Not a Freeware .. but still.. just wondering if anyone tried any of those software(s)?
And / or what you know or think about it:
Webroot's SpySweeper:
http://www.webroot.com ( you can click on Products there to see them in detail.. and this SpySweeper among them )
I read some reviews that some rate this SpySweeper pretty high...
(Webroot also makes that Window Washer program i think)
Winpatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com
( their website's info sure looks impressive ) ![:)]()
Agnitum's Outpost Firewall PRO:
http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/
Anyone knows of this Firewall? (Some say it's very good....)
How about some Spyware Doctor .. by PC Tools:
http://www.pctools.com
(they say about themselves there: "Spyware Doctor receives Tucows People?s Choice Award for "Most Votes"!" ... hehe)
Anyone tried, using .. or familiar with any of above mentioned? ![:)]()
Thanks
I have actually tried all of those.
Webroot is a very good program. It has a very good detection percentage and seems to always be able to remove what it finds. I just remember thinking it was very slow.
Winpatrol has been around for ever. It basically is a firewall that dosent block anything. Instead it monitors your registry for changes and when something is about to happen it asks you if you want to let it.
Spyware Doctor I use to recommend a lot. That was back when they had a free version. Its scanner is very good and was quite fast. but like webroot its just not worth buying it. When you have all of the programs that we recommend you probably not only wont get spyware but these two programs are not going to detect anything the others wont.
Outpost wasnt my favorite but Tarun uses it. It is actually considered one of the best firewalls though. It also uses far less resources than most software firewalls.
Thanks for your reply...
so Outpost IS good then.. i see...
I understand about the rest.. and a need to buy, etc most of it...
But that aside, you think if using Ad-Aware ... and CCleaner.. good antivirus program.. and few others - SpyBlaster .. SpySearch and Destroy, etc.. and having my computer pretty clean as it is now.. - you think this Webroot SpySweeper will do anything for me.. (after ad-aware, etc cleaned the computer already) .. or it will not find much at all .. if anything?
I don't see the need for webroot if you have all of those other programs. Why don't you give it a try and make your own decision. Here is a link for a 14 day trial:
http://www.download.com/Webroot-Spy-Sweepe...4-10405877.html
Oh Thanks..
But i already know where to get all those..
Wanted just to hear other people's opinion(s) before i decide to install any of those .. hehe ![:)]()
But who knows.. maybe now i won't even bother (at your suggestion above kinda) ![;)]()
Maybe Outpost Firewall though.. someday soon...
Outpost pro is good but it just takes a while to set up. I want my firewall to be out of the way and quick to set up. Thats why I use Zone Alarm. All I had to do was turn off alerts and logs and let the 10 or so programs that access the internet have permission to do so. The only problem with ZA is that its a resource hog on older pcs without enough ram.
Ok.. thanks..
Maybe i will try Zone Alarm then... or even that other one.. recommended in a Freeware thread (forgot it's name)
One of this days anyhow...
Firewall:
I think if you are looking for the best firewall I WOULD NOT go with Zone Alarm. The prottection it offers is goo, not great, but the price in terms of system resources it uses make ZA just not worth it. ZA cannot seem to decrease the requirements and boot time of TrueVector and until that happens I cannot recommend it. Sorry to others who think this is a good software firewall.
I can say that the best firewalls out there are rule-based, such as Kerio 2.15 and LooknStop. I've heard great things about Jetico Personal Firewall. Outpost Pro is kind of a weird design. It is both application based and rule-based, you are given the oppertunity to create rules for applications when prompted. Outpost uses more resources then say LnS but not quite as many as ZA. Remember that no software firewall can ever be as dependable as a hardware firewall/router and should be used in addition to one.
Spyware:
I am not sure if I agree that WinPatrol should be considered a fireall, it is not one at all. It monitor different areas that malware (virii, trojans, spyware, etc.) might use such as IE helpers and system processes. I would highly recomend this program. I would also suggest getting the plus version as, new with 9.2 (9.7 is out now) is alerts the user in real time, rather than plling every specified amount of time.
I don't think there is any better anti-spyware scanner than MS antispyware 1.0 beta. I would recomend this especially since every other scanner that offers real-time protection you must pay for. This I think is a must have.
