesson learned is to get myself connected to the net for AUTO-UPDATES.

G!

 

^ Nice. Have fun...

 

I respectfully have to disagree with this. Lots of legitimate sites are being compromised out there and are serving up malware. Common sense goes a long way, but always have layers of defense.

 

Hi Wtchr,

Thanks for the Article ... nice reading.

Wtchr... Any suggestions? What combination do you run?

Thanks,

G!

 

Hey Gonwk. I have Vista x64 so I can't use Threatfire.

I use Comodo Firewall w/Defense+. I have Avira AV. For AS, I have SAS and MBAM. I left Windows Defender running also since it isn't affecting my machine. I use FireFox for web browsing with the NoScript and Adblock Plus addons.

 

Hi Wtchr,

You are running exactly the same AntiVirus setup that I am ... also my laptop came with the darn Vista Home Prem x64.

The only thing that I have to do is download FireFox with your set-up ... but I ma not online with this laptop yet ... just getting it up to speed ... I use it mostly for DVD work!

Thanks for your Feedback! +rep!

G!

 

I used to be a security freak when it came to computers and I was always getting the latest virus, spyware, and firewalls for my system.

However, I saw the light and realized that those programs were not worth the performance hit! I found out that with a little internet smarts you could be protected far better than any security program could possibly offer.

Been going AV free now (except on my torrent downloading machine) for over two years now, no problems. Well there was this one time when I downloaded this file but I knew there was a risk in opening the file and did so anyways and did get infected but it was rather easy to remove.

 

Yeah, I used to be a bit of a security freak as well. Not so much anymore.

I'm going to go with free security software for my new laptop, instead of shelling out big bucks for the name brand stuff. That combined with common sense should be good enough.

I'd also like to note that under my current setup (avira, comodo, superantispyware, and threatfire), my computer starts up much quicker than it used to when I had zonealarm security suite installed.

The only annoying thing I find with the new setup is comodo. I did appreciate zonealarm automatically choosing the course of action when it was obvious. But I'm thinking/hoping once comodo gets used to my decisions (through telling it do things automatically), it'll be a little more low-key.

 

Hi USAPatriot (btw Love your Handle) ...

Q1: How much of "Performance" hit is having an AV?

Q2: Any pointers on being Internet SMARTS?

Q3: Do all Torrents provide a RISK?

BTW, dude must be ncie to have few machines ... one for Surfing, one for Downloading, One for ...

Thanks,

G!

 

Thanks! =)

1. Depends on the program but they all incur a performance hit on your system. From making boot times longer to possibly increasing stuttering in games, programs and/or conflicting with your programs thereby creating lag and hitches in network related programs.

2. Well, it usually comes with experience, but it's pretty simple, here are a few pointers:

-Use FireFox 3
-Use NoScript and AdBlockPlus and WOT (World of Trust) extensions for FireFox.
-Email, email, email, don't open anything with an attachment from someone that you do not know.
-Use web based email clients as they usually provide automatic virus scanning and spam filtering.
-Don't accept random file transfers through instant messaging even if the file appears to be coming from a buddy. Confirm with the buddy that you are making a file transfer.
-Download only from safe and trusted sites like download.com, majorgeeks.com, softpedia.com, filehippo.com, etc...
-Don't pirate music. (It's loaded with crud).
-If you download torrents from untrusted sources, I would recommend AV.
-Do not share files/folders with computers on different networks.
-Disable remote assistance in your OS. (Google it, it's different for every OS). Or you can go through the guides at http://www.tweakguides.com/TGTC.html and optimize and secure your computer at the same time.

I've probably missed a few tips...

3. No, not all, for example if you download a torrent for a game patch off the official developers website you should have no problem. Same as if you download a torrent off a music artist's official website offering a free download. No problem.

Well I have only two machines, my new desktop which I just built and my old laptop which is from 2006 and was my only machine till July of this year, let's just say that I am happy with the upgrade!

 

Good tips. Some of your tips require the person to have experience and knowledge (ie-what is a trusted site?) Also, no site can be 100% safe as many legit sites have been infected before from things like SQL injections.
As I do online banking and make online purchases, I'm extra weary of identity fraud. It only takes one instance of identity fraud to require serious costs and time to remedy. I agree that the security suites from the likes of McAfee and Symantec (Norton) can really hog up a lot of resources. That's why I like the free apps that work just as well, cost no money and run more efficiently.

Another good thing to do at home is to make sure to have a cable modem/dsl router w/hardware firewall setup between the internet and all of your machines. Turn off all ports that aren't needed and make sure the firmware is up to date. It's a good way to stop the port scans.

As much as you can try to be careful, there are things out there that are out of your control and that you don't know about. Issues like SQL injections, the recent DNS redirection issue and the new clickjacking vulnerabilities worry me enough to have layers of protection. IMO, the newer machines have faster hardware that should let you run security apps and play games fairly well.

 

Also, as far as torrenting goes, it doesn't matter too much what you download as opposed to where you do your downloading. Generally speaking, private trackers maintain good quality torrents. Especially look for comments on a torrent that reinforce the fact that it is safe and working.

Of course, like previously stated, it can never hurt (and is highly recommended) to use an additional layer of protection, such as an antivirus program, in conjunction with common sense.

 

Now your going to extremes!

1. That's why I recommend the WOT (Web of Trust) extension, it's easy for anyone to use.

2. The NoScript extension should protect you against everything else you mentioned! Of course using NoScript does require a little more computer knowledge.

I do run a hardware firewall on my router in addition to Windows XP's default firewall, as well as anonymous request blocking.

 

Again, I agree with the NoScript addon for FireFox. It's fantastic, but has one major caveat. When web sites don't render correctly, many (if not most people) won't know what to allow. That'll lead to people just allowing many things that they shouldn't be. Kinda like how personal firewalls prompt to allow/deny access to the internet and most people just click allow to every popup they see (even in business environments).

You are more technical than the average user. Until security works better and is more transparent to the user, IMO, most people should have layers of protection.

 

I find it pretty simple to use, I just allow the blocked elements to been seen by clicking on the NoScript icon over the blocked element or if it's a website I trust, i.e. engadget, I'll allow the entire website.

 

Hi USAPATRIOT,

THANKS for taking the time and giving me all the pointers in your #2 answer. Most helpful to me. Great Feedback +rep.

BTW, nice a Desktop Specs.

G!

 

Hi Wtchr,

Bless your Heart ... I am with YOU ... "Better Safe than Sorry" ... Keyloggers, and so forth ... my buddy was a victim of that ... I had not even heard the SQL problem ... Tried +reping you but as the rule have it ... no can do for now ... But THANKS for your feedback!

I am planning to use both Yours & USAPatriot pointers ... use all the Freeware AntiVirus and "Common Sense" ... to protect myself against the Hackers (which are Financed by Big Crime Syndicates) ... this is a Huge Business!

THANKS Everyone for your GREAT Feedbacks!

G!