Internet Security

[Narnia]

My Norton Internet Security account is due to be renewed very soon. As I'm in a belt tightening mood I wonder if there are any free products out there which will do the job just as well? Any suggestions/comments welcomed.

[JohnL]

I used to use AVG for antivirus

is it still free ?

[mockney piers]

AVG is free and does the job.

But tbh, just make sure your firmware is up to date on your router and don't run untrusted executables.

Frankly that's all you need to do.

[Narnia]

Lost me MP with 'firmware' and 'untrusted executables'. Can you translate to idiot speak please?

[jaybee82]

Prices for Kaspersky AV on Amazon are pretty reasonable - thats what I use. I wouldn't recommend AVG/Avast/Comodo on a shared machine but if you're the only one using it and you're responsible about the sites you visit it works fine.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kaspersky-Internet-Security-2011-Subscription/dp/B003KTMF7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286526037&sr=8-1

[ianr]

For anti-virus I used to use free AVG, but then found it a probable cause (just possibly in interaction with Zone Alarm firewall) of intermittent undue slowing or hanging of the computer due to its hogging the processor. Anyway, I couldn't get to the bottom of it, so switched to free Avast, which seems fine.

I'd advise using a software firewall too, preferably one that monitors outgoing requests as well as incoming -- more chance of detecting any intruder that has slipped under the net and wants to communicate with the outside world.

I understand that Norton can sometimes be a bit difficult to uninstall fully. There is an uninstall tool available if need be, possibly even from Norton. I think it's easily findable.

[Loz]

AVG and AVAST! are just as good as paid-for versions (and in fact less processor hungry than McAfee). I use AVG myself.

[mockney piers]

Firmware is the software that runs your router, your router is the most important firewall to stop malicious things attempting to hack into your PC, it's generally a good idea to keep it up to date.

The only way that things can get into your PC after that is if you install them. Typically these are malware or trojans rather than viruses.

They can get in because you install them in a trusting fashion when they're not what they claim to be. It might be a toolbar or a utility of some sort tat you're looking for.

Generally they come from unsolicited and untrusted sources, ie not your mum or your mate, but if they themselves are infected then a virus could send emails from their machines so that it looks trusted and it might say 'click on this t's great' and the this in question will be an executable, ie something that executes on your PC.

One surefire sign is if the file has .exe at the end, but it could easily be in a script of some sort, and clever types even manage to embed bits of malicious code in things like pictures or PDFs to exploit vulnerabilities in the programes that use them, ie Adobe Reader, so its also important to install those updates when prompted.

Bottom line trust noone and research before downloading and installing anything, make sure its from a reputable site such as http://download.cnet.com

Cue smugly tedious Mac owners bleating about how they don't have to worry about this sort of thing.

[louisiana]

MP, some (many) developers I know only use Mac for online banking etc. (i.e. for things that really matter.) At least you can then be fairly sure you don't have any nasty key-logging etc. bits of malware running.

I use AVG on an old PC/music server and Mac otherwise.