Antivirus:
I mention this now only because you mentioned you needed to purchase one. Just because a company has the best advertising department does not mean they have the best product. That means, right off the bat throw away Norton, Mcafee, and Trend Micro (PC-cillin') There are not bad product but given there general size vs protection ratio I say get rid of them. There is an ongoing debate as to what is the best antivirus. Ususally the choices are between NOD32, Kaspersky 4/5 and sometimes Dr Web 4.32b. You would be well protected with any one of these three. I use NOD32, so my vote goes to it. Kaspersky (KAV) has great signature detection with adequate hueristics (the ability to detect unknown virii or virii that are not on "the list". It can slow doen your system though as it uses a lot of resources. Dr Web takes up very little (the least) resources and has a very good (sometimes too good) hueristics engine. NOD32 has a great hueristics engine while using very little resources.
Rant done.
Firewall:
I think if you are looking for the best firewall I WOULD NOT go with Zone Alarm. The prottection it offers is goo, not great, but the price in terms of system resources it uses make ZA just not worth it. ZA cannot seem to decrease the requirements and boot time of TrueVector and until that happens I cannot recommend it. Sorry to others who think this is a good software firewall.
I can say that the best firewalls out there are rule-based, such as Kerio 2.15 and LooknStop. I've heard great things about Jetico Personal Firewall. Outpost Pro is kind of a weird design. It is both application based and rule-based, you are given the oppertunity to create rules for applications when prompted. Outpost uses more resources then say LnS but not quite as many as ZA. Remember that no software firewall can ever be as dependable as a hardware firewall/router and should be used in addition to one.
Spyware:
I am not sure if I agree that WinPatrol should be considered a fireall, it is not one at all. It monitor different areas that malware (virii, trojans, spyware, etc.) might use such as IE helpers and system processes. I would highly recomend this program. I would also suggest getting the plus version as, new with 9.2 (9.7 is out now) is alerts the user in real time, rather than plling every specified amount of time.
I don't think there is any better anti-spyware scanner than MS antispyware 1.0 beta. I would recomend this especially since every other scanner that offers real-time protection you must pay for. This I think is a must have.
Antivirus:
I mention this now only because you mentioned you needed to purchase one. Just because a company has the best advertising department does not mean they have the best product. That means, right off the bat throw away Norton, Mcafee, and Trend Micro (PC-cillin') There are not bad product but given there general size vs protection ratio I say get rid of them. There is an ongoing debate as to what is the best antivirus. Ususally the choices are between NOD32, Kaspersky 4/5 and sometimes Dr Web 4.32b. You would be well protected with any one of these three. I use NOD32, so my vote goes to it. Kaspersky (KAV) has great signature detection with adequate hueristics (the ability to detect unknown virii or virii that are not on "the list". It can slow doen your system though as it uses a lot of resources. Dr Web takes up very little (the least) resources and has a very good (sometimes too good) hueristics engine. NOD32 has a great hueristics engine while using very little resources.
Rant done.
I meant my description of Win Patrol as an example (I try to keep my posts short and simple). Its actually called an "intrusion detection system" same idea as prevx and many other programs. Honestly though how many securitry programs do you need running at one time. If you have a firewall, antivirus, intrusion detection, spyware, spam, and any other scanner I cant think of at the moment it really starts to bog down system performance. You can only be so paranoid. Thats why most of the users here say get an AV, spyware blaster, and some firewall and thats it. You do not need all of that other crap. Just scan once a week and be done with it
As far as antivirus go I have tried them all and have come down to one that I really like Etrust EZ antivirus. Here is a link for a one year free trial:
http://store.ca.com/dr/v2/ec_main.entry25?...5939&CID=190471
Now for the Zone Alarm comment. I have tested it on every firewall testing site I have found and it always passes with flying colors. Like I said my recommendation goes to it for ease of use. Most unexperienced pc users will not set up a more advanced firewall correctly meaning it will not be doing its job correctly anyway.
Here are the security programs I use.
MS antispy (Real time scanner disabled)
Ad-aware
Spybot
Ewido
Zone Alarm
Etrust EZ Antivirus
Spyware Blaster
I have cleaned and kept clean my pcs with these programs and it dosent take loads of time to keep up. Anyway the best way to make sure your pc stays clean is to stay off of questionable sites, do not download crap software, and use an alternate browser.
I don't think there is any better anti-spyware scanner than MS antispyware 1.0 beta. I would recomend this especially since every other scanner that offers real-time protection you must pay for. This I think is a must have.
Thanks for you comments (i read all of them)
But this MS antispyware 1.0 is not for me currently .. (as i am using Windows ME still .. hehe - and not XP) ![:)]()
as to Antivirus ..and my need to purchase one.. - you misunderstood me.. lol - i actually do NOT like to purchase anything...
But for antivirus.. - Yes Kaspersky is surely good..
