Computer Gurus, need help with my PC

[Norbert]

I've purchased Norton Internet Security as a result of advice from the sales person at Best Buy. This is the software that has Anti-Virus, Firewall, Spam alert ect.

Leading up to my purchase I was thinking about getting Nortons SystemWorks, the software that has Anti-Virus, Utilities, CleanSweep and GoBack but without the Firewall.

My question is which one should I go with. I'm not sure if the SystemWorks isn't providing me with similar system tools that is already on my computer. On the other hand is Internet Security going to help with the speed of the computer. Recently I've gotten rid of a sizable number of documents and uninstalled some software which helped a little. I also do a monthly ScanDisc and Defrag.

So do I have the correct software. Thanks in advance for your replies.

[Don_G]

1. Need More Info

What's your connection (dial-up, cable, DSL) and what OS are you using?

[Norbert]

3. I'm on a dial-up connection .

.

[Don_G]

4. Return It

You don't really need a firewall if you're on a dial-up and the extra software that's bundled will hog your resources. Besides, if you're running XP, those are already built in the OS.

If you feel you need a firewall then download the free version of Zone Alarm or a pop-up blocker if that's what you're after.

[Deja Q]

7. I definitely disagree with you! (was: WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I use 56k and I get attacked all the time. Not just simple port scans but people trying to spoof my address (using my address for their purposes, which I doubt are confined to trading chocolate chip cookie recipes to all his friends...), trying to hack into my computer to look for goodies or to cause damage, trying to install backdoor software (namely to look for goodies or to cause damage). BackOrifice is a popular one, and there's another type of trojan that hackers try to use on my system.

Also, Norton's Firewall is a bit more complete than the basic usually useless version embedded in XP. And as Microsoft made the firewall component, would YOU seriously rely on it?!

Sorry, but firewalls are for everybody. Now maybe he doesn't need all the goodies in Norton Internet Security and maybe even the integrated slop in XP (which hackers probably know how to break through anyway, again it IS a Microsoft component... :eyes: ), but they are needed. In that respect, I do agree that the basic Zone Alarm and a hodgepodge of other free apps would work just as well as the complete pay-for product.

I recently worked on a customer's system. Windows 98 SE. 56k modem. It did not have a firewall. Didn't have anything. But there was tons of spyware AND BackOrifice as well; though the former was mainly due to Kazaa (not lite). I gave up on his PC that night (3 hours later) and told him it would be better to reinstall a clean copy of Win98. I'll be doing that on Tuesday...

56k users DO get attacked. If your computer is on the net, it's vulnerable regardless of connection type. Period. Not all hackers are going to go for corporate gold. Home user silver or bronze can be just as rich...

And if you want system resources to be reduced, I'll send you a list of all sorts of needless XP services that can be disabled. It'll more than make up for the small amount of resources Norton Internet Security requires. (On he machines I configure at work, I've saved an average of 35MB of RAM on each XP Pro workstation. The # of running processes and threads is reduced by a significant amount as well, and the boxes boot much faster too.)

[frylock]

2. stay away from systemworks..

total waste of system resources. Continue with the scheduled defrags, and your sytem will run fine.

[Deja Q]

8. Agreed - but Diskeeper is, by far, the best defrag solution

I had SystemWorks at one point. I found that Diskeeper 7.0 was a much better defrag tool, and the other included apps in SystemWorks were mostly rubbish. (Also note, the integrated XP defrag program, naturally, is a low-end, slow, crippled version of a Diskeeper product. Even Diskeeper's FREE version is better/faster than the bundled XP defragger!)

SW Definitely a resource hog as well.

[lcordero]

5. hmmmm

you should have bought the anti-virus alone. You can get a free firewall here:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp?lid=zadb_zadown

I've had issues in the past with cleansweep and with norton utilities.
systemworks is an outright hog and corrupts itself too easily so I don't even touch it.

[tkmorris]

6. Well

You appear to be asking after you've made the purchase so I can only assume you are thinking of returning it. It isn't quite clear what you want the software to accomplish exactly.

You do mention wanting to improve the performance of the machine. Neither one of those packages will do that, in fact they are notorious for slowing systems down. I've used them and to be honest I hated Norton AV and the other utilities.

As was mentioned, ZoneAlarm is a decent firewall for free if you need one but since you're on a dial-up you really don't need it. For anti-virus I currently use a free version of AVG which can be downloaded here: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php . The scandisk and defrags you do currently should keep the system running well but there are other utilities that may be of use. Hard to say without more specifics.

[Nlighten1]

9. Don't use System Works...

What OS are you using?