Free Security Software

[MistressValerie1]

Nessie asked me if I could post a list of links to free, reliable security software, so here are my latest recommendations and information.

Free Antivirus Tools

AVG Free, at http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php is the most-widely used free antivirus software (e-mail registration required). This program is considered the easiest to use, and is regarded by some as better than Norton's bloated commercial antivirus products. AVG offers no technical support for free users, though most are unlikely to need support anyway.

Avast! Home Edition, available at http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html is another well-regarded free product (registration required). It is very similar to AVG Free, with particularly good support for archived and compressed file-types. If you frequently work with uncommon compressed formats like BZIP2, this may be the freeware for you.

Antivir PE, at http://www.free-av.com/ is the other major free antivirus program. It is NOT recommended for dial-up users because of its extremely large (up to 4 MB) signature updates; it also has a reputation for being a little bit finnicky to install. Nonetheless, it is considered to offer the best level of protection of the free AV products, so for technically minded users with fast Internet connexions, it may be the best choice.

There is a very good article on free antivirus software at http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,113462,00.asp

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Free Antispyware Tools

Spyware is malicious software, installed without the user's knowledge or permission, which tracks surfing habits, steals personal information, or, in the worst case, opens a backdoor that would allow someone to surreptiously control the target computer.

Symptoms of spyware include: new links appearing unexpectedly in your favourites list, a sudden increase in pop-up ads, pop-ups occuring when you are not connected to the Internet, new programs or toolbars appearing in your browser, or frequent browser crashes or freezes. Some types of spyware can install automatically if you visit a malicious website using Internet Explorer at default security settings.

Removing spyware can disable certain programs such as Kazaa, so be sure to proceed with caution. If spyware is bundled with a program, it might be best to uninstall the program first, then try to elimiate the spyware.

Here are some links to helpful sites:

http://www.spywareguide.com/index.php has a searchable database of spyware and adware, as well as an online spyware detection and removal program based on the excellent X-Cleaner.

http://www.hackfix.org/software/spyware.html offers links to free spyware scanners and removal tools

AdAware Free, an excellent spyware remover, can be obtained at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Disspy is a newer antispy product which some users say is better than AdAware; it's available in both free and pro versions at http://www.disspy.com

This article on Mozillazine about security and privacy was mainly intended for Firefox users, but much of the advice applies to all users. If you are having problems with popups, adware, or spyware, please check it out: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=240548

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Free Firewalls

The best free firewall for most home users is Zone Alarm Free, from http://www.zonelabs.com Unfortunately, it is NOT compatible with Norton Antivirus, so if you must use Norton, you'll need an alternative firewall.

http://www.webattack.com/freeware/security/fwfirewall.html offers detailed descriptions of many free firewalls, although most are better suited to advanced users.

I hope this information is of help 🙂

 

[Kalamos]

Thanks for the infos. Anti virus licenses do expire... Changing to something free is good, once in a while. 🙂

 

[MistressValerie1]

Interestingly, K., the free antivirus products I listed all outperform some of the non-free ones such as Norton (which has too many false negatives) and McAfee (too many false positives). Avast even provides free tech support to the free users, unlike Norton, which bills paid subscribers something like $35 per incident for certain product versions.

 

[nessonite1]

I use Spyboy Search and Destroy (cause it's got a cool name) 😛 for Spyware and adware removal.
I also use AVG and ZoneAlarm thanks to Missy Val's expert reccomendations. Thanks!!

Another important step to being secure is using a more secure browser and email program. Outlook Express and Internet Explorer are targeted by a TON of viruses. I highly recomend switching to Opera. It is an easy to use but highly advanced and customizable browser and email client in one. VERY cool. Ive never used Mozilla so I cant comment on that. Opera can be had at:
www.opera.com

Thanks for posting that, Missy Val! I'll make it a sticky like I said. This is important stuff!

