Saying Hi......then a question

I am new to Major Geeks; found you as I was searching for a resolution to my Total Security maleware problems, which will ultimately require a reformating of my drive. Oh well, such is life. Anyway, HI!

Now my question. I have decided to follow your guidance regarding anti-maleware filters, anti-virus, and firewall programs to use on my PC. What I failed to notice as I was reading the recommendation post, however, was that the suggested software was recommended in 2003-2004. In short, are your recommendations the same in 2009.

 

g'day SnapperOne

firstly welcome to MG'S. If you are referring to the how to protect yourself from malware guided.although it was originally posted in 2004 it has been updated since with all the new versions of the software and anything that may have come about after that date it also includes software that is compatible with windows vista.if you want to get some advice or opinions about any particular software program just post it here in the software forum and i am sure there are a lot of people who will help you decide which is best suited to your needs.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply. At the moment, without having the benefit of reading the updated Malware guide, I am leaning toward the purchased versions of Online Armour, Malwarebytes, and AVG-Professional. With that said, I must admit that I am still a bit concerned about overlaping protection that may in fact hinder one or all of the programs from doing their respective best jobs. Will track down the updated Malware guide and see what it says.

Thanks again. If I was forced to come up with a positive result, from having an incurable infestation of Total Security, it's that it has me updating all my protections.

 

it is good to see you have it sorted as long as you only have one of each like firewall,antivirus and antspyware running in realtime you wont have any conflicting programs.it is always been my policy to have a secondary program for virus and malware removal that can be manually run at anytime just as a back up.even the best payed for versions can miss something occasionally.

 

Well, I've sort of changed direction since my initial thought of Online Armour, Malwarebytes, and AVG-Pro........going instead to Malwarebytes (purchased), Sandboxie (HIPS), and G-Data AV.

I'm probably going to take a bit of a performance hit with G-Data, but the idea of an AV program that uses two AV engines makes some sense to me.

As for Sandboxie, I have been using the free program Returnil (sandbox program) for 6-8 months with absolutely no problems..........until I forgot to envoke the program before going on-line late last week, at which time I ran into "Total Security" (malware).

Long & short is that I believe, had I had Returnil or similar (Sandboxie) functioning, I would not have been bothered by "Total Security".

 

Yes, I forgot to incude the software firewall. Thanks for the heads-up on the free versions. At the moment, I am only running with my routers' (LinkSys) hardware firewall.

While I will take another look at the firewall programs you have suggested, regardless which I decide upon, I generally purchase the software that I find of value. I do this for two reasons.....neither of which are because I have tons of money to toss around.....which I don't.

Simply put, I believe it only right & proper for people to be paid for the work that they do, using skills that I don't have; and, because (at my advanced age of 62) I grew up with computers at a time when you kept program disks on-hand. You know, the "old dog, new tricks" thing. How often has this "old dog" needed to dust-off the program disks he has on-hand now.....seldom, but it's comforting to know that they are there........especially in those few instances when I have needed to reload the softwar.

Thanks for your insights and suggestions. Appreciated.