Antimalware, firewall, and other security programs for Windows XP working in 2023 and hopefully beyond
I hereby open a new thread on the topic of security programs for Windows XP. I have been thinking about that for a longer time, and @Vistapocalypse then gave me the final push to tackle this project.
On 4/25/2023 at 9:48 PM, Vistapocalypse said:A new topic by AstroSkipper that begins with a list might be an excellent idea!
There has been some good discussion in this thread, but let’s face it: Nobody is going to read 48 pages.
There has been some good discussion in this thread, but let’s face it: Nobody is going to read 48 pages.
Windows XP is a very old operating system and a deeper knowledge of how to make it more secure is very important in my opinion. The thread "Which Antiviruses are Known for a Fact to be Working on XP SP3 as of 2019?",
where I have previously written frequently about antivirus programs, has become rather bloated and confusing due to many informationless posts, is mainly focused on the topic of antivirus programs for Windows XP and has been completely unstructured from the very beginning. It is good to have such a thread full of different information for reference but there are many posts either outdated or off-topic. Therefore, I have decided to start a completely different thread from scratch. I deliberately chose the term antimalware in the title of this topic. In these days, most so-called antivirus programs can not only identify computer viruses, but also trojans, worms, rootkits, exploits, spyware, and so on. Generally speaking: a virus is a malware, but a malware is not always a virus. Therefore, malware is a generic term for any malicious software, including viruses. For many years now, the so-called antivirus programs have actually been antimalware programs.
In any case, this new topic here is about antimalware, firewall and other security programs for Windows XP. Under the term other security programs, I include among others security suites like internet security and total security, antivirus, antispyware, anti-rootkit, anti-exploit, ad blocker, protection layer, virtualization, and control programs and so on. Many of these programs can no longer be clearly classified in one of these categories due to their multifunctionality.
I therefore define the following categories and their abbreviations:
AM+ = Antimalware program with real-time protection AM- = Antimalware program without real-time protection SM = Specialized program (focused on one main antimalware function) IS = Internet Security TS = Total Security AB = Ad blocker FW = Firewall VP = Virtualization program PL = Protection layer program CP = Control program
In addition, for the sake of simplicity, I define the following licence types and their abbreviations, reduced to the essentials:
C = Commercial (any payment software including shareware) F = Free D = Donationware O = Open source
In the second post of this thread, I will provide and maintain a list of working antimalware, firewall, and other security programs for Windows XP which were presented in a corresponding post here. This list has the following columns: Name, Version, Type, Date and Link. Name means the name of the program, Version means its last/latest version, Type means its license type, Date means its last/latest date of release and Link means link to the post here in this thread. I will only include programs in the list that receive updates in some form, be it program updates, definition updates or database updates. With the exception, of course, that there are programs that do not necessarily need such updates.
In the third post of this thread, I will create and maintain a list of programs that need to be tested for compatibility and support or whose installers have been lost and therefore could not be tested.
In the fourth post of this thread, I will create a list of programs that have recently been abandoned and can only be used for a while due to security reasons.
This project is very extensive and involves a lot of work. 
In-depth research in particular is very time-consuming, but necessary. So be patient, especially if the list of programs fills up slowly. As always: Good things come to those who wait. And just for clarification, I won't test all of them by myself, of course. Here, other members can make a perfect contribution with their knowledge or experiences already made. Furthermore, all the programs I have listed are not necessarily to be understood as recommendations. Basically, they are simply options that are available for Windows XP. Because we all know that most manufacturers of security software have long since given up on Windows XP. If I personally consider a program to be good, I will express this in its relevant post. Any discussions, questions or suggestions about security programs for Windows XP are explicitly welcome. But one thing must be very clear, everything should relate to this topic. Just for clarification, insulting, provocative or completely off-topic posts (especially about operating systems other than Windows XP) will not be tolerated. That means, please stay on topic! This thread is intended to be a well-structured source of information where readers can get ideas on how to make their old Windows XP a bit more secure. If you like this thread, or you find it interesting and helpful, I would appreciate any contribution, be it a comment, a like or an upvote. Thanks for your interest! Windows XP forever! 
Kind regards, AstroSkipper