Is my Laptop protected enough ?

antharr · 04 Aug 2010

Petey7 said:

whs said:

Speaking of best protection: I suggest everybody use imaging. I take an automatic image every morning at boot time. That protects me better than anything because I can always bail myself out. I happen to use free Macrium, but there are more good options.

I was just coming here to say something about this. I, personally, don't use imaging (I've heard claims that it can back-up viruses like system restore does), but I have spent a lot of time backing up all my personal files, my themes, the installers for my drivers, the user data for my browser (history, add-ons, themes, bookmarks, etc.) and the installers for my AV programs. I even have an image of my 7 DVD on my external HDD just in case. Having to reinstall or having a HDD fail on me (had a drive replaced a month ago, reinstalled night before last) hardly phases me when it takes an hour after install to get everything exactly as it was before. Really, its up to the user how they back-up their stuff. What matters is actually doing it. It saves a lot of time when something goes wrong and nothing gets rid of malware like a clean install.

1.Clean install
2.Configure everything the way you like it
3.Back up with Macrium

Faster than a complete install if you ever need to start anew.

AussieGuy92 · 04 Aug 2010

+ 1 on making a system image i learned that the hard way when windows would not boot and start up repair did nothing.

also is it worth switching from avast to MSE?

Petey7 · 04 Aug 2010

stillfreefilms said:

also is it worth switching from avast to MSE?

It depends on the person. I didn't care for Avast but it comes down to what you like. I'd recommend uninstalling avast and trying MSE for a week or so. Then you can decide for yourself.

AussieGuy92 · 04 Aug 2010

might give it a go hope it auto updates

aaronmiller2010 · 05 Aug 2010

Thanks richc46,
I am now using both MSE & Malwarebytes and my laptop is running fine!!.

malexous · 05 Aug 2010

SevenNerd said:

I use no antivirus, no firewall, (I have router) and no windows defender. The best protection starts and the keyboard and mouse of the user in my opinion and if I have to get rid of some malware/virus, which I havent goten in over a year now I will only use MBAM.

Does personal/sensitive data ever touch your machine? (e.g. credit card number)

gautam7 · 10 Aug 2010

Beside runing a real time AV and a couple of ondimand scanner i also use spywareblaster for added precausion. u also can give it a try. it has a free version also.SpywareBlaster® | Prevent spyware and malware. Free download.

freaky88 · 10 Aug 2010

theres no realtime for spyware blaster

gautam7 · 11 Aug 2010

freaky88 said:

theres no realtime for spyware blaster

Yes freaky88, there is no realtime protection and it is in no way a replacement for any AV and any Antimalware. Spywareblaster approaches the security in a different way. SpywareBlaster blocks the installation of most ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers and other unwanted programs from the user's computer. SpywareBlaster works by blacklisting the CLSID of known malware programs, effectively preventing them from infecting a protected computer. This approach differs from many other anti-spyware programs, which typically offer the user a possibility to "scan" the memory and hard drive of the computer and remove the unwanted software, after it has been installed. SpywareBlaster also allows the user to prevent privacy hazards such as tracking cookies. Another feature is the ability to restrict the actions of websites known to distribute adware and spyware. SpywareBlaster supports several web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Seamonkey, and Flock. Spywareblasters mainly focuses on prevention. Another advantage of having it is SpywareBlaster does not need to remain running in the background to enable protection, which means there are no extra processes running and using up your computer's memory and processor.