NationStates Jolt Archive

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?
Have you tried the free ad-aware thing you can get with the 'google-pack'? It's quite good. Free tho.

Spysweeper.
Mcaffe spams you, and dosent work.
Norton plain doesnt work
Spysweeper owns

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?

Well.

I have liked CounterSpy. They have a "Warchest" for lawsuits. Becareful with antispyware. Many companies have the lawyers defining what is malware and if it appears on the EULA of that freebie software you install, then it's no longer spyware.

Antivirus. I used node32 on an external system. Pretty decent. Kaspersky is good as well. Every time I have talked to the "backroom" support for the antivirus companies, they had Kaspersky running.

Firewall: If you don't understand firewalls, then zonealarms has a good gui setup. They were bought out and I think the quality has gone done.

If you understand firewalls, then I would suggest Outpost. I have it on an external machine and it's pretty good.

Note: those are two software firewalls.

Spysweeper.
Mcaffe spams you, and dosent work.
Norton plain doesnt work
Spysweeper owns

Also a vote of no confidense on Mcaffe andNortan.

We use it at work. The only thing decent about it is the manger system epolicy. They miss virus stuff and their anti-spyware probably has a %40-50 percent hit ratio. Total lawyer control.

Nortan destroyed a couple test machines when we uninstalled it.

Spysweaper is good but we passed as the manger wasn't where we wanted it to be.....

Also a vote of no confidense on Mcaffe andNortan.

We use it at work. The only thing decent about it is the manger system epolicy. They miss virus stuff and their anti-spyware probably has a %40-50 percent hit ratio. Total lawyer control.

Nortan destroyed a couple test machines when we uninstalled it.

Spysweaper is good but we passed as the manger wasn't where we wanted it to be.....
Our computer had a viurs that Norton picked up, but we couldnt delete it wiht the patch Symantec gave us. So we bought SpySweeper. It has one of the largest virus-definiton bases out there and is extremly powerful. And its easy to use. Press scan, next, quarintie, then go to quatinete and press delete.

...is the only virus removal tool. Removes viruses for good. And everything else.

:headbang:

As far as firewalls go, I would recommend getting a hardware one. A good router works fine. Most software firewalls are crappy, and nearly all have some significant vulnerability or some other kind of crippling flaw.

When it comes to antivirus: Avoid Norton and McAffee. Useless resource hogs, and Norton tends to cause instability and reduce the lifespan of a windows installation by more than a half (in all my experiences. often it doesn't take too long before random BSODs began to occur, and OS functions started to break one after another). AVG, Kaspersky and Nod32 are fine.

For spyware: Spybot S&D and the TeaTimer tool that comes with it are likely all you need. Running other programs as well won't do any harm, though. But note: avoid (or atleast be careful with) commercial spyware removal programs. Most I have encountered are more than slightly shady, and none seem to be better than a bunch of the best free ones combined.

No one particular - you need a combo!

SpyBot 1.4 - Good for the nasty ones! Not the most user friendly, but works really well.
MS Windows Defender/Anti-Spyware - Sit around and watches for weird activity.
Adware - Does a really good job with commercial spyware, not so good with ones who attack the registry.

I used Zone Alarm Security Suite 6 too it's stopped one bad attack already.

AVG, Kaspersky and Nod32 are fine.

Seconded. Nod32 is great if you want a really low resource hit.

As far as firewalls go, I would recommend getting a hardware one. A good router works fine. Most software firewalls are crappy, and nearly all have some significant vulnerability or some other kind of crippling flaw.

When it comes to antivirus: Avoid Norton and McAffee. Useless resource hogs, and Norton tends to cause instability and reduce the lifespan of a windows installation by more than a half (in all my experiences. often it doesn't take too long before random BSODs began to occur, and OS functions started to break one after another). AVG, Kaspersky and Nod32 are fine.

For spyware: Spybot S&D and the TeaTimer tool that comes with it are likely all you need. Running other programs as well won't do any harm, though. But note: avoid (or atleast be careful with) commercial spyware removal programs. Most I have encountered are more than slightly shady, and none seem to be better than a bunch of the best free ones combined.