 

[His Divine Shadow]

More resources:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spyware and Ad-Ware Removal and Protection:

See Ad-Aware in Missy Val's Post

Spybot: Search & Destroy, a free spyware remover that also doubles as a kind of spyware firewall, constantly scanning for malicious files: http://security.kolla.de/

Spywareblaster, a free spyware protection program that constantly scans your computer to detect problems with ad-ware and spyware in Mozilla/Firefox and Internet Explorer: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

HijackThis, a specialized program for combating BHOs, or browser helper objects. While some of these buggers are benign, there are many that are quite nasty. If your hompage is constantly switching and you can't seem to fix it, no matter how many times you scan your computer with the above programs, HijackThis could fix it right up. WARNING: Use only if you know what you are doing. If you aren't sure, PM me and I'll lend you a hand. If you delete the wrong thing, your browser can become unstable. Find at: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/

Another little niche program is CWShredder, designed specifically for killing variants of the coolwebsearch bug, a decidely nasty little piece of code. Availible here: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/

An excellent program for general control of startup programs, running tasks, BHOs, and much more is WinPatrol. This, like HijackThis, is a program best used if you have in-depth knowledge of your computer and/or know someone who is a knowledgeable techie, as modifications to running tasks and/or startup programs can be quite bad if done the wrong way. Find at: http://www.winpatrol.com/
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Browser Alternatives:

Mozilla Firefox, another alternative to Internet Explorer, complete with a built-in popup blocker and tabbed browsing. More at: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Opera, the grandaddy of tabbed browsing, is also a good alternative to IE. While I don't like it as much as Firefox, I might as well plug it here, as Missy Val mentioned it below. Find at: http://www.opera.com/
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But, merely downloading a slew of programs is not enough. You must then tweak each and every one of them, as well as your own Operating System, so as to maximize protection. As always, the best method is to prevent the infection from ever happening, by avoiding suspicious email attachments, watching what you download, and watching what is installed as you browse the internet.

 

[MistressValerie1]

Thanks, HDS, for the note on alternative browsers.

I have finally quit using IE, for good. www.secunia.com reports that IE suffers from 18 unpatched security issues, one of which is rated "extremely critical" and is being actively exploited. Opera has only one unpatched flaw, and Firefox has ZERO security advisories as of today. Secunia's advice on IE: "Use another browser."

 

[Smade1]

And if you want a proper firewall - www.ipcop.org

I've been using it for a couple of years now with no issues - the hardware it runs on for a dial up connection are pentium 90 with 16 or 32 meg of ram (I can't remember) and a 330 meg drive.

For a broadband connection I'd probably put in a bigger drive, half to a couple of gig.

Speaking from a professional point of view I would NEVER directly connect a windows pc to the internet.

 

[MistressValerie1]

Instant Messenger Safety and Security Links:

Microsoft's IM User Safety Guide (highly recommended)
MSN Messenger Terms of Use

Yahoo IM User Privacy Information
Yahoo IM Abuse Report Form
Yahoo IM Terms of Use

AIM Terms of Use
AIM Customer Service contact

 

[dajerx]

I have been using Avast for about 6 months now. Incredible software; I would gladly pay for it. Norton has become the biggest headache. Norton 2005 will almost shut the PC down due to the taxing it puts on the processor.

I also use the Spybot Search and Destroy, but make sure you are running a sufficient amount of RAM (I run 512; anyone I know who tried to run it with 256 MB had the computer lock up everytime it ran a scan).

I have been using FireFox for my browser for about a year...I dont even look at my IE icon anymore. I also broke down and downloaded Mozilla Thunderbird, Mozilla's answer to Outlook. If you do not have it yet, do not hesitate to download it. Be sure to have the proper Ports designated when you set it up, they are not automatically set up properly as a default (epecially if you are on gmail).

 

[MistressValerie1]

Thank you for the information, Dajerx. I always had trouble getting Spybot to run without freezing partway through on my aging PC -- at least now I now why (insufficient memory).

Your experience with Norton is also similar to mine, which is why I got rid of it and have been happily using Avast for a year 🙂 I can't understand how Symantec can stay in business when their flagship product is inferior to *free* software!

 

[Merman]

Zone Alarm does work with Norton Antivirus. I have had both running together for a long time now with no problems. You just have to make sure you give norton access permission for all its programs.

 

[Melissa666]

You guys couldnt tell me this before I spent a combined 60 bucks on Norton Memory Hog and Anti-Spyware that does nothing! Compaq loves hawking their shitty products dont they?

 

[Melissa666]

You guys couldnt have told me this before I took Compaqs advice and bought 2 discs that do nothing but eat up my bank account? Norton Antivirus and Anti-Spyware which does nothing!

 

[MistressValerie1]

Compaq is usually rated low in customer satisfaction in annual laptop user surveys. Most "consumer" PCs come bundled with brief free trials of crappy software because of aggressive marketing deals, but the best software can often be had for free.

