AV/anti-trojan apps....

[mjc]

AV Apps
Programs designed to detect and hopefully, eliminate virus/worms and other harmful items.

Free
AVpe (http://www.free-av.com/) AntiVir Personal Edition (free for home use)
AVast (http://www.avast.com/)
AVG (http://www.grisoft.com/html/us_index.htm)
Bitdefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html)
Comodo (http://www.antivirus.comodo.com/overview.html)
ClamWIN (http://www.clamwin.com/) (OpenSource AV for Windows)

Pay
Twister Anti-TrojanVirus (http://www.filseclab.com/eng/products/twister.htm)
Kapersky Anti-Virus (http://www.kaspersky.com/)
Nod32 (http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm)
DrWEB (http://www.drweb.com/)
F-prot (http://www.f-prot.com/) (Free DOS version)
eTrust (http://www2.my-etrust.com/products/info/Antivirus/2)
Sophos (http://www.sophos.com/)
Norton Anti-Virus (http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/)
McAfee Anti-Virus (http://www.mcafee.com/Default.asp?Plugin=no)

Online Scans
http://www.pandasoftware.es/activescan/activescan-com.asp
http://security2.norton.com/ssc/vc_scan.asp
http://housecall.antivirus.com/

Anti-trojan
Programs that are specifically designed to detect and disable/remove common trojan worms.

TrojanHunter (http://www.misec.net/trojanhunter.jsp) (pay)
Tauscan (http://www.agnitum.com/) (pay)
TheCleaner (http://www.moosoft.com/) (pay)
SwatIT (http://lockdowncorp.com/bots/downloadswatit.html)
Ewido Anti-malware (http://www.ewido.net/en/)

Personal Firewalls (free)
Programs designed to restrict what applications have access to the internet and restrict open access from the net to your computer.

ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp)
Kerio (http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm) (Sunbelt version)
Kerio (http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page7.html) (last freeware version of the old Kerio--pre-Sunbelt version)
Sygate (http://soho.sygate.com/products/shield_ov.htm)
Outpost (http://www.agnitum.com/)
Comodo Personal Firewall (http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/)
Ghostwall (http://www.ghostsecurity.com/index.php?page=ghostwall)
Fileseclab Firewall (http://www.filseclab.com/eng/products/firewall.htm)

Adware Cleaners
Programs designed to detect and remove known "spyware"/adware...especially the "phone home" or tracking components.

Spybot (http://patrick.kolla.de/spybotsd.html)
Spybot quick tutorial (http://tomcoyote.org/SPYBOT/)
AdAwareSE (http://www.lavasoft.de/)
X-Cleaner (http://www.xblock.com/download-freeware.shtml/)


Diagnostic/Other Useful
Programs that aren't specifically protection but offer useful diagnostic or cleaning functions.

MRU Blaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/mrublaster.html)
StartUp List (http://www.merijn.org/)
Hijack This (http://www.merijn.org/)
SpywareBlaster (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html)
IE Spyads (http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm)
SpywareGuard (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html)
ProcessGuard (http://www.diamondcs.com.au/processguard/)
Key Logger Hunter (http://www.styopkin.com/keylogger_hunter.html)

Updated 6/24/2006 Added a a few more...keep them coming.

[Mark Miller]

Another site that you can get a free virus scan. zero Knowledge, it's called freedom,
http://www.freedom.net/
I use the whole program but the free scan is very good Pc world gave it 4 stars.
Mark

[sea69]

thanks mjc

;)

[stefanus]

Thanks MJC;)

[Mitch Hatfield]

Hi mjc, :)

Do u know of any programs, preferably free, that will do the same job as vCatch Basic from www.vcatch.com/ ?

Probably you'll go for Mail Washer, but it still won't work with Hotmail :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[david eaton]

Thanks MJC. Just installed spybot s&d on a friend's computer. Only thing it had NOT got was athlete's foot!! 243 items of spyware etc., and he wondered why it was always going to the wrong pages in IE! Some people should not be let out without a license.


David

[UPENDRA UPADHYAY]

Thanks Mjc For usefull List.

[jes]

Which do you think is the best AV program. I have NAV. I have always heard that it is the best there is.

[Budfred]

The quality of Norton has varied a lot over the years. Right now it is pretty good, but a lot of people around here are really fond of AVG. Some people use both, though not at the same time.

