What Security Programs Do You Use?

[Zxian]

Security programs? Me.

If I do find troubles on any of the computers I'm dealing with, I'll use Spybot S&D and Windows Defender to remove the files, and unlocker to remove any offending files that keep coming back. There's always the good ol' Process Monitor and regedit to do the rest.

@Ultimate Predator - OpenOffice is by no means any comparison to Office 2007. Spreadsheet formulas are far easier to use in Excel, document layout is much cleaner in Word, and the slideshow setup of OO is the pits, while PowerPoint 2007 makes presentation creation a breeze. Sure, there's a price tag involved, but with Office 2007, you definitely get what you pay for.

[Eldmannen]

@Ultimate Predator - OpenOffice is by no means any comparison to Office 2007. Spreadsheet formulas are far easier to use in Excel, document layout is much cleaner in Word, and the slideshow setup of OO is the pits, while PowerPoint 2007 makes presentation creation a breeze. Sure, there's a price tag involved, but with Office 2007, you definitely get what you pay for.

Maybe he for some reason personally likes OOo better. Maybe he feels its easier to use, more effective or convenient, or have discovered some great feature.

Microsoft Office only works with Windows. With OpenOffice, you can run it on any computer you come across, Windows, Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, Solaris, on any computer whether it is x86, SPARC or PowerPC.

Besides being free of cost, and able to download and install it at anytime from anywhere from comfort of your home, office or friends house, without have to goto store and buy it for much money, it is also open source software.

Maybe some people think Microsoft Office is worth the money, but I don't.

1. I would never pay for proprietary closed-source software.

2. I don't use it much. Occasionally I may need write something, or read some document.

For people who use it everyday, maybe its worth it for them. Like for work places and offices. But for most home users who rarely use it, its not worth it.

OpenOffice.org FTW!

[Zxian]

@Eldmannen - All the points you listed are perfectly valid. However, the largest problem I have is when people say that OpenOffice is compatible with Office document formats. For the basic functionality, it is compatible, but start using any advanced features in Office (Track Changes, revisions, cross-references), and that compatibility breaks down.

OO is fine for the occasional document. I use it here in the lab on my Fedora machine, but I wouldn't call it a replacement to Microsoft Office (as you'll often see others claim). It's a freeware alternative (like he said).

If you want to write real documents, you should be using LaTeX. :)

[Eldmannen]

If you want to write real documents, you should be using LaTeX.

Hehe, d*** right!

Actually, I do use LaTeX some, I recently got in to it, so I am pretty new to it.

Takes some time to get into it, since I write it in a text editor, but I hear there are easier editors for it too.

It's pretty nifty, because it can automatically do stuff for you (such as references, table of contents, chapter numbering, etc), and it does it perfectly since its scripted, so it does exactly what you make it do.

Very good for math, algorithms, formulas, etc too.

But a bit tricky, because I think you need to download macros or something todo stuff like add hyperlinks and embed images. :(

Do you use LaTeX?

[Ultimate Predator]

@Eldmannen - All the points you listed are perfectly valid. However, the largest problem I have is when people say that OpenOffice is compatible with Office document formats. For the basic functionality, it is compatible, but start using any advanced features in Office (Track Changes, revisions, cross-references), and that compatibility breaks down.

OO is fine for the occasional document. I use it here in the lab on my Fedora machine, but I wouldn't call it a replacement to Microsoft Office (as you'll often see others claim). It's a freeware alternative (like he said).

If you want to write real documents, you should be using LaTeX.

So for yo, that is an alternative for MS office?

[Eldmannen]

@Eldmannen - All the points you listed are perfectly valid. However, the largest problem I have is when people say that OpenOffice is compatible with Office document formats. For the basic functionality, it is compatible, but start using any advanced features in Office (Track Changes, revisions, cross-references), and that compatibility breaks down.

OO is fine for the occasional document. I use it here in the lab on my Fedora machine, but I wouldn't call it a replacement to Microsoft Office (as you'll often see others claim). It's a freeware alternative (like he said).

If you want to write real documents, you should be using LaTeX.

So for yo, that is an alternative for MS office?

LaTeX? No, way. Can't be compared. MS Office is an office suite. LaTeX is a typesetting system.

OOo? Sure.

[Ultimate Predator]

Oh I see, thoug Zxian says and i agree that MS Office is better.

[Zxian]

LaTeX is a typesetting system that's often used for research papers or formal documents. The files themselves are more like a script or code than a document, since the file is then "compiled" into a postscript or PDF file. I can't really think of a simpler way of describing the generation process, but the latex parser will automatically number and order references, generate table of contents, table of figures, etc etc etc, without needing to "update fields". Writing any sort of mathematical equation is VERY easy in LaTeX as well - miles ahead of what MS Office and OOo provide.

It can even be used to generate presentations. One of my professors made all of his slides in PDF format using a LaTeX template. Everything was VERY slick and looked just as good, if not better than what PowerPoint could do.

