Advice please

Avo

Member
Getting my new system in a few days and it will have Vista Prem 64bit installed.

The new system is going to be used for gaming and some surfing, all other stuff such as downloading and internet banking will be done on this machine which is running XP along with Avast and Comodo.

My question is- For the gaming machine I'm going to use Avast AV but do I need a separate firewall or is the one built into Vista good enough?

Also I have heard of windows defender, is this already on Vista?

Any other things/suggestions I need to do as soon as I start the new machine up? I was thinking of doing a system restore point before I put anything on it!

Never used or seen Vista so I don't know what to expect.

Thanks
 

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outbound firewall is disabled. To enable it download free firewall control:
Vista Firewall Control : Sphinx Software
Windows defender is antispyware and is part of Vista.
First thing you need to do is enable antivirus/antispyware and go to windows update (repeat until it shows no updates available)

ps- Avast requires manual scans. You would be better of using AVG. It's free too, and provides real-time protection with automatic scans (set it and forget it)
AVG Free Advisor - Free antivirus and anti-spyware downloads

Personally I use NOD32 antivirus/antispyware and Windows Defender w/ advanced settings for software permitted to run. Windows Firewall, and a router hardware firewall.
 
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System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
Getting my new system in a few days and it will have Vista Prem 64bit installed.

The new system is going to be used for gaming and some surfing, all other stuff such as downloading and internet banking will be done on this machine which is running XP along with Avast and Comodo.

My question is- For the gaming machine I'm going to use Avast AV but do I need a separate firewall or is the one built into Vista good enough?

Also I have heard of windows defender, is this already on Vista?

Any other things/suggestions I need to do as soon as I start the new machine up? I was thinking of doing a system restore point before I put anything on it!

Never used or seen Vista so I don't know what to expect.

Thanks
The Vista firewall is good, but difficult to configure for outbound. However, I have never tried Vista Firewall Control : Sphinx Software mentioned above. I would want a firewall in addition to Avast AV and would use Commodo Pro (free). This firewall is easy to configure for outbound and includes malware protection.

Defender is on Vista, Commodo will disable it (as I recall)--which is a good thing IMO.

On startup, I would set Windows Update to notify me of undates, but not install them automatically and set Windows Sidebar not to start upon startup. Doing an immediate restore point is a good idea although Vista will create one pretty soon anyway. The big thing I would do is get Acronis TrueImage and make complete computer backup on an external drive for future use and disaster recovery. As you add programs, then you can add to the image incrementally provided you are happy with the way your system is performing given the installations.
 

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Also if you have a router with a hardware firewall, then that is the best you can get really. TBH I dont have Vista firewall enabled due to my routers brilliant Hardware Firewall. However: You must know exactly what you have configured to go in and out of the router, so if you a newbie to this kind of thing, the the Commodo Firewall is excellent.
 

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System One

  • CPU
    Dual Core E7200
    Motherboard
    Asus P5K
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 800 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    GForce 8600GTS 512mb
    Sound Card
    Auzentech XFi Prelude 7.1 on Onkyo605 Rxer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    20" Samsung SyncMaster 206BW
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Internet Speed
    Sky UK
Absolutely true. I use the Linksys WRT54GS. This router ensures stealth operations. So, for my desktop, I am over protected on inbound. And, keep in mind that routers generally do not protect on outbound. For my laptops, which "make the rounds," I still like Commodo so I have both direction protection.
 

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You are very welcome. An update may have installed a patch later, but I did not install a patch on 64-bit initially.
 

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OK thanks guys, I'll grab Comodo. I tried the latest version a few months back but didn't like it, so I rolled back to the older one...looks like I'll have to master the new one :)

I take it that I need the 64-bit Upgrade patch (Available in English language only) as well? Free Firewall Protection Software Best Firewall Computer Security Free Personal Firewall
Please read this:
February 22, 2008 (Computerworld) Several prominent anti-virus programs must be updated before they will work with the soon-to-be-released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), Microsoft Corp. has said.
In a just-updated list of third-party software that doesn't work with Vista SP1, the major update expected to reach most users in about three weeks, Microsoft noted that a number of security suites will be barred from launching once the service pack is installed.
"The programs in the following table have known compatibility problems with Windows Vista SP1. For reliability reasons, Microsoft blocks these programs from starting after you install Windows Vista SP1," the company said in a support document.
The list included BitDefender AV and BitDefender Internet Security, version 10; Trend Micro Internet Security 2008; Zone Alarm Security Suite, version 7.1.078; and Jiangmin KV Antivirus, versions 10 and 2008.
All six packages have been updated, according to Microsoft, by their vendors; Vista SP1-compliant versions can be downloaded or created by updating existing editions supported by Vista.
At least one of the security developers, however, wasn't taking any chances. In an e-mail, a spokeswoman for Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. reiterated the information on Microsoft's list. "The current version of [ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite], 7.1.218, is compatible with Vista SP1 and is not blocked," said Heather Haas. "Earlier versions, 7.1.105 and below, did not work with SP1, thus leading Microsoft to report that SP1 blocks ZAISS 7.1."
Microsoft's Vista SP1 incompatibility list also fingered a handful of non-security programs, including the New York Times Reader, a program that downloads the complete newspaper each day and lets subscribers read it offline; and Novell's ZCM Agent.
It's not unusual for Microsoft to call out a few packages either just before, or at some point after, the release of a service pack. It did the same thing, for example, more than three years ago when it last updated Windows XP. The list of incompatible programs, last updated in May 2007, includes almost three times as many as Vista SP1's warning. And like SP1's, the list for XP SP2 also includes several security tools, ranging from Norton AntiVirus to ZoneAlarm, a stand-alone personal firewall.
Nor is the idea that an operating system update breaks existing software a Windows-only concept. Although Apple Inc. does not provide similar lists -- it did not post any kind of incompatible program list before or after the release last October of Mac OS X 10.5, others compiled lists that ran into the scores.
Microsoft plans to roll out Vista SP1 via Windows Update in mid-March as an optional download, then follow that the next month with an automatic download that installs to most Vista machines. Although it announced that it shipped the service pack nearly three weeks ago, it cited problems with an unspecified number of hardware device drivers as the reason for the delay in making it available to the general user population.
However, it has released the final, or RTM (release to manufacturing) code to beta testers, Volume Licensing customers, and subscribers to TechNet Plus and Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). The latter groups, mostly IT professionals and Windows developers, were offered SP1 only after they complained publicly about being forced to download pirated copies of SP1 to start their testing.
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    AM2 Black
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte S-Series
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    G/F 9600 GT
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22in LCDX2
    Hard Drives
    to many to list
    PSU
    Home Build
    Case
    God knows
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    yes with Buttons
    Mouse
    yes got one and a Cat
    Internet Speed
    1.5mb
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