do i have any redundancy here?

[9550]

hey all

i dont have any apparent problems at the moment, but im trying to figure out what i should be doing and what software i should have to keep things running smoothly.

not sure exactly how to go about it however. best thing i can do i guess is list what im using here, and hopefully somebody can start teaching me

this is what i have running/use on a regular basis (with windows 7):
avira free antivirus
advanced system care 5
ccleaner
iobit malware fighter

i just installed zone alarm free


now, what i dont know is if i have redundancy, if theyre incompatable with each other, or if theyre incompatable with any windows programs (defender, whatever), or if im missing anything obvious

apparently zone alarm is also anti-virus, and as far as i know, we shouldnt be using multiple anti-virus software, no?
i added the zone alarm for firewall protection, because i dont know enough to know if the windows firewall works, is working, or works well.


thanks in advance for any insight

[pwillener]

Do you also have Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials installed and running?

Do you also have the Windows Firewall active?

P.S. ZoneAlarm free does not provide antivirus protection.

[mjnc]

Hi 9550.

Here are a couple of articles about the Windows 7 firewall:

3 Things You Should Know About Your Windows 7 Firewall
Windows 7 Firewall: How It Compares Against Other Firewalls

I suggest you dump the ZoneAlarm.

Privatefirewall and Comodo Personal Firewall are both highly rated
and both are listed on the Top Freeware Picks page.

For additional security you can consider SpywareBlaster which is Free and provides passive protection.
There is an instructional video by Major Attitude on the download page.

You can also use OpenDNS which adds another layer of protection.

Here are some links that I hope will be helpful.
Change Your Settings
Configuration for Windows XP
Knowledge Base: Networks with Dynamic IP Address
Dynamic IP: General Info
Dynamic IP: Windows Updater Documentation

Update:
Yes, you are correct.
Only One antivirus and One firewall (active).

[solaris89]

Originally Posted by mjnc

I suggest you dump the ZoneAlarm.

I'll second that.

[9550]

Originally Posted by pwillener

Do you also have Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials installed and running?

Do you also have the Windows Firewall active?

not sure.
not sure.

Originally Posted by pwillener

P.S. ZoneAlarm free does not provide antivirus protection.

do you mean literally or figuratively? because the zone alarm software says antivirus and firewall


sorry for the delay in response, been without power for a while

[pwillener]

Originally Posted by pwillener

ZoneAlarm free does not provide antivirus protection.

Sorry for that misinformation; it seems that it has changed since I last used ZoneAlarm; it does seem to offer antivirus now.

[9550]

so i ditched the zonealarm, and im trying to install comodo personal firewall. after it asks me what language i want, i choose english, next popup says 'this installation does not support target platform'
any ideas?
using windows 7

[mjnc]

Check to see if you should be using the standard version OR the 64 bit version.

Both are available at the MG download page.

[9550]

Originally Posted by 9550

so i ditched the zonealarm, and im trying to install comodo personal firewall. after it asks me what language i want, i choose english, next popup says 'this installation does not support target platform'
any ideas?
using windows 7

went to comodo site http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html
was able to install the 32/64bit windows installer
didnt realize however the drop down included options for 32bit windows 7 and 64bit windows 7.
the link from here for the personal comodo firewall is for 64x which i assume is the 64bit, and was the one i was having trouble with.
so, whats the difference between 32/64bit windows installer, and 32 bit windows 7/vista/xp sp2, and 64bit windows 7/vista/xp sp2 choices?

[9550]

Originally Posted by mjnc

Check to see if you should be using the standard version OR the 64 bit version.

Both are available at the MG download page.

see my recent post, but regarding your reply, how would i check that?

[9550]

hmm, i just noticed that the download i tried from mg was x86. i dont even know that that is.
i see theres the 64bit link as well as you said mjnc

going to uninstall everything and try the x64

[mjnc]

Originally Posted by 9550

see my recent post, but regarding your reply, how would i check that?

How to Tell if Windows 7 is a 32-bit or 64-bit System Type

[9550]

Originally Posted by mjnc

How to Tell if Windows 7 is a 32-bit or 64-bit System Type

im a dope. i could have figured that out. computer properties, simple.

should i be choosing to use the comodo secure dns servers?

[mjnc]

To begin with, I suggest that you do Not change your DNS server configuration.

Wait until everything is working properly and then consider if you want to change.

There is info about OpenDNS in my first post.

[9550]

Originally Posted by mjnc

To begin with, I suggest that you do Not change your DNS server configuration.

Wait until everything is working properly and then consider if you want to change.

There is info about OpenDNS in my first post.

ah, i didnt get down to that link yet

so when you say wait til 'everything is working properly' youre talking about the new install, correct? because i didnt have any problems before.

[mjnc]

Originally Posted by 9550

so when you say wait til 'everything is working properly' youre talking about the new install, correct? because i didnt have any problems before.

Yes.

You are installing a new software firewall.

I've never had any first hand experience with Comodo firewall.
I'm now using Privatefirewall.