Episode #91
Choosing A Firewall

Hi Leo And Kate And Sean And Ryan And Crew, Please Kate can u put me on the show?? Q: what firewall & Antispyware do u recommend for use with NOD32?? i was using comodo firewall with defender, avg anti spyware free, spyware blaster & spybot. Until NOD32 australia recommended ‘Online Armor’. Leak tests show that comodo is the best firewall, so what antispyware should i use with comodo or should i stick with my current software?

Steve, Millers Point, NSW



Leak Tests are bogus - nearly all firewalls are designed to work with existing leak testers, but there’s no guarantee it won’t be vulnerable to malware that uses different techniques. In fact, all software firewalls are vulnerable to malware on your system. It’s just in the nature of a software firewall.

Comodo is fine, but in my opinion, it’s sufficient to use a hardware firewall and the built-in Windows firewall. Running a third party software firewall impacts reliability and speed without adding significantly to your security.

As for anti-spyware, NOD32 has good anti-spyware protections. Adding Microsoft’s free Defender (http://microsoft.com/spyware) is sufficient. Understand that NO software solution can prevent malware infections - you have to change your behaviour. The software just provides a backstop.

You already seem to be hip to our number one rule for anti-spyware programs: one isn’t enough to keep yourself covered. if you’ve already got AVG, Defender and Spybot onboard, just keep them up-to-date and you should be fine.

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