[boo5790]

hey all, i'm just wondering how good threatfire is before i try it. does anyone have it and has anyone had any problems with it. how is it on the system resources. i have the windows xp firewall, avira free for viruses and winpatrol. i use superantispyware and malwarebytes free for scans and spyware blaster. i would like to know if thats enough or would threatfire with realtime protection be a good idea. i have checked out a lot of other posts and there seems to be a difference of opinion on what is too much and there is never enough protection as long as they get along. i got the free year subscription for zone alarm pro but i read some posts where they say it is hard on resources so i havent installed it yet. just wondering what you all think and its greatly appreciated. i'm just trying to learn as i go

[karbo]

Well, I haven't tried Threatfire but I think overkilling is not necessarily better. Too many real-time scannings will slow down your system, not mentioning possible conflicts between programs.

I would also suggest disabling XP's firewall if you're using another firewall.

Personaly, I think you already have plenty of malware protection and there's no use in adding one more.

[boo5790]

oky doky, thank you kindly. i am only using the windows xp firewall right now because i read in other posts that the zone alarm pro was hard on resources.

[karbo]

May I suggest ESET Smart Security (NOD32 antivirus + firewall)? Really easy on system ressources.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by karbo

May I suggest ESET Smart Security (NOD32 antivirus + firewall)? Really easy on system ressources.

I must second this and if you run that and either Superantispyware or Malwarebytes in the background, you would be impregnable.

[boo5790]

i am only using superantispyware free and malwarebytes antimalware free. so i dont have the real time protection with them. i use them for running a scan now and then. the only real time protection i have is spyware blaster and winpatrol. at least for adware and spyware protection. thanks a lot for the advice.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by boo5790

i am only using superantispyware free and malwarebytes antimalware free. so i dont have the real time protection with them. i use them for running a scan now and then. the only real time protection i have is spyware blaster and winpatrol. at least for adware and spyware protection. thanks a lot for the advice.

I know that I was suggesting you invest $19.99 for life to save your time because then you can set it to auto update and run scans daily and never worry about those efforts again because tied into Nod32, you could not be safer.

[boo5790]

hi rich, what would you sugest to be the better, nod 32 antivirus or the eset smart security with the fire wall. or is windows xp firewall good enough. did you mean that the nod 32 is 19.95 for life? if so that is pretty cheap for good security. is the only difference between the two the firewall?

[karbo]

I would suggest ESET Smart Security. Windows firewall is... well... not enough in my opinion.

If Windows firewall was a "firewall", there wouldn't be so many firewalls out there for free or to buy...

[boo5790]

k thanks karbo, i will try the free trial of eset smart security and go from there.

[karbo]

Don't forget to disable Windows firewall before using ESET to avoid conflicts.

Also, don't forget to put the ESET firewall in the "Interactive" mode instead of "Automatic". Use Automatic only to install programs so you won't be bothered with pop-ups prompting you because the programs need to access the Internet to be properly installed.

[boo5790]

will do and thanks again.

[Rich-M]

Originally Posted by boo5790

hi rich, what would you sugest to be the better, nod 32 antivirus or the eset smart security with the fire wall. or is windows xp firewall good enough. did you mean that the nod 32 is 19.95 for life? if so that is pretty cheap for good security. is the only difference between the two the firewall?

No Superantispyware is $19.95 for life...use it but watch the update screens as sooner or later you will see the special offer.
I would run Nod32 3.0 and Windows firewall, it's all I have used for years.

[karbo]

ESET Smart Security will cost you about 20$ more for a one year subscription. This includes NOD32 antivirus, a firewall, an antispam module and an antispyware.

I think it's worth the money and IMHO exceeds Windows firewall.

Did you ever perform a leak test of your Windows firewall?

I also think Windows protects you only from incoming threats and not from outgoing ones (very important).

[lunarlander]

I use Threatfire on one of my machines and so far it has only detected me trying to install a printer driver. But then, that machine is not heavily used. Detecting installation of drivers is good, as some malware are implemented as drivers. I suspect that some parts of it is not working as intended under Vista, as my event log shows it fails a hash check somewhere.