Budfred

[Mark Miller]

Hi Budfred,
I know other people have told you, but I relly like your boys. I feel the same way about my cat. Sorry to get away from post.
Mark

[blacksnake]

Thanks Mjc

Used AVG for months and very happy with it

Thanks for the others..

Blacksnake

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I have been using both for many months now with no ill effects.

There was one incident that mjc pointed out of a conflict around one of his earlier update alerts that AVG thought Norton's was a virus. Once you tell AVG that Norton's is on 'our side', :D all is well at the battlefront. They've been working harmoniously since.

I guess I'm actually using 3 A/V's right now because my ISP has one on their server and a Spam/Ad blocker as well. This is why i have saved links but not installed any Ad blocking software ATT as I have no reason to.

Has anyone ever tried 2 firewalls simultaneously? Just wondering..

That's all for now from Fort Knox... ;)

[Mark Miller]

Hi Fruss,
Just out of curiosity why would you want 2 firewalls, it seems to me that they would get in each others way. I mean if your running a large network maybe, but if its just your computer[s] at home I think this would be overkill. Even XP's firewall prevents anyone from knowing where you are and with good avg you are probably fine. I am sure everyone is going to up in arms about that, but thats how I feel. I think you need to be more careful about info you give out and protect your passwords than anything else.
Let the games begin Mark

[Ghost_Hacker]

2 firewalls on one host.... Never seen any reason to do that.

But I have seen host based firewalls on networks that also have a firewall at the perimeter.


EDIT Now, that I think about it. It could be usefull in a home situation where IPSEC was used for firewalling and Zonealarm was used for it's reporting feature, since IPSEC offers no logging. That's about the only reason I can see for using 2 "firewalls".

[Eutychus]

Looks like Norton and other antivirus are taking the M$ lead and have gotten greedy.

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2909117,00.html

:(

[YODA74]

Figures thats why free AV's will survive until they get greedy. This is why Virilli run so rampid they do not want to stop it they just want to charge you money to say they can.It just leads to people not updating there AV which keeps Virilli rampid. NOT everyone lives on an income of 50.000 and above,most are just struggling as it is but you cannot sink this into the heads of corporate IDIOTS.

[Budfred]

So far I don't mind getting the latest version of Norton AV. If I subscribed to update online, it would cost me $30. Through various sales, I have never paid anything like that for any version of Norton AV that I have. Right now I have it in System Works 2003 and will be getting a standalone copy with my tax software. Each of these is free after rebates, so I pay sales tax and postage. As long as I can keep getting upgrades this way, I won't complain.

Budfred

[sea69]

how about if you're sharing a DSL (dynamic) connection with several machines. All of these individual machines can be online at the same time- however- they all have seperate/different IP's.

wouldn't it be prudent to have ZA installed on each machine- since they are sharing, but seperate (IP's), shoudn't each machine (individually) be protected (it's own IP addy)??

what's going to protect each machine otherwise?

:confused:

[Ghost_Hacker]

I agree!!! :)

I have seen many instances of folks running a firewall on a router and a firewall on each computer,but I have never seen anyone run 2 firewalls on one computer.

I can only see one reason (which I outlined before) you would want to run 2 firewalls on one host.

[stefanus]

:confused: Hi Guys, I have been on leave (Vac) for two months and booted my PC. Suprise! a pop up from Norton AV advised me that my anti virus was out of date and I proceede to rectify the stuation when low and behold I was informed that my subscription ended on the 27th of Jan 2003. I do not remember ever subscribing to NAV haveing bought the PC as a package.Hveing not read all the chat on the subject just reading a reply from Eutychus that was in my mail box. Where did the tread start. Have been in ZIM and South Africa for two months and after many delays and jet lag am trying to get back into things.
Thanx all

[Budfred]

stefanus,

I am not entirely sure what you are asking, but I can tell you that when you use Norton AV for the first time online, it starts a clock that runs for a year of updates and then you either have to install the new version or pay them a fee for another year. If you haven't done one of these options yet, I hope you are running AVG or something else because there are a lot of new nasties out there now.

[mjc]

A recent development on DSLR has lead to a wonderful idea. The security forum now has a daily post of updates for various security programs. Most of the items on the above list are on the update list.

The update will always be the first thread in the DSLR Security Forum (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/security,1)

[ste]

i use norman antivirus i think its the best out there ive tried them all norton,mcaffy,pccillin but norman owns!

[madazzcow]

I just bought a new pc and i need a good antivirus,firewall,spyware and adware cleaner, & internet tracks eraser soft... im using winXP and my av and firewall is PCCILIN, but im not satisfied, i feel like im not getting max protection. can anyone recommend me any?

