I need the BEST protection for my new laptop?

Question

I lost my last laptop to hackers and viruses because I had little protection. I had loads of private and sensitive information on there too which is why it's so important for me this time round to have the best protection.

I'm having my new laptop delivered in a couple of weeks.

I'm going to need;

the best firewall,
the best antivirus,
and the best spyware protection money can buy.

Answer 1

The best protection is a rubber

Answer 2

to answer your question there is no "best" just like there is not "best" car alarm or home alarm.



just like the best form of protection against AIDS and std's is abstinence the best protection against viruses, trojan, hackers and spyware is to NOT put the laptop/computer on the Internet at all except for software updates only.



I have a terminal at home that never touches the Internet. I use it for school and storage of personal data. If I need to transfer anything over to the internet, I use an external 200GB drive to back it up on then move to my laptop which is live on the internet.



I reformat my laptop every year, save all programs and back up all files to the 200Gb drive just in case. A system on today's internet that is not behind a hardware firewall is always at risk no matter what you have on it....the least you can do is put a router inbetween you and your dsl and/or cable modem and enable NAT and turn on alot of filters and block ports..etc.



I've used norton, symantec, mcafee doesn't matter..they are all the same. You have to take better caution and not rely on the software as the solution that's all.



the internet is 24/7 now where as only 10 years ago most of us used dial up where you actually had to dial into the internet and download trouble.



now you can just turn on a pc and it's infected just like that if you are plugged directly into a modem. It happens.



good luck.

Answer 3

The best firewall is built into Vista and XP.

The best antivirus? Check out Consumer Reports. They had a long article last fall that rated all of the serious companies. These include spyware protection.



You're going in the right direction but do this the first day you get your system BEFORE you connect to the outside and before you install your first application: BACK IT UP. Make a another investment in an IMAGE backup program that can image your hard drive as it comes from the factory. Repeat this backup every week so the countless hours you spend installing software, data and personal stuff is not lost when the system is corrupted, damaged or stolen. I use a LARGE external drive for this.



None of these applications cost more than $50. Adding a couple of hundred to the price of a $1200 system is nothing compared to the time you invest in it.



Word of warning: stay away from the freeware. Too many of these packages are the SOURCE of viruses and pathways for other evilware. Just say no to any free downloads.



If you want to browse the limeware circuit, install a Virtual PC and do all of your risky downloading to the VPC. If it pooches the system, no problem, reload the VPC. 5 minutes later your're back up.



good luck.

Answer 4

The best firewall(tm) and the best antivirus(tm) can't protect sensitive data as much as encryption, because if someone put a trojan on your computer and that it's stealthy enough to remain undetected, your screwed plain and simple.



So before thinking of buying an antivirus I advise you to download Truecrypt an encryption program which will require you to pay ohhhh a big half cent in terms of download bandwith.



It's free, it's dead easy, you just create a container where you save your file. And if someone find your laptop/hack it. Unless you choosed a weak password, there is no way in hell your sensitive document will get read. Confidentiality is ensured.

Answer 5

After your laptop arrives, turn on and check what softwares are installed in it. If possible, un-install commercial products from Norton as they're believed to hog up too much system resources and too often require license update. In addition, it's important to apply all basic security measures before you connect to the internet. Therefore, I recommend you to download set-up files of your chosen security softwares on another computer, save it in ur USB then install + update them on your laptop. According to the latest test results on two credible testing sites, AV-comparatives.org and AV-testing.de, the best anti-virus software of 2007 is Eset Nod32, followed by Avira Premium, Kaspersky AV and several other less known applications. Personally, i prefer Kaspersky AV coz of its effectiveness, functionality, frequent updates and ease-of-use. Together with Eset, Kaspersky is using the latest industry leading virus detection engine with heuristic scan capability which can detect the newest threats floating on the internet. For anti-spywares, you can get a good free one like Spyware Terminator from Crawler. It features live HIPs protection, frequent updates and fast reliable scans. Or, you could also buy Spy Doctor, a famous anti-spyware app that's been highly rated recently on PCWorld and some IT forums. In addition, use Spyware Blaster (from Javacoolsoftware) to immunize your system against spyware/adware infections without affecting your system performance at all.

Finally, the best firewalls, according to a well-known independent leak-testing org called matousec, are Online Armor and Comodo Firewall Pro. Surprisingly, both are completely free and provides robust protection of a world class firewall engine. Since Online Armor doesn't have a version that's Vista compatible, I'd suggest you to use Comodo Pro 3 from Comodo.



That's it~ good luck!

Answer 6

Start with your laptop manufacturer recommendation for the one you now have. It isn't the only consideration, but it's a good place to start. This is an HP and they have recommended Norton Anti-Virus. I have found it to be a state-of-the-art program. We also use Intermute, Inc's SpySubtract and have found it pretty effective, but the best fit for yours may be different.



Also, learn to pay attention to what's loading up in your start menu. If you press Cntrl-Alt-Delete, it will bring up your SysTray or Windows Task Manager. What loads there should be reflective of known programs on your pc. If they are not,select and end them. However, this is something you may want to get some coaching on to be sure you aren't disabling valid needed files.



You can also watch your CPU Usage Performance there, revealing downloads or excess program runs.

Answer 7

Kaspersky Internet Security (It has a 98%virus detection rate(the highest))

AND Spyware Doctor (http://www.pctools.com)

Spyware Doctor has the best spyware protection, ask PC World!

Answer 8

There is no best software but there are precautions you can take. Encrypt important data, Use firefox as your main browser avoid wi fi if possible, keep a 6 ft rj45 in your bag for connections in hotels etc.



I use comodo fire wall with defense plus yes it nags worse than vista but anything happens on your system it will happily make you aware of it.



I use avg for anti virus why because I've had bad experience with Norton and MacAfee early on in my learning curve. I'll never use either again..



If your truly paranoid you can run "sandboxed' that will create a virtual storage area for all things net related that you can purge when finished...



hope that helps

Answer 9

ok

1.full update of the windows

2.windows defender genuine advantage

3.panda anti virus +firewall or nod32 3.0

4.bandwidth limit 0

5.force to unload dLL from the memory :) only works whit framework

6.Spybot Search and destroy free (there is such plug in which is called SP spybot -sd resident that will give you advantage to see any change in the registry system)

7.and proxy ip hider from hijacking :) such as this one

The Privacy Guard

so they can try

:D

Answer 10

Firewall - Windows Firewall - I don't beleive in thrid party firewalls. I find the Vista and XP firewall are good.



If you connect to the internet via DSL or Cable modem, the modem has a built in HARDWARE Firewall.



Antivirus - AVG Free



Antispyware - Spyware Doctor or Pest Patrol



Free Antispyware - Ad-Aware 2007 and Spybot Search and destroy 1.5

Answer 11

To remove spyware,there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on

http://remove-spywares.info/

Answer 12

Go to http://www.spywareremover-download.com

Download the best spyware remover program.

Answer 13

Get Kaspersky Internet security Suite....with it you don't need aditional firewall or anti virus....

I've been using it for 2years and i can say it's the best for me.

http://astore.amazon.com/wwwputersan01-20/search?node=25&keywords=kaspersky&preview=&x=11&y=11





And get Ad-aware se and/or windows defender from microsft.

Answer 14

Did a hacker really steal your laptop? You can reinstall everything on your old one and keep going.



Norton internet security

Answer 15

a flame thrower