What is the best computer protection package such as norton or McAfee?

I have Windows xp on a dell xps computer. What are all the different security programs I should have? I currently have McAfee and Spybot S%26amp;D and adaware SE.|||I have found that freeware security and utility applications, when chosen after careful research and used in tested combinations, can provide protection matching or exceeding that provided by commercial suites. The problem with most of the suites isn't the antivirus protection, it's that their firewalls range from middling to lousy. McAfee provides good virus protection, but if you look at the firewall's performance on the independent testing site matousec (http://www.matousec.com ) it does NOT provide effective outbound firewall protection, and it's spyware protection is also not very effective. Meanwhile, there are several good free antivirus applications that are certified by VB100 and/or ICSA that provide protection at the same level as the commercial programs.





If you need freeware security applications, you can choose from the following:





firewall: (listed in order of preference)


Comodo (http://www.comodo.com ), or


PC Tools (http://www.pctools.com/firewall )


Comodo recently released version 3.0 of its firewall, which adds an intrusion prevention component that's very effective, though it does take time for it to learn your system, and requires some ongoing attention by the user to make sure programs don't get improperly blocked. Comodo is one of the strongest firewalls available, freeware or commercial, according to the independent testing site matousec.com.





antivirus: (listed in order of preference)


Avira (http://www.free-av.com )


AVAST! Home (http://www.avast.com )


AVG (http://free.grisoft.com )


all provide realtime protection and automatic updates; all have ICSA and VB100 certification, but Avira has been among the highest rated in tests by several respected US and UK computer publications.





antispyware: (listed in order of preference)


Spyware Terminator (http://www.SpywareTerminator.com ) or


Spyware Doctor (http://pack.google.com )


either one will give you good, realtime protection, along with


Ad-Aware Free (http://www.lavasoftusa.com ) and


Spybot S%26amp;D (http://www.safer-networking.org ) for additional removal ability.|||BitDenferder is the way to go I have it and my computer works well and never slow

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|||i tried both norton and mcafee and they both messed up and slowed my puter!! i use AVG which is free and one of the best,, i like it better than spybot,,,|||From spyware side, you should be quite safe with sybot and ad-aware. They are the two best ones.


From virus side, I strongly recommend against McAfee, not so much because of the lack of protection, but because it creates a lot of other problems. In the last 5 years of working in a computer store, I noticed that the best antivirus program is a free version of avira Antivir (www.free-av.com). Second best is AVG (free.grisoft.com). Minimal difference between these two.





Then goes McAfee, Avast and other payed antivirus programs. Other than that you don't need anything else, except to update your windows regularly, and do scans at least once a week (even more with spybot and ad-aware)...


So, my opinion Antivir+spybot is more then enough...


Hope this helps...|||See if you want good virus protection then you HAVE to compromise on a little slow performanece...but that has a solution too...cut a few bucks from your pocket and upgrade your RAM,that should take care of that.stop whining on slow performances. the best av is 'Panda Antivirus and Firewall'. but you need atlest 512 mb ram for good performance..oh yes and on more thing..when you install panda only your computer startup will take a minute or 2 more than usual but nothing else is affected. cleans viruses like a charm and doesnt put it in stupid qurantine like norton. if norton gets infected by viruses(which it usually does) u cant even uninstall it.|||These days you need more than just a virus protection. Only about 15% of all malware is viruses. The rest is worms, trojans, phishing schemes, spyware, etc.





Here's some ideas to "roll ya own" Internet Security Suite for free. Free is always the best.


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1. For your Anti-Virus......(Always use only 1 A-V...You must NEVER use more than one anti-virus, Even an expired anti-virus can cause a major conflict)








For your anti-virus needs, I would suggest Avira AntiVir庐 PersonalEdition Classic. It has excellent heuristics, a virus detection rate that is better than many of "paid-for" anti-virus programs and is light on using your computer's resources. And did I mention that it's free!





Download here:


http://www.free-av.com/





Avoid an anti-virus called AVG (free version). It is wildly popular but has poor virus detection rates.





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2. For your Firewall..........(Always use only 1 software firewall)





A decent free firewall that is PC Tools Firewall Plus. One can either choose "Normal User Mode" Or "Expert User Mode"'depending on the desired detail of alerts and application custom rules.





It is one of the few free firewalls that will work (and work well) on Vosta as well as XP and 2000.





http://www.pctools.com/firewall/





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3. For your Anti-Adware and Anti-Spyware needs...............(use at least 1, but 2 is better)





Pick and choose, 2 anti-spywares from the list below and alternate scanning with them on a regular basis. New spywares are created literally hourly, so no single anti-spyware can really detect all malware. Have at least 2 on hand and alternate scanning with each every few days or so. All are free. All can remove as well as detect.





Spybot Search and Destroy:


http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybo鈥?/a>





Ewido (now known as AVG Anti-spyware) Do NOT download AVG Anti-virus.:


http://ewido.com





AdAware 2007


http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/





A-Squared:


http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free鈥?/a>





SUPERAntiSpyware:


http://www.superantispyware.com/





Windows Defender:


http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security鈥?/a>





Unfortunately, many "paid for" anti-spyware products are in fact either of limited usefulness or downright scams. When in doubt, look at the list of rogue anti-spyware solutions listed here:


http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti鈥?/a>





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4. And to help protect your computer from ever getting infected with malware in the first place............ (use them both)





SpywareBlaster helps to immunize your computer again certain selected malware.:


http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareb鈥?/a>





SiteAdvisor warns you when visiting a potentionally malicious web-site:


http://www.siteadvisor.com/





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5. And always keep your Windows 100% updated and patched with all critical and security updates from Windows Updates. THIS IS A MUST! In Internet Explorer just click Tools then Windows Updates.





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Everything here is 100% free!!!!!!





Great luck! Enjoy!|||My computer came with McAfee and i deleted it and I use Norton and Spysweeper|||Spybot and Adaware are both good. I'd also recommend AVG anti-virus and CCleaner.





http://www.filehippo.com/download_avg_an鈥?/a>


http://www.filehippo.com/download_cclean鈥?/a>|||I have the McAfee...I love it.....It protects everything.......When I google something it puts green checks next to the OK sites and red Xs next to the ones to stay away from..





I got an email one time from a friend that McAfee told me not to open because it might contain a virus...I did any way and the McAfee caught the virus and deleted it before it infected my computer....That made is worth the money right there.|||You only need McAfee as long as you ensure you have their complete suite which includes antivirus, firewall, antispyware, site advisor, etc...


Make sure it is properly configured and kept diligently up to date. I would advise the same for your OS (windows updates).





As a security professional, I would strongly advise you to remove spybot and adaware and to stop downloading freeware which will surely infect you and at a minimum will provide you with a false sense of security.





Good Luck