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#1 Chris

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Posted 13 June 2018 - 09:31 AM

Hey there, so my new laptop will arrive in the next few days and I want to ask for advice again. Is there a good tutorial for setting up windows 10 (especially updates), which firewall programs can you recommend (I use avast with my old one), are there good strategies to keep all the programs/files organized, what browser do you use, what programs can you recommend for further protection and so like https everywhere and no script?

#2 Jamian

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Posted 13 June 2018 - 10:03 AM

Windows 10 should set itself up, and it already comes with a firewall (Windows Defender).

 

You only need to make sure a website uses "https" when you have to enter sensitive data (like a password).


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#3 Chris

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Posted 14 June 2018 - 12:10 AM

I hear a lot about issues with automatic windows updates making problems. And is Windows Defender itself enough? I didn't use extra stuff like VPN or so with my old one, just avast. I also never had an issue with avast hindering me, so I am not against it from that standpoint.

"https everywhere" and "no script" are two add-ons Saffith recommended in another topic I asked for advice.

#4 Jared

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Posted 15 June 2018 - 05:53 PM

After my Avast (I think?) free trial ended, I just used Windows Defender. So far it's fine. No annoying popups asking you to buy, no scans 24/7....a lot easier to deal with and forget imo.



#5 klop422

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Posted 15 June 2018 - 07:31 PM

Honestly, the best thing you can do is not go on suspicious sites, download only from links you trust, etc. etc. i.e. just the advice everyone gives. As far as I'm aware, there are no perfect antiviruses out there, and I've heard of people going without any.
Although, there are some free malware removal programs (I feel like CCleaner worked for that, but I can't remember entirely) which are pretty good.
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#6 Chris

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Posted 16 June 2018 - 03:40 AM

No way I'm completely staying away from suspicious sites, I'm a guy after all ;)

I actually just use free avast and and it helped me more than once. Same goes for McAfee WebAdvisor. Though no idea, how Windows Defender compares to it.

#7 Chris

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Posted 25 June 2018 - 09:14 AM

So what's this OneDrive thing?



#8 klop422

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Posted 25 June 2018 - 09:55 AM

It's Microsoft's cloud storage for your files. I don't use it personally (I don't trust Microsoft with my data, and don't need a cloud storage anyway), but I don't really know how secure or just generally how functional it is. Don't know anyone who uses it instead of Google Drive or Dropbox either, to be fair.

I'm probably not the best person to be giving this information :/



#9 Chris

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Posted 26 June 2018 - 02:03 AM

It's better than nothing :P

I'm also asking similar stuff in other places, not always getting an answer, I clearly can see though that my questions must be too dumb at times :D

I'm actually still deciding about what anti-spyware to use. I'm stuck between W10Privacy, Spybot, Malewarebytes and O&O ShutUp10 (which are the most surprising based on my internet search...)

There is also the Tor browser (torproject.org), ZenMate, Windscribe VPN (which I don't fully understand, it seems to be a free VPN though?), Spotflux Free VPN (which I have trouble to get more info about) and Peerblock (which I downloaded yesterday, it seems kinda outdated though).

@Jared, I also have gone for Avira instead if Avast, got a better rating and so far less annoying with advertising.

#10 Zacron

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Posted 28 June 2018 - 10:25 AM

Even giant companies like Linus Tech Tips recommend that you just use the Built-In Windows Defender. I am NOT the most careful person ever, but I've not had any issues in several years since upgrading to Windows 10. Anything on top of that is going to cause unnecessary overhead, and really cause more problems than it's worth.

 

I DO, however, recommend you install Piriform CCleaner, but don't use Defraggler, or any other Defrag software unless you are running a mechanical drive.

 

Also, ANYTHING McAfee should be killed with fire. They are known for the last several years to leak personal data, and are more of a scam than actual software these days. :)


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#11 Chris

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Posted 28 June 2018 - 02:20 PM

Throwing the free mcafee trial down was a huge help indeed. I like the webadvisor though :P

Never heard of piriform, but I use ccleaner, must be the same? Defraggler doesn't ring a bell.

