Post by GregoryThanks Malke. Are these 3 antivirus programs better than AVG/Ewido?
I read
that Windows Firewall only has incoming protection. Could that be a problem
down the road if I am posting in several forums?
I used the McAfee security suite provided free by Comcast for several
months. It slowed the computer. I eventually uninstalled McAfee and
went with AVG anti-virus and Comodo firewall. I trialed several but
settled on these. I will say that McAfee antivirus was faster at
scanning files downloaded through IE than is AVG but I only do downloads
occasionally. I tried Avira's AV program but grew hostile of its
bannerware during updates that interfere with other running programs.
For comparison of anti-virus programs, see the on-demand Comparatives
section at:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
Notice that Microsoft's OneCare (whose anti-virus product is based on
the RAV product they bought over a year ago) rates the WORST coverage.
McAfee has gone downhill. The free AVG anti-virus only updates once per
day. Doesn't sound like often enough but that depends on how active you
are in downloading files from unknown or untrusted sources, leaving
ActiveX enabled in your browser, or other unsafe Net practices. Only
during an outbreak, and usually after a couple days later when
signatures became available, did I see Norton or McAfee have more often
updates than once per day. Of course, you could manually update AVG
before using it to scan a downloaded file.
Regarding anti-malware products, the free version of Grisoft's AVG
AntiSpyware (used to be ewido) is a good product. I use it only using
its on-demand scanner (i.e., for manual scans). Although not terrific,
I use Windows Defender. The problem with WD, AVG AS, WinPatrol, or
programs like this is that they are reactive and tell you sometime
afterward that something changed but can't tell you what made the change
because that process is already gone (i.e., WD and WinPatrol poll for
changes which gives you *late* detection with the ability to undo the
detected changes). They are not true IPS (intrusion protection system)
programs but rather they are IDS (intrusion detection system) programs.
PrevX is an IPS that is proactive in that it will pend any request for a
change so the change is not committed until you allow them (or have
allowed them before and selected to remember that choice). Alas, the
PrevX research version isn't free anymore.
To regulate what can and cannot load into memory, try using DiamondCS
ProcessGuard. They have a free version which isn't as secure (or
restrictive to programs) as their paid version but it still provides a
good layer of security. If a program cannot load into memory, it cannot
run.
For some other free anti-malware (used for on-demand scanning), look at:
SuperAntiSpyware
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
Spybot S&D
Grisoft AVG AntiRootkit, SysInternals Rootkit Revealer
For a firewall, look at Comodo Firewall. I like this one over many that
I've trialed (used to use Sygate Pro buy Symantec killed it). However,
I've been unimpressed with the other Comodo free products.
For protection during web surfing, you could look into using VMWare
Server or Virtual PC (both free) and doing your browsing in a virtual
machine. With VMWare Server, you get to save a snapshot, like after a
fresh OS install and updates, do your surfing, and then revert to the
base or clean snapshot to undo everything that changed while surfing.
With Virtual PC, you have to create the VM and then save a copy of the
subdirectory where those VM files got created to later slide them in as
your "snapshot" (i.e., manual but doable). Alternatively, you could use
Sandboxie as a VM that runs under your current environment. Anything
that changes within the Sandboxie VM, like downloading and installing AX
controls, home page changes, or whatever will disappear when you exit
that VM (i.e., all changes while browsing are written into the VM
instead of into your OS environment. It will, however, restrict you
from downloading any files. The free version becomes nagware after the
30-day trial period.