Advanced Plus Security Pat Macknife Desktop Config 2021

Last updated
Jan 27, 2021
How it's used?
For home and private use
Operating system
Windows 10
On-device encryption
Log-in security
    • Biometrics (Windows Hello PIN, TouchID, Face, Iris, Fingerprint)
Security updates
Allow security updates and latest features
User Access Control
Always notify
Smart App Control
Network firewall
Real-time security
Avira Free Security.
Firewall security
Microsoft Defender Firewall
About custom security
Avira Free Antivirus (minor tweaks) High heuristics
Periodic malware scanners
Norton power Eraser , Malwarebytes free.
Malware sample testing
I do not participate in malware testing
Browser(s) and extensions
Edge Chromium with (Trafficlight) and Ublock Origin.
Secure DNS
None (isp)
Desktop VPN
None
Password manager
Bitwarden
Maintenance tools
Wise disk cleaner, wise registry cleaner.
File and Photo backup
Aomei Backupper standard
System recovery
Aomei Backupper standard
Risk factors
    • Browsing to popular websites
    • Opening email attachments
    • Logging into my bank account
    • Downloading software and files from reputable sites
    • Gaming
    • Streaming audio/video content from shady sites
Computer specs
HP Pavilion 500 Desktop Intel® i3-4150
CPU Dual-Core @3,50 Ghz.
Intel HD Graphics 4400
Ram: 16 GB DDR3.
SSD by Crucial MX500 -> 500 GB.
Notable changes
June 18 Replaced Sophos home free By Avast Free.
Juli 12 Installed McAfee Internet Security.
Sept 29 installed F-Secure Safe
Dec 16 installed Avira Free Security.
What I'm looking for?

Looking for minimum feedback.

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
What are your impressions of the performance of your machine following the upgrade to SSD? Nice present for your computer, right?(y)
Yes indeed nice present for my computer on christmas :)
after a few hours i can say that startup improved a lot, push power button to desktop picture with icons in 7 - 8 seconds :love:
some apps or programs launch a bit faster, a boost for my system (y)
 

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
Good config (y)
Enjoy your new SSD.
What's your opinion on Avsat free after using it for some time now?
Hi,
We give it another shot after they stopped with data selling with jumpshot, its feeling not that heavy on the system.
Its one of the best freebies , always good results on AV-tests
But i block ads in firewall (outbound) so we have no nags :) i like the orange icon a little bit more than AVG icon with 4 colors.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 72227

Do you feel PCIe is a better interface than the M.2 I'm using with a Samsung EVO?
Most of the NVME drives actually use M.2, but take advantage of the PCIe lanes which allows them to have insanely fast read and write speeds compared to standard SATA SSDs. You can also have PCIe cards which are NVME SSDs as well, or a PCIe card that can hold 4-5 m.2 NVME drives.

It can be confusing as PCIe (in relation to SSDs) really refers to the PCIe lanes, but the actual drive can either be an m.2 drive, or an PCIe card.

That being said, I have an NVME m.2 card in my gaming rig and there's no going back for me.:)
 
F

ForgottenSeer 85179

It can be confusing as PCIe (in relation to SSDs) really refers to the PCIe lanes, but the actual drive can either be an m.2 drive, or an PCIe card.
Not completely right.
M.2 is just the standard for that drive format. Before that also M.1 drives exists.

So it exists SATA M.2 drives and PCIe M.2 drives.
First ones use the limited 600MB/s connection while PCIe well, a lot more ;)
Currently PCIe 4 x16 can use ~31,5 GByte/s. Of course all components share that but in the end it's still a lot more bandwidth then using "external" SATA and also more native and no cables.
 
F

ForgottenSeer 72227

Not completely right.
M.2 is just the standard for that drive format. Before that also M.1 drives exists.

So it exists SATA M.2 drives and PCIe M.2 drives.
First ones use the limited 600MB/s connection while PCIe well, a lot more ;)
Currently PCIe 4 x16 can use ~31,5 GByte/s. Of course all components share that but in the end it's still a lot more bandwidth then using "external" SATA and also more native and no cables.
Thanks for the clarification.

