I'm getting a new computer next week.

I know the first two things to do are install a firewall and anti-virus.

My new computer will have XP with SP 2 already installed, so a firewall is not a concern.


And I know I'm supposed to burn a free AV program to a CD on my old computer and install it on the new computer. And then transfer my existing AV subscription to the new computer.


But where exactly do I find the free AV software?


Mod Edit: This will be moved to a more appropriate Forum.

Well see that is a common misconception. Theres not 24 hour viruses and hackers that sit their and pinpoint computers on the net without antivirus software.

To avoid wasting valuable data disks and floppy's my advice:

Just go to where you need to go to install the software on the internet and enable it when you get it.

This could be their website to get your free copy
Or an ftp server where you uploaded the files. It all depends
____________________________

But in the end it all comes down to what makes you more comfortable. If you wanna burn the files to a disk and then install it. That works to

You can find a free AV application from AVG: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 .
If you are extremely careful, and install an AV immediately after getting on-line the first time, you do not need to pre-install one; most viruses are received through Email attachments, so avoiding Email applications alltogether before you install your AV, will keep you safe enough.
I would also strongly advise NOT relying on MS's strange version of a firewall for very long, as it only works with incomming and NOT outgoing packets.
Regards,
John

Thats not true, viruses can be recived any way. Theres no "Most"

Believe me, ive done many tests from running brand new computers on the internet and junky computers on the internet with no security software whatsoever and purposely trying to mess up the system and get viruses. The testing computer lasted 5 hours and 10 minutes. And thats when we tried to mess it up

If your careful and install the software when you can, itll be all fine.

All viruses work twenty four hours a day and 365 days a year. Also many trojans are placed in computers that then seek out other computers to infect by doing port scans automatically and reporting their findings back to websites and irc channels. I have a log file from an ftp32 nesebot that was doing exactly that. It was scanning 200 computers a minute looking for vunerable ones to infect. I pulled that from an XP machine I cleaned that had been on the internet for some time with no anti-virus or firewall other than the XP one.

I recently reprogrammed an XP computer that was programmed with XP Home with SP1A and then immediately connected to the internet. When I got to it it had over 360 virues identified by AVG and over 60 incidents of malware identified by AdAware after about 30 minutes on the net.

To answer the original posters question I always recommend that after loading your operating system you install an anti-virus program that you have burned to a CD then do the same with a firewall. The first thing you do when connecting to the net is to go to Windows Update and install all recommended updates, and update the anti-virus.

Thanks, guys.

Leurgy, my new computer is coming with XP & SP 2 already installed.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on my strategy (as it currently exists):

1. Turn on the firewall that comes with XP

2. Have my brother burn the free version of Avast or AVG Anti-virus to a CD on his laptop and then install that on my new computer.

3. Go online

4. Go to Microsoft and download all the security patches I need.

5. Go to Computer Associates and download the eTrust Anti-virus, Firewall, and PestPatrol (that's anti-spyware.) I have the Computer Associates stuff now and I like it.

Once that's in place, I can relax a little as I download:

Firefox 1.0.1
SpywareBlaster
Spybot S&D
Ad-Aware SE.


Do you see any major flaws in that strategy?

That is turned on by default.

Sounds like a great plan but why not skip step two and instead get your brother to burn the eTrust free trial version? If you have a registered copy that you pay for all you have to do is reregister when you get online. That will save the hassle of installing/uninstalling the AVG or Avast. Most programs leave entries behind in your registry even after you uninstall to indicate to the vendors that you have had it before, version info etc. and some leave a lot behind. It would be a shame to mess up that nice clean registry on a brand new machine.

Shouldn't the XP Firewall be disabled before (or is it after?) the install of the new firewall?

One does not need both running, correct?

Good call scarlett. Two firewalls aren't really neccessary and the eTrust one (really its ZoneAlarm) provides alerts to outgoing activity which the XP one doesn't. I'd disable it after.

BTW, you dropped your egg.

Thanks Leurgy Yes I have learned that an OS Firewall (In this situation XP's) only alerts to incoming activity. So why use it. To me that makes it almost completly worthless. When one can have both outgoing and incoming activity monitored.



Lol Up for some scrambled eggs?

Snow scorpion that sounds like a good plan. Btw we have a tutorial on this situation:

Steps to take when connecting a new computer to the Internet

The reality is that if you connect an unpatched/unfirewalled computer to the net you will be compromised in some manner within 24 hours..usually much much sooner. On the other hand, if you have a patched computer, and a password on your account and no firewall or antivirus, simply connecting the computer to the net will not hurt (i dont advise this though).

