Windows Vista Security Thread

[Schadenfroh]

Consolidated Vista Security Solutions Thread, Update: 02/03/07

In order to counter the possible flood of threads about "what is the best * for Vista", this thread was created to contain all security discussion related to Microsoft's most secure operating system to date. I hope to integrate information here into The Consolidated Security Thread, but for now we probably need a separate thread to discuss security issues of windows vista. If you have something you wish to contribute, post it here or PM me and I will check it out when I have the time, if it is added, credit to finding it will go to you.

NOTE: Nearly all antivirus, firewall, and antispyware products that are not free offer free trials, download the free trail versions and try them and evaluate them yourself. The most important reviewer is you. Also note that much of what is stated in this thread is my opinion or that of others, follow the advice and use the programs in this thread at your own risk.

The Consolidated Security Thread has been updated to support Windows Vista, please see it for malware prevention and removal guides, as well as antivirus, antispyware, and firewall FAQs, link.

The following programs are verified to work on Windows Vista (may or may not work on the x64 version, unless noted as specifically being compatible)

What is the best Antivirus for Vista?

• Kaspersky
  • Kaspersky Security Suite (Antivirus / Firewall)
  • Kaspersky AntiVirus
  • "As of January 30, 2007, both of the latest versions of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0 and Kaspersky Internet Security 6.0 are compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista."
• Nod32
  • "Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit"
  • Lower system resource use than Kaspersky, but lower detection rate
  
  How did you determine what the best was?
  • Detection rate tests located at AV-Comparatives, Virus.GR, and VirusBTN.
  • Low(er) system resource use

What are some free antivirus choices for vista?

• AOL Active Virus Shield
  • "Coming Soon - Active Virus Shield for Vista" (when it is released, it will be the best, my theory is that they already have a working version and that Kaspersky is holding off handing it over to AOL to increase KAV sales)
  • Please see John's AOL AVS faq
• Avast!
  • "all avast! antivirus editions, including the free Home Edition, now support the new Windows Vista platform (both 32-bit and 64-bit builds)."
  • Low system resource use in modern version reported by forum member Mem in x64 Vista.
• eTrust Antivirus
  • Free for one year to Windows Vista Users
  • Found to work with Vista by forum member Smilin
• AVG AntiVirus Free Edition
  • "Windows Vista ready"
  • Lower detection rate than some of its competitors
  • Found to work with Vista by forum member techs

What is the best firewall for Windows Vista?

• As of right now, the best thing I can tell you to do is to use your router's hardware firewall in conjunction with Windows Vista's built in firewall, that should keep you safe
  
  If you still feel uneasy, Kasperky's Internet Security Suite has a personal firewall included that works with Windows Vista; I have never tried Kaspersky's firewall products in the past, so I will not comment as to its usefulness. Also, Microsoft's OneCare Live has been updated to support Windows Vista. OneCare has an enhanced firewall, integrated antivirus / antispyware protection and more, see my review of OneCare

What free Antispyware products are there for Windows Vista

• It has always been the case with antispyware applications that it is best to use passive protection (such as spybot's immunize and spyware blaster) that does not take up system resources and use them in conjunction with scan only antispyware applications and doing these scans on a regular basis. For, if you have too much realtime protection going on at the same time, it can bog your system down as much as the spyware or even cause stability problems with the products "stepping on each other".
  
  • Spybot Search and Destroy
    • Offers passive protection via immunize
    • "we found it's time to announce that all our tests so far have shown that Spybot-S&D is completely compatible with Vista - scanning, immunizing, permanent monitoring, updating & tools"
  • Adaware Personal
    • "The freeware version of Ad-Aware is compatible with Microsoft Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista."
  • Windows Defender
  • SpywareBlaster
    • "SpywareBlaster 3.5.1 is mostly compatible with Vista - which means that the major protection features should work"
    • SpywareBlaster provides passive protection against malware (no system resources are used other than a few mb of HDD space).
  • SUPERantiSpyware
    • release notes: "Windows Vista preliminary support. "
    • Found by forum member John and is reported to have a very high detection rate.
    • Realtime protection in registered (not free) version reported to have low impact on system resources by forum member John.

