Since getting my new PC, I always figured my security choices have been good, but I’ve been reading recently about how my current choices may not be the best. I’m looking for clarification and recommendations here. I consider myself a fairly fluent Windows user but a lot of this infosec stuff is just over my head, and with conflicting recommendations everywhere based on information I don’t fully understand, it’s been pretty difficult to come to any sound conclusions about what I should be using. I have several questions here, if you can help me out on any of them it’s well appreciated.
BEFORE you tell me “Best antivirus is Common Sense 2018 lolololol”, I am fully aware that I need to be alert about what I’m doing online, thanks. I’m looking for protection for when my judgment might fail.
I’m currently running Windows 10, and for my main anti-virus/anti-malware I’m using Malwarebytes free and Windows Defender. Long story short, I’m not entirely convinced that this combo is fully protecting me. I’ve been reading that WD’s real-time protection is lacking and that I should use something more powerful, but that has led me into the world of anti-malware suites, most of which are paid. If I’m gonna lay down money on a yearly license I’m going to want the most robust option in a $30-$40 price range.
I would like to get some recommendations on web link scanners, ransomware protection, and exploit protection. I know a lot of these come in suites, so if this falls under your answer for #1, then great.
Same as #2, except with keylogging. I have used KeyScrambler in the past but I found it somewhat buggy and I have read that it is easily worked around. I’m not sure what other options are out there or how they work.
VPNs. I currently have a lifetime package with VPN Unlimited, and I’m hoping that alternatives are either as good or worse since I already dropped the dough for it.
Browser extensions. I use Firefox, and I’m currently using lastpass, ublock origin (not sure if there are better alternatives), and https everywhere. I’m unsure what other security extensions would be good to have apart from these. I’ve thought about using NoScript, but that would break everything I use.
How should I configure windows, firefox, and chrome settings so that they are optimally secure and private?
My landlord’s wifi is password protected but the password is very weak. Are there any steps I should take related to my router in order to avoid any security or privacy issues? This is part of the reason why I invested in a VPN, but I’m sure there’s more to this issue than what I currently understand.
Offline/mobile security resources. I keep a Linux live usb handy in case windows ever kills itself and I need to move files, but apart from that I would like to know what security software would be handy to keep installers for.
What are some good options for encrypted file deletion? I used to use Ccleaner for this but I heard that Piriform got hacked and malware was put into their installers.
Ok, I’m going to try to touch on each of your points here!
Avast Internet Security would be a really robust choice for you, although it’s a bit more than the price range you specified. In addition to our core shields (powered by AI and smart analytics plus behaviorial protection) you’ll get our advanced firewall, and an additional layer of security to protect your files against ransomware. Here’s a comparison of the different suites we offer.
Avast would help protect you against all of these even in the free version. You would want to make sure all core layers of security are on (Web Shield for web links, Behavior Shield and File Shield for ransomware and malware protection, and you can ensure anti-exploit and anti-rootkit are on in the settings as well.) Ransomware Shield which is included in Internet Security adds another level of protection which prevents unauthorized programs from editing certain files.
Keyloggers could very well be blocked/quarantined as threats or malware.
You can try out Avast Online Security for Chrome, but if you are protected by Avast on your PC (Web Shield) that will help keep you safe. The extension does have other features though, like seeing the reputation of links, that you might want to check out.
This is a really broad question and would vary by user, and how you define “private.” For example, a VPN would mask your IP from sites, but tracking cookies, supercookies, etc. might still be able to track you. You should look into anti-tracking! There are many free extensions out there. We also have Avast Anti-Track (premium) and Avast Secure Browser (free) to help protect your browsing privacy. Secure Browser has several privacy features baked in (anti-tracking, ad-blocking, and so on). For Windows settings, that’s really up to you – those who are privacy concerned may want to disable things like Windows activity tracking, change error reporting to Basic, etc.
If you are connecting to your landlord’s router through WiFi, and that router uses WPA2 encryption, then your connection (generally speaking) is encrypted, regardless of the weak password. However, the weak password could lead to the router being compromised which opens up other issues. A VPN, even when connecting to an open hotspot with no encryption, encrypts the traffic through the VPN tunnel. Here’s a more detailed overview of how VPN’s work.
Some boot disks incorporate Avast boot-time scan, CCleaner, and other solutions we offer. Hiren’s is one I hear mentioned often and there is some discussion on it in the Avast forums.
Another benefit if you decided to go with Avast Premier or Ultimate. These options include Data Shredder. You can even customize the shredder to use different algorithms (DOD, Gutmann for example) depending on what balance you like between speed and security, and how many wipe passes you want. I think this a really under-rated feature and is something you’d definitely want based on your post.
Bit short answer since I’m on mobile but I know Avast can do many of these things such as ransomware protection, vpn, web shield, behaviour shield etc. It can also scan your network for unsecured devices (its not super advanced but it will let you know about badic security flaws as well as unsecure firmware/password/if its open to the public on the router) Not sure about the price though.
As for the Piriform hack, i would not be concerned if youre using the latest updates, it was detected and fixed as soon as Avast aquired them.
You should buy Malwarebytes Premium, that along with Windows Defender is just fine. But for payed, I would go Eset or Bitdefender, both have what you’re looking for. I would still use Malwarebytes Premium as a second backup scanner.
WD is actually pretty decent at protection. But yeah Kaspersky, ESET, Emsisoft, F-Secure are all pretty damn good AVs to consider. I can’t speak for Free AVs as I don’t use them myself but I hear Avast is pretty okay. Also how goof is VPN unlimited speed wise? Considering a VPN myself as I am gonna spend a lot of time using airport wifi this year.
