Webroot AntiVirus w/Spy Sweeper vs MSSE & active Superantispyware,

[TommyT]

I just picked up a new laptop for my daughter. I came with a Webroot Antivirus with Spy sweeper CD and I'm getting ready to set up her computer and hopefully secure it form all the nastiest I know she's gonna try to find.

How good is Webroot Antispyware with Spy Sweeper vs Microsoft Security Essentials and SuperAntiSpyware with real time active scanning.

I personally like MSSE with SAS and have had no problems on my or my wife's machines but both my kids have managed to get malware, spyware and trojans on their systems in the last year with MSSE and SAS installed.

Thanks.

 

[Jay_2]

I have found Webroot to have pretty good products. I can't say I have used their most recent software though.

 

[Mackintire]

Webroot's Malware protection is garbage compared to Norton and Kaspersky's

Even MSSE is better in after infection removal.

If it doesn't include HIPS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrusion_prevention_system I wouldn't pay for it.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

but both my kids have managed to get malware, spyware and trojans on their systems in the last year with MSSE and SAS installed.

Thanks.

You'll find that happens no matter what protection you have on the systems.....brand A vs brand B vs brand C....I see these rogues slip past every single brand out there. Even the best..like Kaspersky, or AntiVir, or Avast, or Nortons/Symantsuck, Panda, Vipre, McCrapee, Sophos, no matter what you have...stuff slips by.

These rogues are coming out in variants by the hundreds per hour! Someone can say they've been brand A mop up Vista Antivirus 2011 yesterday....but today (or even just a few hours later that same day) it may miss it...why? Because it's a new variant!

You need to layer your security. And you need to first address the software that these rogues are utilizing and exploiting to get into the kids system.
*Outdated Java....make sure you have the latest Java installed. And that prior versions are manually uninstalled. The newer v6 installs will uninstall earlier version 6's....but they will not uninstall older major versions like v5...so you have to make sure those are gone. Leaving version 5 runtime install will only ensure you get infected even though you may have the latest java installed.
*Outdated Adobe PDF Readers. Even if you use 3rd party like Cute or Foxit....keep those updated
*Outdated Adobe web players like Shockwave and Flash...keep those updated.

Windows has become rather secure...so the guys spreading malware have turned to 3rd party software like above.

Also stay away from video codecs, or at least use caution. A lot of younger kids like to watch pirated movies "online"....so they'll find those free streaming sites to watch movies for free...and many of those sites will force you to download some toolbars and usually a viewer called "potato click"...wham, you're infected in due time.

IE 8 and especially 9 have gotten quite secure, so gone are the "Don't use IE" days. IE has actually enjoyed many months of less exploits than Firefox over the past couple of years. I've been fond of Chrome lately, mostly due to its super security with the "sandbox" feature. But last month even Chromes sandbox was busted...so that's no longer to be assumed safe. Anyways..keep your browsers up to date.

Another good thing for a "layered" approach..change your routers DNS settings to use a safe DNS service like OpenDNS, or Nortons DNS, or Comodo DNS...or one of the many other safe DNS services out there. These services maintain a frequently updated list of malware distribution sites....and block them. You cannot download what you cannot resolve to!

 

[Mackintire]

let me add some comments to what YeOldeStonecat said;

I would gravitate to Kaspersky Internet Security, Norton Internet Security of ESET Smart Security 4. Run Malwarebytes, SAS ,etc monthly.

IE8 and IE9 are very secure, IF you are on Vista or Windows 7. The biggest component of that is a feature called protected mode, which when enabled allows your browser to run in a virtual sandbox. This alone is a huge improvement in security.

+1 Always use a layered approach

 

[ThreeDee]

set up a dedicated firewall box running Smoothwall, or Untangle .. or some other that can do blocking of certain web content/sites will help as well as an additional layer of protection .. with some firewall distros you can block when your kids get on if you like .. or restrict them to or from certain sites and/or see where exactly they are going on the evil internetz ..

if you have an old computer laying around and couple nics ..your pretty much golden