I have used larger versions of
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833339006

On some projects

Otherwise Cisco makes some beautifull hardware firewalls ... wont get into them for less then 7 grand though (anything decent)

Edit: put the correct link

I have used larger versions of
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833339006

On some projects

Otherwise Cisco makes some beautifull hardware firewalls ... wont get into them for less then 7 grand though (anything decent)

Edit: put the correct link

If you can't buy Cisco, then get a Linksys (owned by Cisco).

Now the more technically minded people here will probably be able to tell you if this is a good idea or not, but could you back up your important stuff and then do a systems restore to get rid of the spyware?

If you can't buy Cisco, then get a Linksys (owned by Cisco).
In name only ... I have been severly disapointed in Linksys's performance and features ... hell I found a more comprehensive fetureset out of DLINK for godsakes

The only up side is you can get rid of their bad software on devices like the WRT54g and run a linux distro off of them (I found a version of netbsd that will run all the features I need as well as incoporating a firewall and if I choose a webserver :) )

Now the more technically minded people here will probably be able to tell you if this is a good idea or not, but could you back up your important stuff and then do a systems restore to get rid of the spyware?
In the end runing a format is the last step ... that will get it (as long as you dont back up the spyware/virus)

But usualy we try to wait for last resort (my own machine I keep an image of so its no big deal roling it back)

In name only ... I have been severly disapointed in Linksys's performance and features ... hell I found a more comprehensive fetureset out of DLINK for godsakes

The only up side is you can get rid of their bad software on devices like the WRT54g and run a linux distro off of them (I found a version of netbsd that will run all the features I need as well as incoporating a firewall and if I choose a webserver :) )

I don't mind DLINK either but NetGear ... we've got two of their wireless routers at work and all they give us is trouble.

Now the more technically minded people here will probably be able to tell you if this is a good idea or not, but could you back up your important stuff and then do a systems restore to get rid of the spyware?

Last resort - OK for say a Windows XP workstation, but not for server. Had to help rebuilt a Windows 2000 PDC when the SCSI hard drive died big time on the weekend.

I don't mind DLINK either but NetGear ... we've got two of their wireless routers at work and all they give us is trouble.
Lol my old school 802.11b wireless router from netgear has more features then my linksys WRT54G stock

Why the HELL can you not reserve IP addresses? I mean that is a standard frigging feature on almost every other router out there but NO linksys skipped over it on their biggist selling router

(part of its my mistake too ... I just decided I was tired of dealing with DHCP lease time causing issues on the part of my ISP and just bought the hardware they used (I did not buy it from them ... but same model)) I should have just got an AP and used my own DHCP/DNS server like I do now

Last resort - OK for say a Windows XP workstation, but not for server. Had to help rebuilt a Windows 2000 PDC when the SCSI hard drive died big time on the weekend.
Thank god for raid 5 :)

LOL

Lol my old school 802.11b wireless router from netgear has more features then my linksys WRT54G stock

Why the HELL can you not reserve IP addresses? I mean that is a standard frigging feature on almost every other router out there but NO linksys skipped over it on their biggist selling router

(part of its my mistake too ... I just decided I was tired of dealing with DHCP lease time causing issues on the part of my ISP and just bought the hardware they used (I did not buy it from them ... but same model)) I should have just got an AP and used my own DHCP/DNS server like I do now

God knows what companies do when want to save money on building products. It seems common sense gets trashed when the accountants call up.

God knows what companies do when want to save money on building products. It seems common sense gets trashed when the accountants call up.
What I dont get is the fact that it is a software feature ... a very common one with the linux solution they are using on the backend

In the end when it was heard that this was a feature in demand it would take two frigging programmers a week to get things changed in an update.

Otherwise Cisco makes some beautifull hardware firewalls ... wont get into them for less then 7 grand though (anything decent)

You can also convert an old computer to a hardware router/firewall/server with anti-virus protection at the small expense of a few network cards and a linux installation. Preferably an extremely basic installation (so no fancy desktops - just servers and firewall) to improve security. It will use more elctricity, but can also do much more.

