What is the best combination of security software?

Question

How many different programs is it sensible to use- if i have 2 virus scanners, will they interfere with each other? Are 2 firewalls better than 1?

Answer 1

all you need is one of each type

get the following, all are free for a safe surfing experience,
install in SAFE mode with networking ( hit F-8 at boot time ), run them all in SAFE mode
with networking as you'll need it for the updates all the programs below will need.
Turn off RESTORE and the RECYLE BIN temporarily as virii can regenerate / reinfect even if you delete
them with both services on. After all the scanning and cleaning after a 2nd reboot and one last
scan do you turn both of them back on.

ANTI VIRAL

AVG (free) http://free.grisoft.com/


FIREWALL

ZoneAlarm http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

WEB BROWSER - http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox

EMAIL use thunderbird. It has a good built in spam filter and learns when you teach it. http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird

SPYWARE

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html


and if you have a wireless router follow these tips,


1. Use WPA encryption (WPA-PSK) it's less crackable then WEP.

2. Make a passphrase that is upper & lower case and has some numbers thrown in there as well, again harder to crack.
some like mAkE1t5eCurE0rel53 and as long as possible.

3. Use MAC access control so only you or authorized PC's can connect (even if you do have encryption turned on)

4. Turn off DHCP use static addresses.

5. Turn off SSID (and change it) unless your card really needs it (some do)

6. Change username/password of access unit front end

7. Ensure you have the usual firewall enabled on your PC.

8. Paranoia rules, turn WLAN off if your not using it :)


one last tip
control panel---administrator tools--services--messenger

right clik on it
stop the service
then disable it
save changes

Answer 2

if you go to majorgeeks.com they will tell you what you need on your computer and they have all the downloads for free it is well explained and easy to use give them a try and good luck

Answer 3

NEVER have more than one anti virus or firewall!!!
For a list of the best freeware go here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ (see top freeware pics)

Answer 4

http://www.zonelabs.com/ (firewall)
http://www.lavasoft.com/ (ad-aware)
http://www.safer-networking.org/ (spybot s&d)
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ (avg Anti-Virus)
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ (Crap Cleaner)
http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/files/EClea2_0.exe (Easy Cleaner)
http://www.download.com/ (A useful site for just about anything & everything else)