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Messages - mob [ switch to compact view ]

Pages: [1]
1
ContextMenu Commander / Re: ContextMenu Commander
« on: January 26, 2006, 10:18 PM »
Wow, I just noticed this topic was started half a year ago...

All that time and not even a beta was released? Or at least some screenshots of what's to come? Anything?? :tellme:

I wanna see this application come out soon, it sounds pretty good.

2
ContextMenu Commander / Re: ContextMenu Commander
« on: January 25, 2006, 09:48 PM »
I use Context Edit and it does everything I've ever wanted to do to my context menu. Remove unwanted entries, add new filetypes and special functions for certain filetypes, etc. I can't remember where I got it, apparently pcmag wants money for it.

I agree 100%. PCmags Context Edit is the best!!!

3
Yeah... backups are definitely good.

You'd think I would learn after 3 hard drive crashes and 2 lightning surges... I guess it's either i'm lazy or I just like playing my luck  ;)

Oh well, I always say nothing is going to happen to me... then the next day it happens.

It's just an accident waiting to happen. Although now I am a little smarter and backup some of my important files onto dvds (just incase).

But yeah, I don't think I'll ever see the day when I do a full system backup.

I do a fresh windows installation ever 2-3 months and start from scratch anyways...

About your question, nudone: I've never used Microsoft's AntiSpy but I've heard it was a good piece of software. As far as you comparing it to Process Guard... two totally different things.

And I agree with your point about a user needing to be some-what advanced in order to use the security apps. You can give a newbie the best security a computer can have and he will still get hit with the baddies. The point is... having the tool is not enough to get the job done. You need to know how to use it.

I just removed 994 trojans from my brothers PC... yeah... you read that right.... he's one of them :huh:

4
i think antivirus tools are def. worth installing,
BUT
they do consume cpu scanning every file, and i think a case could definitely be made for NOT installing a resident antivirus, and only using an on-demand antivirus tool, providing you are very careful about not executing programs until you scan them.

on the whole though, i definitely feel safer having a resident antivirus and unless one is playing some top of the line game, the lost cpu cycles are a fair price to pay for some increased safety.

This is a good point. I failed to mention that I myself am a gammer who is paranoid about programs taking up my valuable resources, which is primarily why I am so obsessed with programs that require little use of them.

Now don't get me wrong guys... an Antivirus is a great added layer of security to have (If you don't mind the resource hogging.)

But for me it is pretty much useless as almost 99% of the time, common sense will be your #1 virus prevention and I figure that the 1% risk is not worth the toll on the CPU that this software will take. NOD32 is very good with resource usage... just incase anyone is interested. Also, if you want the bare minimum (as this topic suggests) I say to hell with the antivirus...


my system has only sufferred a virus infection twice in about 5 years or so - and that was my own fault for installing suspicious software.

careful careful careful.... common sense is KEY :)


i have one question - does process guard (or the other programs you mention) bombard you with confirmation dialog boxes every time you run a program?

If you hate confirmation dialogs then PG is not for you ;)

Nah I'm just kidding. At first, PG will be annoying with its pop ups. The first thing you will notice is that it acts like a firewall for loading programs. So basically, the only things that can load up on your computer are the things you give permission to load up. Once you teach PG what is OK, it will stop bugging you.

Not only does it protect all the files on your computer from loading, it will also notify you if the file you are loading has changed since the last time you gave it permission to load. So lets say you permanently allow your browser to load up because you don't want to see the confirmation every time you want to use it. This is OK because now PG knows it is allowed, but most importantly it records the CRC of the file, the path of the file, and the size of the file. If a virus takes over your browser or modifies something in it, PG will give you a conformation before you load it up saying that the file was changed and it is not the original that you normally allow to load.

That's great security. Also, there are leaks in firewalls that can be taken advantage of. So like, a malicious file will attempt to inject itself into your browser and since your browser has permission by the firewall to access the internet, the virus has successfully broken through your firewall and can do what it likes. But PG will protect all loaded programs from modification in real time. So it easily defeats this.

I can go on about PG all day, there is so much more that it does. Just download the trial and play around with it and you will see what I mean.

