Security Suite Frankensteins vs Bundles

[HappyHeyoka]

Hello!

First I'd like to thank everyone in this community. Through your wisdom I have made many solid choices in my computing adventures. My most recent purchase being a shiny new Windows 7 PC.

Having just bought back into the Windows world (long time Mac user) I am in the market for a security suite. I will be doing both casual and professional work on this machine. In addition to gaming and applications I would like to be able to confidently make online purchases as well as download a variety of multimedia files to edit for my website. So, I won't be able to completely avoid online risks.

I have read dozens of posts here on Toms and am left with a few questions that I couldn't find clearly answered. Here goes:

1) What is recommended differently for individuals wishing to protect professional work rather than a personal PC?

2) Gdata seems to have the best Antivirus, Comodo has the best firewall and Malwarebytes seems to be a must in every setup. 

When (what types of uses and level of user understanding) is it appropriate or necessary to piece together this type of "Frankenstein" suite as opposed to purchasing something like Kaspersky which may not be the best at one thing but is very good at most or all.

3) Which setup will give the best email protection? (Email seems to be one of the easiest gateways to infection)

4) In conjunction with your recommended solution do you advise use of online email or local email clients? Which product do you like as well?

5) Lastly, when considering a custom Franken-suite verses a purchased bundle, what value do you recommend the casual and professional user put on the "extra" features bundles offer?

Thank you so much! You all are awesome!!!

 

[aford10]

Hey happyheyoka,

If you're looking for a small business paid suite that is capable of full featured protection, I would recommend Trend Micro, or Vipre. The both give great protection, and are relatively light on resources.

If you're more looking for a personal security software, I'd look more to the free software, such as Avast, or Microsoft Security Essentials.

It all depends on what your network structure is like. If it's just you, or if it's a business.

 

[nikorr]

Hi there,
[fixed]I will be doing both casual and professional work on this machine. In addition to gaming and applications I would like to be able to confidently make online purchases as well as download a variety of multimedia files to edit for my website. So, I won't be able to completely avoid online risks.[/fixed]
Sometimes all in one is not the best. Comodo FW is for long time on the top and is free.
AV is every year little different, but Gdata or Kaspersky or Bitdefender are among the best all the time.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or SuperAntiSpyware are just extra scanners to run once a day.

I have read dozens of posts here on Toms and am left with a few questions that I couldn't find clearly answered. Here goes:

[fixed]1) What is recommended differently for individuals wishing to protect professional work rather than a personal PC?[/fixed]
Proper use of passwords and use something like Folder lock helps on the top of all of that.

[fixed]2) Gdata seems to have the best Antivirus, Comodo has the best firewall and Malwarebytes seems to be a must in every setup. [/fixed]
All are essential part of PC security -- Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2012 are very good too.

When (what types of uses and level of user understanding) is it appropriate or necessary to piece together this type of "Frankenstein" suite as opposed to purchasing something like Kaspersky which may not be the best at one thing but is very good at most or all.

[fixed]3) Which setup will give the best email protection? (Email seems to be one of the easiest gateways to infection)[/fixed]
Any of the mentioned AV programs has it built in.

[fixed]4) In conjunction with your recommended solution do you advise use of online email or local email clients? Which product do you like as well?[/fixed]
Thunderbird would be my choice
Thunderbird @ http://www.filehippo.com/download_thunderbird/
Windows Live Mail 2011 @ http://www.filehippo.com/download_windows_live_mail/
IncrediMail @ http://www.filehippo.com/download_incredimail/

[fixed]5) Lastly, when considering a custom Franken-suite verses a purchased bundle, what value do you recommend the casual and professional user put on the "extra" features bundles offer?[/fixed]
I would not do anything else, as it is more of the same : ) with higher cost.
The best is to try all 3, before the buy. And don't forget to comeback to ask for the price on them, since lots of users know where there are the deals.

 

[HappyHeyoka]

Happy Thanksgiving Tom's Geniuses!!!

Thank you for your responses and all the great information!

Here is what I've decided on:

I have begun to put my own Franken-suite together starting with Kaspersky One. Why pay for Kaspersky One? I chose this option because of the low low sales price this week and the ability to apply this software to my Macs in addition to my PC.

Here is the package plans so far:

Kaspersky Antivirus (a few extras)
Comodo Firewall
Malwarebytes
SUPERAnitSpyware
Ccleaner
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Firefox
LastPass (or RoboForm?)
Folder Lock (or Kruptos 2?)


So far everything looks good. I only have a few of these installed at this point because of time constraints with the Holiday. I expect to have this setup finished and tweaked by the end of December.

Please comment on this list and add any suggestions or revisions that you have.

With much appreciation,
Happy

 

[nikorr]

Kaspersky Antivirus (a few extras)
Comodo Firewall
Malwarebytes
SUPERAnitSpyware
Ccleaner
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Firefox
LastPass (or RoboForm?)
Folder Lock (or Kruptos 2?)

LastPass
T r u e C r y p t @ http://www.truecrypt.org/ instead of Folder Lock
And Q-dir along with Win explorer @ http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir
HWMonitor @ http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html