Vista - ESET Smart Security (aka Nod32)

I just switched from a Presario XP with Trend Micro PC-Cillin that I had
for 3 yrs. and then it *-_mysteriously_-* crashed and burned to a Vista
Premium Home Edition 32 bit which came to me with ESET Smart Security
version 3.0.621 already installed on it.

I've read good things about it and have used the online help but I am
totally clueless how to configure the settings which are all now just
on "default".

Since this is a new computer, I want to keep it in the best shape
possible. I've read never to have more than one spyware or anti-virus
on your puter so I'm totally dependant on this ESET which is why I need
help with the settings. I do know from years of reading that the
Windows Defender is about as useless as the Windows Firewall, so I
don't have that on. Besides, it would most likely wreak havoc with the
ESET I am guessing.

I know absolutely nothing about Vista either. This thing came loaded
with way too much stuff on it which I will never use. I can just
imagine how much stuff is running in the background. I looked at
Decrapifier but it wasn't Vista compatible. There must be at least a
dozen HP things on here I probably don't need and mega-tons of other
stuff. It's a Pavilion, btw.

I'm too inexperienced and paranoid to scale down this thing by myself.
I've already been to a zillion sites, half of which are way over my head
and I've gone through 90 percent of the very limited online help for all
the various stuff on my PC.

Eagerly and happily open to any and all advice, pearls of wisdom,
referrals (that a novice can understand) and anything else that will
help me with this VISTA & ESET.

Thanks all and enjoy your puters. : ^ )

Dumb and Desperate


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krystall
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"krystall" <krystall.33no7d@xxxxxx> wrote:
Eset Smart Security is a security suite, NOD32 was (and still is) an AV
program. While Smart Security is based on the same engine as the current
version of NOD32, Eset has added a firewall and a spam filter to the suite.
Head over to Eset's official support forum, you will probably get better
help with the tweaks there:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15
It's not recommended to have more than one firewall and more than one anti
virus program running at the same time, since they may conflict with each
other, and cause connection problems or even crashes.

Experts do however recommend you run two or more anti spyware scanners, for
the simple reason no single anti spyware program has a good enough detection
rate. The general idea is that one scanner may catch what the other(s) miss.
I know that opinions may differ, but I think you'll find a lot of people in
this ng that will vouch for both Defender and Vista's firewall. Myself
included. Take a look at Eric Howes' excellent site on spyware for instance:

http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-features.htm#rec

Btw, Defender can be your second anti spyware, if you chose to re-enable it.
Like I said, running two firewalls simultaneously may cause problems.
However, Windows Defender and Eset Smart Security work well together - no
problem.
Personally, I prefer to do a clean install of the OS myself before I start
using a newly acquired computer. If you think that's a bit tedious and time
consuming, you have to identify the crapware you want to get rid of one by
one, and uninstall it. Some of it's components will be left behind on your
hd, sadly.

A good place to start out would be in Control Panel > Programs > Programs
list. Google the name of each entry to provide yourself with some useful
information for deciding what to uninstall. Do keep in mind that you don't
want to uninstall each and every non-Microsoft feature, some of them - like
the HP drivers and burning software for instance - are useful and/or
required.

For further help with HP specific questions, I suggest you take a look at
HPs support and forum sites:

http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/...isplay=support
http://www12.itrc.hp.com/service/hel...52938+28353475

Charlie42

"I think you'll find a lot of people in
this ng that will vouch for both Defender and Vista's firewall."

By this sentence, are you saying that Windows Defender now has a
firewall or did you mean the factory installed Window's firewall?

I'm now tempted to turn back on Defender but not if it has a firewall
because like you said, I do not want 2 of them.

I have been to that Wilder's site many times. Looks very good but lots
of techie talk and many members assume I and others know what they're
discussing, lol.

One other concern I have is that if I turn it on and have so much stuff
running in the background all the time that I must overheat this thing
and it will melt on me.


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"krystall" <krystall.33ntre@xxxxxx> wrote:
My apologies for being unclear. Like XP, Vista has a built in firewall
called Windows Firewall, the Vista version is a 2-way firewall unlike the
1-way version found in XP. Vista also has a built in anti spyware program,
namely Windows Defender (it also runs on XP). Those are two different apps,
and they do not depend on each other. You can run either one without running
the other.
Enabling Windows Defender does not enable Windows Firewall, they are not
integrated like that. You can alter individual settings in the Security
Center.
Fair enough. The discussions over there are quite often driven by network
admins and other professionals. They do respond to newbie questions though,
mostly in a polite manner.

I will try to outline some settings I think are important for you. First of
all: Edit the settings as admin. And if you want ESS to remember the rules
created when you respond to prompts, you have to log into an admin account.
Do this for the first week or so, until all programs accessing the Internet
have had an action chosen for them.

Enter entire advanced setup tree. Make sure all modules, including
ThreatSense, are enabled. If you experience problems with one of them, like
the email scanner, disable that module for further investigation. Click
Configure, this will show you the entire tree structure.

*Block or exclude whatever sites you like in Web access protection.
*Edit firewall policy settings (allow or block programs) as you like.
Normally policies are preset or created when you respond to an alert/a
prompt.
*Exclude certain files from scanning if you like. This is useful when you
get false positives, that is ESS flags something you know to be safe as
malware.
*Set a mode for the firewall. I suggest you use Automatic (blocks incoming
traffic you didn't initiate) or Interactive (prompts you for an action
whenever a new program accesses the Internet). Policy-based mode will deny
all traffic you haven't predefined a rule for, so I wouldn't recommend that
for a starter.
*Set all updates to install automatically, or at least to prompt you for an
action when available.
*Set a password in Settings protection. This keeps other users from altering
your ESS settings.
*In Tools > Scheduler, add a full disk scan to run regularly, every 1-7 days
depending on what suits your needs. A full scan isn't scheduled by default,
so it's vital you do it yourself.
Make sure the fan isn't blocked. ;-) The computer automatically shuts down
when the core is in danger of overheating, so I wouldn't start worrying
until it blacks out for no apparent reason. (This has actually happened to
me during heavily resource consuming virus scans!)

Charlie42