Is there a software that has all this in one?

[mjc]

No there is not an all in one.....

but fortunately some of the items the best of the breed is free..

For adware scanning, you can't beat Spybot Search and Destroy. (free)

For firewalls what you have is pretty good, just need to make sure you have it configured properly....or you can try out Kerio or ZA (both free editions are more than adequate).

For tracks cleaning (there are a couple of utilities that can do it all but are $$$), in the free arena you have MRUblaster and using the cleaning features built into Spybot....plus of course cookie control.

AV....well there you can try AVG, or go with something like NOD32 or KAV (both considered as top performers...with KAV taking the lead in trojan detections...almost good enough to forego the use of a dedicated antitrojan).

[digitalman]

VB 100% Award (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml)

NOD32 24 passes / 3 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?eset.xml)

Kaspersky 19 passes / 13 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?kaspersky.xml)

Kaspersky biggest problem is that has too many false positives.

Norton 22 passes / 6 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?symantec.xml)

Norman 22 passes / 10 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?norman.xml)

McAfee 13 passes / 16 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?nai.xml)

Sophos 22 passes / 10 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?sophos.xml)

AVG 3 passes / 19 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?avg.xml)

Avast 7 passes / 18 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?avist.xml)

Panda 1 pass / 3 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?panda.xml)

PC-cillin 7 passes / 7 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?trend.xml)

eTrust 15 passes / 10 fails (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml?etrust.xml)

[jeeza]

Originally posted by mjc
<a href="http://www.bitdefender.com/html/freeware_products.php" target="_blank" name="BitDefender">Bitdefender (DOS and IM versions)</a> A DOS scanner and sevral plugin scanners for specific instant messaging apps
I have a question.
Would using BitDefender for IM do more for your privacy/security than just having anti-virus software ?

[mjc]

The Bitdefender IM AV versions are specialized for just a specific IM application.

[Kumaiti]

Are these list quality-ordered ?

[50LB]

So, after reading all above, why would I want to stay with my Mcaffy AV/Firewall, when I can do Zonealarm and AVG?

[pentachris]

Hi 50LB, and welcome to the forums at http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif.

...why would I want to stay with my Mcaffy AV/Firewall, when I can do Zonealarm and AVG?

Good question. ;)

ZoneAlarm (especially the pro version) is getting a bit bloated. Not nearly as bloated as McAfee, though. Kerio and Sygate are just as good (maybe slightly better) free firewalls, not as bloated as ZoneAlarm, but the learning curve for the user is a little steeper.

AVG is sometimes knocked for its lack of reliability. However it's never let me down. And it's WAY less bloated than McAfee.

[malcore]

I think AVG was knocked for its reliability because it used to update less frequently(once or twice a month with big updates) than it now does (at least two or three times per week in much smaller sizes), keeping on top of most of the latest threats.

It hasn't let me down yet.

[stefanus]

Is there an HJT type of system (prefareably free) other than Highjack this, and if not how can I pay for HJT in Sterling.;). My 59 days free have run out. It is quoted in $US.
Stefanus:

[mjc]

Stefanus.......

I'm not entirely sure what you are asking about, but could you please elaborate, by giving the full product name?

[stefanus]

mjc! To be more explicit, I down loaded HJT from your link 60 days past and when I tried to open it via Winzip yesterday, a message appeared informing that the time period had expired and that it was not FREE. I could not access it. Hence my request. (Possibily it is Winzip that has expired??
Stefanus

[malcore]

Yes, it is WinZip that is giving you that message.

Try JustZipIt (http://free-backup-software.net/?wsnet) or my favourite 7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) . Both are free.

[stefanus]

Malcore, thank you for your reply.How do I or should I uninstall Winzip from my PC in the first instant before installing your link?
Stefanus

[malcore]

Just use Add/Remove programs in Control Panel. WinZip uninstalls nicely.:)

[stefanus]

Will do;)
Stefanus

[malcore]

Forgot to mention another great free zip utility:

UltimateZip (http://www.ultimatezip.com/download.htm) ;)

[stefanus]

Successfully un-installed Winzip. There is/was a facility in "PROGRAMS" on my desk top for un-installing it. Now I will try one of your recomendations. 7-Zip I think. Thanx! malcore ;)
Stefanus

[mjc]

Also, if you are running a 60 day old copy of HijackThis........don't bother, there have been several updates to it over the last couple of months....to both fix problems and to improve detections, so update it.

