India Broadband Forum

narasimhan1990

which is the best free firewall software? Is windows firewall sufficient?
which is the best free spyware/antivirus software?

player

you are posting this in the wrong section..........!!!!!!!!!

narasimhan1990

sorry this maybe the wrong section but since i use bsnl broadband i wanted it to be more specific.

just4kix

You are in wrong section. Posting in other sections would also ensure a response.

Anyway - here are your options:

a) Free AV: there is AVG free which offers basic protection and periodic updates also. It is not a bad product and obviously not the best.
b) Free Spyware: There are plenty such as Yahoo! Anti-spy, Windows Defender (your XP copy will have to pass the WGA certification), SpyBot - Search and Destroy, etc.
c) Windows Firewall prevents remote attacks only such as someone remotely trying to get into your computer. IE7 has anti-phishing filter.

My suggestion is go for a fully paid complete internet security + AV protection software such as Zone Alarm. It costs $40 (Rs. 1600/-) and is not a bad price to pay for safety and security for the entire year. Afterall, one visit to a Cineplex with a family of four + dining outside is likely to cost more than this amount.

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lightgreen49

while it's a good idea to go to paid option .. if u dont want to spend on it u may go for kespersky antivirus it's comes with it's own firewalll.

aruncse30

boss..... this is for guys like you.. BIG HAND....

whitestar_999

sygate personal firewall(now discontinued after it was bought by symntec/norton a few years ago) is a very good firewall & its free too.you can get its setup after searching a little bit using google.as for antivirus if you know you can manage with any antivirus(free ones like avg) or even without any antivirus(i don't use one).however for average users antivirus is a must.kaspersky(some problems with NTFS formatted C drive & after that scanning whole computer is not recommended) & nod32 are considered best.

narasimhan1990

i want free software. nod32 comes with 30 day free triail so will it work beyond that 30 days?

I have a fat32 C drive so will kaspersky cause any problem.
whats the difference between spyware and virus?

whitestar_999

just don't use kaspersky to scan the whole computer.remove the automatic scanning of whole computer & instead choose only the C drive to be scanned automatically.you can scan other drives one by one manually or set automatic scanning of each drive separately.virus corrupts system files/settings & you can notice the effects but spyware as its name suggests works as a spy sending your personal information like login details/credit card details etc secretly to some remote location over the net.

narasimhan1990

i have downloaded nod32

just4kix

Really?? Are guys here telling me that they cannot afford Rs. 1600/- per year. I can understand this coming from students but what about all other folks - say above 23 and who have started working?

a) I see all such guys carrying fancy mobiles worth at least 7-8k or more and they change this every year, if not every six months. Meanwhile, I am carrying Nokia 1110!

b) I see that Cineplexes are thronging with young crowd on weekends when tickets sell on premium rates - Rs. 150/+ or above.

c) In Pune, there is a very nice Udipi restaurant called "Vaishali". It was and is a hangout for young people. Although not very expensive it is by no means cheap - a masala dosa costs Rs. 35/- something here. Yet this restaurant is always crowded and one has to wait at least 15-20 mins on weeks day and longer on weekends to get a seat. And all other restaurants are crowded, especially on weekends with young people.

d) Chaps have expensive iPods (mine is a Nano), and other such music players. The cheapest such device is Rs. 6000+.

And the list could go on endlessly ... for all the luxury items.

Yes, I am well settled and have an extremely satisfying and well paying job but I consider myself as a middle class. I have considered all the issues on software spending. I am not suggesting to spend on unrequired software but at least on the genuine OS and AV. Definitely go for freeware if available, but do not hold back to closed purse strings all the time.

whitestar_999

just the same thing i was about to say.at least get the OS original along with some very essential softwares which you use & can pay for them.its not like you are being asked to pay $600 for original photoshop but i think any working person can manage to buy an original windows(you can get it even cheaper if you purchase an OEM version which usually is 50-60% of retail version cost.you can get vista ultimate OEM for $100 instead of $400 retail version!!!).

gardencityboy

I think OEM windows is sold only by OEM provider like HP and Dell

How can i buy an OEM version and run it on my assembled PC

I think it is not possible

whitestar_999

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - Operating Systems

OEM also means that the software can be given with ANY piece of hardware & vendors like newegg bundled these OEM versions with some cable etc just for formality.the only difference between OEM & RETAIL version is that support will be provided by software manufacturer in case of RETAIL version only while for OEM version support will be provided by the vendor who sold you the OEM version.in this case if you assemble a system with OEM vista ultimate & then sold this system to someone he will not be supported by MS but you.also in a OEM version you can't made frequent hardware changes because that will require reactivation every time & i think OEM versions have some limit on how many times they can be reactivated.

aruncse30

but im trying to say only 10% of people would buy original versions. rest of them..jus downloading from net/torrent... etc.. i think im right..

whitestar_999

you are right aruncse30.even if people can afford they still use pirated softwares instead of buying original & this is mainly due to lack of knowledge about benefits of using original softwares & lack of strict piracy laws regarding softwares in our country(if you get caught using pirated XP in USA you would be in more trouble than if you got caught red handed stealing something from a store).

superprash2003

i guess everybody some way or the other has use pirated software.. atleast once

xwhyz

To answer your question, definitely windows firewall is not enough for the protection of your pc. I would suggest you to try zonealarm firewall which is sufficient for general use and does a decent job and morever it is free to use too. I would suggest trying norton antivirus although it is costly but it is worth an investment.

soccer34

i am using kaspersky 7 .it was nice software .go and download kaspersky for trial
for 30 day and it work like full version ok