I have recently switched to Telewst broadband and my understanding is that unlike NTL your computer is not safe from attack even when switched off. I am currently using Zone Alarm and Spybot to defend against attacks.

I have tried various other products. The worst one was Panda Platinum. It was a nuisance and I had great difficulty getting rid of it. I have also used Norton and Defender pro.

Would anyone recommend any other products? I would want one that isn't a nuisance and won't bugger up your system (which internet security products often tend to do).

There are loads of debates about this on the forum already LordChaverly but i like them so here's what i have:

AVG7 antivirus
Sygate personal firewall
SpywareGuard & SpywareBlaster (Real-time protection from spyware)
Spybot search and destroy
Ad-Aware SE (stand alone utilities i run every week or so)
Firefox Browser (At the moment much safer than Internet Explorer)

All the above programs (and more) are free to download. The links can all be found Here (http://xthost.info/vidster9/HTML/991/index.html)

Originally posted by LordChaverly
I have recently switched to Telewst broadband and my understanding is that unlike NTL your computer is not safe from attack even when switched off.


Who told you this garbage? Nothing can get onto you PC when it is turned off. How can it???


Originally posted by LordChaverly
I have tried various other products. The worst one was Panda Platinum. It was a nuisance and I had great difficulty getting rid of it.

I agree whole-heartedly! Panda totally ^£%$ my PC up when I tried it... Total and utter pile of poo (IMO).


Originally posted by LordChaverly
Would anyone recommend any other products? I would want one that isn't a nuisance and won't bugger up your system (which internet security products often tend to do).


Depends of whether we're talking freebies or cash changing hands;).

Free......Some software that we link to (http://www.sypc-aid.co.uk/software.php?ppage=0).

I hope you are right about Telewest. Can't remember where i read the source of this story and will come back with the source If I can locate it. Obviously, when your computer is physically disconnected, no one can attack it. But as i understood the source, it has something to do with the Telewest server and storage. I don't want to be the source of an urban myth, so lets agree its garbage unless anyone knows differently.

We agree about Panda - I have never had such difficulty in removing a programme before.

Originally posted by vidster
There are loads of debates about this on the forum already LordChaverly but i like them so here's what i have:

AVG7 antivirus
Sygate personal firewall
SpywareGuard & SpywareBlaster (Real-time protection from spyware)
Spybot search and destroy
Ad-Aware SE (stand alone utilities i run every week or so)
Firefox Browser (At the moment much safer than Internet Explorer)

All the above programs (and more) are free to download. The links can all be found Here (http://xthost.info/vidster9/HTML/991/index.html)

Thank you Vidster for the advice. I will be trying these. Are they all simple to use (i.e. not nuisances or problematic for those of us with little technical knowledge of computers?). In other words, no Panda type problems.

If you have never used a firewall before it will be a little strange at first. Once you install it box's will start popping up saying 'this and that' are trying to connect to 'this and that'.
Take a good look at what is trying to connect to the internet. Some of the programs you will know instantly but there may be a lot that you don't know the name of. My advice is to select 'No' and see if there are any problems arise.

If there is anything your not sure of you can just ask on here and we'll be able to advise you.

Alternatively you could use the XP firewall. It is a lot easier to use but no where near as good.
To use the Windows XP firewall:
Start>My Computer>Windows Firewall>Select 'On' and hit enter.

[EDIT] Don't forget to update all the programs as soon as you install them ;)

Originally posted by LordChaverly
I hope you are right about Telewest.

Well, we've been using TW BB since March 2002, and now have 3 PC's and a laptop sharing the connection through a gateway PC that runs windows, and have had no problems with virii etc (then again, the gateway runs zone alarm pro, AVG free and LanSuite2004, with each connected PC running ZAP and NAV) all shares are password protected and bound to the internal LAN IP address.


Why not phone them for fuller clarification (150 is fun;)).

Originally posted by vidster
If you have never used a firewall before it will be a little strange at first. Once you install it box's will start popping up saying 'this and that' are trying to connect to 'this and that'.
Take a good look at what is trying to connect to the internet. Some of the programs you will know instantly but there may be a lot that you don't know the name of. My advice is to select 'No' and see if there are any problems arise.

If there is anything your not sure of you can just ask on here and we'll be able to advise you.

Alternatively you could use the XP firewall. It is a lot easier to use but no where near as good.
To use the Windows XP firewall:
Start>My Computer>Windows Firewall>Select 'On' and hit enter.

