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Supplement Your Antivirus

Here are 3 applications that I have personally used this year to add some further protection to PC’s running standard AV without a significant slowdown to the PC:

  • Threatfire – Blocks unknown threats based on their behavior.
  • Sandboxie – Isolates your browser from the rest of your OS.  Threats can be automatically deleted every time you close your browser (requires a little configuration in Sandboxie).
  • Immunet – Cloud AV.  A Cloud based anti-virus that works alongside your current anti-virus to provide some extra protection.

What do you use to supplement your current Anti-virus?  Let us know, leave a comment



  • clocks

    I use Immunet and Threatfire off and on a lot. Threatfire is great, and I think Immunet will be really good later in the year as it continues to improve.

    Prevx free would be a good choice if it actually blocked malware, but it’s detect and pay for removal stategy is almost rogue like, esp considering it tends to have some FPs.

    Personally, i am not a fan of sandbox programs, but I have used Sandboxie and agree it is a nice program.

  • Someone

    I personally install ThreatFire on peoples PC and i edit the settings so there is no notifications when something is detected and also to automatically detect and quarantine anything that is detected. ThreatFire has so far been enough. I personally use nothing, the only thing security related i guess would be WOT Addon.(3 years and still not infected, also according to MBAM (zero threats)

  • Carlos

    Hey Matt,

    I would also recommend Hitman Pro 3.5 (build 88 and higher).

    Check out this movie at Youtube and you’ll see why I recommend this.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6eRWTv2STk

    This program would be a good addition for you to have in a USB drive because you try to clean computers that have been infected with Fake AVs.

    Regards,

    Carlos

  • ryan

    Matt do you still install Microsoft security essentials and still recommend it?

  • tuser

    I use MSE with Online Armor Free, with just program guard on and firewall off. Great detection of malware and viruses plus Hips for those 0 day malwares. Online Armor takes up like 10MB of RAM resources and MSE about 40-55MB of RAM resources.

    Have tried avast 5 free but didn’t like web shield which slows down your internet connection.

  • Dario

    Perhaps not an anti-something (anti-frustration?), but I use Comodo TimeMachine alongside Comodo Internet Security. In case something does slip through, I can always ‘rewind’ :) I was a MSE user untill it really started to slowdown my system when I open a folder of lots of downloaded executables as MSE scans every single file (even if the same file was scanned a minute ago) before even displaying it’s icon. Is there not an AV that rather calculates the file’s hash and based on that decides if it needs to scan it again (if the hash changes)? I know NIS 2010 has something like that.

  • malwarebuster

    I’ve used sandboxie and threatfire.

  • bryan

    Hi Matt, Good post and some great extras. I have been using threatfire and immunet with MSE. All three work pretty good together with no lag. I really believe that you can use threatfire and Immunet with most of the other major free AVs too (AVG, Avast, Avira).
    Bryan

  • Shaun Zhang

    I am using Microsoft Security Essentials, PC tools threatfire, Winpatrol (HIPS), Superantispyware and Malwarebytes antimalware.
    I also have sandboxie, but I did not run web browser sandboxed, perhaps I should, before it is too late.
    I was trying to use immunet protect, but windows security center detected it, it looks like that I need to uninstall Security Essentials before I install Immunet Protect.

  • Rackin

    Avira, Threatfire, Sanboxie, and KeyScrambler

  • Matthew

    I use Norton Antivirus, PC Tools Firewall and Malwarebytes (paid). In my opinion those 3 are the best possible combination if you don’t want a security suite.

  • Dieselman

    If you have a good set up or a good suite you do not need to “supplement” you av. All I need is my KIS and I am all set.

  • Tom

    I use Untangle UTM as my gateway server.

    http://www.untangle.com/

    and

    Intego Virusbarrier X6

    http://www.intego.com/VirusBarrier/

    Avira/PrevX/MSE on Win 7 in Apple’s Bootcamp.

    .

  • 927

    i dont see the need for “further protection”, in my case

  • Reggie

    I used to use Sandboxie free but I didn’t like the nags and slow browser launch. I use Geswall free now and find it just as effective and much more transparent.

  • AHOPF

    All my computers use the same MSE along side GesWall free & WOT for Google Chrome

  • JimBob

    @Dieselman

    Not supplementing your AV is like playing Russian Roulette. No AV solution is perfect, and you will get infected eventually. A supplement, like Sandboxie or GesWall offers the protection needed when that virus does slip through.

  • Vilmis

    JimBob — KIS2010 has HIPS and Safe Run. Think before you write.