[jeeza]

Originally posted by stefanus
Now I will try one of your recomendations. 7-Zip I think. Thanx! malcore ;)
7-Zip works fine. It is less heavy than WinZip, but of course it uses only the 7 most common achiving formats (zip, rar, ...).
Note that they ask for a contribution (if I remember right), but they don't nag you.

[Donn]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mjc
[B]No there is not an all in one.....


AdAware 6.0 (be sure you have at least build 162)

Donn:
I have 6.181. In the scheme of things is that a qualifier? 181 being higher than 162, right?

mjc:
For adware scanning, you can't beat Spybot Search and Destroy. (free)

Donn

Y'know I wondered about this because I did a little science and ran Spybot first then AdAware. Then on a different day I rean AdAware first then Spybot. I've doen that three times now, and when I run Spybot first AdAware always picks up a few more files. When I run AdAware first Spybot always says no new items. Whaddya think? Have we got a trend here or are these programs different on different OSes? None of the above?

Best//Donn

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Donn,
This thread is almost 2 months old and considered water under the bridge by now. Please keep an eye on last post date when you are perusing around and start a new thread if needed for unanswered questions.

[halovivek]

dear sir,
thank u so much..i used ur software..really this works fine.

[IglooX]

I had a question to ask I looked at the list of AV programs wanted to know if MKS_VIR 2004 is a good AV program I saw it on google but did not have the time to download it?

[IglooX]

http://www.stormbyte.com/mks.html not bad

[Donn]

IglooX:

haven't the faintest about this Av you asked about. Most here seem to agree that if you have to pay money for an AV you should look into Nod32. Many of us use AVG by Grisoft, and we are quite happy with it...many of us are escapees from Norton/Symantec.

:)

[sea69]

Stop all this century old bickering... (I replied because this was SUCH an old thread.. well us antiques must endure)

;)

[VCmute]

Hi all!
My AntiVir program stumbled acrossed a "TR/HideRun.A.5" on my computer, but would not do anything with it because it is a "archive" file. Ok, so it also tells me that it is in "bridge-c11[1].cab", ok so I locate that and it showes me a "WinAdToolsX.dll". Now I have always been told to becareful of dll's. I tried researching the 'TR...' and the 'win...' on but didn't come up with much. Has anyone else run acrossed this 'TR' and can anyone tell me what this dll does or can I get rid of it? Thanks to All!

[PrntRhd]

See this from McAfee:
http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_100396.htm

[VCmute]

Ok, I read the information, but I am still confused.
Should I delete it or shouldn't I?
Will it cause my computer to go wacky? I don't understand enough about all the little things about computers to know what will happen.
Thanks, a bit more in 'lay mens' terms would help.

[amysiko]

Whatever!!!!.....thanks mjc for the links........ :)

[FrankSG]

I

Has anyone ever tried 2 firewalls simultaneously? Just wondering..


Microsoft says that if you use their firewall, you should disable the one that you are currently using because you shouldn't have two firewalls running on the same machine at the same time.

[Cam]

I have been using both for many months now with no ill effects.

There was one incident that mjc pointed out of a conflict around one of his earlier update alerts that AVG thought Norton's was a virus. Once you tell AVG that Norton's is on 'our side', :D all is well at the battlefront. They've been working harmoniously since.

I guess I'm actually using 3 A/V's right now because my ISP has one on their server and a Spam/Ad blocker as well. This is why i have saved links but not installed any Ad blocking software ATT as I have no reason to.

Has anyone ever tried 2 firewalls simultaneously? Just wondering..

That's all for now from Fort Knox... ;)

When my firewall [Zonealarm, free version], stopped working reliably [suddenly would stop running, showing an X instead of the regular display], I installed and ran Sygate's free firewall until after a few updates later the Zonealarm problem cleared up. Both ran at the same time without causing any problems.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Thanks for the reply to my question.

Also note that this is an old thread dating back to 2004 although it was not you who revived it. A thread that old is usually considered closed and is only left for archival research.

[Cam]

Glad if it helps anyone! I would not have replied in [or probably seen, lol] this thread if someone else had not revived it, though...

[PrntRhd]

Actually it would be good to read any "sticky" threads at the top of each forum, that is why they were marked that way.

[Raiders]

sorry to bump..... What the best at the mo?

