MikeB said:
I much appreciate your thoughts, and on the basis of your very rational
discussion, I think I'm going to downgrade my NIS to NAV and stick with
Norton - I don't care how much resources it consumes, I just want to
know its the best I can get.
For a firewall I think I'll get ZoneAlarm - but I've got some research
to do still.
For spyware I have Lavasoft AdAware and MS Anti-spyware.
Thanks again Ron.
Mike,
You are certainly welcome. For your anti-spyware arsenal, check out these:
Spyware Blaster - site blocking
(
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html)
Spybot S&D - on demand scanning, frequent updates
(
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/)
a2 (a-squared free) - on demand scanning, frequent updates
(
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/)
Ewido Security Suite - on demand scanning, frequent updates
(
http://www.ewido.net/en/download/)
Almost everyone around here uses Spyware Blaster and Spybot S&D. A2
and Ewido specialize in fighting Trojans. With anti-spyware apps, the
more the merrier, unlike your AV app and PFW ... one of each will do
just fine.
The info I gave you WRT AV apps was based on a year of research. If
your AV app fits your needs, go for it. It's an AV app, not a
religion. PFWs are a different story, definitely a religion. <g>
Stealth or not, Outbound or not. The Stealth and Outbound side says
that the PFW matters. Here is the other side:
(
http://www.samspade.org/d/firewalls.html)
Suffice it to say, that if you have a broadband connection, at the
very least a cheap NAT router is a must.
FWIW, I am a KAV fan, but my daughter gets her McAfee AV with her
Comcast subscription. She wanted to know if she should switch. I told
her "Hell No!, save your money for your parents' old age. And stay
away from the porno sites." <g>
Ron