What are the best Antispyware products for Windows Vista?

• Historically, the antispyware products that have the highest detection rate (from what I have seen and heard) are Spyware Doctor and Spy Sweeper. Currently, I know of no formal spyware detection rate tests in Windows Vista, as the OS probably breaks quite a few pieces of malware from working properly. I would highly suggest not using the realtime protection that these products offer, they tend to hog up system resources in the new(er) versions. If you wish to use a realtime (active) antispyware protection, I suggest having Windows Defender running in the background, as it does not suck up as much resources as the others. Forum member John has reported that SuperAntiSpyware has been more effective for him than Spyware Doctor and Spy Sweeper.
  
• SuperAntiSpyware (see information in the free antispyware section)
• Spyware Doctor
  • "Designed for Windows 98, Me, 2000 and XP, with basic support for Windows Vista?"
  • Review
  • Reported to have high system resource usage by forum member John
• SpySweeper
  • Windows Vista ready
  • Review
  • Reported to have high system resource usage by forum member John.

What else can I do to be more secure?

• Please see The Consolidated Security Thread (now updated to support Vista)

See also

• Forum Member BD2003's Vista Tweaks/Performance FAQ

 

[Valrandir]

Very nice thread

 

[Gamingphreek]

That is incredible Schadenfroh. Yet another reason why he should be made **Elite**.

Sticky!!

-Kevin

 

[amish]

elite +1

 

[warcrow]

I agree -this thread is a great idea and should be stickied. I have no idea why you are not Elite my friend. Hell, maybe you've already been nominated but just got turned down...like me. :-/

 

[Mem]

# Avast!

* "all avast! antivirus editions, including the free Home Edition, now support the new Windows Vista platform (both 32-bit and 64-bit builds)."
* Relatively high system resource use

Showing in my Task Manager,5 Avast processes(Total together around 18000k) ,gives you an idea of total resources ,btw this is when you select "show processes from all users",otherwise you just get one showing around 1296k.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Mem

# Avast!

* "all avast! antivirus editions, including the free Home Edition, now support the new Windows Vista platform (both 32-bit and 64-bit builds)."
* Relatively high system resource use

Showing in my Task Manager,5 Avast processes(Total together around 18000k) ,gives you an idea of total resources ,btw this is when you select "show processes from all users",otherwise you just get one showing around 1296k.

When I used avast (older version) it was much higher than that, that seems to have been corrected in this new version, I will edit the OP. Thank you Mem.

 

[techs]

AVG free is also claiming Vista compatibility:

"GRISOFT is announcing a new version of the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. This new 7.5 version with improved performance and full compatibility with the latest Windows Vista version is available."

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: Mem

# Avast!

* "all avast! antivirus editions, including the free Home Edition, now support the new Windows Vista platform (both 32-bit and 64-bit builds)."
* Relatively high system resource use

Showing in my Task Manager,5 Avast processes(Total together around 18000k) ,gives you an idea of total resources ,btw this is when you select "show processes from all users",otherwise you just get one showing around 1296k.

When I used avast (older version) it was much higher than that, that seems to have been corrected in this new version, I will edit the OP. Thank you Mem.

You're welcome Schadenfroh,btw this is on 64 bit version of Vista.

 

[Smilin]

MS is using Etrust 7.1 internally for antivirus btw. Works great on Vista.

 

[Mem]

Schadenfroh,you might be interested in Vista Manager ,tweak and optimize program etc...not free but does have a 15 day free trial and covers all versions of Vista.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: techs
AVG free is also claiming Vista compatibility:

"GRISOFT is announcing a new version of the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. This new 7.5 version with improved performance and full compatibility with the latest Windows Vista version is available."

That's what I'm using. It's been flawless.

 

[CrystalBay]

Thanks Smilin, for the info...

 

[TheRyuu]

Well, in a month (or less) I should be doing a total reinstall and I might look into Vista as an upgrade path just to get on it and get use to it.

I have a DX10 video card (not that it matters right now) but when a DX10 game finally comes out (few months? a year?) I want to be ready

 

[blurredvision]

Why do you not have OneCare listed and rated? It's Microsoft's own program for crying out loud . I'd like to see what is thought of it, as that's what I'm using currently. Got it free with the Best Buy deal this week.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: blurredvision
Why do you not have OneCare listed and rated? It's Microsoft's own program for crying out loud . I'd like to see what is thought of it, as that's what I'm using currently. Got it free with the Best Buy deal this week.

