Security software suites complete with bells and whistles

[wdhpr]

I am learning that free offerings of commercial software does not mean that the software is good. It seems that the developers include all these info and warning screens to make one feel the software is watching your system. (why not just do this in the background) They want the customer to feel they are fully protected. In reality all that's being done is an incredible drain of resources. Yes, you can reduce many of those splash screens in the options menu but I haven't been able do away with them completely.

After trying the highly touted bullguard security suite I finally uninstalled it because it slowed my computer to a crawl. For example it took 3 times as long to open firefox. When opening a directory with a large number of files it took minutes to fully open. I also experienced this problem With the free premium version of AVG.

Finally after installing A-square I again starting getting all those splash screens reassuring me it was on the job. Again I believe for the vast majority of users those splash screens are unnecessary. Perhaps only the most security conscious users would find them useful.

This new breed of security software in my opinion is a fad. I envision truly smart software that will still do the job but with a very small footprint.

I am back with Avira, Sunbelt firewall (behind a router) and Iobit 360 Pro. I am happy to say I am back to smooth sailing and have no plans on looking back. I realize now I don't need all the bells and whistles.

As a note: I did uninstall all security software prior to installing Bullguard. For A-square premium I ran along side Avira premium and Sunbelt firewall.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[WES]

Originally Posted by wdhpr

I am learning that free offerings of commercial software does not mean that the software is good. It seems that the developers include all these info and warning screens to make one feel the software is watching your system. (why not just do this in the background) They want the customer to feel they are fully protected. In reality all that's being done is an incredible drain of resources. Yes, you can reduce many of those splash screens in the options menu but I haven't been able do away with them completely.

After trying the highly touted bullguard security suite I finally uninstalled it because it slowed my computer to a crawl. For example it took 3 times as long to open firefox. When opening a directory with a large number of files it took minutes to fully open. I also experienced this problem With the free premium version of AVG.

Finally after installing A-square I again starting getting all those splash screens reassuring me it was on the job. Again I believe for the vast majority of users those splash screens are unnecessary. Perhaps only the most security conscious users would find them useful.

This new breed of security software in my opinion is a fad. I envision truly smart software that will still do the job but with a very small footprint.

I am back with Avira, Sunbelt firewall (behind a router) and Iobit 360 Pro. I am happy to say I am back to smooth sailing and have no plans on looking back. I realize now I don't need all the bells and whistles.

As a note: I did uninstall all security software prior to installing Bullguard. For A-square premium I ran along side Avira premium and Sunbelt firewall.

Cheers
Wdhpr

Yes, I have experienced the same thing as you did. I am also, like you, behind a router and I would gladly grab a one year license of nod32 or Vipre, unexpectedly I am running now Shadow Defender and McAfee VirusScan Plus on my laptop and unexpectedly again it is smooth sailing and a very pleasant experience ( McAfee is greatly improved from the last time I have had the pleasure to run it). Now it runs along side Shadow Defender smoothly and with no issues whatsoever.

Regards
WES

[ferrisbeullier]

I used to run OA, A2 (both paid versions thanks to offers here) and Avira (fee version) and fund that they were playing well together and had no real issues, except the usual slow or no updates with Avira and all the pop-ups with A2. You can minimise these pop ups with setting rules once you look at why they are being blocked, even though is annoying.

After reading a lot of posts in this forum I decided to give Bullguard a try on recommendation from Midnight Cowboy. Unlike the two previous posters I found the opposite with Bullguard. I found it works very well with A2 and I decided to ditch Avira to an on-demand only. Bullguard is very flexible, limited pop-ups, nice GUI and even though I have not used it yet, I hear great reports about user support. I have read the posts about slow scan speeds but if you set them to scan when you are away, that does not really matter to me. I also found that my PC actually seemed faster (internet) after installing Bullguard as compared to my previous setup. I cannot solely attribute this to Bullguard as I do not have the expertise to confirm this. But I can say as a user and tester of my own system, that is what I have experienced.

