Building a secure workstation

[admin13]

The 2-Spyware.com research team has just started working on a guide with the working title Building a secure workstation. In this guide we want to explain how can secure, but not the most popular software help you to avoid spyware and virus infections. We have two scenarios – a regular home PC and a low-budget machine. Each of them is described by a set of everyday products - from the operating system to file sharing applications. The goal of the new guide is to educate users and help them building the system that would be highly protected, but yet easily usable. Building a secure workstation should be a large article. That is why we need feedback from you. Help us to create the most optimal combination of advanced and secure software. Please tell us what you think about certain products or tell what programs you use everyday. Thank you!


Building a regular home system

Let’s assume that you want to build a home system and can spend some money for its protection. What do you think about the following list?

1. The operating system – Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2.
2. The firewall – Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Pro or Sunbelt Software Kerio Personal Firewall.
3. The antivirus – Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal or Eset NOD32.
4. The anti-spyware program – PC Tools Spyware Doctor and Webroot Spy Sweeper.
5. The web browser – Mozilla Firefox or Opera.
6. The e-mail client – Mozilla Thunderbird, The Bat! or Opera Mail.
7. The web browser toolbar – Google Toolbar, Yahoo! Toolbar, MSN Toolbar or a toolbar from a trusted Internet service provider like AOL.
8. The file sharing program – none, but if you need one, then eMule is one of the best.


Building a low budget system

You want your machine to be protected as much as possible. But you do not want to spend hundreds on it. What do you think about the following list?

1. The operating system – Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2.
2. The firewall – Zone Labs ZoneAlarm.
3. The antivirus –  AVG Free Edition or avast! 4 Home Edition.
4. The anti-spyware program – Microsoft Windows Defender and Ad-Aware SE (or Spybot – Search & Destroy).
5. The web browser – Mozilla Firefox or Opera.
6. The e-mail client – Mozilla Thunderbird or Opera Mail.
7. The web browser toolbar – Google Toolbar, Yahoo! Toolbar, MSN Toolbar or a toolbar from a trusted Internet service provider like AOL.
8. The file sharing program – none, but if you really need one, then eMule is one of the best.


Please note that the new guide does not pretend to be indisputable. It is also not intended to advertise any product. It’s just our subjective opinion on how to build a really secure workstation.

Thank you for your suggestions!

The 2-Spyware.com research team

[Silas]

I suggest a Windows XP Home in low budget system.


And I would remove Kaspersky AntiVirus from list. But it’s only my opinion and my experience.