New Laptop - Basic Software Questions

[airrob]

Alright guys, I'm setting up my new laptop, and I have a couple of questions.

1. Anti-virus software. We have a couple options here. My school offers me Symantec Corporate 10 for free - but I installed that and it takes up like 30 megs of memory. (Granted, I have a gig, but still.) We also have AVG and Avast, or any other free software. Is that sort of memory usage by Symantec normal and I should just deal with it, or should I switch to an alternative?

2. Software firewall. Most of the time I'll be connecting from behind a router, but when I take my laptop say to class or the library, I'll be on the open Internet. Is the Windows XP firewall sufficient? If not, which software firewall would you recommend - ZoneAlarm, Kerio, something else?

3. Media playing. I remember a list that said everything one needed to play media files. This included Media Player Classic, Real Alternative, QT Alternative, FFDShow, etc. Anybody remember where this was, or what programs I need? Also, would you guys recommend Winamp Lite or Full?

4. Instant messaging. I have been using Trillian, but it's lack of being able to view HTML in profiles is really annoying. Is there an decent alternative? I need something that works with AIM and MSN preferably, but AIM only would be ok too.

5. Wireless router. The WRT54G gets a lot of talk around here, but both raving about it and people saying they can't get it to work at all. Is there something better, or should I just suck it up and get this? And if so, which firmware should I use? HyperWRT, Sveasoft, other?

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[BlueWeasel]

1) Not sure about the Corporate version of Symantec AV, but I've always been turned off by the amount of system resources Symantec AV uses....Antivir is a good free alternative and doesn't hog resources

2) I prefer the older version of Kerio v215...excellent firewall performance versus minimal resources used.

3) MP Classic or Zoom Player and a good set of Codecs (ie, FFDshow) should be all you need.

4) I'm not a huge IM user, but GAIM and Miranda have worked well for me.

 

[firerock]

1) I use Norton AV Corp 10 and I'm loving it. No complaints here. Why worry about RAM usage when you have so much them being unused?

2) I use Outpost firewall. It's not that well known in US, but check out the review of it. It ranks the best of the best.

5) I have to say WRT54G is awesome. With all of those hacked firmware, it is the best home router out there. I own 3 of these at home and 2 of them became defective after a few months. But Cisco/Linksys RMA department is super fast and super easy to work with. You simply go to their web site and file an exchange report and you will get a new one in a few days. It's absolutely the best exchange policy ever.

 

[Schadenfroh]

1. Anti-virus software. We have a couple options here. My school offers me Symantec Corporate 10 for free - but I installed that and it takes up like 30 megs of memory. (Granted, I have a gig, but still.) We also have AVG and Avast, or any other free software. Is that sort of memory usage by Symantec normal and I should just deal with it, or should I switch to an alternative?

2. Software firewall. Most of the time I'll be connecting from behind a router, but when I take my laptop say to class or the library, I'll be on the open Internet. Is the Windows XP firewall sufficient? If not, which software firewall would you recommend - ZoneAlarm, Kerio, something else?

I would continue to use SAV Corporate if you got it for free. For information on detection rates, see this thread: The Guide to the Best Antivirus/Firewall:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1375461&enterthread=y

4. Instant messaging. I have been using Trillian, but it's lack of being able to view HTML in profiles is really annoying. Is there an decent alternative? I need something that works with AIM and MSN preferably, but AIM only would be ok too.

I suggest you try the freeware, opensource, bloatfree, miranda IM. It uses several networks, like trillian does.
http://www.miranda-im.org/

3. Media playing. I remember a list that said everything one needed to play media files. This included Media Player Classic, Real Alternative, QT Alternative, FFDShow, etc. Anybody remember where this was, or what programs I need? Also, would you guys recommend Winamp Lite or Full?

You might want to check out the K-Lite Codec Package, it uses MPC:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_Full_d4620.html

 

[Thyme]

Real Alternative and VLC are good media players

GAIM is great on a a laptop

 

[igowerf]

Originally posted by: airrob
Alright guys, I'm setting up my new laptop, and I have a couple of questions.

1. Anti-virus software. Just stick with Symantec Corporate. What are you saving that RAM for?

2. Software firewall. Try out the Windows one for a while. If you don't like it, download Kerio. For me, the WinXP firewall is unintrusive and works well.

3. Media playing. Get the Matroska pack (it comes with ffdshow, vobsub, ac3filter, etc), Real Alt., Quicktime Alt and you're set.

4. Instant messaging. Try Miranda.

5. Wireless router. Just get the WRT54G. I've suggested it to 4 different people and they haven't had problems with it. Read about the different firmware and choose one.

 

[Rottie]

to save some memory is to get antivir, sygate personal firewall, miranda is ok (I am trillian fan).

 

[Infohawk]

1. AVG is fine. I've been using it for a long time.

2. Stick with xp's firewall. Avoid compatibility problems and if generally gets the job done. A more complex firewall will frequently require more hand-holding.

3. The media classic "suite" is nice.

4. If you want all the features you generally have to go with the real deal. I prefer miranda though which has a small footprint.

5. I got the WRT54G based on the ravings and it's worked fine. I'm satisfied with it.