Norton is literally the worst security program I have ever used; it's badly overpriced, a resource hog, and worst of all, users are forced to "up"grade every two years because Symantec doesn't support "old" versions. When I tried to "up"grade from NAV 2002 to 2004, it destroyed my Windows installation and forced me to reformat because Symantec gave me faulty installation instructions. I was able to get a full refund with no problem, however, so I recommend that you try to return the discs to the dealer as soon as possible. (Norton will normally accept refunds up to 60 days after purchase.)

Best of luck,

 

[kopfhorer1]

Thanks for the heads-up on Norton. I first got Norton System Works in order to get their "Speed Disk" defragmentation utility, which is light-years faster than the one which came with WIN98. Microsoft finally pulled its head out of its rectum and included a reasonably fast defrag utility with WIN XP pro.

Grisoft/AVG is the worst anti-virus software, bar none. I put it on a computer at the university, and within minutes got hit with 2 nasty boot sector viruses which even Norton had trouble dealing with.

The only free AV software that's worth the bandwidth it's printed on is F-PROT (http://www.f-prot.com/). This is a DOS program, so you can only use it in MS-DOS mode in WIN98 (haven't tried it in DOS mode in WIN XP). You have to update it manually, which is a pain in the yas yas yas, but it reportedly can nail things which Norton/Macafee, etc. can miss. As for spyware zappers, I swear by AD-AWARE (http://www.lavasoft.de/).

 

[MistressValerie1]

Thanks for the info on AVG, Kopfhorer. I'm currently using another brand which offered a one-year free trial but it's about to expire, so I was planning to switch to AVG Free. I will definitely reconsider and explore other options.

 

[piercearrow33]

Excellent thread folks. I have Systweak Ad and Popup blocker. (Unfortunately, you have to pay for a license, haven't regretted it)

Zone Alarms firewall from my ISP

ISP's are giving them away

 

[poppameth1]

Here is my up to date selection.

Anti-virus: Avast Free. The other free alternatives are still good as well though AVG has been losing it's edge.

Anti-spyware: Spyware Blaster for immunization. SuperAntiSpyware for scanning and if you get the paid version it provides active shields. Both Spybot and Ad-aware are now past their prime and no longer do a very good job. SAS is one of the top dogs now.

Firewall: Comodo Free. It can be a bit tricky for the inexperienced but it's highly advanced and free. Online Armour is another extremely good one with both free and paid versions. It's a bit more user friendly than Comodo.

Browser: I use the latest Firefox with Adblock Plus (subscribe to easylist for definitions) and NoScript to block Flash, Java, Silverlight, etc. until you want to allow it.

Other Software: CCleaner for cleaning up old files and cleaning the registry.

 

[MistressValerie1]

Thanks for the updated info, Poppameth. I have heard good things about all of your choices.

 

[Bashiku]

Tobi is a bad boy in this department... he just loves piratebay and similar sites for this goods 😀
Don't mind me... I am not advertising anything here, but sometimes free isn't the best 😀

 

[poppameth1]

That is sometimes true. NOD32 is still one of the best AV programs out there though it does have a few bugs. I've tried some pirated stuff before but usually run into problems with updating at some point. For firewalls though I think you'd be hard pressed to find one better than Comodo even if you pay for it.

 

[Bashiku]

Updating nod32... lol that is so easy to solve now... you have patched version with forever update... I myself use it...
Also I agree with Comodo... he was the best firewall I used...

 

[MistressValerie1]

I've seen rave reviews of Comodo firewall at a security forum I frequent, so it would be my first choice if I were outfitting a new computer. NOD32 is regarded by experts as one of the best commercial AV programs, but I would not recommend using a pirated version. Pirated software often contains trojans or other nasties, not to mention the moral issues raised. If the ClamWin open-source antivirus program improves to commercial quality someday, I would consider using it.

 

[Bashiku]

Morals...? What is that 😀 Tobi is living in a country where the piracy is still allowed, so he doesn't care if it is pirate version or not... Tobi on other hand trusts the pirate stuff more than originals... for a small fee you don't expect much to happen, but for a large one you expect wonders only to be disappointed.

 

[poppameth1]

Another update.

Finally added Malwarebytes to my arsenal. Another good scanner with both free and paid versions. Between this and SAS I haven't come across any infections that can't be fixed (so far).

www.malwarebytes.org