Do I really need to buy a commercial security tool? or free ones do the sam


Recommended Posts

I use Microsoft Security Essentials and the built in firewall, is all I need, and it's all free. I see no real point in paying for security software that generally all it dies is annoy most of time while doing just as good and sometimes worse than the free alternatives

Microsoft Security Essentials or Win7 and earlier. Windows Defender (basically the same thing as MSE) for Windows 8, since it is built-in to the OS.

I also tend to just use the built-in firewall on Windows since I have a hardware firewall that's setup properly. :)

on windows 7 i used microsoft security essentials combined with my common sense and experience in computers. never had any harmful thing on my computer.

on windows 8 i use the built in defender.

as many other pointed out, you do not need a commercial security suite. imo it's kinda useless...

Tell you my firewall setup? Sorry, but I'll decline to share that, especially with how often I have people try to get in.

Ofcourse not asking for sharing your firewall setting.

You mentioned hardware firewall, so I've asked about what kind of hardware and not the settings!

Tell you my firewall setup? Sorry, but I'll decline to share that, especially with how often I have people try to get in.

telling someone your firewall setup is like telling someone what type of car I have....

At work I have a ASA 5510. At home I have a ea6500 with some qos based on device, certain devices that stream get priority over pc's.

o how it is setup, like every other standard firewall. I have some ports open for email servers, ftp, www, and https.

go ahead and hack away at my networks...what exactly have I given out that pertains to anything having to do with who I am or what my address is for you to do such a thing? I can even give you a firewall config if you want out of my asa...I will mask the external ips...again what exactly would that give anyone trying to get in my network...absolutely positively nothing.

Ah. I still prefer not to mention my specific hardware...trust me if you knew my situation you'd understand. ;)

I get hits about 100 times a minute with bots trying to get in, probably more, haven't checked in a while.

telling someone your firewall setup is like telling someone what type of car I have....

At work I have a ASA 5510. At home I have a ea6500 with some qos based on device, certain devices that stream get priority over pc's.

o how it is setup, like every other standard firewall. I have some ports open for email servers, ftp, www, and https.

go ahead and hack away at my networks...what exactly have I given out that pertains to anything having to do with who I am or what my address is for you to do such a thing? I can even give you a firewall config if you want out of my asa...I will mask the external ips...again what exactly would that give anyone trying to get in my network...absolutely positively nothing.

Spoken like someone who isn't an SME in network security. :)

I spent years working security for various folks...government and big corporations.

There are certain things I will discuss when it comes to security, and certain things I won't.

The hardware that protects my personal network? That's not one of the things I will talk about...again due to the number of attempts I have from people trying to get in...in this case any information is too much information. :p

I get hits about 100 times a minute with bots trying to get in, probably more, haven't checked in a while.

This isn't your usual bot attacks. I actually have specific folks that are not a fan of me that love to try to screw around with my stuff on a regular basis.

I've had to ream several large corporations out for handing out my PII like it's candy.

Ah. I still prefer not to mention my specific hardware...trust me if you knew my situation you'd understand. ;)

Sorry, but you always seem to talk about this sensitive information you have access to, or be vague about issues which suggests you're privy to info mere mortals like us are simply unable to know about or comprehend. No disrespect intended, but how would telling someone your opinion about anti-virus/security software compromise your security, exactly? No one is asking you to reveal anything about your security setup, just what might be useful to the average user. Actually, if you are particularily skilled and learned about security, your opinion would be specifically useful to the OP.

To address the OP's question: MSE seems to work pretty well. I don't know how it works where you are, but in Australia some banks actually offer free anti-virus/security software from third parties for free. Right now I am running bitdefender with a 12/mo license and I didn't pay a cent for it. I wouldn't have shelled out for it personally, but free is free.

