New System, does my security cut it?

keebsuk · 27 Jan 2013

Hi again,

I have a question for one of the security guru's which is the following.

I am new to Windows 7, having upgraded from WinXP. I have done a fresh install onto a brand new system and if I list the following security program's would someone tell me whether I have all my bases covered or not.

I use Zone Alarm Extreme Security along with regularly running ADWCleaner, CCleaner, Malwarebytes Pro and System Mechanic 11.5.

Is there anything I should change, or anything else I should run?

Many thanks in advance.

Andy

whs · 27 Jan 2013

CCleaner is good for cleaning temporary files. But do not use the registry cleaner part. It is not really needed.

Malwarebytes is a good scanner, but no AV program

The others I never used. I would probably not install them on my system. I would get rid of that stuff and use MSE instead. It's free. Especially this System Mechanic can make a lot of damage to your system. And a second cleaner you don't really need either.

On Zone Alarm I let other people comment. But you cannot run it together with MSE.

Lady Fitzgerald · 28 Jan 2013

I haven't seen any recent reports but ZA Extreme Security didn't get good reports when it first came out. I would recommend the free version of AVAST!, mostly because I use it now (I ran into a problem with MSE and updates and won't use it anymore), have used it in the past, and it works great for me. If you decide to use it, be careful not to load any of the extras such as Google software (I forget what else they try to slip in on you). Read every screen before clicking on it and you will be ok. You can't run AVAST! with the ZA suite you have now; you can use it only the free firewall.

Zone Alarm does make a great free firewall. Not everyone likes it because you get a lot of alerts at first but if you take time to read the alert before clicking on anything, ZA will quickly "learn" what to block and what to allow and you won't get very many alerts after that. It takes about a month to "train" ZA. Win 7 also has an excellent firewall but I feel ZA free is much easier to use.

Super AntiSpyware (SAS) is another good program to add to your arsenal. As long as you remember to manually run a scan every week (or you suspect something might be wrong), the free version will work just fine. Same for MBAM. The free version will work fine as long as you remember to run weekly scans (or as needed).

Rather than spend money on anti-malware programs, I would rather see you use the free ones and use the money you save on getting an external HDD for backups or to pay for a Carbonite account for backups. Backing up your computer is vital to avoid data loss if (more like when) something goes pear shaped in your computer.

keebsuk · 28 Jan 2013

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply :).

Lady Fitz, I will download SAS as you suggested, I have read good things about it.
I also have an external HDD, I just forgot to mention it in my system specs

.

Re ZA, I agree that in the early days it was very buggy, it can still be a bit that way inclined but the customer support is excellent. Having run it for a number of years, with a fair amount of success, I will carry on with it, I should also mention that I renewed the licence last week lol!

Once again, many thanks for the advice.

Andy

robinb9 · 02 Feb 2013

I totally agree with Lady F. I tell all my clients the exact same thing��

Layback Bear · 02 Feb 2013

System Mechanic and programs like that have made door stops of many computers.
I also use Ccleaner and have for years so that is a yes.
AdwCleaner I have used for months so that is still in the testing stage. So far so good.
What is the best? Who knows. Take a look at this.
UPnP networking flaw puts millions of PCs at risk
I will just list what I use. I think they are the best for me.
MSE
MAM Pro
SAS, on demand
Windows 7 built in Firewall
FileHippo Update Checker, on demand.
About once every 5 or 6 weeks I run Eset free online scanner. Because I'm paranoid.
NOTE: There is no Java on my computers. Java is a huge security problem.
No P2P or Torrents another huge security problems.

keebsuk · 04 Feb 2013

Thanks for your input LB and, as I am currently doing a fresh install, I will take yours and others advice and ditch System Mechanic

.

I must admit that without it, things will seem strange as I have had 4, trouble free years with it and it "appeared" to keep my PC running nice and smoothly.

Due to a falling out with Zone Alarm, see my post elsewhere!, I am now in the process of installing Bitdefender 2013. I also use Malwarebytes, CCleaner, ADWCleaner and SUPERAntiSpyware

so hopefully thats got as much as possible accounted for. Is there anything along the lines of System Mechanic that you or anyone else would suggest using or are they just cash generators for idiots like me?

Andy