Can anyone recommend free internet security

[kiwibarguy]

Well time is almost up for my pc penicillin security so i am starting to look around again. Could any of you fine gentlemen suggest a good internet security that is free or one that you have bought and have been happy with.

Thanks Paul

[chickenman]

Unplug your computer from the internet.

I don't know about anyone else but we use Sophos, which is more a business based system but does have excellent client/remote installations.

They do have an all in one system but I've never used it:

http://www.sophos.com/products/small-busin...security-suite/

Not really for the 'home user' and you have to contact a local reseller to purchase, so I have no idea what a single licence is worth.

I've never had such a seamless, low resource using, invisible antivirus product.

Jamie

[deaneb]

AVG antivirus from Grisoft is what I use. Gets very good write ups and a lot of people I know use it. It's free.

Deane

[pois0n]

QUOTE (deaneb @ Mar 6 2008, 06:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AVG antivirus from Grisoft is what I use. Gets very good write ups and a lot of people I know use it. It's free.

Deane

I second that

[Bazza]

Like the previous replies, I too use the AVG and have done so for a couple of years. I have also installed it for family and friends, none of whom have had any dramas.

This site.....http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/

has endlessly debated the subject you are enquiring about and if you have the time to search it you'll probably end up being an expert.

AVG is a good "middle of the road" product. In a scale of 1 to 100 it is probably a 70. I have found over the years, most of the nerds and guru's rubbish Nortons, but everyone
has his favourites. Again it depends a lot on where your surfing etc takes you....Flight Simulation type sites are probably a lot safer than Porn.

[Alex]

I can recommend Avast Antivirus. Have it installed on the PC and laptop, and have had no real issued whilst it has been running. Updates regularly and it's a reasonably good-looking and intuitive interface. Free for home users, commercial users probably have to pay some sort of licensing fee (I think)...

Alex

[spongebob206]

QUOTE (deaneb @ Mar 6 2008, 06:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

AVG antivirus from Grisoft is what I use. Gets very good write ups and a lot of people I know use it. It's free.

Deane

Grisoft

[NZ255]

While we're talking about it, I have go some adware installed (not intentionally of course) I have AVG antivirus, AVG antispyware, and Ad-aware, but still have adware like it pops up with a box "your PC is infected please click here to preform a check(recommended)" Then a web page pops up and tells me the same thing, and its really starting to p*** me off!!!!

Any help appreciated

Thanks,

Nick

[AlisterC]

Try Spybot Search and Destroy Nick: www.safer-networking.org
You may need something stronger though like: HijackThis from here: http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php

I completely agree with Alex about Avast antivirus. Our IT guy at work thinks it's the best and uses it at home as well Thanks Ashley!

[Stumpy]

QUOTE (NZ255 @ Mar 6 2008, 09:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While we're talking about it, I have go some adware installed (not intentionally of course) I have AVG antivirus, AVG antispyware, and Ad-aware, but still have adware like it pops up with a box "your PC is infected please click here to preform a check(recommended)" Then a web page pops up and tells me the same thing, and its really starting to p*** me off!!!!

Any help appreciated

Thanks,

Nick

I had that problem and had to completely reinstall windows. If a complete reinstall is not possible then you can manually delete it I believe. This is of course if spybot and whatnot doesn't solve the problem.
If you put stuff on a disk to keep, make sure to scan it before you put it back on.

Good luck

[HardCorePawn]

QUOTE (NZ255 @ Mar 6 2008, 09:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While we're talking about it, I have go some adware installed (not intentionally of course) I have AVG antivirus, AVG antispyware, and Ad-aware, but still have adware like it pops up with a box "your PC is infected please click here to preform a check(recommended)" Then a web page pops up and tells me the same thing, and its really starting to p*** me off!!!!