I am also behind a router and for real time only have Bullguard (I highly recommend) and A2. I also use Firefox with the usual WOT, No Script, Roboform and Key scrambler. For on-demand I have Avira, Malwarebytes, Superantispy. I also have spyware blaster and Spybot but am starting to think maybe I don't need these anymore and they just may be resources users. If anyone has opinions on this I would appreciate it. I have tried to streamline my security setup as I no longer believe 'more is good'.

I would use linux but do not want to start learning all over again, even though it would appear to be the most secure option, again thanks to psots on this forum.

I also just wanted to say to the admin, support staff and posters that this is a great site and well supported. Good job.

Originally Posted by ferrisbeullier

If anyone has opinions on this I would appreciate it. I have tried to streamline my security setup as I no longer believe 'more is good'.

You have too much stuff overlapping IMO. If you want to streamline your setup and you are using Bullguard ISS, then I would ditch A2 antimalware. I know that technically Emsisoft says you can run it with another av, but do you need to? You have Spywareblaster and Spybot, they both block active x and cookies and restricted zones. Spybot has a tea timer running in the background unless you turn it off. Is spybot's on demand scanning detection what it use to be? I would ditch them both. Using Firefox you don't need to worry about active x controls and you can delete cookies anytime. You have the WOT extension to help you with bad sites. You have plenty of on demand scanners, you don't need anymore. Make sure you keep Avira and SAS from starting up with windows.

That is my opinion
JD

[kendall]

I'm curious as to why you think you need Bullguard and A2 both at the same time? I could imagine using A2 for on-demand scans, but I don't understand running them both at the same time. (Of course, I have to admit that I one of the few people who don't really like A2. I think it's a resource hog.) It is my understanding that Bullguard is really an all-in-one security system that includes most everything you need. Of course, you still want to run some on-demand scans weekly or monthly and use WOT and safe browsing practices.

Personally, I like Spyware Blaster. You only have to run it once a week or so, then turn it off.

[wdhpr]

I'm curious as to why you think you need Bullguard and A2 both at the same time? I could imagine using A2 for on-demand scans, but I don't understand running them both at the same time. (Of course, I have to admit that I one of the few people who don't really like A2. I think it's a resource hog.) It is my understanding that Bullguard is really an all-in-one security system that includes most everything you need. Of course, you still want to run some on-demand scans weekly or monthly and use WOT and safe browsing practices.

Personally, I like Spyware Blaster. You only have to run it once a week or so, then turn it off.

I understand what you are saying. I may not of been clear enough:

As a note: I did uninstall all security software prior to installing Bullguard. For A-square premium I ran along side Avira premium and Sunbelt firewall.

After uninstalling Bullguard I went to A square premium, avira premium and sunbelt.
I guess I wasn't ready to turn all my security over to a-square.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[ferrisbeullier]

Kendall, in response to: I'm curious as to why you think you need Bullguard and A2 both at the same time?

This is taken from A2 website and was mentioned in the forums when A2 was offered.

"Unlike other malware scanner products, a-squared Free was designed to run parallel with other antivirus and firewall software without troubles"

I take it from that A2 is a complementary security solution to plug the holes in conventional security scanners (my interpretation). I do agree that A2 can be annoying but it rates very well in tests?.

JohnnyDollar- I do prevent Avira and Malware from 'starting up' and I will be investigating Spybot to see if it is worth it anymore. I will also be looking at A2 more closely and see if it is 'really' needed. Thanks for the suggestions.

I do agree with comments regarding pop ups being used to reassure us that the product is working, although it may unnecessary. I am so used to pop ups that when I installed Bullguard and I got very few warnings I became concerned......lol...obviously the fear tactics of vendors does have some effect on our thinking?.

[kendall]

Kendall, in response to: I'm curious as to why you think you need Bullguard and A2 both at the same time?

This is taken from A2 website and was mentioned in the forums when A2 was offered.

"Unlike other malware scanner products, a-squared Free was designed to run parallel with other antivirus and firewall software without troubles"

I take it from that A2 is a complementary security solution to plug the holes in conventional security scanners (my interpretation). I do agree that A2 can be annoying but it rates very well in tests?.

Thank you for the clarification. I guess I forgot that you can run A2 along side another anti-virus.