  • http://cneon.weebly.com Christos

    Sandboxie And Threatfire

  • Dario

    Norton Internet Security 2010, Immunet and SafeSpace sandbox

  • JimBob

    @Vilmis

    Yep, I was looking at KAV, not KIS. Either way, I can’t imagine paying $80/year for protection that you can get elsewhere for free. I use Security Essentials and GesWall, both free, extremely lightweight, and bulletproof.

  • Dieselman

    LOL.I got my KIS for $15 off Ebay. Been working for 6 months now. 3 user license.

  • ryan

    Yea you can really get good deals off ebay you can get any security that you want for under $20.

  • Sinisa

    Free & strong protection: Avira+GeSWall+ThreatFire+FF WOT+MBAM

  • Diortem

    Honestly, I have 2 setups right now…

    my gaming rig uses MSE with Mcafee FreeScan online scanner. This morning I added Malwarebytes Antimalware (free version) as a backup scanner to it, but Im debating if it will stay right now.

    My office runs on McAfee with OneCare LIVE scan online scanner as a backup second opinion.

    Basically, I figure if I have issues, I want the second scanner as a second opinion.

  • Buck

    To supplement my current Anti-virus.
    Trojan Remover,

  • Victor

    I’m using a combo with Avira free, Threatfire and Shadow Defender (virtualization). I’m not sure it is really necessary to use Threatfire along Avira and Shadow Defender. What do you think?

  • tucker

    I was using Microsoft Security Essentials and Geswall, but Geswall seems to crash my computer. No bsod, just multi colored horizontal lines. I really liked Geswall, but this seems to continually happen (not often, perhaps once a week) only when I’ve had Geswall installed.

    Before using Geswall I used MSE and Threatfire which is what I think I will go back to, but I would like to use some sort of sandbox or other isolation based program. I’ve used Sandboxie, but it takes to long for firefox to open sandboxed imo.

  • http://naut.homestead.com/files/Free/free1.html joe53

    Sandboxie, WOT, WinPatrol Plus, Windows Defender (or MBAM-paid), IE8 with OpenDNS

  • Kinar

    Can you review on Immunet please? :D
    btw, ThreatFire is awesome!

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/yjh1995 John

    I have like 3 computer I am not sure linux count
    desktop-Windows XP Home basic SP3
    firewall: Kaspersky internet security
    sandbox: Kaspersky internet Security
    Anti-virus: Kaspersky Internet Security

    labtop-Windows XP Professional SP2
    firewall: ZoneAlarm
    sandbox: Sandboxie
    anti-virus: avira Anti-vir

    laptop2- Jolicloud
    firewall: NONE
    Sandbox: Google Chrome
    Anti-virus: none

    That’s preety much what I use
    Um… Matt please Suggest a free anti-virus for Linux

  • McAfee!

    You shouldnt get Immunet its quite pointless and hardly detects much.
    I apologise to Immunet lovers.

  • http://sandboxie.com ssj100

    Limited User Account and Software Restriction Policies are the way to go!

  • Fr34KMaN :D

    Can you run that Cloud Anti-Virus alongside KASPERSKY? I have KASPERSKY IS 2010, and I saw LANGUYS video review on that CLOUD ANTI-VIRUS, but it don’t seem to WORK that well. :S

  • tricksyh

    Immunet works well in languys video the most important setting was turned off(now fixed) it is always picking up malware before threatfire fore me. although it thinks ultravnc is a trojan >.<

    Free setup: work pc
    MSE
    Immunet
    MBAM free

    Gaming rig: paid
    NIS 2010/ESET
    Immunet
    MBAM free

  • http://biggeekdaddy.com/protection.html Big Geek Daddy

    This is what I recommend:

    PC Tools Firewall
    Avast 5.0
    Threatfire
    WinPatrol
    Malwarebytes or SUPERAntiSpyware as an on demand scanner.

  • Dario

    Recommended to run 4 applications to protect your PC? I would rather get 1 application that can do it all (Comodo Internet Security or Kaspersky Internet Security) and save on system resources.

  • http://www.biggeekdaddy.com Big Geek Daddy

    Dario – If you’re comfortable with all your security being provided by one vendor then that is an excellent strategy.

  • Leao Bras

    Hi,
    In Active defense all Free version:
    MSE beta 2
    Pc Tools Firewall
    ThreatFire
    Immunet

    plus on demand scan only, just for check, all free version:
    MBAM
    SUPERAntiSpyware
    Hitman pro

    It´s a rock defense and all is free.

  • Leao Bras

    And Web Browser= IE 8 with smartscreen on and WOT

  • razzs

    According to my suggestion don’t overload your pc.just use selected ones.My recommeded security tools are
    1-any good antivirus
    2-antispyware with real time protection
    3-and last but not the least a powerful firewall with HIPS protection.
    These three layered protection would be enough.JUST KEEP IT SIMPLE.
    ‘USE IT TO BELIEVE IT’


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