Personally I hate NIS and I'd skip it. I use the free version of AVG (www.grisoft.com), Microsoft Antispyware, and occasionally scan using Adaware and Spybot. Get a cheap hardware firewall by Dlink, Linksys, Netgear, etc. And most importantly, dump Internet Explorer and use Firefox.

Darrin Seats
Cornerstone Computing
http://www.cs-computing.biz

Just to expand on what seatsd said, I've been using Norton System Works since '96; I've had very little trouble with it, but since coming here to DaniWeb I've learned quite a bit. Norton uses a lot more system resources than most other programs that do the same thing -- when my current subscription expires, I'm going to try something else. AVG is supposed to be one the better free antivirus programs, but, for a reasonable price, NOD32 is supposedly the best.

Don't ever let yourself be fooled into thinking you are fully protected -- it ain't gonna happen. The combination you described, a good AV, Spybot, and Ad-Aware will offer a good amount of protection; and you should consider adding SpywareBlaster as well. Keep everything updated, incuding Windows and IE! That's the most important thing. Most viruses, etc., are released after patches were made available to prevent them.

There shouldn't be any conflicts among anything you mentioned; is the firewall you're getting a hardware firewall or software firewall? If it's a software firewall, you should disable the Windows firewall or you will have conflicts there.

Using an alternative browser, such as Firefox, is a good idea, but you still need to keep IE as there will be a few sites that won't work with Firefox (Windows Update, in particular).

These threads may interest you as well:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread16365.html
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread5690.html

Thanks you guys. Very helpful advice indeed.
Excellent.
N x

Hello,

I would also look beyond Norton for your protection. My fiancee is running AVG, and I run Sophos on my Mac. Norton is easy to setup, but it comes at a price.

I would also break with IE and start using Firefox for a web browser. IE and Outlook Express are invitations for problems.

Christian

thanks babe x

well i wouldn't really go with norton if i wanted my computer to be safe. personally, i didn't think norton was very reliable. i recently switched to trend micro to protect my computer and i love it! in fact, one of trend micro's products just got ranked number one on a list from the latest issue of Consumer Reports magazine (sept 2007). here's the complete list:
(1) Trend Micro ('PC-cillin') Internet Security 2007 (now referred to as "Trend Micro Internet Security 2007")

(2) Check Point ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 7.0

(3) McAfee Total Protection 2007

(4) McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007

(5) Microsoft Live OneCare

(6) BitDefender Internet Security 10

(7) F-Secure Internet Security 2007

(8) Symantec Norton 360

(9) Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007

i hope this helped and good luck

In my opinion the following security software combination works very efficiently:

Microsoft Security Essentials + Comodo firewall + Malwarebytes.