Cable Forum - Securing a pc for free?

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dragon

25-10-2006 20:12

Securing a pc for free?

My uncle is getting connected to NTL tomrrow all going well

His pc doesn't have any antivirus or security software on it at the moment (was no need becuase it wasnt connected to the outside world at all)

Now i was going to go for the following to secure it

Aol active shield (Becuase its bascily Kav rebranded)
and either comodo firewall or Zone alarm

At first i was going to go for comodo but im wandering if za would be more user friendly.

Also looked at netguard but as they are only getting the 1mbit (or is it 2mbit now?) it wouldn't include the firewall...

My other worry is bogging the pc down to much the spec is as follows

althon xp 1600+
256mb pc 133 ram
10gb + 4gb hdd
its running winxp sp2

so if anyone has better suggetions please let me know.

marky

25-10-2006 20:17

Re: Securing a pc for free?

I use AVG free edition antivirus and e trust free firewall, i find them very good and easy to use :)

---------- Post added at 20:17 ---------- Previous post was at 20:15 ----------

BTW this pc is an amd 900 duron with 256 ram :D

Jules

25-10-2006 20:28

Re: Securing a pc for free?

AVG is good and it doesn't take much to run it

zing_deleted

25-10-2006 20:31

Re: Securing a pc for free?

I use avast and am behind a router with firewall.

ADd	25-10-2006 20:45

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Comodo has been getting good reports, so give it a go. If it causes problems, you can just uninstall and try another brand (rebooting in between).

Don't forget anti-spyware programs too for weekly scans etc:

A-squared free http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

AVG Anti-spyware (full version 30 days, then you loose resident shield, and automatic updates. Still effective as you can download manually, and uses same malware signatures)
http://www.ewido.net/en/ (used to be Ewido)
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/

Adaware SE Personal http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

could also try Winpatrol:
http://www.winpatrol.com/

once setup( (takes less than 5 mins to create the rules) it is hardly noticeble, and alerts you to new starup items etc. Also has a cookie manager for IE, which is handy.

All the above are, or have free versions.

zing_deleted

25-10-2006 20:53

Re: Securing a pc for free?

in that case avast is better than avg cuz it just works and updates and works

SnoopZ

25-10-2006 20:54

Re: Securing a pc for free?

I'd recommend Kerio for a free firewall aswell as Comodo. I'd avoid ZA as this often causes alot of problems.

Windows Defender for all your spyware protection needs. (this came out of beta today).

When i used a free Anti Virus AVG did well for me.

I'd also avoid IE whenever possible and use either Opera or Firefox as your main browser.

deadite66

25-10-2006 20:57

Re: Securing a pc for free?

install linux

sorry had to be done :P

SnoopZ

25-10-2006 20:58

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadite66 (Post 34144546)

install linux

sorry had to be done :P

:p:

ADd	25-10-2006 21:06

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadite66 (Post 34144546)

install linux

sorry had to be done :P

Yep you will be immune from windows infections, and it is often enjoyable watching them download to your system and being unable to do a thing. However different security implications come with Linux. You need a strong root password, an be aware of rootkits. Also it is prudent to still use an anti-virus, as any files/emails you send to your contacts can still be infected, and if they are a windows user could become compromised themselves

zing_deleted

25-10-2006 21:09

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadite66 (Post 34144546)

install linux

sorry had to be done :P

yeah install linux then sit and look at thinking isnt this secure cuz chances are thats all you will be able to do ;) sorry I had to too

---------- Post added at 21:09 ---------- Previous post was at 21:08 ----------

no offense like but the op is on a forum asking about security.Whats the chances of them being able to use linux?? nill less than that???

AntiSilence

25-10-2006 21:11

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinglebarb (Post 34144524)

I use avast and am behind a router with firewall.

I used to use AVG but switched to Avast. Both are good though. I'm also behind a hardware firewall on my router and I've got the XP SP2 one on as well. I find that it's enough, along with some common sense (which goes out of the window after several beers ;))

ADd	25-10-2006 21:15

Re: Securing a pc for free?

You'd be amazed how many linux system are compromised, a search through the web for server logs will show how many zombies there are out there. Some of these are Linux servers, which have been compromised and are being used to store attack scripts.

The best defence is the user themselves, and their knowledge of a system. Any system can be compromised, and information stolen - from the simple user to a bank or corporation.