Sorry, but you always seem to talk about this sensitive information you have access to, or be vague about issues which suggests you're privy to info mere mortals like us are simply unable to know about or comprehend. No disrespect intended, but how would telling someone your opinion about anti-virus/security software compromise your security, exactly? No one is asking you to reveal anything about your security setup, just what might be useful to the average user. Actually, if you are particularily skilled and learned about security, your opinion would be specifically useful to the OP.

To address the OP's question: MSE seems to work pretty well. I don't know how it works where you are, but in Australia some banks actually offer free anti-virus/security software from third parties for free. Right now I am running bitdefender with a 12/mo license and I didn't pay a cent for it. I wouldn't have shelled out for it personally, but free is free.

It has nothing to do with comprehension or my views on the level of people (ie the mere mortal thing). I can talk about my knowledge and experience, but will not talk about what particular hardware I use for securing the network.

This won't change no matter who is asking. I haven't refused to offer my views on specific questions like what I think of Product A, or Software B. I just won't state what I use.

If I told you even a quarter of a half of what goes on and why I won't comment you'd think I was making it up or a paranoid dude...and neither is the case.

Suffice it to say due to projects I've worked on I'm a fairly high-profile target in certain communities...so I've made the choice to not give out that data.

Spoken like someone who isn't an SME in network security. :)

I spent years working security for various folks...government and big corporations.

There are certain things I will discuss when it comes to security, and certain things I won't.

The hardware that protects my personal network? That's not one of the things I will talk about...again due to the number of attempts I have from people trying to get in...in this case any information is too much information. :p

This isn't your usual bot attacks. I actually have specific folks that are not a fan of me that love to try to screw around with my stuff on a regular basis.

I've had to ream several large corporations out for handing out my PII like it's candy.

lol ok...

BTW, I have secured government networks, smb networks, large enterprise networks...Sorry I call bs on your knowledge or trival garbage you may think you know. Giving you anything on my config pertains to nothing that you couldn't get from looking at any standard doc from cisco. I wouldn't hand out my trust ips of my site to site vpns or private vpns and do you think I would be stupid enough to give you my secure hash on my asa or even post anything other than config? I can give my interal ips as they don't matter for squat. What exactly is 192.168.1.x going to give or 10.x.x. or 172.16.x.x? Those are all private ranges that any company can use....as a matter of fact the us government uses 10.x.x for their networks, as well as td bank, as well as citibank, as well as....... go for it hack in.

I have secure networks that don't have access to anything or have routes outside of their network with 172.16.200.x feel free.

lol ok...

BTW, I have secured government networks, smb networks, large enterprise networks...Sorry I call bs on your knowledge or trival garbage you may think you know. Giving you anything on my config pertains to nothing that you couldn't get from looking at any standard doc from cisco. You think I would be stupid enough to give you my secure hash on my asa or even post anything other than config? I can give my interal ips as they don't matter for squat. What exactly is 192.168.1.x going to give or 10.x.x. or 172.16.x.x? Those are all private ranges that any company can use....as a matter of fact the us government uses 10.x.x for their networks, as well as td bank, as well as citibank, as well as....... go for it hack in.

I have secure networks that don't have access to anything or have routes outside of their network with 172.16.200.x feel free.

/Facepalm

Did you really try to tell me that you're a subject matter expert while posting that?

No one asked about what private ranges I use. Hell I know grade school kids who understand what a private range is and that there's a very limited range of them...you're not impressing anyone.

You're still not getting me to talk about my particular setup so you can quit digging.

Some people lol...they think they can bully info out of you by tossing out stuff anyone should know...and acting like an internet tough guy...

