OT: Software Recommendations
 

Okay, I think I may be one of thr first people getting ADSL in the Solomon Islands, maybe beginning next month. I've never had an always on Internet connection before and I don't even run any antivirus software.

But if I'm going to leave my computer always connected, I supposed I will have to run some new stuff, so what do you guys recommend in terms of antivirus, firewall etc. software?

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Linux

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Linux is a new style of life, and it's sometimes hard to accustomize.

If you stuck with windoze, get a good personal firewall. ZoneAlarm, Agnitum Outpost are quite good. I use Look'n'Stop, because of small size and reliability. But it's quite difficult for begginers.
If you have some money, you can even buy hardware firewall. They provide much better protection, as well as additional services.

Antiviruses (Kaspersky AV, Norton AV, Bitdefender and a bunch of others) and antispyware (best ones are Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy) are must have apps in the modern windoze world.

Traffic meter (DUMeter and TMeter): so you always know how much money you have to pay, unless you have unlimited access of course.

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

As for firewall, you will want the best (personal firewall), Kerio 2.1.5. It is free for personal use. Do not get the later Versions, as they are not improved any, just bloated.

Stay away from Norton Anti-virus.

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

My personal recomendation would be Nortan antivirus and internet security pro, which is what I use. We have never had any problems. It even has a neat little feature that traces a hackers ip adress and, if succesful, will give you the adress of the physicla location of the computer. We've actually done this a few times. Also if you are going to use a dsl conection for multiple computers, get a dsl router. Most half way decent routers come with built in firewalls.

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Beware of Norton. Symantec does NOT provide engine updates as part of their subscription plan, thus forcing you to buy a new Version every year or so to be fully protected. An out of date engine, even with new signatures, will not detect some new threats. Case in point: NAV 2003 does not have unpackers (note: I'm not referring to zip/rar/tar/etc, those are archivers) and cannot detect virii in packed executables, even if it has the defs for them. NAV 2004 has some unpackers, but not as many or as good as 2005. On the other hand, McAfee provides engine updates to anyone with a valid subscription. Theoretically you could still be running Version 4.x and still be fully protected. I think most other vendors also provide engine updates.

Also note, free AVs are worth the money you pay for them. They're ALL pathetic compared to the likes of Norton, McAfee, and Kaspersky. Then again, NOTHING compares to Kaspersky. It has the best detection, hands down. It also updates the most often.

The next and most important thing you'll want is a router. Home routers are cheap, quick, and easy to configure. There is no reason not to have one and I'd rate it the most important layer in your security setup. ANY* soho router, whether it says it includes a firewall or not, will block unsolicited traffic. In other words, it'll protect your network from the worms that rove the internet these days.

Routers only do half the job. They block unsolicited incoming access, but (SOHO routers at least) can't prevent an application on your system from reaching out to the internet. For that you'll need a personal firewall. I recommend Kerio 2.1.5. Learn it, it's worth it. Otherwise, go with ZoneAlarm. No, you don't need the Pro Version, it's kitchensinkware that includes a lot of crap that doesn't belong in a firewall product, IMHO.

If you're running Windows 2000 or XP, it might also be a good idea to consider an anti-trojan application. Anti-virus scanners are all well and good, but many of them simply can't deal with trojans. I would recommend you visit the DSLReports Security forum and check out the FAQ, you'll find links to anti-trojan vendors there.

Finally, realize security is very much a risk-assessment exercise. If you're an average user and use IE 6 on XP, you'll want all the protection you can get, and should have a router, firewall, anti-virus, anti-trojan, and Ad-Aware, Spybot S&D, Javacoolsoftware.com's SpywareGuard and SpywarebLaster, and IE-SpyAd. If you don't use IE, you can afford to ditch the anti-spyware apps.

In a nutshell, you need a router (scale 1-10: 10), it would be a very good idea to have a firewall (1-10: 9), and you definitely want good AV protection (varies depending on your habits, really. Generally: 7). AT protection might also be a good idea particularly if you run 2000/XP, as ATs are particularly powerful there. (1-10: 6)

*I say any because you'll be hard-pressed to find one that doesn't at least to NAT, and that in itself provides a lot of protection.

Interesting trivia: KAV has the best detection and most frequent updates in large part because of a very active userbase. KAV Users regularly submit samples to Kaspersky labs which, if undetected, signatures are quickly developed for. Generally speaking McAfee and NAV Users aren't so vigilant, and I'd venture to say 90+% don't even know about how to submit suspected malware to their vendor. You can learn more about submitting malware at the security forum above.

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

A hardware NAT firewall, no software firewall, being careful and not running any kind of MS Outlook. Software firewalls are often worse than most viruses. Though if you're not careful or don't know how to be, then a non-obnoxious software firewall and/or anti-virus program might be good. However I would just run virus scans manually every so often, rather than installing something to constantly check, since that tends to interfere with and and slow down your computer. I like Ad Aware and Housecall, the free web virus scanner from Trend Micro.

PvK

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Free Antivirus Online Scan By Panda Soft.
BitDefender On Line Virus Scan

Broad Band Speed Test
DSL Reports (BETTER)

Security Forums A great source for information and support.

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Interesting links AT. It looks like I'm near the upper end for my ISP service. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: OT: Software Recommendations
 

Hmm, thanks for all the suggestions everyone. A reminder, though, I want to be careful, but I don't need to be paranoid...

And since I'm such a neophyte at this and have never used a router before, how are networks usually set up? Is it:

Phone Line -> Home Server -> Router -> Other Computers

Or:

Phone Line -> Router -> Computers

If I used the first configuration and run a software firewall on the first computer, do I still need to run them on every individual computer? I prefer to spend my CPU power and memory on games rather than security software, so I'd like my programs to have as little a footprint as possible and as PvK suggests, only run antivirus and spyware checking software occasionally when I need them as opposed to having them in memory all the time.

I confess that I'm still using IE and Outlook, but being on dial-up means that it's so much of a pain to download lots of new things. I suppose I should change those too as soon as I can.

For reference, currently the service is expected to be 256 upload / 64 download, 6 Gb data transfer limit for about USD300 per month with a minimum contractual period of 12 months and about USD250 for installation charges. And all these prices are pre-sales tax.