AVG and avast are both very good, as is Kaspersky, and anti-vir - go for the one that suits you best - but back it up with online scans from tme to time, and anti-spyware progs

dragon

25-10-2006 21:36

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinglebarb (Post 34144559)

no offense like but the op is on a forum asking about security.Whats the chances of them being able to use linux?? nill less than that???

actually the OP is quite capable of installing and confiuring linux (although i do have some trouble when i get into dependancies with stuff thats not in the package management system or a repository)

ive played with linux as a desktop os (dual booting) and then went back to windows as my primary os on my desktop as i tend to use that one for gaming ;) I have considered again setting up up a linux distro on here for when i just want to surf but haven't quite got around to it besides Ive yet to find a linux distro i truely like and could use daily on a home computer.

The question was asking what to install on someone elses computer whos not quite so computer literate, and whos pc has 256mb ram so could easily be bogged down by to many memory hungry applications running at once.

zing_deleted

25-10-2006 21:41

Re: Securing a pc for free?

ok the user then but you know what I ment I was generalising wasnt belittling you :)

ADd	25-10-2006 21:44

Re: Securing a pc for free?

I have a friend who is running Xp with 500Mhz celeron and 256MB of ram. It has no issues, as long as unnecessary startup items are remove eg msn messenger, java etc. Winpatrol, or SPybot S & D can do this (spybot choose 'advanced' mode)

They use Jetico firewall, winpatrol, AVG,
Zonealarm is somewhat resource hungry, so Sunbelt Kerio might be a better bet.

Gareth

25-10-2006 21:47

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bastille-linux.org

What is it?

The Bastille Hardening program "locks down" an operating system, proactively configuring the system for increased security and decreasing its susceptibility to compromise. Bastille can also assess a system's current state of hardening, granularly reporting on each of the security settings with which it works.

Bastille currently supports the Red Hat (Fedora Core, Enterprise, and Numbered/Classic), SUSE, Debian, Gentoo, and Mandrake distributions, along with HP-UX. Full Mac OS X is in beta, ready for download today. Bastille's focuses on letting the system's user/administrator choose exactly how to harden the operating system. In its default hardening mode, it interactively asks the user questions, explains the topics of those questions, and builds a policy based on the user's answers. It then applies the policy to the system. In its assessment mode, it builds a report intended to teach the user about available security settings as well as inform the user as to which settings have been tightened.

As for the original topic, I think others have already posted what I was going to say... except maybe considering Outpost Firewall. There's a free version which has received very good reviews, although it isn't the most easiest/user-friendly to configure but once it's running it's supposedly very effective. More info... http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpostfree/index.php [agnitum.com]

dragon

25-10-2006 21:55

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinglebarb (Post 34144596)

ok the user then but you know what I ment I was generalising wasnt belittling you :)

No problem ;) i just felt like having a rant.

Off topic:

Know of a good distro Zingle? I'd be perticuarly interested in one thats package management system/repositories contains a wide selecteion and is regularly updated I find most of them don't have the current versions of a lot of software and manually updating usally throws me into depedancy hell.

On my home machine I dont really want to have to faff about trying to grab several librires and install stuff from source just to be able to get a media player updated for example... (i usally manage to screw something up).

Its about time they relised that if they want more people to use linux then pretty graphical installers or the mac drag n drop, your done meathord is the way to go.

---------- Post added at 21:55 ---------- Previous post was at 21:47 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADd (Post 34144602)

I heard the newest versions are a little resrouce hungry and 2.51 (which was the version before they started adding a load of crap to it) has a secuirty advisory against it :(

ADd	25-10-2006 22:00

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Sunbelt Kerio is now at Version: 4.3.268. Yes it does use resources, but the boot-time is quicker than Zonealarm on the slower systems I have tried it on. Jetico is one of the lightest, but as I have commented before, it is very user intensive.

Best thing to do is trial the firewalls on the system, with your internet manually removed - see how the boot times are, and go for the one you like as a user

deadite66

25-10-2006 22:02

Re: Securing a pc for free?

for a lightweight windows firewall i've started using http://www.sensiveguard.com/

dragon

25-10-2006 22:03

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADd (Post 34144612)

Whats the latest kerio like for user friendlyness?

