Essential Software?

[lohryx5]

Recently purchased a new computer (my last one was almost 7 years old!) and I was hoping I could get some information, opinions, or advice as to what software I really need to focus on getting...freeware or purchased. I've been out of the computing loop for quite a while (I'm in the Navy and was at sea a lot).

Anyway, I currently have Norton's on a trial timeframe. Should I subscribe to this, is there any advantage to getting McAfee instead? I've also heard a lot about getting Spybot-Search and Destroy and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware. What else would you recommend. I guess I need some sort of firewall software as well?

Fortunately, I've done some searching and this website has had valuable information on corrupted common-use software. I had no idea IE could have so much wrong with it, why doesn't the company keep it's stuff up-to-date and safe? Again, anything you all could help me with, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[degsy]

If you are happy with Norton then stick with it.
Personally I would suggest the ZoneAlarm Security suite.

If you want free ware then go for AVG and ZoneAlarm Free

Also get Adaware SE (Free)

[Baser-X]

Essentials:

1) Antivirus - I use Norton 2005, but a lot of people dislike Norton because it's a resource hog and often there are install problems with it. If you have 512MB of Ram or more, you'll never notice though unless you run a lot of programs that need the memory. In that case more memory would be better than a different Antivirus. McAfee is no different though, so if you've already got Norton it may prove easier just to buy it than to try and remove it to install McAfee or another AV.

2) Firewall - As degsy pointed out, Zone Alarm has a free version that is very worthwhile. I'm not familiar with the Zone Alarm Suite, so I don't know what all that includes, but I am assuming it has Antivirus and possibly antispyware. I personally just use the XP firewall, but I'm behind a firewalled router, so really even the XP firewall is a bit redundant.

3) Antispyware - Many people run both Spybot S&D and Adaware SE. Both are free. After having used both of them, I've found Adaware to be better. It finds everything Spybot does and more in my experience. But honestly, you can never really have too much protection in this arena, so running both won't hurt. There are other options, but none free that I am aware of.

Beyond that, I can't think of anything else that is essential. Everything else would be programs based on your needs.

There's lots of freeware here in lots of different categories.

As for Internet Explorer... it seems to be the luck of the draw. I have used it pretty much exclusively since Windows 95. I can't think of any major problems I've had with it since the release of Windows 2000. There are other options though such as Opera and Firefox. Both are free.

[lohryx5]

Thank you both for the informative replies. I did get Spybot and Ad-Aware and was suprised to see how much stuff they found after just surfing for only a little while. I've heard about AVG. But my question about some of this freeware is, how do they keep them as current as, say, Norton or McAfee without making any money.

I know Ad-Aware is freeware, but they also have purchaseable programs. Are those only for businesses or something? Same with what you mentioned about ZoneAlarm. I don't mind paying for something if it's good as I definitely want what's best. I got Spybot because I've heard only great things about it rather than purchase something that's not as good simply because of the name.

Is there anything that does it all (anti-virus, firewall, spam/ad/spy blocking, etc.) and is still a great program. It doesn't take too long to run these individual program, such as Spybot & Ad-Aware, when I need. I'm just curious if there were anything more all-inclusive.

Thanks again, the programs I got from your suggestions are great. I'll check on some of the others as well.

[Baser-X]

The difference between Adaware Personal and Adaware Pro is just a couple extra features in the Pro version such as AdWatch. AdWatch basically blocks tracking cookies and unauthorized downloads. It always monitors your registry for changes and warns you when a change occurs. I've found this to be a pain at times as I often forget to disable when installing new apps. It's pretty much the same with Zone Alarm. The Pro version just has more features than the free version.

As for all-in-one programs, there's quite a lot of them. Norton's Internet Security Suite, McAfee has one, Zone Alarm Suite, etc.. You'll just have to look into a few to see which one will best suit your needs or do a post here to find out what others who already use those recommend.