Vista Security - Advice Wanted

osaddict

As some of you may be aware from my post in General Hardware earlier this week I have purchased a new pc (from dell for my sins, and with vista home premium)

Before I get the pc I want to be fairly clued up about vista, I've got a fair few books etc, however, security is the first and foremost issue I want to be confident on.

The PC will connect to the net behind a thompson speedtouch adsl router.

At present I have the default options on this router being used (i.e I've not touched them) and Zone Alarm security suite - also acting as a firewall, but more a virus scanner, spyware, program control etc.

Now I know Vista is a different ball game, so should I just install ZoneAlarm on vista and stick with that - or are the supplied bits of kit with Vista enough? (Ill be supprised if this is a yes)

I myself are fairly clued up as regards using the net and knowing what to click and not click etc, however, both my parents will use the web during the day when I am at work - they are both total novices, (both senior citizens lol) and as such I am keen to have something fairly ridgid in place for when they use the net.

So, is the supplied software with vista good enough? - If not will Zone Alarm Security Suite be a good idea? If not - what do you guys reccomend?

Vicar

Zonealarm is not yet vista compatible.

I use Norton internet security(Vista Compatible) and it just does it's stuff. Norton has improved, you might want to try out their free demo.

It works well for me and is robust in what it does.

mtrox

I hate to admit this but.....Vicar's right. The recent version of NIS I've been on is far more reasonable than HIS 2004-2006. Still, if you're behind a router and are careful what you click on, I'm not convinced you need more than the Windows firewall. And if you have a laptop, the new Vista firewall is far more aware when you are at Starbucks and puts its guard up a bit more than when you are at home behind your 192's.

My Vista just has the built in firewall and anti-v. I'm not sure an experienced user needs more.

osaddict

Whilst I consider myself to be an advanced user, I know for a fact both my parents are total novices - with computers and the internet full stop - heck, teaching the art of double click and the difference between the google search bar and the address bar took months!

As such I like something fairly robust - at least during the day when they will be using it!

One thing I will say - zone alarm and xp doesnt seem to be a good combo for fast user switching - ZA always stops responding when you log off - yet its ok when you log on as another user.

Norton eh, blimey, that totally goes against the grain- is it not a total resource hog?

I was reading something on the way to work that said ZA and Norton were on different ends of the spectrum - one asking questions every 2 seconds, 1 deciding everything for you - I prefer being able to decide myself (and have educated my parents to click no or ignore knowing in most cases it will prevent something from working that I can undo later if necessary!)

TheHeartSmasher

Look into McAfee, I have used it for some time now and if it wasn't for McAfee I would have been infected with the vundo trojan and who knows what it might have done. Due to their system guard it prompt you if any program tries to make changes to your system, even if you are making changes, for example attempt to save a change to your host file.

So I would have to suggest getting the McAfee® Internet Security Suite 2007 for $50.00 small investment for a very good product. My system runs at an average of around 1% to 5% with McAfee, ISS2007 AVG Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware running. Even during full system scans it will not bring your system to a stall.

mtrox

osaddict wrote:

Whilst I consider myself to be an advanced user, I know for a fact both my parents are total novices

I forgot about the 'rents. That does put a different spin on it all.

osaddict wrote:

Norton eh, blimey, that totally goes against the grain- is it not a total resource hog?

Yessir it is. TOTAL!

osaddict wrote:

I was reading something on the way to work that said ZA and Norton were on different ends of the spectrum - one asking questions every 2 seconds, 1 deciding everything for you

That's not bad. I used to use it with newb users until I figured out they do one of two things: a) Answer every damn one of those questions with "Allow" or, b) Answer every singe question with "Deny". I'm not sure it's the right product for the parents.

Maybe the only way to satisfy your use is to go minimal, like just AVG, the Vista firewall and a good HOSTS file plus image the hard drive once a week with Acronis. That way the thing can run for you and you'll still be able to recover from what your parents might do to the thing.

Leonardo

plus image the hard drive once a week with Acronis.

The ultimate fall-back position! No matter what happens through the web or the parents' ineptness (my parents, too!), you can't get hurt bad if everything's backed up. External hard drive enclosures and large volume drives can be had for so cheap these days, there is no excuse not to have total backups. You could even schedule automatic full or incremental backups to make it even easier. I would though, unplug the external drive from the power source and computer when not in use. Then your level security is even better.