Configuration for a gamer

InsertNameHere

New Member
Thread author
May 30, 2012
1
Hello there MalwareTips! I would like to have some tips on what security I could use. I have nothing at the moment, and take in mind that im a gamer.

I have a laptop at the moment if that matters.

Specs:

i5
4GB ram
ATI 5XXX Mobility Radeon

Sincerely, InsertNameHere.
 

Ink

Administrator
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
Security Tips? .. Keep your OS updated, including Service Packs.
 

WinAndLinuxTutorials

Level 4
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Honorary Member
Aug 23, 2011
2,291
Antivirus: I recommend Avast Free. It is light on resources and has many protection shields. Its game mode is useful when you play games so you don't get interrupted when gaming.

For an on-demand scanner, use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and HitmanPro as a second opinion.

Also do what Earth asked you to do. Also which version of IE do you use? I recommend switching to Chrome, since it is more secure.
 
P

Plexx

I am a gamer myself, so you can have a look at my Main config or even the secondary config. Follow the links in the signature.

Bear in mind I'm using a paid security (ESET Smart Security), but as WinAndLnuxTutorials said, you can use Avast as an alternative.

On my main config, you could possibly skip the toolbox + Linux distros.

For the secondary config, go here
 

Jack

Administrator
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Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 24, 2011
9,377
Hello InsertNameHere,love your username:p
Real-time protection
You have Windows 7 Service Pack 1 installed right?
Like biozfear and WinAndLinuxTutorials said , Avast 7 Free is a great antivirus, mainly because unlike the competition (MSE and Avira) doesn't only rely on traditional prevention techniques to stop malware, and here I'm talking about the Auto-Sandbox and File reputation system : https://blog.avast.com/2012/03/20/autosandbox-why-are-you-annoying-me/
Another solid security product is Comodo Internet Security,this is all in one product so you'll also get a very powerful Firewall and a Host Intrustion Prevention System.Like Avast, Comodo will auto-sandbox unknown files so it has a very high prevention rate.
Both products are very decent on the system and won't slow you down when you game.

As a general knowledge,it's important to know that most infection rely strongly on social engineering, basically you'll need to run them so that they can work... if you practice a smart online behavior then you should really decrees your chances of getting infected. You can read some tips on how to avoid infections here: http://malwaretips.com/Thread-5-easy-tips-to-avoid-infections

Browser protection
While Internet Explorer it's a decent browser , I would suggest that you consider changing it to Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as IE is a very targeted browser by cyber criminals.
If I were you , I would chose Google Chrome as this browser has a very strong guard against malicious links/downloads and has embedded a lot of security features.
As good as a browser is , you'll need some plugins to improve protection:

Web of trust - site advisor
WOT (Free) - link
To help you avoid malicious sites you can use Web of Trust (WOT) a website rating browser plugin. After you add it to your browser make sure you only visit websites rated "Green" by WOT

Adblocker - an adblocker
For Firefox
Adblock Plus (Free) - link
Adblock is a content-filtering extension for Mozilla Firefox- and Mozilla Application Suite-based web browsers. Adblock allows users to prevent page elements, such as advertisements, from being downloaded and displayed.
For Chrome
Adblock Plus for Google Chrome (Free) - link
Adblock Plus for Google Chrome is a content-filtering extension for Google Chrome. Adblock allows users to prevent page elements, such as advertisements, from being downloaded and displayed.

I can recommend more addons however I need to know if you changed you browser or not :)

On demand scanners

You should always upload all your downloads on virustotal.com and perform a scan with your on-demand to be checked for malware!

VTUploader (Free) - link
To upload a file to VirusTotal, you can visit the main analysis site, click the Browse button to select a file from your hard drive, and then click the Send file button. You can make this process even easier with the free VirusTotal Uploader utility. After installing it, you can simply right-click any file under 20MB and choose "VirusTotal" from the Send To Windows menu. The scan results will display in your browser as usual.

Hitman Pro (Trial ) - link
An on-demand scanner using multiple anti-malware engines and cloud technology. It offers unlimited free scanning but once you use it to remove detected malware it switches to a 30-day trial version. I recommend using it after you've scanned your hard-drive with the other products you have installed
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free (Free)- link
This product utilizes Malwarebytes powerful technology to detect and remove all traces of malware including worms, trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware and more.




Virtualization:
Even if you submitted a file to virustotal.com and it said that it's clean , you'll need to run it in virtual environment because sometimes infection can be so new that security vendors don't have signs for it.

Virtualization software will allow you to browse the web or run another application in a completely safe environment. This is especially useful when visiting high-risk web sites, whether accidentally or deliberately, as the Web browser will be completely contained within the virtual enviroment, preventing any damage to your computer.
A sandbox can also be used to run any other applications which you think may be suspect - you can run the program inside the sandbox to determine whether or not it is safe while remaining completely protected against any malicious actions that it may try to carry out.
I strongly advise you to install Sandboxie and use it for when you're browsing the Internet or running shady/unknown programs(not that you should do that but... :) ) . Alternately you can try BufferZone PRO (Free) , another great virtualization software.
Sandboxie (Free/Paid) - link
Sandboxie runs your programs in an isolated space which prevents them from making permanent changes to other programs and data in your computer.




Always run suspicious of freshly downloaded files in a Sandboxie to verify that he download isn't compromised!Sandboxie will replicate perfectly your operating system so all the files should run without any problems in it.

 
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McLovin

Level 76
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Honorary Member
Malware Hunter
Apr 17, 2011
9,222
If you have a look what Jack has said, it might give you an idea on what to choose.
 

malbky

Level 1
Jun 23, 2011
1,011
I would not recommend CIS for a gamer its defense plus may interfere with games. But as you are an advanced user you can handle it. But go for AVAST or MSE +Zone Alarm free firewall and also for something like Linkscanner and Trafficlight.
Use Tuneup Utilities to keep your system running at full speed. You can get tuneup 2011 free, just google it.
 
P

Plexx

the layers of security also depends on what the user does when not gaming. Adding what jack said + panda url filter and using windows firewall should be good enough.

As for CIS, yes D+ can be a pain on some games and you have to manually add it to exclusions etc etc.

ESET AV or even Avast would do the trick:)

One thing you might want to consider is adding the following as a gamer:
Disk Defrag: Purand Derag
Backup Solution: Paragon Backup & Recovery 2011 Free
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Most of AV's have the feature to have called "Game Mode" so that it won't disturb during games.

But for better case, make sure everything were excluded on realtime and scan times in order no conflict occurred. (Games that you know to be safe)
 

Littlebits

Retired Staff
May 3, 2011
3,893
malbky said:
I would not recommend CIS for a gamer its defense plus may interfere with games. But as you are an advanced user you can handle it. But go for AVAST or MSE +Zone Alarm free firewall and also for something like Linkscanner and Trafficlight.
Use Tuneup Utilities to keep your system running at full speed. You can get tuneup 2011 free, just google it.

Totally agree that CIS would not be a good choice for a gamer, it will auto block processes and auto sandbox others processes without notifications, you will always have to manually tweak the settings to get your games to work properly. If new patches are installed to your games then that may require more manual tweaking. This also applies to other firewalls with HIPS, they will cause you constant problems with games unless you know how to manually tweak them which requires a lot of work and time.

If your system is dedicated for mostly gaming then you need an Anitivirus that you can install and forget. Let it do the work for you.

Avast or Microsoft Security Essentials is what I would recommend.
Malwarebytes as a on-demand scanner.

If you have a router with a firewall, then all you really need is Windows default firewall, no need for a powerful firewall with HIPS.

Thanks.:D
 

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