Do I need another anti-virus/malware program or am I paranoid?

[Lightening]

I use bit defender but it's far to sensitive and will block access to everything unless you set it to permit all. Same problem with the Firewall.  My computer tells me the bit defender firewall is up, but bitdefender says it's not.  Maybe microsoft has another firewall program preloaded. (I have windows XP).  Nonetheless, Bitdefender does a good job of blocking viruses.  Over the years I always maintained another anti-virus/malware program.  Last year it was SpyNuker but I was not overly impressed.  While I tried Prevx2 on the trial verson as written up and offered on DonationCoder, but by the time I got around to it the discount had expired.  I sent an e-mail to Prevx requesting the discount post-expiration and they simply replied NO - which is their right ofcourse.    So my question is, do I need another anti-virus/malware program or is bitdefender sufficient?

[f0dder]

I've got bad experience with BitDefender - insane amount of crashes on win9x machines, and regular BSODs on HyperThreading capable machines running XP, problems with auto-update not being able to restart BitDefender after update, problems with not being able to shut down machines cleanly, etc...

It's antivirus capabilities seemed okay for regular purposes, but I'm not going to touch it again, ever - Kaspersky or NOD32 all the way from now on.

Windows XP has a built-in firewall since service pack 2, and you don't really need anything beyond that. If you're at the point where you need outgoing firewalling, you already have something bad on your system, and it's basically game over (yeah okay, if you're paranoid outgoing firewall means you can monitor apps... and either have the headache of setting up rules yourself, or have default rules that means security problems).

The XP firewall is fine enough for blocking you against incoming crap from the LAN, your NATing router will handle nasty stuff from the internet, whether you want KAV or NOD32 installed depends on your surfing habits, and besides that... well, SpyBot S&D if you use Internet Explorer.

[Lashiec]

I'd throw AVG Anti-Spyware in the mix for defense against spyware and trojans. Its realtime scanner is lightweight and non intrusive, and it has a free version, which only does on-demand scanning, but it's quite enough if you don't want to shell out some money.

You might want to try ESET Smart Security once it's out. So far, it looks great, and at least in the antivirus section, you'll have outstanding protection. Its firewall also seems to be quite lightweight, both in resources and in popups flashing. For the rest, what f0dder said.

You can't be paranoid enough, though. I'm still researching why my computer tried to send a email to a Polish ISP (caught by avast) while I don't have any email account set up. Scanners are saying everything is clean, but who knows

EDIT: Rewrote the first paragraph

[iphigenie]

Bitdefender gets really good scores in malware/virus detection, but the firewall is pretty simple. Now if you have a decent packet filter on your modem/router then I think it is enough, as it will detect things like programs connecting outwards or changes to configs and the like.

If you dont have a decent packet filter at the entrance of your network, it might be better to turn the bitdefender firewall off and pick a dedicated firewall tool.

[Chessnia]

Avast antivirus for me. The home (FREE!) version. More than 10 million people can't be wrong!
People keep saying that you shouldn't go freeware with antivirus, but I've been using avast for more than 2 years and haven't had a single problem!
Software is automatically updated everyday.

Their website: http://www.avast.com

[iphigenie]

I always want to laugh when I read any line that says "x million people can't be wrong"

I can list a long list of stupid/wrong things that x million people think is true 

Of course this is not to say that avast is a bad product, it is a fine virus scanner. I don't think it is the best of the free ones, but I have installed it at my mothers and a few other places because it can be setup at the right level that it does not stress people unduly.

That is until it times out and then demand they re-register themselves and they have no idea how to do this, something which just happened to my mother and I am not going there until christmas, so thats 2 months of her being made to panic every day by avast saying her license has expired and windows saying her computer is at risk. I bet she wont dare use the net now

For more technical people I usually choose avira personal when I can, as it has a history of being better at detection. Now that there is a bit defender free I need to test it to see how it compares. 

[wauiler]

reply to iphigenie's comments....instead of waiting until Christmas to fix mothers pc why not install 'crossloop' and fix it from home it's free for both business and personal use.

[BinderDundat]

There is a new Comodo firewall in the pipeline - v3.0.10.238 beta 4 and likely to be a release candidate by early next year.  In addition to one of the best firewalls, it has a component that monitors processes that attempt to start and prevents unrecognized processes from running without your permission.  The program learns your software and the normal processes in a short time (well a week or two), but you have to clear a list of "questionable" processes - most of which result from your using unrecognized software.  You can assign it to the Safe list, quarantine it or just remove it from the list.  I have found that it picks up a fairly large number of temporary files that I never knew were being created before.  You can also grant or deny permissions to individual programs (to connect to the internet, write to the HD, alter other processes, control the keyboard or monitor etc.)  It is a really powerful and customizable program for the advanced user and it has automatic modes that would suit less savvy users.  It is fairly light in resource use but it is known to be incompatible with Spyware Doctor, and possibly other process monitoring AV type programs.  As a free offering, it is a real treat.