HOWTO - Protecting your Windows system

[Techie_Geek]

well , i do have a querry

the point is that I have WinXp Sp1 installed with NAV 2005 and ZAP 6.6 .Now that earlier on a similar installation I upgraded to SP2 and a lot of apps stopped working.

Now that I already have so many apps loaded should I upgrade to Sp2 and suffer losing those apps(reinstall them for security point of view) or can I continue with Sp1 + all patches from WinUp Site.

Do suggest.

Also MS antispyware s**** bigtime

Spybot is the clear winner.

 

[alib_i]

I personally feel that SP2 is bigtime trouble ..
I always find it better to install integrated WinXP+SP2 ...
Somehow .. I find lots of chaos when upgrading to SP2
(applications not working, comp suddenly becoming slow, slow startups/shutdowns, lots of settings changed ...and so on)

I think winxp+sp1+all patches is evenly secure and troublefree
I have the same system.

-----
alibi

 

[hermit]

yes xp + sp2 makes system slower in all means , but its worth if ur using internet . sp1 + latest updates will not serve purpose .

so xp+sp2 is best but not xp+sp1

i all ready tried both for 4 months and giving a verdict .

hermit

 

[anandk]

...edited...sorry...............................

 

[Vishal Gupta]

Another utility to check ur Adware/spyware performance!

*www.misec.net/products/TrojanSimulator.zip

D/l it and try to install it, ur adware/spyware should warn u while installing it.

PS: There is no harm in installing this utility! Actually its a dummy file to check ur adware/spyware s/w...

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

and one thing more , don't use cracks or patches from untrusted sites ! ( i know we all use cracks )

 

[anandk]

and one thing more , don't use cracks or patches from untrusted sites !

cracks from 'untrusted' sites...whats that !?!? there are not 'trusted' sites offering cracks/patches

 

[gary4gar]

cracks from 'untrusted' sites...whats that !?!? there are not 'trusted' sites offering cracks/patches

yes there are from u which u regularly download cracks.and trust them by exprience.however can also can have viruses but they are better than others

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

Originally Posted by anandk
cracks from 'untrusted' sites...whats that !?!? there are not 'trusted' sites offering cracks/patches

yes there are from u which u regularly download cracks.and trust them by exprience.however can also can have viruses but they are better than others

yeah that's what i wanted to say , and also by trusted sites i mean the sites where crack groups officially relese their cracks . mean the sources of cracks , they r the most trustable ones .

 

[realityman]

I'm not sure if this goes here but since you mentioned Windows XP Sp2 Firewall as a possible way of protecting a pc, i would just like to add that as of now , it has become 2 simple to bypass the sp2 firewall . executables like sessmgr.exe etc are trusted exes and any trojan can use these files as a "host" and perform code injection. It can then proceed by binding specific ports and stream confidential data. You would be better off with ZoneAlarm or BlackIce ........................or Linux 8->.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I use mcafee and spybot and windows firewall so do I really must have to install some other firewall also ? I have heard of Sygate.

 

[Pathik]

ZONEALARM is the best firewall...

 

[Rollercoaster]

bohut sahi post hai....

Breach of computer security is more attributed to the computing/internet habits of the user rather then on software. most of the *unwanted stuff* gets into ur pc by human mistake and ignorance of warnings. we open *stuff* that we know might contain malware.

i have been using my pc on std windows firewall and automatic updates... nothing else. and i have not faced a virus or a spyware or adware etc for atleast an year now. my pc is constantly connected to the net via broadband and p2p software run inthe background all the time.

i dont have the headache to mentain/update a host of software like spyware/antivirus/adcleaner etc.. and my pc runs much smoother compared to if i installed all the above software.

it is all in the habits.

 

[sahaymr]

i'm currently using avg anti virus and zone alram should i need to switch trend pc cillin?

 

[gowthamashok]

Hey Guys,
I dont think so you need to have all these firewall and antivirus programs slowing down your comp.
I have a comp which is always on and connected to internet 24 hours and still without any firewall or antivirus, it runs.
I also download many files and experienced no difficulty in the speed and the threat of viruses.
I am currently using the slipstreamed version of SP2.
The legit one(Win XP PRO) was very SLOW and it was a pain to activate it.
I still dont download any updates, use Opera(BEST) and Firefox and sometimes Internet Explorer.
P3 800EB, 256M RAM,2MB Display adapter,Windows 2000,Windows XP SP2,20G ATA-100(99%) full.

 

[shaunak]

Anyone is using a-squared? Is it required if i have an anti virus , an antispyware and a firewall running.?

 

[Nav11aug]

Is Avast alone good enuf.......i'd love to use it bcoz my comp shows negligible performance drop with it.It also has a firewall,right?

 

[pops]

Is there any manual tweak/patch for XP SP2 firewall, for which it will be little useful…

 

[–•(–•Raghav™•–)•–]

Nice Tutorial Dude!

 

[crazy_sumi]

Nice tutorial man .... and a big one too!!!!

Though I think that Kaspersky anti virus is the best one out there . Its cheap and definitely effective that Pc-cillin.
And thats not just my opinion. Even fast track to security in Digit sept. 2006 says that pc-cillin isnt exactly that good.

Anyways, your guide has made my system more secure than it ever was!!!

Keep up the awesome work.