As stated, turn on xp firewall, connect internet, download and install all updates, install av software, install better firewall, disable xp firewall, and you will be fine.

Excellent!

I didn't know eTrust had a free 30 day version.

Thank you, Leurgy. You made my life a little easier.

Quick point: My brother won't have to install eTrust's 30 day version. All he has to do is download it to his desktop, burn it to a CD, and then delete it from his computer. Or do I have that wrong?


Scarlett,



I assume when I try to install the eTrust firewall I'm going to get a message saying something like "The Windows XP firewall is already running; please disable it so eTrust's firewall can be installed."



Grinler,

Thanks for tutorial. I've printed it out and am studying it carefully.



I'd appreciate it you three wise ones would keep an eye on this thread as I am something of a cyber-idiot and will probably have another question or two (or three) before the new computer is up and running smoothly.

Thanks again to all three of you.

YVW This explains it all.




BTW A very cool name. No pun intended.

No, thats not wrong. In fact it would be useless to you if he installed it and then you copied the installation (program folder) to your computer. When you install a program it is "integrated" into your system and won't run if you don't actually install it as opposed to copying it.



It may or may not. When I installed it the program detected a previous installation of ZA that I had to remove before it would install. The thing was I had uninstalled ZA and eTrust firewall (which is essentially the same thing) had detected those leftover registry entries that I mentioned earlier and I had to manually edit the registry to get rid of them before I could install eTrust.

As long as you put the XP firewall on first though, you should be able to just download the software, with the firewall running. Then when you have all the software downloaded, unplug the ethernet cable, and disable the xp firewall and install all the other software. May save you a step but both methods work

Grinler's right, of course. If you have a firewall running (even the basic XP one) and you connect to the internet you are protected. If you go straight to Windows Update and then eTrust website you won't have any problems, but you can do it either way. The problems could come if you did any general surfing or checked email first.

Personally, after downloading the eTrust, I would stay connected to the internet as anti-virus programs typically want to update as part of the installation.

Hi, guys.

Sorry I didn't get back here sooner but two happy monkey wrenches got thrown into my plans.

I was expecting the computer next week, but it arrived last night.

And it came with McAfee firewall and AV installed.


So here's my current status:

The new computer is NOT online yet. The monitor, keyboard, and mouse are connected to the tower and the whole thing is sitting on my desk right now.

The Windows XP firewall is now turned on.

The McAfee firewall is turned on.

(Both firewalls are running at the same time.)

McAfee AV is running but it's NOT up-to-date.


My plans for tomorrow - your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated:

1. Transfer my files and settings to the new computer

2. Install the software for my ISP and cable modem

3. Go online

4. Update Windows

5. Update McAfee Anti-virus

Then install Firefox, SpywareBlaster, Spybot, and Ad-aware.


Also, I have a question for you guys.

The tutorial Grinler suggested says:



What exactly are "non-essential services"?

That sounds like a good plan as the firewall is preinstalled.

What type of modem is that? USB?

Personally I don't install any software from my ISP as they have partnered up with Yahoo and I don't like the way it takes over my computer. Way too intrusive for me and completely unnecessary.

You should only run 1 firewall, at a time.
Choose one, and disable the other one.

It's a cable modem that's connected to the tower by USB.


The ISP CD says the CD is necessary to activate the account and to "create/configure E-mail."

OK.

I think I'll trust McAfee more than Microsoft.

What an excellant thread!! Almost a Tutorial in itself!!

Just want to ADD this experience to it!!!. THREE TIMES I had to reformat my hard drive and each time go back to Norton for my AV, and of course to Microsoft For Updates (This was pre SP2). I had my own XP Pro disc.

EVERY TIME I was INFECTED BEFORE I could finish and Norton refused to Run. Norton were next to useless with their help although I liked their AV.

End result was bining Norton and Installing Running Zone Alarm Pro, who could do a remote scan and a clean install. It seemed to me, and I am almost SURE of this, that Microsoft and Norton are in some way traced, and attract Viruses as you try and download. Maybe I am paranoid but the SAME difficulty 3 times in a period of 18 months seems highly suspicious to me. I then moved to Finland so completely different ISP and Guess what?? New PC loaded with some micky mouse AV and my ISP cut me off because THEY SAW I was infected. I had been trying to download NORTON!!!

SaxonManFinland. Dump Norton and go to AVG Free. You will be happier

acklan