What security for college student

[jnehc]

What security would you guys recommend for a college student who plays lots of games, surfs the web a lot, downloads a lot, etc. I have been doing some research on have come up with either using

1) Avira premium + pc tools firewall plus
2) Nod32
3) Kaspersky 2011 (not compatible with pc tools firewall)

Just realized my mobo came with free Norton 2012 and Kaspersky 2011 though.

confused and what I should be using to protect my computer!

 

[nhasian]

You should consider dual booting with Fedora or Ubuntu Linux. you can do all your surfing and downloading safely in linux, then boot back to windows when you want to play a game. that really minimizes the chance of getting a virus or spyware.

 

[RyQril]

@nhasian, thats really a good idea, but wt if he dont want to dual booting?

@jnehc,
-kaspersky is good but you might have problems with performance which is not good for gaming, even in Game mode, had lot of freezing and stuttering while gaming.
-if you got Norton Internet Security then i prefer to use it, fast performance and good internet security, and wont get any problems with performance.
-another good protection is the Avira AV + PC tools FWP, Avira is fast....i mean wont any problems with performance at all, its lite and good protection, with PCTFW is another good protection, install the firewall 1st then install Avira.

surf carefully, and keep up to date.

 

[jnehc]

would it hurt to run both avira + pc tools + norton 2012?

 

[Ijack]

Dual booting is complete overkill just to secure your PC.

I also download a lot, browse loads of web sites, and play games. I rely on MSE and it has never let me down. What I do not do is download illegal software, music, or videos from torrents. As long as you use your computer sensibly, and are aware of the risks, you should have no problems.

 

[RyQril]

no way, that will kill performance less secure and they will have conflicts, if you want the best protection with out any lack of performance

get Avira AV + PCTFWP + SuperAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes.

you can passively run Avira with the firewall, and temporary run one of these two antispyware tools, run weekly or daily scan then close it.

been using this method for over a year now, no problems with spywares viruses trojans etc..its all up to the user which is you, keep away from suspicious sites, scan every USB flash and every file you download.

happy protection

 

[truegenius]

You should consider dual booting with Fedora or Ubuntu Linux. you can do all your surfing and downloading safely in linux , then boot back to windows when you want to play a game. that really minimizes the chance of getting a virus or spyware.

what?
Fedora or Ubuntu , linux is free from internet risks?
may i have a little explanation

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Never use two antivirus engines at the same time.

 

[jnehc]

no way, that will kill performance less secure and they will have conflicts, if you want the best protection with out any lack of performance

get Avira AV + PCTFWP + SuperAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes.

you can passively run Avira with the firewall, and temporary run one of these two antispyware tools, run weekly or daily scan then close it.

been using this method for over a year now, no problems with spywares viruses trojans etc..its all up to the user which is you, keep away from suspicious sites, scan every USB flash and every file you download.

happy protection

Thanks for your help. Ive heard a lot of bad things from Norton so I think I'll go with the Avira way, unless someone can convince me why I should do Norton (i mean it is free 2012....) I accidently installed Avira first with the 30day free premium before I installed the PCTFWP... should I uninstall and reinstall in the order?

 

[jnehc]

Best answer selected by jnehc.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Norton is way better than AVIRA.