<allo allo>
Listen very carefully... I shall say this only once...
</allo allo>

Quickest (and guaranteed to work) solution:

Reinstall your OS


Longer, more difficult and more frustrating (and possibly not 100%) solution:

1. Get Spybot S&D, Hijack This, Ad-Aware and Ewido....
2. Read all the forums detailing the various methods people have used to remove the particular nasties you have picked up
3. Spend about 5 or 6 hours of your saturday afternoon trying to remove all the s**t that is probably memory resident and loads before the windows kernel and resets itself after windows unloads
4. Walk away in frustration
5. Come back 15 minutes later after having a cunning idea
6. Use HijackThis to create a list of infected files then just disconnect the power from the PC (so the nasties dont get a chance to reset themselves at shutdown)
7. Spend another couple of hours fiddling with DOS bootdisks with NTFS read/write drivers (I highly recommend googling 'Hiren Bootcd') so you can get access to the drive without having to boot XP (even safe mode and commandprompt were useless) so you can then manually delete the list of infected files without the nasties having a chance to load into memory
8. Feel satisfied that you defeated the nasties, but a bit disappointed that you just lost 5 or 6 hours of your life
9. Spend the 3 1/2 hours of your flight to SYD the following afternoon (hence the reason I could not just reinstall my work laptop as I did not have access to reinstall all the apps required) sipping bourbon and cokes and daydreaming what it would be like to have 15 minutes alone in a room with the creators of spyware/adware...

[kiwibarguy]

Thanks guys for all your help. I think i will give Avast a go. Have a good Friday night!

[toprob]

Don't overlook the other side of internet security. I probably overdo my protection, but it has worked out, with absolutely no problems ever, even with about 16 hours a day connected to the net. When I went into business I spent some money on security, but Zonealarm is the only payware product I still use. I could get by with the MS firewall, though. I use AVG, and once a week I run both Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D.
But I don't think any of this would help much if I went clicking on stuff willy-nilly. You know all those things your mates send you, saying hey, this is cool? I delete them. If I don't recognise an email as 100% ok, I'd rather delete it and take the risk that I lose something meant for me. (That's why I recommend using my website's online contact form.) It's been a long time since I've just browsed the web -- any new site I visit now needs to be viewed as a danger, and I'm pretty careful. Still, sometimes I still get caught out. For instance, my website gives me heaps of statistics on who visits my site, where they come from, and the links from other sites which lead to mine. These links are quite handy, I can figure out who's talking about me, and sometimes I can see when the pirate sites start to push my scenery again. But a couple of times I've got a referral site which seems innocent enough, but it isn't obvious whether it's relevant to FS. Clicking on the referral link brings an instant attack on my computer, which is difficult to fend off. The referral is designed just for me, to lure me to a site just to get infected. Luckily I know not to press 'ok' once I get into the site, but now I don't get curious about these links at all.
In my experience if something is begging to be clicked, just out of curiosity, then it is best not to click it.
If you want to take the risk of clicking on stuff for the fun of it, then you have to accept that sooner or later you'll get hit really hard.

[HardCorePawn]

I also forgot to mention that FireFox and the NoScript plugin are very very good... NoScript by default blocks all javascript, flash, pdf plugins etc that are used as vectors for installing malware or cross-site scripting attacks. It has a very quick and easy process for allowing you to 'whitelist' (and temp 'whitelist') websites as you browse... a small icon in the bottom corner which you can click and select 'allow' or 'temp allow'...

The only issue I have had with it, is that I forget I have it running and then spend 5-10 minutes clicking on buttons or menu items wondering why the website i'm looking at is broken!

can you say PEBKAC?

[NZ255]

Yeah I've got Spybot and Hijack this, but haven't heard of Ewido. So will give what you said a go.

Thanks alot for the advise.

Nick

[towerguy]

I use firefox which eliminates half the hassle straight away

then zonealarm as the firewall free edition

and AVAST as the main protection - our techs at work put me on to it and swear by it and have it installed on their personal computers - if it's good enough for the techs then it's okay for me.

[ranm]

The 'new' kid on the block is http://www.comodo.com/

free AV, personal firewall and more. secure, simple and easy to use

Ran

[ardypilot]

I run AVG, the free version of Zone Alarm and Spybot S&D once in a while. Also use Mozilla with Adblock Plus

[brownbox]

I run AVG free. Spybot S&D. Firefox with adblock+. Windows Vista firewall. Windows Defender. Belkin router firewall. Im pretty safe.

[Kelburn]

AVG takes up way too much ram etc and really slows down my PC I will try Avast for now.