Hi, i am in the process of purchasing a new computer and was interested in what everyones opinions were on firewall/antivirus software (paid and free) and which would be best for us daytraders in terms of consuming the least amount of resoursces. I already have a hardware firewall (xincom) and was wondering if a software one is neccessary. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Larry
When I used to use zone alarm, I did a speed test on dslreports.com and found my download speed was cut in half as compared to no ZA! I dumped it and just use NAT. I am going to be buying the Xincom twin wan router soon, right now I have a Lynksys BEF SR41, it has NAT, that's fine for me. The Xincom has SPI too, no need for software firewall. Get some good anti spyware protection though if you surf the net on that computer.
My vote also goes to AVG 7.5 (the free edition). It's light weight and can do the job quite nicely. For heavy-weight (and paid), I'd go with Kaspersky. And as for the firewall, my router already has a hardware firewall but I also installed ZoneAlarm for each of every of my computer. It doesn't slow me down although the new version seems to have a problem to let me access the internet each time my laptop wake from hibernation.
I prefer Avast over AVG, but both are good. AVG had me keep rebooting manually to update last year, hassle.
I would like to issue warning on Symantec/Norton. I am using it. And it (almost) takes control of my computer. After some of the live upgrades it created a file that can not be copied. Now, Retrospect (disk backup SW) tries to copy this file and hangs, can be killed only with task manager. So both Retrospec and Symantec create more problems as do useful job. Its a joke that Retrospect hangs due to one file that can not be copied. And Symantec makes changes on the computer that from one day to another creates problems. And of course no support from both to reslove the problem. I am also interested very much in opinios on antivirus SW.
I currently use avast with spybot/adaware (once a week). Avast seems to only update when my trading platform is off, which is a good thing, and is light on resources. Any comparisons or opinions between AVG and Avast, which one is lighter on resources? Xincom is definitly good for dual wan router, no down time on it so far (been 6months since i purchased). only down time is when lotta data comes into the markets and tradestation freezes for a sec, but i think i need to buy a new computer anyways.
I like Xincom the best of the 3 dual wans routers I looked at. The have phone tech support as long as you own it. Hotbrick e-mail only, not good. Is think TS has lock up issues, as do all trading apps. during high volume not matter what. My Sierra Charts with TransAct data does the same thing, not often, but only on big volume.
I'm a longtime user of Norton Antivirus. All I can say about Norton is...don't. In many ways, it acts like the malware against which it's supposed to defend. I installed ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite on one computer. If you want a lot of protection (firewall, antivirus, spyware protection, and spam protection) at a great price in a single package, then ISS is very good. However, it takes up more resources than other apps. I installed the free AVG on a couple computers, and I really like it. The first thing I did was turn off the daily full system scan (which is a bit of overkill, as it does have real-time protection). For any computers I use for trading, the protection scheme is simply a good hardware firewall and NO Web browsing, chat programs, or email. polr
I use Kapersky and am very happy with it. You can get the OEM version for cheap. It makes Norton and Macfee look like garbage and resource hogs. I have never used AVC but have also heard it is good. All so use a hardware firewall that is built in to my router. AAA30