[howlleo]

My new laptop is around 6 times as powerful as my former one, but thanks to Vista, it runs about the same speed. I'm not eager to slow it down with protective software, so I don't want to load anything unnecessary.

I hear that Vista has a decent firewall, if you can turn on the "outbound protection".
- Is it really good, or should I disable it and download ZoneAlarm?

Also, there's that nuisance of a program that pops up every time you try to make a change; does that replace Spybot?

And Microsoft Defender: is it any good, or do I need Ad-Aware, AVG Anti-spyware, etc?

And so on.

On my last computer I had AVG Anti-virus, rootkit, anti-spyware. I also had Ad-aware, Zonealarm, Spybot, and Spyware Doctor. How much of that do I need for Vista?

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Hey

I'm not so sure about Zonealarm or Spybot.

Antispyware wise, its always a good idea to use more than one because no one program can catch everything. A combo of Avg Antispyware, SUPERAntiSpyware Home Edition, and Windows Defender is your best bet. You can probably use one more but after that it gives more hindrance than benefit, although that is for you to decide.

Additionally, using an antivirus like Avg or Avast is advised.

hope that helped
-Ben

[binsch]

Hey

I'm not so sure about Zonealarm or Spybot.

Antispyware wise, its always a good idea to use more than one because no one program can catch everything. A combo of Avg Antispyware, SUPERAntiSpyware Home Edition, and Windows Defender is your best bet. You can probably use one more but after that it gives more hindrance than benefit, although that is for you to decide.

Additionally, using an antivirus like Avg or Avast is advised.

hope that helped
-Ben