Anti-virus software

[KarlMarx]

I think I got hit by a virus last week... I'm still not sure. This virus looked exactly like a McAfee pop-up telling me that my real time scanning was not working...

I'm still not sure... I also have spyware doctor running on my machine.

After rebuilding my machine, I just upgraded Spyware Doctor to include its antivirus engine and uninstalled McAfee.

It seems that McAfee isn't what it used to be. Or, perhaps, the viruses are becoming more and more clever.

Does anyone have any views on what a good anti-virus software package is? I've already tried MS security essentials, and that didn't seem to work well, either.

[revelarts]

Sorry to hear that. Our secretary got something the other day, they wiped her drive clean to get rid of it, reloaded the OS and the bug popped up again.

Buy a Mac

[Thunderknuckles]

I have despised McAfee. The software overly bloated, has a noticeable impact on PC performance, and is barely adequate for the job it is supposed to perform. Same goes for Norton.

My personal preference for the last couple of years has been ESET NOD32.
Great protection with a light foot print. Hell, you'll hardly even know its there. Give it a shot if you don't mind spending the money for a license.

ESET pricing options

[NightTrain]

McAfee and Norton are useless.

AVG is the only way to fly, and it's free.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus

You also may want to download Spybot Search & Destroy, it's also free.

AVG will try to get you to upgrade to their paid version, don't bother. Just stick with the free one, I have yet to be compromised.

Another good way to go for computer security is using something other than Internet Explorer. I use Google Chrome which is a lot more secure and it's faster.

[SassyLady]

McAfee and Norton are useless.

AVG is the only way to fly, and it's free.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus

You also may want to download Spybot Search & Destroy, it's also free.

AVG will try to get you to upgrade to their paid version, don't bother. Just stick with the free one, I have yet to be compromised.

Another good way to go for computer security is using something other than Internet Explorer. I use Google Chrome which is a lot more secure and it's faster.

I have the Spybot, AVG, Malwares and CC Cleaner and haven't had any problems so far. McAfee and Norton always made things harder.

Will have to try the Google Chrome ... Using Internet Explorer 8 (I think).

[BoogyMan]

Take care running the AVG Free product if you are using a 64 bit OS. They have had multiple issues that have bricked 64 bit Windows based PCs. A detail of the latest bricking problem is behind this link.

If you must run Windows I would recommend that you consider using the Kaspersky AV suite and also do a weekly scan with the MalwareBytes AntiMalware product.

Malwarebytes is free, Kaspersky is not.

Ubuntu or Linux MINT are your friends.

McAfee and Norton are useless.

AVG is the only way to fly, and it's free.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus

You also may want to download Spybot Search & Destroy, it's also free.

AVG will try to get you to upgrade to their paid version, don't bother. Just stick with the free one, I have yet to be compromised.

Another good way to go for computer security is using something other than Internet Explorer. I use Google Chrome which is a lot more secure and it's faster.

[Mr. P]

Take care running the AVG Free product if you are using a 64 bit OS. They have had multiple issues that have bricked 64 bit Windows based PCs. A detail of the latest bricking problem is behind this link.

If you must run Windows I would recommend that you consider using the Kaspersky AV suite and also do a weekly scan with the MalwareBytes AntiMalware product.

Malwarebytes is free, Kaspersky is not.

Ubuntu or Linux MINT are your friends.

What is "Bricked" ?

[SassyLady]

Yeah...I was wondering what "bricked" meant also.

[NightTrain]

When used in reference to consumer electronics, "brick" describes a device that cannot function in any capacity (such as a device with damaged firmware). This usage derives from the fact that some electronic devices (and their detachable power supplies) are vaguely brick-shaped, and so those which do not function are useful only as actual bricks. The term can also be used as a verb. For example, "I bricked my MP3 player when I tried to modify its firmware."[1]
In the strictest sense of the term, bricking must imply that software error has rendered the device completely unrecoverable without some hardware replacement. However, it is common to use the term for a problem which can be rectified but only by a complex and difficult procedure, often requiring additional software.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricked

[NightTrain]

Take care running the AVG Free product if you are using a 64 bit OS. They have had multiple issues that have bricked 64 bit Windows based PCs. A detail of the latest bricking problem is behind this link.

If you must run Windows I would recommend that you consider using the Kaspersky AV suite and also do a weekly scan with the MalwareBytes AntiMalware product.

Malwarebytes is free, Kaspersky is not.

Ubuntu or Linux MINT are your friends.

I'm not running 64 bit, 32 bit here.

I've run AVG on XP, Vista and now Win7... no issues at all except when ZoneAlarm was thrown into the mix.

Between Win7, AVG and Spybot, you'd have to do something pretty stupid to get yourself into trouble.

[SassyLady]

how do I know what I'm running ... 32 or 64? And, I have Vista.

[Kathianne]

McAfee and Norton are useless.

AVG is the only way to fly, and it's free.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus

You also may want to download Spybot Search & Destroy, it's also free.

AVG will try to get you to upgrade to their paid version, don't bother. Just stick with the free one, I have yet to be compromised.

Another good way to go for computer security is using something other than Internet Explorer. I use Google Chrome which is a lot more secure and it's faster.

AVG has a mac version, I trust you so I'm downloading.

[NightTrain]

how do I know what I'm running ... 32 or 64? And, I have Vista.

Hit your Start button and in your search dialogue type in : dxdiag

Run dxdiag and it'll tell you what you're running, odds are it's 32 bit.

As soon as you can, get upgraded to Win7. By far, this is the best version of windows yet... I hated Vista, it was a true dog. Win7 sped up my laptop by about 40%.

I upgraded from XP to Win7 on my other machines and it sped everything up about 30%... it was dramatic. Rock solid, it hasn't crashed yet on any of my machines.

[Kathianne]

AVG has a mac version, I trust you so I'm downloading.

Seems it's not supported, as my 10X isn't IE supported.

[Gaffer]

AVG is one of the best. I also have spybot, CCleaner, and Advanced System Care which is also a free one. I use firefox for a browser. Had problems with zone alarm years ago and don't use it any more. Another good one is Tizer Rootkit Razor. It checks ports for intruders.