But, why? Avira and Avast are 2 of the top rated anti-virus programs out there (either paid or free). Both include anti-malware and anti-spyware technology. If you add one of these to a full-featured firewall, why in the world would you also need A2? In my opinion, that is just pure overkill. Personally, I want a secure, but light security solution. Then, I want to add things like WOT and no-script and then practice safe browsing habits. For me, I don't see the need to add A2 to Avast or Avira as long as I have a full featured firewall. That's just me....

[MidnightCowboy]

For me, the really interesting thing about this thread is that the content of it is repeated in so many other forums all over the web. The two main ingredients are of course “fear” and “confusion”. The fear to a certain extent is definitely hyped by the vendors but is still valid, as is the confusion generated by most of the responses.

All of the major vendors state that no two memory resident real-time protective softwares should be installed on the same machine and offer different sets of data to back up this assertion. Then along come A2, Prevx and Iobit saying 'well hold on a minute guys because our stuff is different'. Add to this the general tendency for non PC savy persons to apply the 'two door locks are better than one' scenario to their computer and you can immediately see the road down which we are all headed.

Ah, but real help is at hand because we can forget the opinions of MC and the likes of Stem and Escalader at Wilders and take notice of the independent tests instead. So, first up you see the one from the Malware Research Group which shows A2 beating everyone else by gobbling up 99.8% of more than half-a-million malware samples – WOW!

http://www.anti-malware-reviews.com/...ober-test.aspx


Then, you stumble on this one from Matt (Remove Malware.com) who demonstrates before everyone's eyes on YouTube that just two samples of new malware from a collection of only twelve is enough to infect your PC and put A2 to bed.

http://www.youtube.com/user/languy99#p/u/10/28O6o-BPAXU

Now, many would argue, me included, that this second “test” is far more representative of the kind of surfing replicated by millions on a daily basis.

So, all in all what does this tell us apart from switching to Linux is a good idea or the fact that you should not rely on just one solution for protection? (unless it's a full suite by choice). Well, actually it tells us as much about humanity as it does about computer security. The facts are that human beings will always be looking to find different ways of either stealing someones data or messing it up. It also tells us that by enlarge the majority of people in the world either don't have the time, money, common sense or motivation to do much about it. Mostly though it tells us that the commercial vendors just love the whole scene. I mean, they can't lose can they? No one can categorically prove one thing or another so all this confusion is just perfect! Mix this with a few new technical terms that no one can spell let alone understand and there you have the complete situation, i.e. a mess.

Places like TSA, Wilders and the many other good sites out there will continue to offer ”best case scenario” advice in the belief that we can help people to become more secure. In reality it might take a much more radical set of circumstances to come into play before any of us can ever get close to this goal.

Finally, I'll repeat again my parrot phrase that the best solution for you is the one you can understand and work with the best. This means doing some research first, here and in other places, reading the help and config files (LOL), setting it up correctly thereafter and not changing it every few days for next week's favorite flavor

One observation that I have made at forums is the use of excessive security applications in real time. Some people are just security enthusiasts who like to try everything and will have hips, 3rd party firewall, av, virtualization etc.. running all the time. There are some other people though that are not enthusiasts per se, but fairly new to pc security and are just trying to secure their pc as best they can. I think a lot of these users that are not experienced with using these apps in combination are going overboard a little because of bad advice and/or inexperience. Running too many of these apps in real time can cause all sorts of issues that are unnecessary. Not to mention a big performance hit can result. The threats to your pc are out there and they are real. With that said though, malware infections IMO are usually caused more by user carelessness and/or ignorance versus what security app(s) they are using. You need security if you are on the internet no doubt about it, but do you know what sites to stay away from, are you downloading files from reputable sources? Are you being cautious about suspicious email in your inbox? If you are surfing the web and get redirected to a page and a dialog box pops up asking you to do a virus scan giving you the options yes, no, cancel, do you try to click cancel or close the box, or do you open task manager and kill your browser? If you are getting a lot of spam then who are you giving your email address out to? Are you letting them give your email address out to their partners? The point I am trying to make is that educating yourself to pc security in general and how and why infections occur and how to avoid infection is more important than loading your pc up with a whole slew of security apps that are unnecessary.