Antivirus/Securityadvise

[Skie]

OK I'm getting really big into security of my PC atm. I was wondering what is the best available anti virus on the market atm. I realize that it is really personal option but I would like to hear what you have to say. Doesn't matter if its free or not (as long as i can torrent it, and if it is/not free can you suggest any virus free torrents of the software). Also what is a good firewall that doesn't restrict the hell out of shit like the previous ones i've used in the past. I've heard good things about zone alarm but would like second opinions. Also are there any good clean up tools to back up the anti virus besides cc cleaner, combo fix, and male-ware bites. Use to use spy bot search and destroy but didn't feel as though it was actually taking care of any problems, more of containing them. Also i would like to secure my wireless network more, can anyone suggest any way to do it? atm all i have is a WEP-Personal password.

Thanks.

[Cephius]

I pay for Nod32, it's pretty good. Always rated in the top 3 in the usual magazines and websites. If you don't want to pay or torrent it, Microsoft Security Essentials is pretty good as a free solution, if you can pass a genuine advantage check.

For firewalls I like Comodo's free one.

For wireless security, most routers have WPA on them, I'd use that as it's more secure than WEP.

[Rockstaru]

Adding a 2nd vote for NOD32. Runs very light, updates daily. Either that or Kaspersky.

[Skie]

Edit: found a decent cracked version, i hope at least scanning the hell out of it atm.

also is there an alternative to combo fix for x64 bit win 7 systems? From what i can derive from Google combo fix useless because root kits are impossible but would still like to have it if possible

[chiyio]

if you really want to use an antivirus program, just the use the free MS one. why fuck around with cracked stuff, that's just asking to get one of the fake antivirus things. if you didn't do your win7 install right and can't pass the genuine thing, use avira antivirus.

[Rellikard]

Comodo Internet Security's pretty thorough and free if you're looking for a free option. Otherwise, Kaspersky or an ESET product. Microsoft Security Essentials is ok but it's not by anyway shape or form made to be a stand alone anti-virus program and Microsoft's even said it's a compliment to your current anti-virus. But even if you go with something other than Comodo, use their free firewall. It's really good.

No anti-virus is 100% immune to viruses at all times, so if you want to be safe, you could also get something like Acronis to do image backups. There are free options but I've found Acronis to be the best option. Takes a snapshot of your entire OS and does about a 45-50% compression so if you have a 52GB OS install, it'll compress to around 25-27GB. And if shit hits the fan whether it's a virus taking control of your computer or your hard drive dies, load the image back on and it'll be like nothing happened. Free options would be Macrium Reflect (Haven't used in a long while) and O & O Disk Image Express both of which can be downloaded from Filehippo.com. Linux versions also exist if you feel comfortable doing it that way. But what's important is you want something that can also give you a bootable disc in case you can't boot to your OS.

Currently I use:
Comodo Internet Security Premium (Free; Anti-Malware, Firewall, Built-in Sandbox, Scans weekly by default on Sunday @ Midnight)
PeerBlock (Blocks IPs that you choose. Can load lists from websites to block like known hacked hubs, spyware machines, even government IPs)
Google Chrome with Flash Block, Ad Thwart and AdBlock.

In the end, it's all about the layered protection. If something gets past one layer, the next takes care of it. I haven't gotten any viruses within the past couple of years due to my setup. I used a similar setup before I used Chrome with Firefox. I used to use Kaspersky Internet Security, but since POL launching looks shady to most Anti-Virus programs, one day Kaspersky started using up 99% of my CPU because it didn't know what to do and caused my PC to constantly lock up even after adding POL to scanning exclusions. So had to get rid of it.

Anti-Virus Programs NOT to use:
Norton (Not always quick with updates so vulnerable to Zero-Day viruses and hogs a lot of system resources.)
McAfee (Same as Norton.)
AVG (People may swear by this but I've seen plenty of infected machines with an updated version of AVG.)

I work computers with viruses daily. People that come in who are infected typically use an updated or expired version of one of these 3 or have nothing at all. Norton has a slightly higher detection rate than Kaspersky but for most anti-virus programs, it typically comes down to Zero-Day virus protection. Kaspersky updates every hour, even if it's a small update while Norton can take 8-24hr to update. At that point if a new virus is on your machine, you're infected. If you want to check out these anti-virus programs in action vs. new viruses, go to Youtube and check out languy99's channel. He tests new Zero-Day viruses vs. all of the anti-virus programs you know and don't know. Hope that helps.

PS: Don't use cracked anti-virus programs or operating systems. Less problems with a cracked OS but you're risking being infected with a cracked AV.

[Omniyoji]

Aside from the already listed programs I've taken a liking towards SUPERAntiSpyware

[Kerberoz]

Common sense and not downloading warez from every random site like a 12-year-old > any antivirus.

[Ohemgee]

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Its free

[Rellikard]

Not everyone wants to use linux and pr0n sites, social networking sites, e-mail, and sites with programs that do shady things are the most common places to contract viruses atm.

[Skie]

Not everyone wants to use linux and pr0n sites, social networking sites, e-mail, and sites with programs that do shady things are the most common places to contract viruses atm.

I thought it was common knowledge that the internet was for porn. Back on track i downloaded the free trial of NOD32. Acronis seems intresting i'll take a look into that. Also which browser is more secure? FF or chrome?

[Rellikard]

I would say neither by themselves is more secure than the other but they're more secure than IE. You'll need plug-ins/extensions to make them very secure. For FF: NoScript and AdBlock is what I used to use. Chrome: AdBlock, Flash Block, AdThwart. May be more but those are the ones I know of. I do like Chrome though since it updates itself. So if there are security holes, the browser's updated the next time you open it up. Never have to worry about doing that unless you keep it open for like a few days then it'll just prompt you to restart at some point since there's an update.

[Boyiee]

I'm using Kaspersky. Got it for like 20$ on ebay.

[Killgannon]

Common sense and not downloading warez from every random site like a 12-year-old > any antivirus.

This is best advice. Because in Reality unless you're running linux (even this is getting hit some these days) 0day viruses will still wreck you regardless of which AV software you have.

As an addition to this, malware in the future will be OS inspecific see here: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/re...attacks-111010

Edit: Be sure to read the comments on the link above <3