I disagree about the value of the built-in firewalls in XP and Vista. They
monitor and block incoming requests only and do nothing to alert you of
otherwise-undetected malware running on your PC and making outbound requests.
Thus, those firewalls are relatively useless because most viruses and
malware are installed on PCs by direct action of the user, such as visiting a
website and requesting files that they trusted not to be infected.
Once those files are on your pc, until caught by anti-virus or other malware
detection programs, can freely record your passwords and send them to
identity thieves or can use your PC for sending spam or can use your PC as
part of a bot network. A real firewall would prevent any of those behaviors.
For the technically non-astute, I recommend Live OneCare's firewall. It
automatically allows most phone home features of Windows to get through the
firewall so anything else requesting outbound should be examined closely.
Of course that automatic phone home permission is exactly why I do not
recommend OneCare for the technically astute. For those able and willing to
learn a little about firewalls and to configure their own firewall, I
recommend Jetico 2.0.
--
Dale Preston
MCAD C#
MCSE, MCDBA
"Malke" wrote:
> Valley_R wrote:
> > Anyone familiar with Authentium? Do they do a good job of protecting against
> > viruses, threats, spam, etc?
> >
> > Would you recommend them?
> >
> > They provide a free security suite through my ISP and I'm not sure if their
> > service is equal to Norton, McAfee, TrendMicro, etc.
>
> I've seen that security suite and don't think much of it. In general, I
> don't like security suites anyway. They tend to be really bloated and
> bog down the computer. I like NOD32, Kaspersky, or Avast (free) for
> antivirus protection. If you are running XP or Vista, the built-in
> Windows Firewall is adequate for most people.
>
> As for antispyware programs, I don't like them to run resident anyway
> although Vista has Windows Defender running. I prefer regular
> maintenance with good programs instead combined with the all-important
> practice of "Safe Hex".
>
> These links will help:
>
> http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
>
> Safe Hex:
> http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971 - So How Did I Get
> Infected Anyway?
> http://www.getsafeonline.org/
> http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction
> http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html
> http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
> http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2006/02/05/82584.aspx - MVP
> Harry Waldron - The Family PC - How to stay safe on the Internet
> http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - Eric Howes on
> Rogue Antispyware Programs
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>