RegDefend will also give you confirmations every time a registry key is modified/added/deleted. This mostly happens when installing new software and things like that. It wont be so annoying, and it's a good layer of security.

Someone tell me what I need PLEASE. I read so many different things and am so confused.
I run Avast, Conterspy,Sygate,Spyware Blaster,Spyware Doctor, And Spyware Guard all of the time! What more should I have? I also use Spysweeper once a week. I NEVER open links in emails! Also I use Firefox as my default browser. I love to download and try software but am careful. Thanks

OK you are running Avast, which is a great antivirus so you are fine there. Just be sure to update it as often as you can.

Get rid of Sygate. Its weak firewall and I wouldn't recommened it to anyone. There are more advanced firewalls today. Get Outpost, its easy to use and top of the line. Plus if you ever need help just go to www.outpostfirewall.com and you will see a forum full of wonderful people who are there to help you with your outpost needs.

That's another thing guys, in my opinion, in order for a security program to be good, it MUST have a support forum where average users can come together and discuss problems and help each other. The software designers will be able to read user comments and problems and keep making the programs better and better. Every single piece of security software I have mentioned throughout this thread has a forum of good, dedicated people... which is a must!

Ann Elm, I would suggest you invest in Process Guard. It is a one-time fee and you are good for life with upgrades just like all DiamondCS software.

If you download allot and run suspicious software without scanning, or open email that you don't know where it came from, I would recommend WormGuard ( http://wormguard.dia.../index.php?page=home ) This a another security layer which I've started using recently. It uses absolutely no resources. It sort of integrates into your OS and is never loaded in the memory. It will alert you only when you run something that it feels isn't safe or might be harmful. It's a good security program to have and DiamondCS is working on a new version which is supposed to be waaaaay better. Don't wait for the new version get it now (upgrades are free for life).

Just so you guys know, I have absolutely no affiliation with DiamondCS... it's just that this company produces the most secure protection for computers with the least amount of resource use. It just doesn't get any better. They are simply the best.

5
Has anyone had any experience with TaskGuardian?  http://www.asmdev.net

Jeff

I've never used it before, but I have used similar programs that do the same thing.

After reading the website I can see that TaskGuardian does 5 main things. I'll list them below and in parenthesis I will give you an alternative from what I've used.

1) Process Guardian (You can use ProcX its freeware - http://www.ghostsecu...index.php?page=procx )
2) Network Guardian (I recommened Port Explorer - http://www.diamondcs...com.au/portexplorer/ )
3) Startup Guardian (This is bullshit. Why would you want to know if a trojan is starting up AFTER it already started up?? Use RegDefend for REAL TIME protection against this threat plus more. Also check out this freeware app that does exactly the same thing as Startup Guardian - http://diamondcs.com...ex.php?page=asviewer )
4) Windows Guardian (Don't know much about this feature but I beleive TDS-3 has a similar type of scan involving CRC32 checking of files in your windows directory.)
5) Browser Guardian (Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D can take care of this department. Also check out http://www.javacools...re.com/products.html for two good freeware apps. SpywareGuard and SpywareBlaster)

6
By the title of this thread I see you want the least amount of programs that will give you the most amount of protection.

With that in mind, here is what I suggest:

You need a Firewall. Outpost is really really good, but if you are more advanced I would suggest using Look-N-Stop as it is a little bit better. Ofcourse, I could get shot for saying this by some die hard outpost fan... but hey.. this is just my opinion.  I'm actually using outpost right now but I am considering switching to look-n-stop as it uses very little resources.

You definitley need process guard. (A free alternative is a program called Anti-Hook which supposedly does the same thing as process guard. Although I would rather stick to a proven and tested program such as process guard)

The only programs I use to protect my system is Process Guard and Outpost Firewall and COMMON SENSE!! <--- this is important!

I do use TDS-3 as my trojan scanner. I will perform a scan once a week and maybe once in a year I will detect some trojan than got passed my defenses. TDS-3 is by far the best trojan scanner available... hands down.