You can also convert an old computer to a hardware router/firewall/server with anti-virus protection at the small expense of a few network cards and a linux installation. Preferably an extremely basic installation (so no fancy desktops - just servers and firewall) to improve security. It will use more elctricity, but can also do much more.
True that ... personaly use a freebsd box using IPFW setup as a ipless filtering gateway

But for the less adept

http://www.smoothwall.org/

True that ... personaly use a freebsd box using IPFW setup as a ipless filtering gateway

But for the less adept

http://www.smoothwall.org/

Hehe , I would if I had a spare PC except the spare PC is a my personal laptop.

Hehe , I would if I had a spare PC except the spare PC is a my personal laptop.
It works decent ... I mean there are more powerfull solution ...
But this one interacts just like a router

So you can access it from another machine on the "Clean" Side using a web browser to configure it if you choose that option

All in all a fairly good out of the box solution

Best Value: http://www.safer-networking.org

It's Free! And it works pretty well for me.

Using an operating system which is not inherently vulnerable to all those craps: GNU/Linux, for example.

And never installing a software coming from an untrusted source (if you use Debian or Ubuntu, for example, you can find almost everything directly inside Debian, GPG-signed by the packagers, so you're pretty safe).

Using an operating system which is not inherently vulnerable to all those craps: GNU/Linux, for example.

And never installing a software coming from an untrusted source (if you use Debian or Ubuntu, for example, you can find almost everything directly inside Debian, GPG-signed by the packagers, so you're pretty safe).
Comeon if you are a Linux user you know as well as I do that there are massive holes for such things to take place in almost any out of the box solution

They just are a small and diverse target who's average user would take the time to secure such things (for the most part)

It makes them harder to target but not nessisarly secure

Over confidence like this leaves a lot of *nix users vulnerable

Comeon if you are a Linux user you know as well as I do that there are massive holes for such things to take place in almost any out of the box solution

They just are a small and diverse target who's average user would take the time to secure such things (for the most part)

It makes them harder to target but not nessisarly secure

Over confidence like this leaves a lot of *nix users vulnerable

Indeed. The "average" user isn't going to be able to install Linux out of the box, and still be able to use all their old software and access all their old files with zero problems - and the "average" user isn't going to be able to figure anything out, either.

Linux is still primarily an OS for the technologically inclined.

Indeed. The "average" user isn't going to be able to install Linux out of the box, and still be able to use all their old software and access all their old files with zero problems - and the "average" user isn't going to be able to figure anything out, either.

Linux is still primarily an OS for the technologically inclined.
Not REALLY … Dapper (the new ubuntu) is I find, even from a tech orientated person that has tried a big chunk of all *Nixes, is easier then windows to install and get setup and update.

Programs can be a bit of an issue (as far as finding versions that fit your need) but that can be said the same about MAC too. That really is not a downfall of the OS so much as a downfall of marketing

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?
i use adaware plus on-access control. it costs maybe 30 dollars (ish) but its brilliant. it blocks tracking cookies, changes to your computers' registry (unless you authorise), unwanted popups, scans in real-time for adware, malware and spyware, and can do full system scans too (including boot time scans)

never had any problems/compaints (except you have to remember to turn it off when installing new software :p)

it doesn't do virus protection but it still rocks (avast is good for that)

i use adaware plus on-access control. it costs maybe 30 dollars (ish) but its brilliant. it blocks tracking cookies, changes to your computers' registry (unless you authorise), unwanted popups, scans in real-time for adware, malware and spyware, and can do full system scans too (including boot time scans)

never had any problems/compaints (except you have to remember to turn it off when installing new software :p)

it doesn't do virus protection but it still rocks (avast is good for that)
Yeah I have heard good things from avast

Also had great luck with anything by TrendMicro

Indeed. The "average" user isn't going to be able to install Linux out of the box, and still be able to use all their old software and access all their old files with zero problems - and the "average" user isn't going to be able to figure anything out, either.

