Best free protection combo 2012?

Robwan

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I'm getting a scrap of norton 360.

What are your recommendations for a good FREE protection combo?

I'm thinking

MSE or Avira

+
Comodo firewall
+
Spyware Blaster

Thanks!


P.s sorry if this has already been asked, i did a search on the forum but couldn't seem to find much.
 

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Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR31535MB GeForce GTX 580
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
Memory
6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ GL2460
Screen Resolution
1920x1080@60Hz
Hard Drives
466GB Seagate ST3500418AS ATA Device (SATA)
PSU
corsair tx650w
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Akasa Nero AK-967
Keyboard
Cheap asda keyboard
Mouse
Gigabyte M6900
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Chrome
I'm getting a scrap of norton 360.

What are your recommendations for a good FREE protection combo?

I'm thinking

MSE or Avira

+
Comodo firewall
+
Spyware Blaster

Thanks!


P.s sorry if this has already been asked, i did a search on the forum but couldn't seem to find much.

MSE or AVG free (I wouldnt use Avira)

The built in firewall (not Comodo)

Malware bytes (not spyware blaster)

These are from a BSOD (stability perspective)
 

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Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
I use MSE or Avast for AV.

For real-time, I also use MBAM Pro (paid), SpywareBlaster, Winpatrol, and Browser add-ons.

@zigzag3143 - you say "(not spyware blaster)".
Why?
Does it cause problems?
I've used it a long time and never noticed any problems.
If it is a potential problem, I'd like to know...
Thanks, David
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x6...AMD Athlon II x4 6206GB GSkill DDR2 800AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
I use MSE or Avast for AV.

For real-time, I also use MBAM Pro (paid), SpywareBlaster, Winpatrol, and Browser add-ons.

@zigzag3143 - you say "(not spyware blaster)".
Why?
Does it cause problems?
I've used it a long time and never noticed any problems.
If it is a potential problem, I'd like to know...
Thanks, David

I mentioned "from a BSOD (stability) perspective". SB has "issues" on some systems (more on legacy hardware)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
I'm getting a scrap of norton 360.

What are your recommendations for a good FREE protection combo?

I'm thinking

MSE or Avira

+
Comodo firewall
+
Spyware Blaster

Thanks!
P.s sorry if this has already been asked, i did a search on the forum but couldn't seem to find much.

To protect yourself from the evils of the internet your basic protection should include

*Anti Virus Program [ MSE is free & is used by many people here]


*Anti Malware Programs
Malwarebytes free

Malwarebytes : Download free malware, virus and spyware tools to get your computer back in shape!

Suggest you include SpywareBlaster also.


SpywareBlaster® | Prevent spyware and malware. Free download.

*Firewall The inbuilt Widows Firewall is adequate.


*Router / firewall


It is important you update programs & scan regularly.


You are advised to exercise caution with what you click on.

Don’t engage in activities such as file sharing, warez cracks, adult content, online gambling or other high-risk behaviors.

 

My Computer My Computer

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Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit. SP1.Intel i7 -720QM.[1.6GHz Turbo Boost 2.8GHz. 6...8 DDR 3 RAM. 1066MHZATI 1024 MB. DDR3. Radeon HD5650
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
LAPTOP. HP Pavilion dv7-4010TX .
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit. SP1.
CPU
Intel i7 -720QM.[1.6GHz Turbo Boost 2.8GHz. 6MB Cache.]
Memory
8 DDR 3 RAM. 1066MHZ
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 1024 MB. DDR3. Radeon HD5650
Monitor(s) Displays
17.3" High Definition Brightview LCD. LED Backlit.
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900.
Hard Drives
640GB
Case
Laptop / notebook.
Mouse
Logitech Anywhere mouse. MX.
Internet Speed
ADSL [ but too slow ]
Yes, i know you referred to a BSOD point of view.
I help some people and recommend/install programs based on my knowledge - very often Backup, Security, and Cleanup programs.
Knowing SB may be an issue helps me and them...
I don't want to shoot myself in the foot :focus:
Thanks, David
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x6...AMD Athlon II x4 6206GB GSkill DDR2 800AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
Yes, i know you referred to a BSOD point of view.
I help some people and recommend/install programs based on my knowledge - very often Backup, Security, and Cleanup programs.
Knowing SB may be an issue helps me and them...
I don't want to shoot myself in the foot :focus:
Thanks, David

Great idea David.

I have been there and done that.

Solely from my perspective (BSOD's) I would recommend

MSE
Win 7 firewall
MBAM.

Not that I use them (I dont)

I would not recommend;
Norton
Kaspersky
McAfee

Good luck with Them.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
Thanks for the explanation and clarification.

To further clarify for me - I use Windows Firewall and a hardware router firewall...
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x6...AMD Athlon II x4 6206GB GSkill DDR2 800AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
Ok cool, some really helpful stuff here guys, thanks a lot :)

probs gonna go with MSE+MBAM+Spyware blaster, however only reason i was thinking of comodo firewall is because it's easier to have more control over it i.e blocking individual programs etc. I'm aware Win FW can do this but I've heard it's more complicated?

So in total, including stuff i already have I'll be looking at something like this as a healthy jacket of armor.

Real time protection

MSE
Spyware blaster
Winpatrol
Windows FW/Comodo FW


Regular manual use
MBAM
Ccleaner
Macrium


OS is win 7 pro 64
browser is Firefox
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR31535MB GeForce GTX 580
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
Memory
6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ GL2460
Screen Resolution
1920x1080@60Hz
Hard Drives
466GB Seagate ST3500418AS ATA Device (SATA)
PSU
corsair tx650w
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Akasa Nero AK-967
Keyboard
Cheap asda keyboard
Mouse
Gigabyte M6900
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Chrome
If you are planning on using 2 software firewalls ("Windows FW/Comodo FW" ) at the same time - not good.

Use only one of them.

As you have Win7 64 bit you can try WaterFox, it is the 64 bit version of Firefox.
I have been using it and no problems here, but i can't say if it's any more secure than FireFox.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x6...AMD Athlon II x4 6206GB GSkill DDR2 800AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
fwiw

MBAM Pro (paid) is a lifetime license, so there are no annual renewal fees. To me the cost is worth it...
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x6...AMD Athlon II x4 6206GB GSkill DDR2 800AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
If you are planning on using 2 software firewalls ("Windows FW/Comodo FW" ) at the same time - not good.

Use only one of them.

As you have Win7 64 bit you can try WaterFox, it is the 64 bit version of Firefox.
I have been using it and no problems here, but i can't say if it's any more secure than FireFox.

Quite right, i would just use 1 to avoid any conflict.

Waterfox! ha, did even know it existed, I've heard of Nightly. May have to check this out, thanks.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR31535MB GeForce GTX 580
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom
OS
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
i7 920 Factory OC 3.4ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
Memory
6GB 1600mhz Triple-Channel DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
1535MB GeForce GTX 580
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
BenQ GL2460
Screen Resolution
1920x1080@60Hz
Hard Drives
466GB Seagate ST3500418AS ATA Device (SATA)
PSU
corsair tx650w
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Akasa Nero AK-967
Keyboard
Cheap asda keyboard
Mouse
Gigabyte M6900
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Chrome
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