As far as a virus scanner... I wouldn't use one. I don't use them because they hog resources and plus I don't really see the benefit of having one. Remember, as long as you have common sense, you don't need one. But if I was ever going to get one or recommend one to another person it would definitley be NOD32. NOD32 is a superb antivirus system. If you don't want to pay for an antivirus, my choice would be Avast (which is an amazing antivirus that is FREEWARE and is better than the big names out there.)

Registry protection. I use RegDefend. Great program that uses almost no resources! If anything ever gets through your layers of protection, you can always be sure that your important registry keys will always be safe. Meaning, that a simple reboot will usually solve the problem. Of course, it's a great program but if minimal is what you are looking for then cross this one of the list.

Lastly, I would suggest installing a spyware remover. Just run a scan every week or so and you will be alright. Spybot S&D is a great freeware one and Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE is in my opinion the best one. Use both of them if you can.


So to sum it all up:


Minmal protection in my opinion:

-PROCESS GUARD (ALWAYS LOADED)
-FIREWALL (ALWAYS LOADED AND PROTECTED BY PROCESS GUARD)
-AntiVirus (If you want, get one. Make sure you protect it with Process Guard too!)
-TDS-3 (Weekly Scan)
-Spyware (Weekly Scan)
-RegDefend (Recommended as an added layer of security)

Of course, there are a ton of other programs you can use for added layers of security, but I beleive that what I posted above will give you some tough security to get through and still keeping it minimal.

Also, the most important thing you should do is keep your OS patched with the latest updates.

7
i've heard some very good things about process guard from a friend who rescued a computer filled with viruses/spyware, and used process guard to hold the infections at bay while he cleaned it.

That's what it does best :)

ProcessGuard is a very powerful program. It works at the Kernel Level which means it has higher authority over virtually anything you run on your computer.

Just a few examples of why it's so important to have this program:

1) Even if you have a firewall and an antivirus installed and running, there are so many leaks and vulnerabilities that will render those security programs useless. You can see a list of the most common leaktests here: http://www.firewallleaktester.com :and just so you know, these leaks are common and KNOWN! Yet still today firewalls and antivirus software fail to block some of these threats and are actually having difficulties finding ways to stop them. ProcessGuard was not even designed to block these leaks but the nature of the software blocks them effortlessly.

2) There are tons of viruses/trojans/worms that will detect which firewall/antivirus software you are using and simply close them down or disable them and then run their malicious coding or connect to the internet. And your Antivirus/firewall can't do anything about it! Your security software is just going to think you are shutting it down or disabling it. Now ProcessGuard is designed to protect any application you choose from being closed or disabled. And since it works at the kernel level which is the lowest level of your operating system, it is virtually unstoppable. Read the processguard forum and the info on their website to find out about many more things this program will do for you.

To make the long story short, no process guard = no security.

8
General Review Discussion / Re: About this section
« on: April 05, 2005, 05:06 PM »
^^ I agree.

It is impossible for mouser, let alone anyone, to make an acurate decision based on something he doesn't know much about.

The point of the matter is, you need to layout all the tools on the table and then start building.

Apps that he uses are going to be candidates for awards... only because he won't know if there is any program out there that is better than what he uses.

It happens to me everyday. I will use a program for months and swear it is the best, but when I tell my friend about it he shows me a program that is 10X better.

I vote for a discussion. Of course, in order to have a successful discussion you need to have a lot of people.

And how do you attract people? With discounts on software :) Hey that's what attracted me to this forumĀ  ;)

9
ProcessGuard and RegDefend are both top of the line security programs in their categories.

Together, they can secure a system from virtually any threat and all with very very very little use of resources.

They compliment any firewall/antivirus by filling in the gaps and vulnerabilities left open by those programs and provide an added layer of security to protect any PC.

No PC should function without these two programs.

This is why I think they deserve a nice review from donationcoder.com :)

----------------------------------------------------------

To learn more about these programs visit:

ProcessGuard Website: http://www.diamondcs...com.au/processguard/
RegDefend Website: http://www.ghostsecu...x.php?page=regdefend

ProcessGuard Forum: http://www.wildersse...orumdisplay.php?f=13
RegDefend Forum: http://www.wildersse...orumdisplay.php?f=72

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