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Ask the Doctor

Powerful PC Protection

Posted 07/08/08 at 07:08:37 PM |  by The Maximum PC Staff

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Ask the Doctor LogoHow much antivirus and firewall protection do I need? I just purchased a laptop that comes with Norton Security 2007. I had also planned on using Webroot AntiVirus, which includes a firewall and anti-spyware protection. I also thought about using ThreatFire after I read about it in Maximum PC (February 2008), as well as Spybot Search & Destroy. Is all this overkill? What do you recommend?

—Evan Jr. Valdez


The Doctor applauds your concern for safety, but your Fort Knox approach is a bit of overkill. Your Norton Security suite should have everything you need for antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection. While it might seem like you’re being extra safe by doubling up on programs, you could actually be doing more harm than good.

By running multiple programs for similar chores you invite the potential for conflicts among the apps as well as a hit to your system’s performance.

 

  SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

 

 

COMMENTS:
4
TAGS: 
ask the doctor, norton, spybot search & destroy, threatfire
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COMMENTS
avatarwith the handfull of great

Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Tue, 2008-08-19 23:25

with the handfull of great free antivirus and antispyware programs as well as windows Vista built in firewall you should'nt need to spend any money at all on protection.

There is alot of free stuff out there that is in some cases better than anything you can buy. So check out the free stuff first and if your not satisfied then buy something. I use Avira Antivirus it's free and works great. I use it because it has a simple interface so I can shut it off during gaming. So does Threatfire. I use both of these free programs and I'm almost completely safe from spyware and viruses. Almost because you can never really be completely safe. But almost is good enough because I've stopped every infection that's ever tried to inhabit my machine.

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avatarHasn't Norton gotten a black

Submitted by borisdblade on Sun, 2008-07-13 06:27

Hasn't Norton gotten a black eye over the last few years for continual resource hogging and constant spinup of hard drives? Give Nod32 a try if you find your system slowing down. I trade off Zonealarm security suite (2 months before that fiasco) for nod32 and my boot times improved and ram usage is 15% less than with zonealarm. Try different ones, read reviews and pick one that's your style! Good luck.

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avatarhttp://forums.pcbsd.org/view

Submitted by pcfxer on Tue, 2008-07-08 18:14

http://forums.pcbsd.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2981

 ergo, you don't need real-time scanning, just scan every now and then and stop giving up precious resources and CPU cycles on unnecessary applications. Use Linux or FreeBSD (PC-BSD is VERY easy ergo, I haven't googled a how-to on anything thus far).

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avatarergo x 2?  I call

Submitted by sirphunkee on Tue, 2008-07-08 18:48

ergo x 2?  I call shenanigans

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