i have installed mozilla firefox and spybot . should i uninstall norton utilities and ad aware ?

4 responses so far ↓

• 1 jm w // Nov 2, 2009

  No. Firefox is a browser that, also more secure that IE, can also be compromised. I would recommend keeping Norton Utilities and keeping them up to date. It never hurts to protect your computer.

• 2 Vincent // Nov 2, 2009

  Oh my God.

• 3 Neal Tse // Nov 2, 2009

  Spybot is anti malware, not anti spyware, you need protection from both.While you should only have one anti spyware program installed adaware protects against malware as well and works just find with spybot.

  By all means, keep them all.

• 4 Dunbar Pappy // Nov 2, 2009

  Alternative to Norton: Avast.
  Spybot is somewhat bloated & configuration intense (for rookies); not sure of AdAware anymore.
  Remember it’s easier to keep the garbage out than exorcise it after the fact: plug up all the ‘holes’ to keep your system clean.
  Try this setup, as alternative to any sypbot/adaware applicatioins:
  Try "Malwarebytes" to start cleaning up your system:
  http://www.majorgeeks.com/Malwarebytes_Anti-Malware_d5756.html
  (’System Restore’ may have to be turned off for effective cleaning).

  FIREFOX: Tools> Options> Privacy> top drop menu set to "Firefox will use custom settings…"> Check ‘Accept Cookies from sites’
  & Un-Check ‘Accept 3rd Party cookies’
  With these add-on’s:
  ♦♦♦"NoScript" for Firefox will stop a lot of this adware/spyware & hijackers; and is THE single most important thing you can do to prevent most script based malware suppositories ♦♦♦
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
  [When on any site, down on the far right corner is a blue ‘S’ with a red line through it: right click that> tick ‘forbid (whatever)’ &/or mark as ‘untrusted’.
  (Ticking all may reduce interactive behavior; enable just enough to get what’s necessary to view the page, on a ‘temporarily allow’ basis)]

  Flashblock: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433
  Adblock Plus works pretty good too: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865 (make sure to utilize the ‘Subscriptions’ from ABP drop arrow> ‘Preferences’ tab & look in ABP > Preferences> Filters> Add filter subscription> "View All Subscriptions" link @ top of window> (on the new window, select those which you’d like to add)> follow prompts.
  The list is long…look for any that will help your browse sessions be ‘cleaner’.

  "Super Cookie" (flash type) not handled by ‘normal’ browser settings; https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623
  **********
  Using IE (all flavors) and allowing "active scripting" is the single biggest mistake people make. "Drive by installs", "Opacity based attacks", and many other malware problems arise from this feature alone…(firefox will remedy a lot of the issues).

  And, get this installed: "HOSTS file" (from mvps.org) which blocks evil webpage assets from re-directs which install malware or trashware. (Vista requires special instructions; on-page link)
  http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
  (thanks "tempo1")
  **********
  Rouge malware and escalating server based spyware are becoming indistinguishable & may cause system misbehavior .
  Requires "Opt Out" on EVERY browser on EVERY machine.
  Google here: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html
  Yahoo here: http://info.yahoo.com/relevantads/
  Turn off ’spell check’ may help, as this sends keystrokes back to the server also, which may be used to ‘target’ advertising.

  When installing ANY new application, check the EULA or ToS for ‘Toolbars’ and/or other crud they try to slip past ya’.

  Good luck.

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