I have used Avast for quite a long time now and it's never been a problem.
Now I am running it also on an older laptop with limited RAM. Usually I turn
off all modules except for Web Shield, Network Shield, and Standard Shield.
Can I turn off the web and network shields and still have basic protection
from only the standard sheild? By that I mean, if a virus starts being smart
of my machine will Avast still warn me with just standard shield running?
And will it save me some resources? I am reasonably savvy about safe
internet use and not opening attachments carelessly etc. In fact, I used
this little machine for several weeks on broadband (behind a router
firewall) without any problem, so, if one is careful, just how necessary is
antivirus software these days anyway?

Come to think of it, the last time I remember a virus issue on my computer
was several years ago when I was silly enough to open files on a friend's
floppy without scanning it first. I don't think I've ever "caught" a virus
off the Internet in over ten years of Internet use. (Not that I've known
about anyway.) So, if I back up regularly and use common sense when browsing
etc, do I really need Avast at all?

--
Peter in New Zealand. (Email address is fake)
Collector of old cameras, tropical fish fancier, good coffee nutter, and
compulsive computer fiddler.



-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to news@netfront.net --

Peter in New Zealand wrote:
That's an excellent question.

I think the answer is 'yes' - because....

.... you should have 'layers' (reasonable ones) of defense. You should
have a set of good behaviors and configurations, which is far and away the
most important. And, you should have a 'modest' - where the modesty is
about whether or not the agent 'intrudes' on your resources - layer of a
'watcher'.

Theoretically, the watcher should never find anything; just like
theoretically those who use antispyware agents should never find anything.
Instead, some people's antispyware is used as some kind of crutch which is
regularly removing some fraction of the infestations which they have
acquired, while destabilizing their system of infestation + santitization.

The problem with people who 'count on' their AV agents to defend them is
that the world is always going to be 'full of' new agents for which the AV
has no .dat file or template yet -- so a person who 'needs' an AV is going
to fall down when a new agent gets them. You need to be behaviorally and
application configured to *NOT* need an AV.



--
Mike Easter

On Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:58:08 -0500, Peter in New Zealand
<peterbalplug@extra.co.nz> wrote:

Have restaging software ready from boot. Get rid of all of your security
programs except windows firewall. Restage when/if your computer slows down.

I have one friend in particular who does this and gets on fine. He surfs
rather megerly and mostly to the same sites.


--
Bear Bottoms
Freeware website: http://bearware.info

On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 18:58:08 +1200, "Peter in New Zealand"
<peterbalplug@extra.co.nz> wrote:

The Standard Shield does most of the work and should pick up malware
when executed. Ir does most of what you expect an AV program to do. It
can also be used to scan selected files on demand via right-click
shell extension in explorer.

Web Shield only works if you have it set up as a proxy, but the
advantage is that it scans web content as it is being downloaded.
Network Shield basically monitors certain vulnerable ports. Neither
is all that critical IMHO but you have to make that choice yourself.

Ah, now there's the rub. I'm not sure how much you save on resources,
if any, by disabling the individual resident providers. One way to
check would be by using Process Explorer (or similar) and testing
various configurations on your laptop and noting the differences.

As to whether AV is necessary, that's a judgement call. The risk is
proportional to what extent your laptop will connect to the outside
world. More exposure, more need. Less exposure, less need. For me,
any box that regularly connects to the internet or handles files from
other sources that haven't been scanned already probably needs AV.

--
Ron M.
(I filter Googlespam)
alt.comp.freeware information pages:
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/acf/Index.php

Peter in New Zealand wrote:

There is no significant saving of any resources by switching any of the
modules off.If you dont need any of them (i dont use outlook module or
mail scanner),then its better to run the uninstaller again ,choose
custom and remove the module completly.But again you wont see any
significant improvement in resources or ram.I used avast quite
comfortably on 128meg of ram.If your concerned about browsing speed
,its probably the web scanner which is the culprit.Even if you turned
that off ,or uninstalled the module you would be well protected as you
are obviously a safe surfer anyway.
me

--

"bassbag" <bassbag@bodybags.dragon.wales> wrote in message
news:6d4ie9FqstaU1@mid.individual.net...
laptop, with the standard, web, and network shields running I think. As has
been pointed out, it does seem there's no significant saving in resources
turning them off. The key thing for me was exactly what each of those
modules does. Now that I know I can make a better decision. Thanks again
greatly for sharing your knowledge and help with me.

--
Peter in New Zealand. (Email address is fake)
Collector of old cameras, tropical fish fancier, good coffee nutter, and
compulsive computer fiddler.



-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to news@netfront.net --

On Fri, 4 Jul 2008 08:35:53 +1200, "Peter in New Zealand"
<peterbalplug@extra.co.nz> wrote:

Interesting. I turn them all off except for Standard Shield.
There's no advantage in having the others IMHO. I assumed this would
save resources, but have never measured the difference.

Hmmm. I think the definitive question is - what does each of the modules
actually do? Knowing this would be the key to configuring Avast efficiently
ISTM. Do you find the standard shield alone gives you everything you want?

--
Peter in New Zealand. (Email address is fake)
Collector of old cameras, tropical fish fancier, good coffee nutter, and
compulsive computer fiddler.



-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to news@netfront.net --

On Sat, 5 Jul 2008 11:12:05 +1200, "Peter in New Zealand"
<peterbalplug@extra.co.nz> wrote:

No, I haven't looked into what the other modules do. I assume they
scan executable files before your computer actually tries launching
them.

The Standard Shield is going to scan them when you launch them anyway,
so I believe this is sufficient. All the rest is salesmanship and
hype. Someone tell me if I'm wrong!

Ross <rossnospamplease@orcon.net.nz> wrote in
news:82lu64p4m6riclrs84lcie4m8hf5bbvo6a@4ax.com:


Standard Shield does not appear to cover other modules. Take a look at the
customize option for each module to work out what it does.


--
Steve

Due to the volume of garbage I filter out googlegroups. So do many others.
Gmail posters are currently scored down pending troll filter work.

Ross wrote:
From what I understand, the Standard Module will scan any executable
that has been launched, however, it won't scan what that executable
does. For example, the Standard function would scan OE or TB when
executed but it wouldn't scan any files opened inline by those programs,
however, the Internet Mail module does (and that's all it does).

You can turn individual modules off if you don't need them. For
instance, if your computer doesn't belong to a LAN, you don't need the
Network Shield, if you don't use an IM client, you don't need the
Instant Messaging module. Same goes for the P2P Shield module - if you
don't run any P2P clients, you don't need this module. Minimum level of
protection (assuming you have an internet connection and therefore
require anti-virus software), would be the Standard and the Web Shield
modules.

snipped . . .

Ah, now that's useful to know. Would I be correct in assuming the standard
shield looks at things happening on the local machine while the web shield
watches what is coming in via the network?

--
Peter in New Zealand. (Email address is fake)
Collector of old cameras, tropical fish fancier, good coffee nutter, and
compulsive computer fiddler.



-- Posted on news://freenews.netfront.net - Complaints to news@netfront.net --

Peter in New Zealand wrote:
I believe the web shield is more along the lines of an anti-malware
module for webpages (it checks for bad java/activex components etc).
Standard shield will check every program launched and/or downloaded.

"Peter in New Zealand" <peterbalplug@extra.co.nz> wrote in
news:g4smrb$23pi$1@adenine.netfront.net:

Did you not read my earlier message? Take a look at the customize option
for each module to work out what it does.


--
Steve

Due to the volume of garbage I filter out googlegroups. So do many others.
Gmail posters are currently scored down pending troll filter work.