OneCare failed to get a VB100% rating this month. You know your AV sucks when AVG can get one and another product fails.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=2000486

The OneCare AV protection and config is very basic, and we already know that Defender is a thing of the past (like Ad-Aware and Spybot). There are better solutions and suites out there such as Kaspersky Internet Security. If you're looking for an AV only then Kaspersky or NOD32 should be one of the top contenders.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Smilin
MS is using Etrust 7.1 internally for antivirus btw. Works great on Vista.

Interesting.... speaks very highly for OneCare doesn't it? If you have a link to that information (not that I doubt you, but it would be good to link it in bulleted text in it's summary), I will add it to the OP, as that would be credentials enough.

Originally posted by: blurredvision
I'd like to see what is thought of it, as that's what I'm using currently.

I wrote a review of it

 

[John]

SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS) works in Vista 32-bit

http://forums.superantispyware.com/viewtopic.php?t=400&highlight=vista

I no longer recommend purchasing Spy Sweeper or Spyware Doctor due to excessive bloat and other incompatibilities. SAS's detection and removal is now better than both of the aforementioned apps, and the real-time protection does not degrade system performance in any way. SAS is my premium choice for anti-spyware applications. Should you ever have any SAS program specific questions, Nick Skrepetos is active on several security forums, and you can email him directly for a swift reply.

 

[n7]

Uh, as i mentioned in the other thread about AOL Active Virus Scan, AOL AVS does NOT work with Vista!

Unless they have updated it, do NOT attempt to use it with Vista.

It ended up screwing up the entire OS; i had to reformat to get it functioning properly again.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: n7
Uh, as i mentioned in the other thread about AOL Active Virus Scan, AOL AVS does NOT work with Vista!

Unless they have updated it, do NOT attempt to use it with Vista.

It ended up screwing up the entire OS; i had to reformat to get it functioning properly again.

Heh, the FAQ clearly states "Coming Soon - Active Virus Shield for Vista" (when it is released, it will be the best, my theory is that they already have a working version and that Kaspersky is holding off handing it over to AOL to increase KAV sales)

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: n7
Uh, as i mentioned in the other thread about AOL Active Virus Scan, AOL AVS does NOT work with Vista!

Unless they have updated it, do NOT attempt to use it with Vista.

It ended up screwing up the entire OS; i had to reformat to get it functioning properly again.

Heh, the FAQ clearly states "Coming Soon - Active Virus Shield for Vista" (when it is released, it will be the best, my theory is that they already have a working version and that Kaspersky is holding off handing it over to AOL to increase KAV sales)

Indeed, I will bold this statement to make sure people see it before downloading it. I decided to add AOL AVS to this thread due to the fact that it should be released anytime now.

Originally posted by: John
SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS) works in Vista 32-bit

http://forums.superantispyware.com/viewtopic.php?t=400&highlight=vista

I no longer recommend purchasing Spy Sweeper or Spyware Doctor due to excessive bloat and other incompatibilities. SAS's detection and removal is now better than both of the aforementioned apps, and the real-time protection does not degrade system performance in any way. SAS is my premium choice for anti-spyware applications. Should you ever have any SAS program specific questions, Nick Skrepetos is active on several security forums, and you can email him directly for a swift reply.

Thanks for this evaluation John, I will add it to the OP

 

[n7]

Thanx, & excellent thread as usual :thumbsup:

 

[bf1942]

Keep up the good work OP,
but somehow I do not think this is work,
more like a labor of love.

 

[Tipsy Turtle]

Just FYI.

Sunbelt Software has a new version of their anti-spyware program, Counterspy 2.0, coming out soon that will work with Vista. I've always had great luck with their product in the past.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Tipsy Turtle
Just FYI.

Sunbelt Software has a new version of their anti-spyware program, Counterspy 2.0, coming out soon that will work with Vista. I've always had great luck with their product in the past.

Maybe they will get their free firewall working in vista as well:thumbsup: