What Free internet security downloads on CNET.com are
safe and useful for XP? Some are Spybot Search & Destroy,
SpyHunter, Ad-aware, ZoneAlarm 4.5.538--safe for XP? A
couple reviews said Ad-aware would NOT allow the
Restore/recovery option. Would any of these above
programs allow safe surfing w/o spyware on Kazaa or
related peer to peer music sharing websites? I have
McAfee VirusScan 2004, but I think I need some of the
above programs too safely use P2P or insure my personal
data is secure, although certain websites are secure
anyway when you place orders. THANK YOU FOR ANY
SUGGESTIONS!!!

Re: Safe XP Security Downloads? by Kent

Kent
Sat Jan 10 16:57:51 CST 2004

Matt wrote:

> What Free internet security downloads on CNET.com are
> safe and useful for XP? Some are Spybot Search & Destroy,
> SpyHunter, Ad-aware, ZoneAlarm 4.5.538--safe for XP? A
> couple reviews said Ad-aware would NOT allow the
> Restore/recovery option. Would any of these above
> programs allow safe surfing w/o spyware on Kazaa or
> related peer to peer music sharing websites? I have
> McAfee VirusScan 2004, but I think I need some of the
> above programs too safely use P2P or insure my personal
> data is secure, although certain websites are secure
> anyway when you place orders. THANK YOU FOR ANY
> SUGGESTIONS!!!
>
You ask intelligent questions and you are right to be concerned about
peer-to-peer networking safety.

You most definitely need a good anti-virus program and you should update
it daily. Configure it to run in the background and scan all files on
download. I like AVG and Antivir and they are free. This is your most
important protection.

Spybot and Adaware are good for getting rid of drive-by spyware, but I
don't think you'll pick up spyware on p2p, mostly trojans. Spybot and
Adaware are adding trojans to their lists, but there are trojan scanners
that work better for the crud you'll get on p2p.

Keep Windows updated on all critical security patches.

--
Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows Security

Re: Safe XP Security Downloads? by Matt

Matt
Sat Jan 17 19:31:03 CST 2004

Thanks Kent. I keep all my critical updates recent and
my McAfee VirusScan Ver8.0Pro seems to work well. I've
been debating on installing Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and
CWShredder for backup which were recommended in the
McAfee forums. I just want to make sure these programs
won't mess up my XP or affect my system restore. I'm not
visiting P2P because of the Kazaa type sypware and I'll
just buy songs off Walmart.com instead. Do you know if
Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and CWShredder are safe for XP?
Thanks,
Matt

>-----Original Message-----
>Matt wrote:
>
>> What Free internet security downloads on CNET.com are
>> safe and useful for XP? Some are Spybot Search &
Destroy,
>> SpyHunter, Ad-aware, ZoneAlarm 4.5.538--safe for XP?
A
>> couple reviews said Ad-aware would NOT allow the
>> Restore/recovery option. Would any of these above
>> programs allow safe surfing w/o spyware on Kazaa or
>> related peer to peer music sharing websites? I have
>> McAfee VirusScan 2004, but I think I need some of the
>> above programs too safely use P2P or insure my
personal
>> data is secure, although certain websites are secure
>> anyway when you place orders. THANK YOU FOR ANY
>> SUGGESTIONS!!!
>>
>You ask intelligent questions and you are right to be
concerned about
>peer-to-peer networking safety.
>
>You most definitely need a good anti-virus program and
you should update
>it daily. Configure it to run in the background and scan
all files on
>download. I like AVG and Antivir and they are free. This
is your most
>important protection.
>
>Spybot and Adaware are good for getting rid of drive-by
spyware, but I
>don't think you'll pick up spyware on p2p, mostly
trojans. Spybot and
>Adaware are adding trojans to their lists, but there are
trojan scanners
>that work better for the crud you'll get on p2p.
>
>Keep Windows updated on all critical security patches.
>
>--
>Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows Security
>.
>

Re: Safe XP Security Downloads? by Kent

Kent
Sat Jan 17 19:51:02 CST 2004

Matt wrote:

> Thanks Kent. ... Do you know if
> Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and CWShredder are safe for XP?

Yes, they are quite safe.

--
Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows Security

Re: Safe XP Security Downloads? by anonymous

anonymous
Sat Jan 17 20:16:49 CST 2004

Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.
Matt

>-----Original Message-----
>Matt wrote:
>
>> Thanks Kent. ... Do you know if
>> Ad-aware, Spybot S&D, and CWShredder are safe for XP?
>
>Yes, they are quite safe.
>
>--
>Kent W. England, Microsoft MVP for Windows Security
>.
>