I do love the no cables! Every once and a while I always look back and see how much/how far technology has come. I remember the good old IDE and 4 pin molex connector days. Yet fast forward today and we have PCIe 4 NVME drives that can potentially do up to 7000mb/s reads with no cables, while being the size of a stick of ram.🤯
 

plat

Level 29
Top Poster
Sep 13, 2018
1,793
Samsung isn't the best anyway ;)

What brand do you recommend? You know, you can make your own extra-fast storage space (3-4 GB or more capacity, depending) using your RAM. For my mid-range spec GSkill RAM using Miray RamDisk software, here is the benchmark I made just for fun:

image_2020-12-24_193954.png

image_2020-12-24_194939.png

Just a demonstration of the various storage methods, beyond SATA and M.2 form factors. The Ram Disk may only have limited capabilities b/c of the limited space. I only have PCI-e 3.0 and yes, the read and write speeds are about half that of PCI-e 4.0. To get that, I have to upgrade to a latest motherboard.

Sorry, Pat MacKnife for taking this a little off-topic. I don't think your mainboard supports anything except SATA anyway, right? So, I would enjoy the Crucial SSD for the real upgrade it is. (y)
 

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
What brand do you recommend? You know, you can make your own extra-fast storage space (3-4 GB or more capacity, depending) using your RAM. For my mid-range spec GSkill RAM using Miray RamDisk software, here is the benchmark I made just for fun:



Just a demonstration of the various storage methods, beyond SATA and M.2 form factors. The Ram Disk may only have limited capabilities b/c of the limited space. I only have PCI-e 3.0 and yes, the read and write speeds are about half that of PCI-e 4.0. To get that, I have to upgrade to a latest motherboard.

Sorry, Pat MacKnife for taking this a little off-topic. I don't think your mainboard supports anything except SATA anyway, right? So, I would enjoy the Crucial SSD for the real upgrade it is. (y)
No need to be sorry :) but yes i haven't seen anything for a M.2 in my computer, only sata. (desktop model end 2014) but still a fast pc.
hp pavilion 500 desktop intel - Google zoeken
 
F

ForgottenSeer 89360

The delay is gone now.
I tested it against few ransomwares with the standard AV off and relying only on IDP (behavioural blocking). It blocks them by behaviour so quickly, they don’t have the chance to encrypt anything. One of them only managed to map drives (those system recovery partitions) and it then it was gone. I don’t think others managed to do anything. The name of the ransomware was Ragnar_Locker, Phobos, Satana and few more. Satana as a name gave me chills 😅
 

Divine_Barakah

Level 29
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
May 10, 2019
1,854
I tested it against few ransomwares with the standard AV off and relying only on IDP (behavioural blocking). It blocks them by behaviour so quickly, they don’t have the chance to encrypt anything. One of them only managed to map drives (those system recovery partitions) and it then it was gone. I don’t think others managed to do anything. The name of the ransomware was Ragnar_Locker, Phobos, Satana and few more. Satana as a name gave me chills 😅
I am now using Bitdefender on my main devices, but have AVG installed on all family devices. AVG is light and responsive and I really like it. I started to think to reinstall it on my main devices, but I am not going to waste BD license and I cannot request a refund either (I purchased it from Dealarious). Bitdefender is running great, but I feel AVG is a bit lighter and more responsive.
 

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Thread author
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
I thought you liked AVG?
The delay is gone now.
I tested it against few ransomwares with the standard AV off and relying only on IDP (behavioural blocking). It blocks them by behaviour so quickly, they don’t have the chance to encrypt anything. One of them only managed to map drives (those system recovery partitions) and it then it was gone. I don’t think others managed to do anything. The name of the ransomware was Ragnar_Locker, Phobos, Satana and few more. Satana as a name gave me chills 😅
You all convinced me ! :) i put on my other jacket : Reinstalled AVG free (high settings + Hardened mode)
 

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