Re: which protection software?

"Talal Itani" <titani@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
I am re-installing XP on a clean drive and would like to know the protection software I should have. On my current installation I have Windows Defender. I also have a old version of VirusScan. Every few months I run malware detection. Do I still need all this stuff? Do I need to buy an update for VirusScan? Is Windows Defender a firewall? I am confused about all this stuff. Please help.

You need three types of protection software, Software Firewall, Anti-Virus, AntiSpyware (and other forms of non viral Malware). In addition to these I suggest you install a router that has NAT with SPI (Stateful packet inspection). This is the first line of defense.

Firewall (use only one):
XP comes with a built in firewall
3rd party firewalls I recommend are
Kerio Personal Firewall from Sunbelt Software (free and paid)
Comodo Personal Firewall (free)

Anti-Virus :
Avast (free; I use this one)
AVT (free)
NOD32
Note: If you want you can have more than one AV program installed but only one should be set for real time protection. Use the other for manual scanning as a confirmation.

Anti-Spyware: More than one of these programs is needed. Scan's should be run regularly (all malware scans should be done in safe mode; all are free)
Windows Defender
Ad-Aware SE plus (new version will be out soon)
Spybot S&D
Spyware Blaster (not a scanner; it protects against certain things getting installed)
AVG AntiSpyware (formerly Ewido; I have not used it but have seen it recommended by folks I regard)

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

.

Relevant Pages

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