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Bax23 · Apr 18, 2006, 03:06 PM

I know many here are critical of McAffee and Symantec Anti-Virus products, so I am interested in what might be best to protect the XP partition on my iMac Core Duo. Since I have never actually owned a PC, I don't quite know what is best to use. I have installed products on friends and family's PCs but the product purchase decision was theirs. That said, what are the best applications available to protect my Windows partition from Malware, Spyware and Viruses?

TIA,
Bax

ghporter · Apr 18, 2006, 03:25 PM

Symantec's PC products are industry leaders. Some of their Mac products are at the other end...

I'm not thrilled with McAffee's antivirus products but a lot more people swear by them than at them. If you are purchasing an antivirus package for any Windows installation, you really can't go too far wrong (without working hard at it) if you go with either of these two.

Bax23 · Apr 18, 2006, 03:30 PM

I will grab one of the two. Probably Symantec. What about spyware? I have seen the names of utilities thrown around here in the past, but I can't remember many of them (or will the Symantec suite do that to?)

gotanproject · Apr 18, 2006, 04:02 PM

I don't believe in paying for anti-viruse software, use Clamwin the open source software. It is light to the hard drive and very stable with good protection. I pick clamwin over any anti-virus software.

Google clamwin to d/l it.

For spywares, I would use adaware, the free version.

And I would use Trendmicro free internet scanner for both virus and spyware removal. Goto their homepage and you will see free scanner it removes both virus and spyware, I love the online scanner.

Dex13 · Apr 18, 2006, 04:06 PM

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

Avast Home Edition. It's free after registration ( you can reapply every year it expires for a renewal)
I highly recommend this, it's free, reliable, simple, and updated almost daily.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/conten...=en&lid=nav_za

ZoneAlarm. Best Free Firewall Ever.
It gets some time to get use to it's constant messaging and asking for permission but it's the best and most reliable firewall for free.
(Although, after some time I upgraded to ZoneAlarm Pro.)

I have these set up on 2 PC's (my roommates). Since 1st Quarter they haven't had a single problem with spyware, viruses, trojans etc. These two pieces of software are solid when used together and can almost guarantee a virus free environment.

And Ditch IE for Firefox or at least Upgrade IE to it's current Beta.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/ie7/default.mspx

ghporter · Apr 18, 2006, 04:27 PM

In the Mac world, I'd trust a shareware/freeware, but I'd be kind of anxious about trusting clamwin. Avast and Panda have a good track record.

Look into AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy for adware and spyware. Both are free. Use BOTH because they use different algorithms and thus compliment each other.

egleband83 · Apr 18, 2006, 04:42 PM

AVG Free is what I use on all of my Windows machines and have had no problems whatsoever with it. Clean, simple, and low on system resources. You can get it at download.com

Bax23 · Apr 18, 2006, 09:21 PM

I will look at these in a little while and try to pick from your suggestions. Thanks again.

Bax

effgee · Apr 18, 2006, 10:01 PM

If you seriously need Windows on your machine and you're installing it 'permanently' (= not just for a few days/weeks to see what XP looks/feels like), I'd recommend the following ...

AV Software from Kaspersky (much better interface than Symantec, much less bloated)
Software Firewall from Sunbelt, formerly Kerio Firewall (alerts you to incoming as well as outgoing traffic, so that apps/malware can't just phone home)
Spybot Search & Destroy, a must-have utility
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, another essential poop-ware remover
SpywareBlaster, blocks sites that are known to distribute crapware - yet another must-have
And, for good measure and to keep your XP install lean and healthy, grab CCleaner - gets rid of those pesky temporary files which XP/apps like to spew all over your partition.

IMHO, that's the essential tool kit for XP if you need it to run (mostly) reliably (yup, there is such a thing

). If, oth, you're installing XP merely to check it out, I'd recommed a free AV app like Avast and the spyware utils mentioned above.

Hth

ghporter · Apr 19, 2006, 08:50 AM

I forgot about CCleaner; great stuff and a very useful tool for keeping things running smoothly. And including SpywareBlaster to the spy/adware policing mix is an excellent choice.

The only thing I'd add to effgee's suggestions is that Kaspersky and Kerio seemed to have more of a learning curve for me. On the other hand, I got spoon fed Symantec at work for years, so that probably has something to do with it too.

Bax23 · Apr 19, 2006, 11:27 AM

It isn't just to check out XP. Both my wife and I have Windows only applications from work that it would be helpful to access from home. Unfortunately, I have a feeling the Windows partition is there to stay. It is, however, nice not to have to fight with the speed of Virtual PC anymore.

effgee · Apr 19, 2006, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

... The only thing I'd add to effgee's suggestions is that Kaspersky and Kerio seemed to have more of a learning curve for me. On the other hand, I got spoon fed Symantec at work for years, so that probably has something to do with it too.

You're of course correct when it comes to Kerio (as well as most FW apps, imho) having a bit of a learning curve - aside from the fact that it is a Windows app, after all (most of which have a tendency of attempting to reinvent the "what-makes-a-good-ui-wheel"), the sheer amount of functionality ('regular' firewall, monitoring outgoing connections, ad-blocker, pop-up blocker, etc., etc.) requires most new users to take a peek at the included documentation, which isn't all that bad, btw. From a UI pov (and taking into consideration that it is a Windows app), it is actually not all that bad (and imho, loads better than anything Symantec has come up with in years) ...

Kaspersky AV, oth and compared with Symantec's AV products, has no learning curve whatsoever - under Windows, you'd be hard-pressed to find an AV app that's easier to use ...

ghporter · Apr 19, 2006, 07:22 PM

Kaspersky is a lot cleaner than the last time I saw it. MUCH better and neater (probably simpler too) than Symantec's PC antivirus product.

I've grown accustomed to the "ZoneAlarm model of firewall configuration." That basicall closes everything up tight and forces the user to either allow or deny opening ports and/or allowing an app access. Symantec Client Security's firewall uses this model too. It is good for quickly securing your computer for the Internet, but it's a hassle while you're getting things set up. The main advantage is that it generally doesn't require much reference to the documetation while you're setting it up, because the notices about "Application X is attempting to access the Internet" are pretty explanatory. Sort of spoon-feeding the user what's trying to communicate in and out. Not necessarily good or bad in comparison to Kerio, just a different take on it.

And you're completely right about Windows programmers ignoring any UI standards... they seem to think that if they don't confuse the user they aren't working hard enough.