Spyware, viruses, & security : spysweeper versus norton...which shall i buy (if any)?
More on Adobe
by roddy32
- 1/3/07 4:36 PM
In reply to: update by santuccie
There is a new vulnerabibility out for dobe reader that affects every version but 8.0. If you don't have 8.0, try upgrading to that. There is also an alternative called Foxit reader that is much smaller and faster. Also free.
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/
Adobe alternative
by santuccie - 1/3/07 4:52 PM In reply to: update by santuccieI think roddy32 has the perfect answer for you. Using Foxit Reader for opening PDF files, along with PDFCreator for creating them, you can create a freeware alternative that would be less vulnerable to attack.
You can review and download Foxit Reader here: http://www.techsupportalert.com/more/extended.htm#66
You can review and download PDFCreator here: http://www.techsupportalert.com/more/extended.htm#48
CCleaner
by a155mm - 1/5/07 1:26 PM In reply to: my updated security apparatus.. by ncs22I have used CCleaner for awhile now and have had good results. It's two strong points are that it lets you select what cookies to keep and it does a very good job of getting rid of junk left over after you un-install a program. Run the cleaner analyzer and then check under options to select which cookies to keep. That way you don't keep erasing pass words like some global cleaners do.
Registry cleaners are a bit dicey from my perspective. Earthlink provided me with one and it about cleaned out my hard drive including every photo I had ever edited. Be glad for backups. Unless you feel confident in your ability to repair your registry manually, I would stay from that type of program. I know there are some safe ones out there, but trial and error is not fun when it takes an entire afternoon.
If you ever decide to use Norton AV, don't pay for the re-renewals. Go to Biz rate or Price grabber and buy the OEM version for ten to twelve dollars every year. It works just as well and is a lot cheaper. Hope this helps.
CCleaner
by kalameddine - 1/5/07 1:41 PM In reply to: CCleaner by a155mmI totally agree and have it installed, but I prefer tune up utilities.
re: registry cleaner and norton AV
by ncs22 - 1/5/07 2:55 PM In reply to: CCleaner by a155mma155mm,
Thanks for your recommendations re: CCleaner and registry cleaners. I may keep CCleaner or switch to an apparantly more conservative program called Zappit. As far as reg. cleaners go, I'll probably go with a very conservative one called EasyCleaner. At the moment I have RegSeeker, but it's apparantly too aggressive.
As for Norton, I've done a lot of research on the subject and have come to the conclusion that there are better alternatives (even some free antiviruses respectfully compete with Norton in quality).
Thanks.
Why would you buy your Antivirus.
by slim-1 - 1/22/07 10:36 AM In reply to: my updated security apparatus.. by ncs22Unless you are a company you should go with Avast or AVG instead.
IIRC, AVG _DOES_ require re-reg every yr or so
by ackmondual - 1/8/07 9:14 AM In reply to: depends by santuccieI'm using the free AVG v4.7 (bef that NAV '05). Reading your post, I wish I knew about that beforehand. Antivir seems to be right up my alley. I only use webmail at home, and the much better detection rates than AVG sounds attractive. I'm annoyed how when doing a full scan with AVG, u need to wait until the 1st action prompt comes up before u can set the response action to "move to chest" by default. This makes full scans not so convenient, and even tho background scanning will pop up a window (complete with blaring klaxons) when I venture into dubious sites, I have a nagged feeling it's not even catching most of what it should. This occurred even bef i read up that AVG has relatively low detection rates.
From your experiences and knowledge, would you say it's worth switching from AVG to Antivir for the better protection and detection rates? Main reason being I have a roommate who uses p2p app on that PC, as well as visits his fair share of "dubious" sites now and then.
recommendation
by santuccie - 1/8/07 3:11 PM In reply to: IIRC, AVG _DOES_ require re-reg every yr or so by ackmondualSince you only use webmail, I would say it's well worth it for you. AntiVir's detection is all the way up there with the best.
In the latest on-demand tests at the AV-Comparatives, AntiVir was runner-up to AVK, and only by 1/10 of 1 percent. Fifteen different AV products were pitted against a test set of 551,795 samples, most of which you won't even run into, and AVK detected 99.79% while AntiVir detected 99.69%. AVG detected 91.55%.
In the latests proactive tests, where they were tested against 10,498 new samples with three-month-old signatures, AntiVir and NOD32 both detected 53% of them. While NOD32 detected more Windows viruses, AntiVir bested everyone in sheer numbers. AVG detected 3%. 
And finally, looking back at the on-demand tests, there were only two products that detected 10 out of 10 polymorphic viruses. These two were Norton and AntiVir. AVG detected 1.
If my memory serves me, you may have to update AntiVir manually. If you make it a habit of updating the first time you turn on your computer each day, it would be a small price to pay for the protection afforded you. Hope this helps!
thanks for the reply!!
by ackmondual - 1/8/07 9:55 PM In reply to: recommendation by santuccieNothing personal, but I will be taking 2nd, 3rd opinions.... or do as much as time musters. Then this'll be a fun weekend project.
by all means
by santuccie - 1/8/07 10:03 PM In reply to: recommendation by santuccieDefinitely. There are actually quite a few free AV scanners out there. I just found two new ones. One is a whole suite, but it's McAfee, and their latest versions are causing some problems with system resources and other programs, so I'm hesitant to mess with it. There's also one from PC Tools, makers of Spyware Doctor, which is like the only major rival Webroot Spy Sweeper has.
I don't really have the resources to perform an on-demand test myself, but I'm interested in seeing how it interacts with the system and such. Anyway, good luck!
I was running Nortons on 200 PC's. I tried Avast & switched
by slim-1 - 1/22/07 10:33 AM In reply to: sorry..one more question by ncs22I ran it and found major virus infections that Norton's didn't catch. I was pretty upset.
I switched all 200 to Avast and found it to have a smaller footprint and very good email support.
Not Norton
by mpasco - 1/22/07 8:19 AM In reply to: thanks for that useful link..what do you think of my choice? by ncs22I suggest staying away from Symantec products. Althought most of their products work, their tech support is all but non-existent.
I have had a tech support request in for almost two weeks because of errors in their Ghost product that prevent it from running. My ony response was that they would contact me within 48 hours. I have not heard from them since, nor have they responded to my follow-up e-mail.
In the meantime, I cannot back up my system using the product I paid for.
If a company cannot provide the support they promise (and you pay for when you purchase their product), it is not worth supporting with our purchase power OR recommendation.
Hi Mike
by swathingscientist - 1/22/07 10:36 AM In reply to: Not Norton by mpascoGood choices
but nowadays, not all support is included with the product
by ackmondual - 1/22/07 10:44 AM In reply to: Not Norton by mpascoAt most they come with free complimentary 30 days of tech support and that's it. They either charge per incident or set price per year.
Never seen commercial security better.
by slim-1 - 1/22/07 10:28 AM In reply to: perhaps this could help... by santuccieAvast, Ad-Aware, AVG, Spybot are all better than commercial alternatives in may test on several hundred computers.
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