MrGoodChina

Hi, guys. I have some specific questions regarding security softwares:

I. Symantec Antivirus 8.00.9374 vs. later versions

I'm currently running Symantec Antivirus 8.00.9374, the corportation version fo 2002, on my PC at home. I manually download updated definitions from its web site http://securityresponse.symantec.com...es/US-N95.html regularly and install them. My question is: in this case, is it still necessary to change to a newer version of Symantec/Norton? (question 1)

For your information, the real-time protectino function of the 2002 version seems to be working fine for me. Now there are 20 items in the quarantene list, most of which are detected by the real-time protection. On the other hand, the scheduled scans apparently have a poor performance, because they detect viruses less often even when the real-time module are detecting them.

If your answer is "Yes, you'd better use an updated version engine, too," does it mean that different versions of engine have such a big difference using the same virus definition database? (question 2)

II. Uninstalling an antivirus software

This question may sound silly to experts. If I decide to uninstall an antivirus software, such as my Symantec Antivirus 8.00, will the already quarantened items be "released" or "freed" from the prison since the police is no longer there? (question 3) Will the result be different depending on whether I switch to a newer version of the same brand or to a different brand of software? (question 4)

III. Spyware Blaster and Spyware Guard vs. anti-spyware scanners

Glaswegian seem to be recommending using two types of anti-spyware products. (See PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need?.) One type are the "watchers," while the other type "scanners." The question is, are the "watchers" equivalent to the real-time protection module of scanners like Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor? In othe words, if I have the real-time protection module of Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor turned on, do I still need to have Spyware Blaster or Spyware Guard? (question 5)

The next question naturally is: it sounds like it is OK to have two or even more anti-spyware products running simultaneously. Does that statement also appy to the real-time protection module of them? (question 6)

IV. Windows Defender

I've been using Windows Defender for nearly ten months and constantly keep it updated. A couple of days ago, as my computer seemed to be experiencing a surge in virus attacks (Symantec real-time protection detected them and notified me) and suffering from some other malware infections (I couldn't delete a certain folder. See http://www.techsupportforum.com/micr...resolved.html), I launched a full scan with Windows Defender, but it found only six infections. Then I installed Spy Sweeper and Spyware Doctor, and they found 90 and 241 infections respectively. Does it mean Windows Defender is very ineffective as a spyware detection tool? If yes, shall I just uninstall Windows Defender, which seems to be useless, and rely on Spy Sweeper, Spyware Doctor, and other anti-spyware products? (question 7)

V. Firewall: Windows XP's default firewall vs. other brands

As Glaswegian says, to avoid conflicts, you can run only one firewall on your computer, and Windows XP's default firewall totally ignores outgoing traffic, which sounds to be major defect by design. Does it lead to the conclusion that I should uninstall Windows XP's default firewall (Is it possible?) or at least deactivate it (how?) so that I can switch to another firewall product? (question 8)


Well, perhaps you've got the feeling I tend to be an operation-detail-oriented guy, although I'm still a newbie compared with the real experts. Forgive me if you feel I wrote too much and it took you too much time reading my post. For clarity, I marked all my questions with numbers so it will be easier for anyone to answer my questions separately. Thanks.