I have to admit today has been very amsuing. :D

I am not digging, just stating you aren't as smart as you think you are or really that impressive for me to go out of my way to screw with you and you really have that tin foil hat on real tight.

never said I was or wasn't an expert in the subject matter, nor was anything really questioned for me to give a response to in said subject matter. I know where I am and what I do for a living and so do my employers.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I am not a US citizen nor a Trump fan. Respect to both left and right. But I will, for the sake of fun, predict something for my own. There will come a day when the US and China will collide like titans ( over Taiwan or anything else ). Then, on that day, some people in this comment section will realize how good an idea it was to become independent in areas like that. ( Or atleast try )
    • Microsoft Edge gets tons of security features, including AI model that can see your screen by Usama Jawad Microsoft Edge may not be the most popular browser out there, but it does receive quite frequent updates that sometimes bring surprising new features and axe others that are not as popular. Now, Microsoft has detailed some of the new security enhancements that it has introduced in Edge for Business, typically used by commercial customers. Microsoft has emphasized that security features are baked into Edge for Business and offer native integration with security and governance tools like Defender and Purview. Browser sessions are governed by default on managed devices but can also be governed through dedicated work profiles on unmanaged devices. An important aspect in this area is controlling the use of shadow AI. We have talked about this before, but it essentially restricts employees from using unsanctioned AI apps through data loss prevention (DLP) policies, with Edge redirecting them to trusted AI services like Microsoft 365 Copilot. This feature, available as a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license, ensures that confidential data never exits AI boundaries set by your organization in Purview. Additionally, Microsoft also has strong DLP policies for contractors. Contractors leveraging a Entra ID-joined work profile provisioned by their contracting company on a device managed by their actual employer can be restricted from downloading files locally. In such scenarios, the file is saved on the contracting firm's OneDrive rather than being downloaded locally. Another useful Edge security feature disallows copying and pasting from unmanaged locations and apps. Similarly, DLP policies can be configured at a granular level to restrict screenshots or downloading of files from certain locations. In the same vein, IT admins can block the installation of extensions, hosted apps, themes and scripts, and control if users can install extensions from external locations. They can also enable the installation of specific extensions and allow users to request access to certain extensions, so that they can be managed on a case-by-case basis. Finally, Edge for Business now has an on-device AI model that uses computer vision to see what's on your screen and block potentially malicious content immediately. This does not rely on site reputation, as it simply monitors what is being displayed on your screen, which means that it is effective against malicious content that takes over your screen and employs scareware tactics. Since this is an on-device AI model, it does use your system's resources, so it's enabled by default only on devices with at least 2GB of RAM and four CPU cores. You can find more details in the Microsoft Mechanics video here.
    • Could you come up with a slightly less depressing background for Tux instead of that gray gradient? Doesn't have to be cheerful, just less of a downer...
    • Linux 7.2's first release candidate gets off to a good start by Paul Hill Credit: Larry Ewing It has been a few weeks since the release of Linux 7.1, and in that time, the Linux 7.2 merge window has been open, where developers can submit their features and patches ready for the upcoming release. That window is now shut, and the release candidate phase has begun so that new features can be tested and further fixes applied. According to the founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, this week’s release candidate looks “reasonably normal”. Although we are super early in the release candidates, this is a good sign as it makes it more likely that an eighth release candidate will not be needed. Torvalds even mentioned that the update’s stats are only larger than they really are because there was another AMD header drop with a third of the patch just being AMD GPU register definitions, which aren’t big changes but make the code contributed look larger overall. In addition to this, he noted that just over half the patch is drivers, even when excluding the AMD register dump. The rest of the changes are spread out over architecture updates, tooling, documentation, and core kernel updates. In the next week, Torvalds says that he will be chilling out, taking the week “mostly off”. Despite this, he will be reading emails and keeping up with things, so if he is slow responding, now you know why. He said he is hoping for a calm week, but we will just have to see if the second release candidate is actually like that. We should expect seven or eight release candidates before Linux 7.2 is released, so expect it around the end of August. If you missed it a few weeks ago, be sure to check out our coverage of Linux 7.1's release.
    • Ridiculous claim that the labor cost difference of $6000 annually would increase cost per phone by $200. The employees produce 3 phones per month or what?
  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Zeynel earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      JKR earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Dedicated
      Asgardi earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Conversation Starter
      jessse3334 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • Reacting Well
      JuvenileDelinquent earned a badge
      Reacting Well
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      496
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      248
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      154
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!