Linux is still primarily an OS for the technologically inclined.
its also has a tiny user-base compared to windows, which is why hackers and virus-writers etc will target and concentrate their efforts on the larger market - ie windows. and hence a significant contributing factor in why the OS seems to have so many flaws and problems
(ditto why apple, as well as linux, recieve relatively few complaints)

in a way, windows is a victim of its own success. doesn't necessarily mean its bad software (far from it, i believe... but then, i am only an "average user" (even if i have run linux on my machine before))

Yeah I have heard good things from avast

Also had great luck with anything by TrendMicro
avast just.... works. no problems. free, too :)

and i recognise that name...

Why have one spyware destoryer when you can have all, to create THE ULTIMATE ARMY, with one goal: to put a stop to computer viral terrorism!

Linux ;)

its also has a tiny user-base compared to windows, which is why hackers and virus-writers etc will target and concentrate their efforts on the larger market - ie windows. and hence a significant contributing factor in why the OS seems to have so many flaws and problems
(ditto why apple, as well as linux, recieve relatively few complaints)

in a way, windows is a victim of its own success. doesn't necessarily mean its bad software (far from it, i believe... but then, i am only an "average user" (even if i have run linux on my machine before))


avast just.... works. no problems. free, too :)

and i recognise that name...
You are right that is a large portion of its problem …. Hell look at apache2 first release it had WAY more bugs then IIS of any release

They worked them out but it took time … but they were more open then Microsoft for quite a while if you updated. (To be fair we were smart enough to not update, most advanced users anyways)

Trendmicro makes sysclean (a GREAT standalone scanner, just no scheduled or active protect) but they now bought PCCILLIN and are starting to some good things what was a mediocre to bad software

Linux ;)
BSD is head and shoulders security wise above Linux

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?

A mac.

A mac.
What you mean a badly secured BSD variant? Naw you can get a better variant for free

www.freebsd.org

Darwin pfft

If you have a custom built "Gaming" PC (As I do) don't go on the internet with it. The only exeption would be internet gaming, thusly negating spyware.

I can run Call of Duty 2, Battlefield 2 and FEAR at the same time. (Not realy well, though)

A mac.

I crashed my first MAC when I was Seven.

A mac.

If you mean OSX, they have problems as well.

.. Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff.some of the best things in life are free.. Fer everything else.. there is MasterCard.

McAfee AntiSpyware ultimate Protection (with one year suscription) $35
Norton Personal Firewall Plus $40
Microsoft AntiVirus Suite With realtime VirusScan $50

Watching you install this 300 megabites juggernauts .. and relize how they actually slowdown your PC.. priceless.

If you have a custom built "Gaming" PC (As I do) don't go on the internet with it. The only exeption would be internet gaming, thusly negating spyware.

I can run Call of Duty 2, Battlefield 2 and FEAR at the same time. (Not realy well, though)
Im up to 4 gb of ram ... no problem

http://geek.upwardthrust.us/pictures/picturethree.jpg (though now it has another 2 gigs of ram and 4 more hard drives then that pic ... time to get some new ones)

Im up to 4 gb of ram ... no problem

http://geek.upwardthrust.us/pictures/picturethree.jpg (though now it has another 2 gigs of ram and 4 more hard drives then that pic ... time to get some new ones)

That mega huge picture took ages to load, and it crashed my comp! Thanks.

I've got Spybot S&D. I've got Avira Antivir Guard and scanner. I've got the free Sygate Personal Firewall. I was just wondering if there was something better than all that stuff that I could purchase. So, my upwardly thrusting friend and other similar techies...is there?

That mega huge picture took ages to load, and it crashed my comp! Thanks.
Lol amazing my 450 mhz linux machine had no problem serving it :) (admitidly my bandwidth is limited though)

What you mean a badly secured BSD variant? Naw you can get a better variant for free

www.freebsd.org

Darwin pfft
So? Microsoft rips off BSD code too. With Mac OS X's success, they Windows devs are going to be looking to steal more code from it.