Boottime doesnt matter tbh can always go off and wait for it to load up its how responcive the system is once booted thats more important.

SnoopZ

25-10-2006 22:04

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon (Post 34144615)

Whats the latest kerio like for user friendlyness?

Boottime doesnt matter tbh can always go off and wait for it to load up its how responcive the system is once booted thats more important.

I love it. Bootup and shut down is very quick too.

ADd	25-10-2006 22:13

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Easy to setup, effective, and well presented. If you can afford the full version go for that, but the free is good at what it does. :)

dragon

25-10-2006 22:20

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth (Post 34144604)

Sort of off topic, but just wanted to post this for Dragon (and any other *nix users), when you do decide to give Linux another go, have a look at Bastille - www.bastille-linux.org [bastille-linux.org].

As for the original topic, I think others have already posted what I was going to say... except maybe considering Outpost Firewall. There's a free version which has received very good reviews, although it isn't the most easiest/user-friendly to configure but once it's running it's supposedly very effective. More info... http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpostfree/index.php [agnitum.com]

thanks i just ran that on my server just had to be a bit carefull anwsering the questions so not to turn anything important off (like apache)

Gareth

25-10-2006 22:22

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon (Post 34144605)

Know of a good distro Zingle? I'd be perticuarly interested in one thats package management system/repositories contains a wide selecteion and is regularly updated I find most of them don't have the current versions of a lot of software and manually updating usally throws me into depedancy hell.

On my home machine I dont really want to have to faff about trying to grab several librires and install stuff from source just to be able to get a media player updated for example... (i usally manage to screw something up).

Its about time they relised that if they want more people to use linux then pretty graphical installers or the mac drag n drop, your done meathord is the way to go.

We should really fork this question into its own new thread, but here goes anyway...

From your criteria above, I think you should give Ubuntu a whirl (or Kubuntu - the same distro but using the prettier KDE desktop manager). It uses the Debian APT package management which is nice and easy to use - no dependency hell any more - and if you use Synaptic it's got a good GUI front end, although the apt command is straight forward enough anyway.

The advantage over other distros is that the packages seem to be updated more frequently - esp compared to Debian, which it's based on.

Check out the docs - https://help.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/deskt...e/C/index.html [ubuntu.com] - and see if you think you could get by with it. Then either download it for free or request they send you the latest DVD (also for free :)).

HTH

dragon

26-10-2006 09:33

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth (Post 34144634)

used it before, cant remember why i stoped, think there was something that i couldnt get working with it.

might try the latest version and see if its any better.

With regards to my uncles pc i'll probably stick kerio and avast on it.

Also im going to replace his harddrives with a single 40gb 5400rpm drive ive got laying around

Perticuarly as the 10gb one is ata 33, not sure of the rotational speed but its rather slow to say the least.

Also going to replace his NIC with a Belkin one ive got spare (his is a 3com but i think its only 10mbit :Yikes:)

His pc was pretty much made out of spare/scavinged parts so it has a bit of an odd spec (it has an ISA sb16 board in there if i remember rightly :Yikes: )

dragon

26-10-2006 13:45

Re: Securing a pc for free?

NTL install went smoothly apart from my uncles pc unable to pickup a ip address from DHCP, turned out the nic i put in was screwed, it had a link but wasnt actaully transfering any data, so it looks like he will have to make do with his old 10mbit nic for now.

I thought at first it was NTL's modem but i tryed it with my laptop and it worked so thats why it was probably the NIC.

Gareth

26-10-2006 13:51

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Apologies in advance if this is an insulting question... Did you power down the modem after trying the lappy and before trying the NIC? Because of the different MAC addresses between the different devices, you'd need to reboot the modem for it to recognise the NIC.

If so, then I'd agree... sounds like a knackered NIC.

dragon

26-10-2006 14:29

Re: Securing a pc for free?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth (Post 34144984)

Apologies in advance if this is an insulting question... Did you power down the modem after trying the lappy and before trying the NIC? Because of the different MAC addresses between the different devices, you'd need to reboot the modem for it to recognize the NIC.

If so, then I'd agree... sounds like a knackered NIC.

yeah I did and it was the Dtop i tryed first not the laptop, only tryed the laptop because the PC wasn't picking up an IP just to see if the it was the PC or the NTL modem ;)

Nic had been rattling around my bedroom for ages so not that surprised that it didn't work

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