ThreatFire free
Hi there. Today I intend to sail the waters of security. A very arguable topic. Well, after some years of trying and reading about security products I am persuaded to use proactive defense only. So, are you still using antivirus and antispyware product, feeling completely safe on the internet, especially while reading all those av-comparatives.org and other reviews? In fact antivirus product use signature-based protection against malware. In simple words it means they can only recognise a virus, that their research team has been able to identify on the internet so far. But what about those viruses, their research team has not come across yet? The truth is that from that point your xp or vista is left alone to battle the capabilities of that virus. But you know who wins this battle, right?
Threatfire from PcTools company is so called HIPS which uses behavioral-based approach against malicious programs. That means it does not scan your system for viruses like antivirus does, but it monitors any suspicious activities in the background. If it recognises a threat it stops its activity and asks you what to do. Block or allow. I can tell you, this approach is the future of fighting against mallware. Threatfire got a bunch of awards for effectiveness. Do you want to know what pcmagazine says about it? Well there it goes.
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“ThreatFire 3’s ability to block installation of malware strictly by identifying bad behavior is phenomenal. It did a better (and faster) job than Norton AntiBot and even beat out Spy Sweeper, our current Editors’ Choice for signature-based anti-spyware. This free tool is an excellent addition to your security arsenal.”
- www.pcmag.com, October 2, 2007*
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So go for this phenomenal program. Threatfire comes in free and paid version. Paid version adds antivirus engine along, but I would not bother with it. Some people complained that it slowed down their computers. I analysed this with process explorer from sysinternals and it showed me, that Tfire used very little cpu. Much less than antivirus programs do. This litttle program is so powerfull that it remains my only protection against malware. It resides in your tray and it only use your cpu, when it detects some registry or other suspicious activity.
Threat fire has also capability to scan manually your computer for rootkits.
Requirements: Windows Vista or Vista SP1, Windows XP SP1, SP2 or SP3 (Home, Pro & Media Center Editions), Windows 2000 SP 4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows 2003, or Windows 2008
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Pingback by Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0 | dotNETwizard.NET on Nov 20, 2008 @ 12:18 am
Seems like a nice little alternative for security software, will give it a try
on Nov 8, 2008
My AV has some proactive defense, but if ThreatFire doesn’t conflict with it, I will definitely try it.
on Nov 9, 2008
Yes Wizzy, let that power protect your system. Like Comodo CEO says. “security must not be a privilege” If everyone fortify their system with powerful solutions, internet will become safer and more enjoyable place. No constant pop-apps, no virus, no fear to lose data, or bank account number…
Every now and than it is time to change strategy upside down. Av-s have long been on the scene. Malware writers have conquered them and are one step ahead of us. Let us stop this. We have a chance. Not with av-s. They only know old viruses. Take something that knows even not yet created malware. TF is not the only one in its class. There are more. But it is one of the most powerful and it is free.
on Nov 9, 2008
WOW thats 100% true, security must not be a privilage and it should be a fundamental right of an online user
on Nov 9, 2008
well for some odd reason this started to block my msn messenger(when patched)
on Nov 10, 2008
@blacknoise:
If it blocks msn add it to an exception list in ThreatFire. That should work. But if it blocks your patch, that is because the patch might not be legitimate or is corrupted. Verify the source of it.
on Nov 10, 2008
@blacknoise:
Well was it WLM 8.5? coz it dosent block my WLM 9.0 which was patched my mess lite
and I gotta say Threatfire is superb for a freeware. WOW I jus tried it and fell completely in love with it.
on Nov 10, 2008
the problem was messenger plus..as long as there’s no messenger plus its ok
on Nov 10, 2008
Hi blacknoise. Go to advanced tools on the main panel in Threatfire and click custom rule settings. Go to process list tab and than add messenger plus to TRUSTED PROCESSES. From that point ThreatFire should allow it to run without interferance. Please try this method and tell us if you solved the problem. But I hope you got that patch from a trusted source. I do not want you to set TF to ignor a virus. But as far as I know messenger plus supports adverts. This might be a cause that bothers Threatfire.
on Nov 11, 2008
@blacknoise:
well I’m using messenger plus with WLM 2009 everything is fine
on Nov 12, 2008