That mega huge picture took ages to load, and it crashed my comp! Thanks.
He don't care:p

On topic.

I go without protection with all my OS's. Not a problem yet.

So? Microsoft rips off BSD code too. With Mac OS X's success, they Windows devs are going to be looking to steal more code from it.


He don't care:p
Not really microsoft is ripping off front end code (more like ripping off kde code then the kernal)

Where as OSX basterdized FreeBSD with darwin

I use a multilayered approach. I start with webroot Spy Sweeper, followed by McAfee Security Center, with Firewall, Hack-guard, Privacy Center and Spam Killer them I have the windows Fire-Wall, and Net-Guard. Since I started using this combination I have not been infected with a virus, and as a bonus Add-ware and Spy-Ware and tracking cookies has all but been eliminated.

I run a complete scan with each once a week, just to be sure.

I use a multilayered approach. I start with webroot Spy Sweeper, followed by McAfee Security Center, with Firewall, Hack-guard, Privacy Center and Spam Killer them I have the windows Fire-Wall, and Net-Guard. Since I started using this combination I have not been infected with a virus, and as a bonus Add-ware and Spy-Ware and tracking cookies has all but been eliminated.

I run a complete scan with each once a week, just to be sure.
Yuck McAffee what a horrible chunk of software

Yuck McAffee what a horrible chunk of software

True dat!

True dat!
I remember when they first released their security center

Only god damn firewall that about 10 percent of the time would frigging block it self (eating up 100 percent cpu in the process)

Gah and it has not goten better over the years

I remember when they first released their security center

Only god damn firewall that about 10 percent of the time would frigging block it self (eating up 100 percent cpu in the process)

Gah and it has not goten better over the years
Avoid firewals you say? Will do.:p

Avoid firewals you say? Will do.:p
Not qute

More like avoid shitty ones

Ipchains/IPFW/IPTables FTW

Google it -

Panda Antivirus.

Google it -

Panda Antivirus.
Sometimes very good but it can be frigging mean with the OS when removing some stuff

Use with caution

An axe.

...firewall money can buy? Now that I have actual money, I'm tired of messing around with free stuff. I've got some stuff on here that is really irking me, and nothing free will remove it, regardless of what I do. So, techies...what's the best?
Your brains. Don't open unknown attachments, stay away from suspicious sites, keep your OS up to date, familiarize yourself with how viruses, worms and phishing schemes propagate.

Once you know that you can use whatever application for an extra layer of security. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter what you use, you'll always be at risk.

Me? I've never used any antivirus or firewall. I've never had any problem.

Your brains. Don't open unknown attachments, stay away from suspicious sites, keep your OS up to date, familiarize yourself with how viruses, worms and phishing schemes propagate.

Once you know that you can use whatever application for an extra layer of security. If you don't have it, it doesn't matter what you use, you'll always be at risk.

Me? I've never used any antivirus or firewall. I've never had any problem.
Though to be fair I do this for a living and I cant keep up on how every virus/worm trojen and phishing scheme propagates in any details ... hell there have been roughly 40 variants/viruses released sense June first (so the last 12 days)

But you are right that keeping your eyes open can help a lot

Avoid firewals you say? Will do.:p
hardware firewall is what i use. seems to do a good job, though its not too configurable (well it is, but its a pain in the ass)


that said it has a pretty neat function for wi-fi that restricts access only to MAC addresses that you specify :)

Me? I've never used any antivirus or firewall. I've never had any problem.

You mean you never noticed any problems. It is not unlikely some script actively put junk on your computer through a nonpatched security leak without you ever knowing.
The idea that you can only get virusses and stuff through carelessness is nonsense I fear...

You mean you never noticed any problems. It is not unlikely some script actively put junk on your computer through a nonpatched security leak without you ever knowing.
The idea that you can only get virusses and stuff through carelessness is nonsense I fear...
Nope. I mean I've never had any problems, or infections, or any other junk. I keep a very close watch of everything that's running in the computer and I've never had viruses or other stuff.

The scenario you describe, although possible, is very very unlikely.