"Paid security suites can often be more trouble than they are worth, they are bloated and slow and are full of bugs. Most of the time open source software is just as good, free, and has a much larger support community. The only problem is that open source software will generally require a more technically savvy user. Here is my security suite:
Update on antivirus on Windows: Microsoft Security Essentials is now at a level where it competes well with AVG and other antivirus suites.
SmoothWall (Separate computer, Linux box, easy install) AVG 8.5 (free or paid) ClamWin Vidalia Bundle Firefox w/ AdBlock Plus, No Scripts, IE Tab, AVG Safe Search, Tor button;
All of these applications are easy to install and use if you do a little bit of research first."
"There are plenty of free alternatives to security applications, firewall, AV, spyware/adware scanners/removers. The problem is I've noticed that several commercial applications can find things the free ones cant, however the reverse is true, some free ones find things the commercial ones dont see.
The other issue I've had with commercial applications is they tend to be bloated and cumbersome.
I've been using Avira anti-virus for about two years now and I've not had an issue. I transitioned from AVG after the upgrade to the newest version seemed to slow my PC down.
Being a new user I cannot post more than one hyperlink, replace the *'s with t's and you can visit the sites.
Avira AVG
A good alternative for spyware/adware is Spybot and Malwarebytes
Spybot Search and Destroy Malwarebytes
There are plenty of commercial vendors that picked up freeware applications as well, which should tell you something about the quality of that freeware. One that comes to mind is Hijack this, it used to be an independent freeware application, that Trend Micro now owns:
TrendMicro HijackThis
Part of the issue of keeping your system clean and running optimally is to be smart and know what you're installing/downloading or what sites your going to."
"""Better"" protection? Not really, but yes you do get an all-in-one package when you pay for premium software. Ones that will do anti-virus, spyware, and firewall all together. The thing is they all detect for the same issues and compete with the same viruses databases.
Let me know if you want some of my recommendations for freeware alternatives."
Security through obscurity is no security at all. It's been proven time and again in history that proprietary/"secret" security algorithms don't work. Open security standards are the best we have, and it's unfortunate that security is full of nonintuitive results like that, but that's how it is. Whether that makes free software better or not is entirely up to the specific implementation. Products like TrueCrypt, PasswordSafe, OpenSSH are all very secure, but that's not to say you can't get better support/configuration/etc from a "paid security solution" that's using free/open security standards. Essentially, it boils down to a case-by-case basis. You'll have to investigate each decision individually.