[Budfred]

There are a number of threads debating this point and I suggest you look at them... There is no clear answer to the question, simply each of us expressing our opinions about the subject... Most of the ones that were good when this thread was started are still good...

[mjc]

And you can add ClamWin to the list of good free ones...

http://www.clamwin.com/

It is an on demand scanner only...no background scan.

[Spearball]

Between all the free anti-virus programs, which will offer the best protection. I had AVG but its not the only free one. How about Avpe?

[mjc]

As far as features/protection/ease of use, I found AVG to be the best all around AV. AvPE is ok, pretty decent protection, but there is just something about its interface that bugs me.

ClamWin is a great scanner, excellent database, but is on-dmand only (feature list is constantly expanding)

I could go on, but as you can see, part is personal preference and part looking at what features the program offers...

[malcore]

ClamWin is a great scanner, excellent database, but is on-dmand only (feature list is constantly expanding)

The only thing I really don't like about ClamWin is there is nowhere in the program settings to diable ClamTray.exe from starting with Windows, which is only required for scheduled updates or scheduled scans. Being an on-demand scanner many would prefer to manually update and manually scan. One has to use the registry or a third party program to disable ClamTray.exe from , which uses about 17-18MB of ram.

They really should add this option to the program settings. Other than that, it is a nice second av scanner to have around.

[neko]

hey which of these antivirus hogs the least resource?? I want one that will run on an old pc with a weak processor

[mjc]

Umm...are you wanting resident protection or on demand scanning?

BTW, necroposting is frowned upon, starting a new thread on the subject would be best.

[Vic 970]

cant d/l zonealarm as connection keeps dropping, and not able to do it in download express so not resume supported, last time it reported 'not a valid zone alarm program' ??? when the connection dropped after 2 hours.

[PrntRhd]

Vic970,
What site are you downloading from? There are mirror sites that have the program for download.

[Ajmukon]

this is old- and some of the links are no longer any good.
this should be updated, even if for archival purposes
example:
housecall is now owned by trendmicro
some links no longer work or go to "expired sites"

[Vic 970]

from the link to zone labs in mjc's first post here, zaSetup_en.exe d/l's ok with download express, but clicking on that starts another d/l (za_Setup_en.exe) which will not d/l with d.l.express so is not resume supported.
tried doing search but keep going back to zonelabs.

[Vic 970]

from the link to zone labs in mjc's first post here, zaSetup_en.exe d/l's ok with download express, but clicking on that starts another d/l (za_Setup_en.exe) whwich will not d/l with d.l.express so is not resume supported.

[PrntRhd]

The current direct ZA link should be:
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_zaav.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_pro&ovchn=GGL&ovcpn=US_Branded&ovcrn=sr2zl5go972go209pi5ai20+zone+alarm&ovtac=PPC&SR=sr2zl5go972go209pi5ai20

You will have to search if looking for ZA Free, they make it difficult.

[Vic 970]

yea, found zone alarm free, but it is only the downloader that can be d/l with download express and thus resume supported, it is when d/l the other bigger file that connection (and the d/l is lost.)

[Vic 970]

tried again last night, left it on overnight coz the d/l is about 3 hours on dial up. this am got the message,

"installation failed. downloaded file is not ZoneAlarm Installation.
URL:
ht(edit)tp://redirect.zonelabs.com/redirect/route?mode=1&app=inclient&date=1&des
&oem=1025&prod=0&lang=en&link_id=1'"

NOTE: there could be something missing from 1st line of url, due to prnt screen/paste not sure.

[PrntRhd]

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp

I don't know why you would have a redirect.

[Vic 970]

but that link only goes to (free version) zaSetup_en.exe from download.zonealarm.com which is a downloader, this is a small file which downloads with download express and thus is resume supported, clicking on that application starts download of the actual file (zaZA-Setup_en.exe) which is a lot bigger (about 3 hours on dial up) there is no option to use downoad express, so not resume supported.

[mjc]

Then try something else...Kerio, Commodo, Sunbelt...if ZA is going to take 3 hrs on dial up and have no option for resume, it's not worth it any longer.

[Ant Basterfield]

Thanks for the most comprehensive list I knew of some .. But This many Great cheers

[Budfred]

Thanks for the most comprehensive list I knew of some .. But This many Great cheers

It is a great list... However, please keep in mind that it was last updated about 2 years ago and many of those programs have changed by now... Some no longer even exist...

[mjc]

When I a round tuit, I'll try to update the list...ha!

This list is rather low on the update schedule...so take it for what it's worth.