I run basically the same setup

 

The built-in XP firewall is 1-way. It doesn't monitor outgoing traffic, at least not the last time I checked, which was when SP2 was first released. I don't know if this has changed since then.

Granted, a 1-way firewall is probably okay for the average computer user. But, if you get malware on your system that is sending messages to an outside server, you wouldn't know it unless you were monitoring outgoing traffic.

For your typical computer user, I'd say the choice between XP's firewall and Zone Alarm is a wash. XP only watches incoming traffic, but Zone Alarm can be a major resource hog at times. Of course, that's partially because Zone Alarm also has some support for Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

If I had to pick, I'd go with Zone Alarm. But for most people, I doubt it will ever make a difference.

 

This is the note regarding the XP firewall and outgoing traffic:

 

Regarding spyware, it's pretty much understood that there isn't a single package out there that finds everything. In fact, most programs find less than half of spyware on any given computer. It's best to use the "combo" approach of 2 packages such as AdAware and Spybot S&D together.

My favorite is the one offered by Microsoft: Windows AntiSpyware. They actually purchased a company called Giant and this product is the result. It has some pretty cool features and the price is right - free. I believe MS has stated that it will stay free. If you choose to load it, it will ask you to verify your copy of Windows. You can skip that and the program will work fine.

 

AVG anti virus is free and not as much of a resource hog as Norton. It has served me just fine..

 

Back when I was directly connected to the Internet, I just used a custom IP Security Policy for my firewall. I'm pretty sure it's fully configurable. This is on W2K, but I'm pretty sure it's available on XP too, maybe even NT.

It's a pain in the butt to configure though.

 

Kaspersky is very good. I've also heard good things about Panda but it's pricey.

 

I vote AVG Free Edition. Finds more trash than Norton, they update it almost every day and best of all, it's free.

 

[QUOTE=DaveZ,Mar 29 2005, 04:00 PM] My favorite is the one offered by Microsoft: Windows AntiSpyware.

 

Thanks guys. I think I will go for the free one since you all like it.