[greenknight]

Edited list - Replaced Sophos Anti-Rootkit with GMER

[greenknight]

New revised list, replaced ClamWin with Dr. Web CureIt.

Resident Antivirus/Antispyware

Avast 4.8

On-demand Antivirus Scanners

Dr. Web CureIt 4.44.0.0

Mcaffee A.V.E.R.T. Stinger

On-demand Malware Scanners

Spybot Search-and-Destroy

A-squared Free

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Free

HijackThis! 2.0.2

A-squared HijackFree

Realtime Antispyware / Immunization

SpywareBlaster

On-demand Spyware Scanners

SuperAntiSpyware Free 4.15.1000

CWShredder

AboutBuster

HSRemove

Kill2Me

On-demand Rootkit Detection

RootkitRevealer

GMER

System Monitor

WinPatrol

Firewall

WinXP SP2 Built-in

Cleaners

CCleaner

EasyCleaner

HDCleaner

Diagnostics

Autoruns

Process Explorer

Process Monitor

ESET SysInspector

Miscellaneous

FirelogXP - Reads XP Firewall logs

CurrPorts 1.4.6 - Reveals open TCP/IP and UDP ports, information about programs that are using them

Sentinel 2.3.0 - File integrity checker

Browser

Firefox (with NoScript extension)

[Eldmannen]

Security software?

Oh wait, thats software you put on-top of an unsecure system in hope that it wont be so unsecure? :hmm:

[Ultimate Predator]

Security software?

Oh wait, thats software you put on-top of an unsecure system in hope that it wont be so unsecure?

Ha, you're really enjoying Ubuntu, aren't you? Surely you need an anti-virus and anti-spyware program for it? And at the least, what about a firewall?

[Eldmannen]

Security software?

Oh wait, thats software you put on-top of an unsecure system in hope that it wont be so unsecure?

Ha, you're really enjoying Ubuntu, aren't you? Surely you need an anti-virus and anti-spyware program for it? And at the least, what about a firewall?

Yes, I am enjoying it.

And, no I don't need any of that stuff.

The package manager keeps all my software in the system up-to-date.

Malware for Linux are almost non-existent.

When you execute a file, it cannot write any anywhere outside your home directory. So unless you run it as a superuser, it wont mess with an system stuff.

Some people may run antivirus software, but it is mostly to prevent them from sending malware or forwarding a worm mail to Windows users.

I run a firewall, but it doesn't really use any resources, because no software is running. You run it, it sends some rules to the Netfilter API in the kernel, then it closes. I don't do it because I am worried, more because I am a paranoid security-nerd who want my computer to be invisible/dark, i.e. it don't acknowledge its existence. :hmm:

[Ultimate Predator]

I see. So the only thing you could arguably need is a firewall?

[Eldmannen]

I see. So the only thing you could arguably need is a firewall?

I don't need a firewall.

I just don't want my computer to acknowledge its existence.

[Ultimate Predator]

I would want the same. So security wise, if I wanted, thats it?

[Eldmannen]

I would want the same. So security wise, if I wanted, thats it?

Yeah, pretty much.

[Ultimate Predator]

I would want the same. So security wise, if I wanted, thats it?

Yeah, pretty much.

Wow, didn't realise its so easy going.

[greenknight]

Edited list , added Sentinel 2.2.1 - file integrity checker

[greenknight]

Edited list again - AVG Free 8.0 replaced AVG 7.5 & AVG Antispyware 7.5

[RTZ]

Here is my list a very tiny one

Anti-Spyware:using the integrated avg 8.0.93 (paid version) Antivirus that has the Antispyware

Anti-Virus: AVG PAID VERSION 8.0.93

Secondary Antispyware Scanners: A-Squared Free and SUPERAntispyware

Browser: Opera and IE 7

Disk Management: CCleaner and DisKeeper 2008

Firewall: Zone ALarm Firewall

FTP: FileZilla

Instant Messenger: Windows Live Messenger

Media Players: Hawk Media Player and Windows Media Player 10

Utilities: WinRar

[Eldmannen]

Wow, I see Internet Explorer in a thread about security software!

Aeh!!!1111

[RTZ]

oh i just included it i seldom use it cause of its Swiss cheese defenses. i stopped using Malwarebytes Paid Version with Protection Module it was not stopping things and AVG 8.0.93 was catching stuff it kept missing so its gone. also Spywareblaster kept giving false positives to avg its latest update signatures of activeX nasties were seen as malware so i got rid of that as well. did not want to deal with it.

[RTZ]

i just downloaded free webroot firewall that has been updated with a learning period for the firewall to get familiar with your pc. they are offering the license key for limited time its has decent features and seems to be less intrusive then zone alarm free. here is the link http://majorgeeks.com/Webroot_Desktop_Firewall_d4532.html On that web page is a link to get your license key from Webroot makers of Spyware Sweeper they will email you a link for download as well as the lic. key, the software is normally 19.95 and it states no limitations time wise but even if its for only for a year its not a bad offer.

[Eldmannen]

The first one is always free...