Whats Your Opinion On My Computer Security?

1. Empire53 Says

   Norton Antivirus? What version? Personally, I would just stick with free antiviruses like Avira, Avast!, or AVG. However, Webroot Antivirus with SpySweeper is pretty decent, so if you want to pay for that to give you peace of mind, go ahead.
   MalwareBytes Anti-Malware Pro is a good idea, except for the fact that you shouldn’t have two real-time antiviruses running at the same time; they’ll conflict with each other. MBAM is pretty good as an on-demand scanner though, so I recommend keeping it.
   CCleaner is more of a maintenance tool than for security, but it’s good to have regardless.
   As for Comodo Firewall, that’s not a bad choice. The built-in Windows 7 Firewall does a pretty good job on its own, though, but if you want third-party protection, nothing’s stopping you. I recommend keeping Comodo because I wouldn’t trust one product (Norton) to keep you protected.
   You’re perfectly entitled to get Webroot Complete Internet Security, but I wouldn’t put all my faith into one product.
   I also recommend SUPERAntiSpyware for on-demand mal/spyware scanning. Never hurts to have extra layers of protection.

2. 無用的人 Says

   norton: delete it. its not 2001. get kaspersky.
   malwarebytes pro: good decision
   ccleaner: good decision
   comodo firewall: windows firewall is more than enough.

3. Shadow Wolf Says

   You list some name brand programs. All well and good, but that isn’t the whole security package.
   Just to name a few highlights.
   What web browser are you using? What are it’s settings?
   What are the various settings for the other programs?
   What are the various Windows settings? This is a huge list worthy of a book.
   Did you create a separate user account that can’t install programs?
   On a 1-10 scale how would you rate anyone else with an account or access to the computer?
   How is your modem/firewall/router set? Wifi turned off or WPA2 set?
   Unless Norton firewall has changed, I’d disable it and go with Comodo or Zonealarm. Keep in mind that the Windows firewall must be disabled as it isn’t all that great either.
   You should get either Ad Aware or Spybot for adware and some minor virus protection.
   I’d totally dump Norton because of some really bad personal experiences with their software. Maybe they changed, but I sort of doubt it. There are free alternatives that are just as good.
   Ok, so you have a reasonable defense. Throwing software at the problem is what everyone does because they don’t want to learn or take the time to do anything else. As you can see, without getting real specific, there is a lot more to it than just software. The entire system and all computers connected to it from the DSL/cable modem all the way to the most distant wifi connected laptop. Everything needs to be secure because if one computer gets infected, it will be inside your network and then there is the possibility of all computers getting infected. You also don’t want to ignore unauthorized wifi access as that is also inside your network in a “trusted” space
   So my opinion of your security without knowing everything else? Maybe a 4 or 5 out of 10. If it is like my new laptop was, you’ll have a lot of work just removing a lot of useless junk software. In another few weeks you might be getting closer to a 7 or 8 by actually researching how everything should be set and eliminating as well as installing and replacing some software. Keep in mind that you are doing better than most asking questions here since they would only rate a 1 or 2 and don’t even know enough to install some software.
   Of course, all the software in the world won’t help if you don’t use proper security settings. You could render all of the above nearly useless just by changing settings that should actually be more strict.
   Shadow Wolf

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