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February 20, 2008
Dear CNET members, When I started to write this newsletter, I honestly was going to bring up the topic of HD DVD throwing in the towel on the HD format wars. But three newsletters in a row about the format wars is just overkill, so I'm going to give it a rest with this being said: Wow, how quickly the HD DVD camp raised the white flag--I guess it was inevitable with all the big-industry players announcing their support for Blu-ray. I'm just glad it ended so quickly without having to drag this war to further confuse folks...Anyway, we'll see what comes up next with Blu-ray being the winner. Read here for the latest news on it. Now for this week's topic: The Big Three free security apps. Now I don't know about you, but I'm a creature of habit, and once I get comfortable with something, I don't change very often. That also applies to the security applications I choose to use. For many years, when it comes to free security applications, I've always stuck with using AVG for my antivirus, ZoneAlarm for my firewall, and Ad-aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and Windows Defender for my spyware protection. These apps have served me well for many years. But I recently read CNET Download.com Editor Jason Parker's blog about his favorite three free security applications, and it made me consider some application trials and possible swaps--besides, I have nothing to lose since the big three that he mentions--Comodo Firewall Pro, Spyware Terminator, Avira AntiVir Personal Edition--are all free. Many of you may ask why switch if it's working for you? Well, haven't you heard the phrase, "the grass is greener on the other side"? Well, I'm heading for the hills in hopes for a greener pasture. And if I find that these three apps are even less of a resource hog on my system, I'm all for the change for the better. Now if you're reading this and don't have any security apps (especially if you are running Windows) or are considering some that are free, check out Jason Parker's latest Download.com blog entry for some suggestions on free security apps. I know some of you are very familiar with these applications, and if you are, we would love to hear on what you have to say about them, good or bad. Because with your feedback I'm sure all of us who are looking for a change will benefit. And if you are using something different and want to suggest them in this topic, go right on ahead because we're all listening. Thanks all!
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This week's hot topic:
The Big Three free security applications Jason presented his three favorite free security applications to our readers in his latest blog entry. While many members came running in to post their agreement with Jason, a few disagreed with his choices and also recommended their own personal favorite security apps. Here are just a few of what many of our members had to say: "I agree with most of what's in this article..." "as well as other comments by your subscribers. I would also suggest checking out AV-comparatives.org to see how the best AVs compare with others and matousec.com for the same about firewalls--the results there might surprise a lot of people! Favorite security apps of some may not be that good as previously thought. I myself use Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Classic (freeware, with heuristics, sorry), Comodo Firewall Pro, currently testing Spyware Doctor Starter Edition (in place of Spyware Terminator, which is OK but runs about 50MB of processes, maybe not good for slower comps), SpywareBlaster..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member sikyo
"Definitely agree with your choices." "Comodo is certainly my favorite firewall, paid or otherwise. Avira is also an excellent antivirus program. As far as paid ones, Nod32 is the best in my eyes. Jason, as for Spyware Terminator, your problem is you have HIPS enabled. This is not traditional real-time protection, simply a system monitor. Personally I would only use the realtime shield, and have them disabled; using Comodo's Defense+ integrated into v3 of their firewall. Though, as far as free antispyware apps..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member criztopha
"Some good choices. But I've made some recent changes...""to my security applications, both of which I'm very happy with. Spyware Terminator's real-time protection, while good, was using way too much of my memory, so I substituted it for the free version of SpyCatcher, which is using less memory and has caught two spyware that I'm not certain would have been discovered by Spyware Terminator, which only appeared to be finding cookies..." (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member Little Miss Nemesis
"People: Get Zone Alarm Pro or Trend-Micro.""Yeah you pay for them, but they're about as good as it gets for complete PC protection. Regarding AVG and Avast--I've seen these programs miss viruses completely. I used to be a fan of AVG and Avast until I saw both of them miss Trojans. Ouch! Well, you ask, "How did I find out?" I did a freeby trend-micro scan of my PC. Jason Parker: C'mon fess up! Who's paying who for these product pumps?" (Read more)
--Submitted by: CNET member gmennino
Speak up!Now that you've read Jason Parker's latest blog entry: "Killer Download: The Big Three free security applications," are you in agreement with his three favorite security picks? Why or why not? Do you have something that you would recommend over his picks? If you've used or still currently use any of these apps--Comodo Firewall Pro, Spyware Terminator, and Avira AntiVir Personal Edition--tell us what you like or dislike about them. We are all listening. • Antispyware and security downloads • Latest security news • Latest security blogs • Security Bites podcast • Spyware, viruses, & security forum News.com hot discussions |
Weigh in on this week's poll:
 Yes. (Please explain.) No. (Why not?) Sometimes. (How so?) It depends. (On what?) I have no idea.
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