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superleccy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 31, 2004
997
187
That there big London
What security software do I need to buy and set-up to protect a Windows Vista laptop?

I have been tasked with buying & setting up a Windows Vista (Home Premium) Laptop for an 87 year old relative who lives 150 miles away. :( :mad: Yes I tried to convince him to buy a MacBook... but old people can be very stubborn! (Oh bless him... the fact that he wants to keep up with new technology at that age is pretty impressive I think!)

I was a Windows Guru back in the day, but I don't have a clue about Vista.

Is Symantec's / MacAfee's security software for Vista actually effective? IMO they made a pigs-ear of their XP versions in later years; they seemed to be primarially engineered to use fear to extract money from the user, with any compatibility / protection / ease-of-use coming second. And I find it hard to believe that their support for Vista any better. This is not a happy prospect for me, since by default I'm going to end up as this guy's first line tech support!

And hasn't Vista got built-in firewall & Spyware protection and firewall? So what do I need to get?

Sorry for the slightly OT post, but I wanted to hear the opinion of fellow Mac users who had a similar mindset to mine, rather than forum full of Windows fanboys.

Many thanks
SL
 

zero2dash

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2006
846
0
Fenton, MO
And hasn't Vista got built-in firewall & Spyware protection and firewall? So what do I need to get?

Yes.
Vista's firewall is inbound and outbound, no need for a secondary solution. If you really really wanted to go with one, I'd go with Tiny Personal Firewall (free). IMO Zone Alarm Free is good but it's heavy on resources. I know people will disagree with me, but I feel as if firewall software on an XP or Vista computer is overkill; all you really need is inbound protection and you should be fine. If your computer has anything other than XP or Vista, you have to install a software firewall because older Windows OS's do not have any firewall protection out of the box.

The spyware protection is Windows Defender, it's worth the price (free) but nothing more. I'd recommend installing Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot - Search & Destroy, & Spyware Blaster (all 3 are free) to run in tandem with Defender. Defender does a so-so job of keeping a computer from being infected, but once a computer is infected, it's terrible at removing the infection. The above three will do a better job at protection and removal, but I'd still leave Defender on there for the simple fact it will scan and update definitions daily without user interaction.

I'd also recommend CCleaner for other odds and ends cleaning.

Lastly - don't forget about antivirus.
AVG Free

All of the above programs are legitimately free and will help keep the computer from getting hosed.

Don't waste money on anything McAfee puts out because (IMO) their products are bloated garbage. Norton/Symantec isn't too bad but why pay for something you can get for free?
 

zero2dash

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2006
846
0
Fenton, MO
Thank you!

Your clear and comprehesive answer is massively appreciated! :D

Regards
Superleccy.

No problem ;)
I'd also recommend putting Firefox on there just in case but that's your call :)

I usually just use Ad-Aware/Spybot as on-demand scanners if I have a problem. A friend of mine recently told me about going to and using the free online scanner at spywareguide.com under "Tools" as well.

AVG Free is great; I recently uninstalled Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10 on several computers of mine and installed AVG instead, because AVG is much lighter on resources. Seems more awarded than any of the "pay" virus solutions out there too (wins the VB100 award every time, I believe).
 
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