Out with the Old and In with the New

Time to say goodbye to your old security applications that are are hogging up your resources, annoying you with notifications and yet they still don’t guard you from the most recent strain of malware. Lets update your entire security suite!

Old Anti-Malware:

Spybot Search & Destroy, Adaware, and AVG Anti-Spyware

New Anti Malware:

Malwarebytes

Why it’s better:

Malwarebytes can remove malware that the others cannot. On a relatively new computer, Malwarebytes’ targeted quick scans take around 10 minutes instead of 30 with the old programs. The dedicated team at Malwarebytes updates their definitions regularly by constantly scanning the forums and reviewing hijackthis logs looking for new threats.

Summary/Notes:

I know AdAware and Spybot were the best back in the days, but they can’t protect against the latest malware. At first, I felt guilty removing these old programs but I got over the feeling once I saw how much stuff they missed in their scans. Keep in mind that it is a person, not a computer program, that’s creating the malware. A computer program that isn’t updated regularly won’t do you any good against malicious programmers who’s programs are updated regularly. The great thing about the Malwarebytes team is that they respond quickly to threats ensuring that they don’t get a chance to spread to others. For another good malware remover, check out Super Anti-Spyware. You might be surprised what you find with these two programs.

I recommend paying the $25 for the full version with a resident Protection Module which prevents malware from getting in to begin with. If you don’t want to pay for the full version of Malwarebytes, the free version still does an awesome job. One con is that entire program, not just definition updates, need updating more often than other anti-malware software. I am willing to deal with it as long as my PC’s are secure.

Security Suite (Best Anti-Virus Programs) – Watch the top videos of the week here

Old Anti-Virus Suite:

McAfee, Norton, AVG Anti-Virus (without Threat-Fire)

New Anti-Virus Suite (With 0-Day Protection Against Viruses):

Threat-Fire

Why it’s better:

Threat-Fire is actually meant to supplement your current anti-virus program. Threat-Fire can detect brand new viruses and rootkits by detecting suspicious program behaviors rather than needing to know the every virus type and variant. It is called 0-Day protection because it can detect malicious programs on the spot instead of having to wait for the files to be analyzed by the people who create your anti-virus. Anti-virus programs are usually designed to react to specific viruses. Threat-Fire offers a more pro-active solution as opposed to a re-active one.

Summary/Notes:

I could not recommend McAfee or Norton because they just slow your system down so much. I also make sure to disable AOL or Yahoo’s “Protection” software that usually get bundled with your high-speed Internet. These are all well known resource hogs. Of course protecting your system is important, but you shouldn’t have to take a huge performance hit. No wonder Macs are so popular right now. No well-known viruses means there’s no need for anti-virus programs wasting your CPU cycles, memory and disk space.

My favorite free anti-virus is Avast. My favorite (non-freeware) anti-virus is NOD32 by Eset. A lot of people recommend Kaspersky but I found it had too many options and was too intrusive for many clients. AVG Free also seems to be popular, but I’ve noticed that sometimes it times-out when trying to download the definitions and so your computer is more vulnerable until it can download the latest definitions. Either one will get the job done, but much more effective when you combine them with Threat-Fire. From my experience, the combination of Threat-Fire and AVG or Avast is relatively light on resources. Threat-Fire and Norton seem to conflict on certain systems. I have not yet tested Threat-Fire with McAfee. Post in the comments if you have. I’ve also seen a lot of the new rogue anti-virus programs and fake anti-spyware programs get by Norton, McAfee, AVG and Avast. Threat-Fire seems to help a lot. Malwarebytes running with it’s Protection Module seems to work the best. Most systems seem to run pretty well using the combination of Avast, Threat-Fire, and Malwarebytes Protection Module.

One con is that Threat-Fire may detect a few false positives since it is detecting suspicious behavior. It doesn’t seem too intrusive in my experience with it.

Old Firewall:

Zonealarm or Windows Built-in Firewall

New Firewall:

Comodo Firewall

Why it’s better:

It’s user interface is friendlier and is less intrusive to your workflow. It also has a learning mode that can figure out which programs and services need to be allowed access without the user having to click allow a billion times before the system is usable again. Make sure your computer is clean first or else you will just be setting your system to allow access to malicious programs.

Summary/Notes:

For most general users, a combination of Windows’ built-in firewall and a hardware SPI/NAT firewall with uPNP disabled is sufficient. Many people would rather be less secure rather than have pop-ups asking them for permission every time a program wants to access the Internet. It’s a sacrifice a lot of users are willing to take. If you are not willing to sacrifice one ounce of security, then definitely check out Comodo. It will give you that extra layer of protection with minimal interruptions. Keep in mind that there is still, like any good firewall, a slight learning curve. Most users will have no problem.

Conclusion:

The best security is being proactive by being careful which links you click on and making sure that your computer is up-to-date. Still, extra layers of protection can safeguard your computer just in case something unexpected happens.

I would like to hear back from you with your experiences with these programs. What programs have you found to be exceptionally effective?

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