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General discussion

What's the difference between

by Shian Sep 7, 2005 3:16AM PDT

Antivirus, antispyware and registry cleaners?

Currently, I have Norton Internet Security 2005 installed and my computer is about 2 months old. I was browsing through the processes running and saw a programme called backweb xxx (xxx being some unknown thingy I can't remember). Is this backweb programme harmful? Why didn't Norton pick it up?

Should I install any other softwares like antispyware or registry cleaners?

Also, is there any other antivirus programmes that are better than Norton?

Thanx,
Shian

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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Shian, Self-Explanatory..
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator Sep 7, 2005 3:33AM PDT

Antivirus- A program that detects and cleans viruses, worms, trojans, and in some case, various types of unwanted programs such as spyware.

Antispyware- Programs generally limited to finding spyware and adware that infect machines. Some antispyware removal tools also detect some types of trojans.

Registry Cleaners- Programs that clean the registry of a computer. Generally, then find unnecessary registry entries and remove them.

Yes, you should install other programs besides Norton. Norton is basically an antivirus program. (See definition above.) Although it may detect some unwanted programs that fall into the spyware category, you'll need antispyware programs which are specific to that type of malware. Below are links to three free ones I use. There are also a number of other good antispyware programs available.:

Ad-Aware">http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/]Ad-Aware

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Why is it necessary..
by Shian Sep 7, 2005 3:45AM PDT

To use 3 different antispyware tools? Would they detect different files? I read in the community forum that running 2 antivirus softwares might cause some conflict. Would it happen for antispyware programs(eg they start identifying each other's files as spyware)?

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Shian, We've Had Other Discussions On That...
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator Sep 7, 2005 3:59AM PDT

If you search the forums and read some of the other relevant threads, you'll get lots of reasons...

Basically, YES, each antispyware program seems to hunt and find something a little differently. As long as the programs aren't actually running in the background, there shouldn't be any conflicts. Personally, I use them as stand-alone scanners but many users enable the background protection measures set up in specific programs.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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To brush up on extras
by ackmondual Sep 14, 2005 4:37AM PDT

For home consumers, the general consensus is:

1 antivirus app installed at a time:
2 or more may see each other as threats and can complicate matters. Several reputable freeware anti-virus apps are yours to try.

FYI: some enterprise/corporate environments, as well as other IT environments may use multiple anti-virus apps. E.g. One for general, another to detect and handle specific problems they may have, and \yet another for extra coverage. One good AV app and sensible online usage are all u really need for PCs

2 or more anti-spyware/adware apps:
2 is minimum. 3 or 4 isn't done by everyone, but isn't considered uncommon however. 1 (or even 0 if you're online scarcely) can work, but 2 simply ups your level of protection to a more acceptable level. Overlapping detection coverage in prevention (blocking) and removal (after scanning) is the name of the game here. Another app is bound to find stuff that the first one didn't pick up, no matter how highly rated/aclaimed it is. Many of the great ones are freeware, so having up to 3 to do a combo of the tasks above can be done w/o any $$.

Registry cleaners
Not really necessary for winXP. I don't use one for winXP, altho i am lazy about certain PC stuff. I do only minor reg edit operations w/o any utiltiles.
FYI, if u don't know what a reg setting edit does, don't do it. MESSING WITH YOUR WINDOWS REGISTRY SETTINGS CAN CAUSE OPERATIONAL AND FATAL PROBLEMS. Else, follow online advice at your own risk.

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