Windows Defender & security software 2

[RBHirsch]

I use a variety of security software to protect my system - XP Pro SP2, fully patched.

The programs include
1. AVG 7.5 Professional (paid) version
2. WinPatrol Plus (paid version)
3. Zone Alarm 7.0.408 (free version)
4. AVG Anti Rootkit (free)
5. Spyware Blaster (free)

6. SpyBot Search & Destroy version 1.5 (free), has been temporarily uninstalled while I was repairing my system.
7. Spyware Doctor (latest paid version) was removed from my system some weeks ago, as it was acting very strangely, and causing system problems.

Items 1, 2, 3, 6 & 7 are active programs. Items 4 and 5 do their job only when run.

I will probably not put Spyware Doctor back in, but SpyBot 1.5 is the new active (very active - almost too much so) version that I expect to reinstall.

Is Windows Defender compatible with items 1-6? I've seen mixed reiews on it. But if it can work along with the others, I'd probably install it also

Any comments/suggestions/feedback would be appreciated.

Ron Hirsch

 

[SirBlack]

I run Grisoft's AV, AS & Anti-Rootkit (free versions). In addition to these apps, I run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware SE Personal, Spybot S & D, SpywareBlaster, Windows Defender as well as Norton Systems Work & Zone Alarm. I've experienced no problems or conflicts with these. Grisoft's AV, Zone Alarm & Norton are active apps. SpywareBlaster, though not active, blocks installation of malware & prevents you from going to restricted sites. All others are run usually once a week. I was planning on uninstalling Spybot as other apps were finding threats that Spybot missed. PC World actually rated it as poor with Windows Defender as good. Spyware Doctor was given a superior rating but have heard from numerous sources of it causing problems & conflicts. I did notice in your thread that you were using Spybot v 1.5. My version & the one tested by PC World was 1.4. I now plan on uninstalling Spybot 1.4 & downloading 1.5 for testing.

Hope this resolves your question!

Bob B-)

 

[RBHirsch]

Bob,

Thanks for your reply.

You will find that Spybot ver 1.5 is a totally different program from 1.4. It's different as night and day.

Ver 1.5 is very "active". It apparently classifies DoubleClick as a "bad guy". Google of course now owns DoubleClick, and there has been lots of discussion about its reporting. So a window comes up very often, and one has the opportuninty to block all such reporting.

And yes, I would uninstall SptBot 1.4 before adding 1.5. Unlike most software, you will have lots of 1.4 stuff left if you install over it.

Ron

 

[linney]

I find Spybot Search and Destroy 1.5 to be heavy on resources, slow to load and giving the general overall appearance of still being a beta release. The default configuration now flags Cookies as errors and trying to exit from the update page may cause the program to freeze. At my last check of it many of the download sites (other than the SaferNetworks mirror) were unable to download updates in to the program. This program should not be used on older slower machines.

I much preferred the 1.4 version.

I use Windows Defender too, but other than stopping MsConfig from restarting after you use that program, and a few Warnings hidden in the Event Viewer about some safe processes, I don't really know what it is achieving, and all the manual scans come up clean.

I try to keep all the realtime scanning to a minimum, I am wary of many programs having overlapping functions in this manner. I regularly manual scan with different security type programs however, and I watch my surfing and downloading habits as well as E-mail attachments.

 

[RBHirsch]

Hi Linney,

Thanks as usual for your feedback.

As I originally commented, I found ver 1.5 of SpyBot too active, and it does consume lots of resources. I removed it when I was doing all my activities re my shutdown crashes.

While I have plenty of resources, it overdoes things.

I still have the 1.4 version, so I may reinstall it.

The main reason for my post on this was that I was also worried about overlapping activities, and conflicts.

I too use several programs for periodic scanning, and rarely if ever find any "serious" items.

I don't really use MSCONFIG, as WinPatrol Plus has a better interface with all those capabiities & more, If you are not familiar with WinPatrol, you might want to check it out at

http://www.winpatrol.com/

The Plus version which is a paid version offers some very nice features. At your level of skills, I think it would be a natural for you to have and use.

I'm still on the fence with Windows Defender. But, if it doesn't create its own problems, I guess it woulnd't hurt to install it. And, since it is an MS program, I assume that MS will keep improving it with time - hopefully.

Ron

 

[SirBlack]

The good thing about Windows Defender is it is an auto update like critical patches. You can also schedule it to run when you're not working on the PC. Another app that you might be interested in is Fortego's All-Seeing Eye. It monitors any unusual changes in your OS & alerts you to them. Like Zone Alarm, it takes a few days to teach it but is well worth it. It's a free download at:

http://www.fortego.com/en/ase.html

Bob B-)