"Steve" wrote in message
...
Hi,

My new system will be arriving shortly and although this question is a
little
on the generic side I'm sure some will have suggestions that I hadn't
thought
of. Basically, I'm polling to see which softwares people use to secure the
ship and keep it running smoothly. So far, it seems that the following are
necessaries:

Anti-Virus - seems like Norton's Corporate Edition does the job without
bloating things up

Firewall - not sure which is best here (I'll be subscribing to a cable
modem
service through Adelphia) although I would rather take time to learn how
to
set up a complex yet effective firewall than a simple one that leaves you
overly vunerable or overly restricted.

Norton Utilities - people seem to say it is good for tuning a system,
especially the defrager, but all the added thingies negate the good it
does.

Pop-up Stopper and Ad-killer - lots of varieties. I guess the trick is to
find
the ones that do the job yet don't plant their own scripts/bots.

If you can add/subtract from this list please feel free and if you have a
favorite hunting ground (online or offline - I'm in southern California)
for
this type of software I'd be glad to hear about it.

Thanks very much.

In addition to the items you mention I would consider a simple wired router,
even if you will only have the one computer. I frequently see models like
the Linksys BEFSR11 (
http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=29&prid=142 ) for
less than $50.00. It provides an excellent additional layer of protection.

I run my 4 PC LAN with a cable connection through a router and have not seen
an incoming hit on any of the computers firewalls ever (3+years). Simply put
from behind a router your computer(s) appear not to exist from the outside.

In my opinion (others will disagree) in addition to the router it is prudent
to continue to run a software firewall as well. While the router provides
good incoming protection a software firewall will alert you to and protect
you from "phone home" type malware (trojans, spyware, adware etc..) that
might conceivably find their way into your system despite other measures.

I use Norton Personal Firewall on two of my computers and Zonealarm's free
version on the others. I find them both adequate.
--
D

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

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