What security scans do I need to run?

[vancouv]

I know that if you ask 10 people what they think about anything on a PC you'll get 10 different answers! But I wondered what people thought about the security products I'm using. By the way, I don't like paying for anything!

Currently I have Zone alarm and AVG as my firewall and anti-virus.

I regularly run AVG virus scans, as well as Ad-Aware scans and use Spywareblaster.

I've never had a problem with anything, although these do sometimes come up with things that I get rid of.

Is this sufficient to keep my PC safe? Or are there other things that people think I should be doing in addition?

[oldbeefer]

ASquared is another good, free antimalware prog http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

I also suggest CCleaner - run once a week to get rid of left over rubbish http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

[Saab Dastard]

The one thing that I always recommend is a hardware firewall for the home.

Yes, you should still have a software firewall - especially on a laptop that travels and connects to wifi hotspots.

Bear in mind that the frequency of updates is crucial for AV - daily if possible, not so critical for malware (in my experience).

AV (and ideally malware) sweeps should be done daily, and the AV should be running in on-demand mode to scan files as they are opened.

I also recommend that your normal account is NOT an admin - any nasties that get through are NOT able to install themselves if you are just a user (not Power User). But many people find the difficulties of operating windows in this mode outweigh the benefit.

The other thing to use is the thing between your ears! Be sensible about internet use.

SD

[Keef]

What SD said (there's a surprise!).

I use ZoneAlarm and AVG, AdAware, Spywareblaster, and a very good hardware firewall. I've not had an infection in a very long time.

The advantage with those particular ones is that they don't slow down the computer like certain (expensive) commercial products.

I get "TOTAL STEALTH" reports from ShieldsUp! - that's well worth a check.

[Tarq57]

What you need depends largely upon how important it is that the data on your PC doesn't fall into the wrong hands. If you use it for banking etc, or there is sensitive info on it, then it's very important.
Other things to take into account might involve a situation where you've lost all the family photos/documents because something has wiped them out, but hasn't actually stolen your CC password.
An answer for the former is to have very good system immunity and prevention capabilities.
A good answer for the second case (and good practice generally) is to make backups of anything you don't want to lose.
Malware has moved a bit from being a vandalistic hobby for geeks to being a multi million dollar business, with gangs involved, purchasing trojan horses etc to order from dodgy software writers. Some of the most successful of these are those that quietly run in the background without wreaking havoc, so you're less likely to notice them. This category includes rootkits, which can be quite difficult to detect and remove.
Not wishing to be alarmist, here, most of us will never happen across one of these, but it can happen. A lot of the M$ patches that are released are for discovered vulnerabilities, usually in browsers, but really for anything that can be exploited.
Suggestions for prevention/system hardening: Make sure your computer and all its applications is fully patched and up to date.Secunia (http://secunia.com/software_inspector/) is a good online check for this.
Consider using a hosts file (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm) which will prevent the browser loading known dodgy sites.
There aren't many resident free antispywares around. Windows Defender is one. SPywareTerminator (http://www.spywareterminator.com/dnl/landing.aspx) is another, and better. (Get the smaller download, without the toolbar.) (Unless you want the toolbar.)
SpywareBlaster you already have. Excellent.
Tighten up the security settings on your browser. Don't have it configured to run scripts/activex without you getting the option to block same. Consider a better browser than the integrated-into-the-OS IE series. Firefox is good. Get some extensions for it like Noscript, and Ad-block. Opera is another popular one.
Consider running from a user account rather than an admin account when on the internet. I find this too limiting. There's a program available called "Drop my rights" which allows you to run a browser or email application, not as an admin.
Use a two way software firewall. I use Comodo, but have herd/read that ZA is considered OK.
Consider disabling services Windows runs by default that often aren't needed for the average user. Not only can this improve security, it soups up the PC. Here's (http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm) a useful tweak site.
Any folders you have that contain sensitive data, encrypt or password protect them.
For scanning and cleaning I use (and never find anything more fearsome than a cookie) the aforementioned SpywareTerminator, Superantispyware, (http://www.superantispyware.com/) AVG AS, (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spyware/us/frt/0) Asquared (link above) and Spybot.
For rootkit detection AVG Antirootkit (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/39798/us/frt/0) is easy to use...a lot of them really aren't, unless you're an expert.
AdAware will never be on my computer again. The 2007 version is resource hungry and buggy, the forum next to useless, support for the old SE version is about to cease. (How long since you've updated it?)
If you want to get really techy, virtualisation and sandbox programs, and HIPS might be the way to go. Not for the average user, though.
This all just touches on applications/procedures to use. All links have free versions. Sorry to rabbit on.
Or you could get a Mac. No challenge in that, though!

[BOAC]

Anyone else found that Trend Micro's 'House Call' is running slowly and occasionally hanging? It used to run quite smoothly.

[stickyb]

I get "TOTAL STEALTH" reports from ShieldsUp! - that's well worth a check.

You don't say what sort of internet connection you have. If it is adsl then you probably have NAT in the modem/Router, and therefore don't need any extra protection against incoming port attacks - the sort that ShieldsUp tests for. Zone Alarm etc is totally superfluous for that situation.

There are only two sorts of threat, those that try to sneak onto your machine uninvited (the port attack using well known loopholes) and the ones you invite in yourself by visiting a web site with a nasty payload or opening an email with a nasty payload.

My recommdations would be :

If on ADSL make sure you are behind a NAT correctly configured, secure password, no DMZ, Upnp disabled
Install WIndows secuity updates
Good AV software, updated daily
Good spyware checker, updated regularly
A keen sense of self preservation when receiving unwanted emails, especially ones with attachments

[Tarq57]

Mike Jenvey,
Several computer forums suggest on-going compatibility problems with Lavasoft & Vista.
Including lavasoft's own support forum.LS Forum Post (http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=13082)
This despite the fact that the latest LS blog entry on the official site indicated it would be Vista-ready at the end of August.
(Heck, it was supposed to be Vista-ready when they first released it a few months ago!)
I'd use something else. Something better. (Which is almost anything.)

[Keef]

I get "TOTAL STEALTH" reports from ShieldsUp! - that's well worth a check.
You don't say what sort of internet connection you have. If it is adsl then you probably have NAT in the modem/Router, and therefore don't need any extra protection against incoming port attacks - the sort that ShieldsUp tests for. Zone Alarm etc is totally superfluous for that situation.

It is indeed ADSL, and I did indeed choose a modem/router with a good NAT firewall. That protects me from incoming, but doesn't do much about anything that might get onto the PC and try to connect outwards. ZA has done sterling service in preventing various Microsoft and Symantec spyware (and others) from communicating with "home".

And then, when I pick up the laptop and wander off into a hotel somewhere, I can be reasonably sure that I'm still protected.

The "overhead" for ZA plus AVG isn't that bad, compared with the risks they protect against. I'd recommend them both every time.