[EDIT] Don't forget to update all the programs as soon as you install them ;)

Thank you Vidster. I downloaded AVG anti-virus and it found a Trojan. I was surprised that this was the only thing it found

Originally posted by sccsux
Who told you this garbage? Nothing can get onto you PC when it is turned off. How can it???

Some PCs have a "wake on LAN" function that can be activated by a "magic packet", I believe.

That usually only brings a PC out of standby, when it's enabled, and the WOL cable is connected.

It's more than likely a mixture of uninformed gossip\chinese whispers\made up nonsense. Each PC with any ISP is as prone to attack as most others to a certain extent. Switching ISP's won't neccesarily put you at a greater risk.

At the very least, everyone should have the utilities installed that vidster mentioned in the first reply, which should provide adequate protection for most people.

Originally posted by Phanerothyme
Some PCs have a "wake on LAN" function that can be activated by a "magic packet", I believe.


In that case, the machine is not physically turned off, merely in a sleep state, which implies the machine is still switched on.

What I mean by off is physically switching off at the rear of the PC. All other forms of "off" (other than mains switching) are all pseudo states controlled by either the bios or OS.

I have found that the easiest programme is MacAffe Security Centre 200X (I have 2004). It has everythig that you need and, unlike norton, wont kep bugging you and if desired, it will just update itself, block content, check emails for viruses, keep the pc private and stops hackers. Also it will delete adware and spyware. The detection will only pop-up at the side of the screen or pop up as a bubble on the bottom right of the screen. It costs approx £40 and is definatly worth the money. GET IT NOW.

I know I've said steer clear of Norton, due to issues I have had with it in the past, but if you do use it it's not that bad. However, McAfee is the worst of the bunch, I have had nothing but trouble with it on every machine I had the misfortune of installing it on. I haven't heard anyone else ever say a god word about it.

Best bet is a selection of individual free programs that work, rather than paying for one that doesn't. See vidsters reply way up at the top for a list.

Originally posted by Lurch
I know I've said steer clear of Norton, due to issues I have had with it in the past, but if you do use it it's not that bad. However, McAfee is the worst of the bunch, I have had nothing but trouble with it on every machine I had the misfortune of installing it on. I haven't heard anyone else ever say a god word about it.

Best bet is a selection of individual free programs that work, rather than paying for one that doesn't. See vidsters reply way up at the top for a list.

I must be the first then ;), however I am surprised because I just find that all the applications to be much easier to manage when all in one package.
Just out of interest, what was wrong with It for you?

Things randomly didn't work on different machines. IT all apeared to work, but then if I tried to do anything then it wouldn't let me, like accessing network shares, locking me out of programs, not letting me open and close certain programs. The whole network was on its knees, until I went round and uninstalled McAfee.

The only reason I put it on to start with was because the client hapened to have a couple of copies spare. Never again.

I've also seen it causing strange problems on other machines from time to time, things like not letting some mail through, network issues and other 'niggly bits'. I know of other people who have said the same, not one person has ever recommended it to me, or even said that they're hapy with it.

I dont know wheither I was freed from the tedious programmes then, but the privacy service and spam killer programmes were deleted when using system recovery (resetting to factory settings. So basically all I have is VirusCheck and FireWall. Looks like I was lucky. However I have to say that I really couldn't stand Norton. I tried it on another machine and I hated it because of the constant pop-ups.
If you just try the firewall and the VirusScan, I think that your opinion of MacAffe would change a little.
From the sounds of what happned I wouldnt be surprised if you didnt give it a chance, I kno that I would be a little cautious

Originally posted by tom_a_west
From the sounds of what happned I wouldnt be surprised if you didnt give it a chance, I kno that I would be a little cautious
You could be right, but by the time I'd have finished arsing around trying to get it up and running I could have, (and did), install all the equivalent other internet security software that I usually use. I personally use neither Norton or McAfee so they may have miraculously got their act together in the latest versions, I doubt it though.

Also, I don't like paying for things so a free option that works is far better for me.

I've never understood why so many IT experts are against Norton products. I don't use their internet security stuff, but have found their other software useful over the years. For lay people with little technical knoweldge, Norton products tend to be very easy to use.

They do usually do the job they were intended to do, it's often the case that they don't do it as well as some other software, which for someone non-technical can be a bit of hard work in that you have to download several bits of software and have a more technical understanding of it.

The mainstream stuff like Norton and McAfee etc.. sometimes does things that are unexpected\unwanted as they try to do everything with as little user intervention as possible.

I often find a home user will be quite happy with software that appears to do the job they want as they don't always fully understand what the program is doing or what it's meant to be doing, which isn't always a bad thing.