Hi all. I have just done a clean reinstall of windows xp on my laptop and I have a number of security programs. I know I have too much on there, but Im after advice on what I do and dont need. The programs I have are: Norton internet security 2005 (its on a long licence and still works fine) Ad-aware anniversary edition Spybot search and destroy Mallwarebytes Spyware blaster Sanna security primary response safe connect I know Norton, Adaware, mallwarebytes and Sanna are all working in real time running in the background. I also am pretty sure they are going to conflict and slow things down. What I would like to know is what ones should I keep and which ones should I ditch. Im pretty certain I have gone a bit overboard so any help and advice would be most welcome. Many Thanks.
This is all I have, and I haven't had any malware problems in over a year. 1. zonealarm firewall 2. avg free antivirus 3. firefox browser 4. returnil virtual system (free version) Your norton internet security provides you with a firewall and antivirus. Many people don't consider a browser important, but getting rid of "internet explorer" will improve your security tremendously. All the other antispyware software you have is not needed, your antivirus will catch most hazards. You can keep them as long as they don't run in the background. Only load them to run a scan. Antispyware software is what will slow down your computer, so only use it if required (example if you use internet explorer as your browser). Finally get the returnil virtual system, in my computer it is my last line of defense. Nothing has ever defeated returnil. When you have returnil enabled (I always enable it when I surf the internet) it seperates your hard drive from the internet. It is the only security software that won't slow down your computer.
Thank you for the reply Jony. I have never heard of returnil so I will have to investigate it and get it on my laptop. I have now turned off the adaware, spybot and malwarebytes real time monitoring and that has speeded up my laptop considerably. Thanks once again for the advice. Fluke32
Returnil will be an excellent addition to your security setup, it is as simple as disable/enable protection. The computer boots up with returnil disable, at this time you can update your antivirus etc and make permanent changes to your computer. Once you are ready to surf the internet "enable" returnil protection (this happens instantly), now your desktop is a virtual copy of your hard drive (you can edit your registry/wallpaper/etc) nothing will be written to the real hard drive. To disable returnil, you need to turn off the computer. Next time it boots up it'll have no traces of what happen when you where in the virtual mode. It has worked fine in all 5 different computers I installed it in. At first I didn't think this program would be useful to me, but it has kept me safe on the internet. It's also free. http://www.majorgeeks.com/Returnil_Virtual_System_Personal_Edition_d5702.html returnil forums http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=103