But i wasn't using one at all until recently.. but now i realize it's a MUST nowadays.. and currently after trying 3 great FREE ones (AVG, Avast! and german AntiVir) - i am using that german FREE AntiVir personal version currently .. settled down on it for now..
I like it's simlicity..and the way it operates.. over more fancier (looking anyhow) AVG and Avast (even though they are great also)..
But as i think, someone mentioned in a Freeware thread here.. - that AntiVir is excelent ..and not too fancy looking one (i do not like too fancy ones actually - simplicity is good) .. and does a great job..and the design of it, internet upgrade etc.. - just suit my needs...
and the dude at their German Forum there (home site's forum) told me that they will have a new version 7 soon (September October maybe).. somewhat fancier i guess.. with Automatic Internet Updating etc.. (even though i do not mind the way it's currently - where i just click on Start Internet Update Button.. and it goes and does the rest) ![:)]()
I like it anyhow....
Here are the security programs I use.
MS antispy (Real time scanner disabled)
Ad-aware
Spybot
Ewido
Zone Alarm
Etrust EZ Antivirus
Spyware Blaster
I have cleaned and kept clean my pcs with these programs and it dosent take loads of time to keep up. Anyway the best way to make sure your pc stays clean is to stay off of questionable sites, do not download crap software, and use an alternate browser.
Ya.. my PC is clean now also.. and to top it off i run this CCleaner somewhat couple times per week ![:)]()
And i use most of what you use there...
and Yes.. that Ewido supposed to be good also.. But i think it's also NOT for my Windows ME, isn't it?
(i am pretty sure .. i think i asked them confirmation..and they replied to me that it was NOT...)
If it was Ewido i was enquiring about.. i think so.. but can't recall now 100 %
Oh ya.. and that Free version of Firewall that was mentioned in Freeware thread here.. is Sygate Personal Firewall i think.. (never tried it neither yet).. Any comments about it?
I meant my description of Win Patrol as an example (I try to keep my posts short and simple).
Yeah but the line "it basically is a firewall that doesn't block anything" was pretty hilarious.
Yeah but the line "it basically is a firewall that doesn't block anything" was pretty hilarious.
I couldn't think of how to word that correctly. ![:P]()
I like it's simlicity..and the way it operates.. over more fancier (looking anyhow) AVG and Avast (even though they are great also)..
In all honesty I liked the GUI in the old AVG6, I'm not too fond of the GUI in AVG7. However that's a moot complaint hence it's freeware antivirus that's benefiting millions on the web (not just AVG users) by reducing the spreading of viruses and the like.
Avast on the otherhand can be made to look dirt-simple during its installation by deselecting the option to install skins. I initially couldn't stand Avast because it looked like a media player. However after finding out the skins installation could be disabled I completely changed my opinion about it, and when my eTrust EZ Antivirus 1 year trial ends I'll be making a decision between either it or Avast (minus the skins).
ya.. they are all good.. - but try FREE AntiVir maybe also - maybe you ll like it too.. some links:
AntiVir Personal Eddition Classic - http://www.free-av.com/
Support forum - http://www.free-av.de/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi
It found everything AVG did by the way ![:)]()
on a different note - Is Sophos Antivirus any good?
http://www.sophos.com/
Anyone tried?
There is also - Kaspersky's AntiHacker Firewall...
Anyone tried?
http://www.kaspersky.com/antihacker
AntiVir stability-wise doesn't agree with my WinXP system for some reason although I used to use as a secondary scanner on my Win98 system some years ago. It falsely detects virus code in my batch files that perform various automatted tasks on my system.
I tried Sophos either last year or two years ago (don't exactly remember), however I do remember not liking it that much. I can't give much more of an explanation since it didn't last 30 minutes on my system.
I haven't tried any Kaspersky product for many years, just seems like more bloatware, although I do know they have good detection in their antivirus products.
OK thank's
AntiVir didn't find false ones for me yet.. (but i do not make batch files though) ![:)]()
However i recall, vaguely.. asking the dude at their Forum ..about something like.. - if say it finds something that is not a virus...
He replied, i think.. that the file can be submitted to them.. to their submission link there.. and they will look at it.. and if not a virus.. one can exclude (?) or return it back to original shape.. (if choose "move to dir" option instead of "delete")
Or something like that...
When I used to use AntiVir it was when they had an English forum and a good forum it was, however when they suspended their English forum and only had a German forum I stopped using it since their forum was the only form of support for the free home edition. There's another antivirus product that looks just like AntiVir however it isn't free with the same GUI, etc., so perhaps they share technologies with another vendor, sorry I don't remember the name of it.