Avira honestly didn't make any problems for me so far.
Throwing the free mcafee trial down was a huge help indeed. I like the webadvisor though :P

Never heard of piriform, but I use ccleaner, must be the same? Defraggler doesn't ring a bell.

Avira honestly didn't make any problems for me so far.

#12 Saffith

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Posted 30 June 2018 - 09:51 AM

There is also the Tor browser (torproject.org), ZenMate, Windscribe VPN (which I don't fully understand, it seems to be a free VPN though?), Spotflux Free VPN (which I have trouble to get more info about) and Peerblock (which I downloaded yesterday, it seems kinda outdated though).

I'm always dubious of free VPNs. Running VPN servers costs money, so they have to be paying for it somehow. If you're not paying them, they may well be spying on you and selling the info, so you really have to check their privacy policies. Even if they're not doing anything objectionable, they're likely to be slow and limit what you can do (no torrents, in particular). And free or not, there's always the question of how well it actually works. There are a lot of subtle ways VPNs can fail and leak information, and many do.

That said, Windscribe looks all right. Good policies, seems to have good security. Reviews say the free version is very slow, and it looks like you have to choose either promotional emails or reduced bandwidth, but it may be worth a try.

Tor is a different thing entirely. Users running Tor nodes are volunteering their computers, so there are no server costs. It's an effective system, but it's very slow, and there are a number of things you can't do without compromising your anonymity (most notably torrents and JavaScript). Basically, use a VPN if you don't want your ISP spying on you, and use Tor if you don't want your government spying on you.
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#13 judasrising

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Posted 30 June 2018 - 04:35 PM

Throwing the free mcafee trial down was a huge help indeed. I like the webadvisor though :P
Never heard of piriform, but I use ccleaner, must be the same? Defraggler doesn't ring a bell.
Avira honestly didn't make any problems for me so far.Throwing the free mcafee trial down was a huge help indeed. I like the webadvisor though :P
Never heard of piriform, but I use ccleaner, must be the same? Defraggler doesn't ring a bell.
Avira honestly didn't make any problems for me so far.

Using Defraggler is no need if having SSD disk..

#14 Timelord

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Posted 19 July 2018 - 03:35 AM

Best utility to use when you get a system up with Windows 10.

Levity aside, Win10 has a host of known issues with VPN software that can brick your NIC.

Specifically, the Cicso VPN tools caused me no end of headaches. I went through this.

Note: This is not my thread, but I had the same problem.

In my case, Win10 lost it's NIC access, then had an issue with updates/certification, and bricked itself.

Since then, I've a new machine that shipped with W10, and it's just a dog, but I'm not yet ready to try to put Linux on it, as driver support for the touchscreen and other devices is spotty.

I also have a Win10 boot volume on my main laptops, just so that I can test ZC, using it.

Other than that, I'd say, get FireFox, and some kind of system file search utility (because the internal search is now terrible), and Edge has an awful UI.

You might also immediately install VLC to replace the awful, included media player, and OpenOffice.

I'd also suggest tools:

Classic Shell: Far better than the normal Windows Explorer/Edge shyte.

StartIsBack++: Restores the Windows 7 (or XP) style Start menu.

For someone with a few bones to spare, there's also DOpus, another extremely powerful shell replacement. I have yet to try it on Windows 10, but I run it on all of my Win7 (and earlier) systems, and I find it excruciating to go without it on W10.

Here's another useful article, on ridding yourself of Bing searches when you use the Cortana search bar.

W10 is also terrible at finding strings inside source code files. Here's an open-source utility that is far better suited to the task. It's Java-based though, so, it's still imperfect.

Last, here's a very good article on shutting down Microsoft control over Windows Updates.

Note: if you have the 'Home Edition' of Windows 10, you won't have the Policy Editor. If you want that component, let me know and I'll give you some instructions on how to add it to your system. I did. ;)
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#15 Chris

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Posted 19 July 2018 - 04:24 AM

Thank you so much, I will need to work through this first, but it's really nice.

Got myself already vlc and libreoffice. As well as notebook++ and 7z - which confused me for some time as I just didn't get that it isn't already pre installed. I


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