antivirus software

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Bondy
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antivirus software

Post by Bondy »

I need help. I'm lookin for some antivirus, firewall whatever else in the way of protection i need. |Any suggestions???
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bigrich
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Post by bigrich »

If you use a program called avast. Its free to download and does the job great! Just type avast in google and its just a case of clicking on the link and following the instructions.

I would reccommend removing any old anti virus first as having 2 on your system may clash against eachother and slow your comp down
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chaz
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Post by chaz »

various versions are available free but full versions can be bought.
If you are on BTbroadband you can automatically get Norton AV2007 free.
Otherwise I get on with Norton AV and Zone Alarm firewall but I have AVG http://www.grisoft.com/doc/trial/lng/uk/tpl/tpl01 seems good installed on one pc .
Apparently AVG uses less resources than Norton and updates its self more frequently.

Have you anything installed yet? Windows XP?

If so you will have do disable and as bigrich said if you have Norton or similar you have to remove first, Even upgrading to the free Norton from my previous purchased 2006 I have to remove.
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Squiffythewombat
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Post by Squiffythewombat »

any AVS is going to cain your system resources. Normally a good firewall and a bit of common sense will prevail!

Personally i would avoid norton like the plague unless you want your computer to run like dump, avast is good as its less resource heavy!
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Stratman
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Post by Stratman »

Norton does tend to slow things down a bit but I wouldn't use anything else, going by the experience of those who have tried the free ones. Used various versions for 6 years now with no viruses.

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Wildfire
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Post by Wildfire »

I'm another pro Norton.... :)
Came pre-installed with 2005, upgraded to 2006 and about to renew to 2007..
Always been simple so far and its saved me on more than one occasion
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Bonart
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Post by Bonart »

I used Norton for a good few ears but I noticed that it was gradually grinding my system to a halt. Tried Zonealarm but it can be a bit iffy if you need to allow certain thinks through the firewall (like another machine) but the anti virus was OK but again it was getting a bit bloated. AVG for the anti virus was very good but no firewall withoout paying for it. I now use Mcafee security suite. There's a privacy service in it which is a pain in the a%$e so don't install it and the spam killer which is included is a bit keen as it seems to block too much but you can always easily retreive messages that are blocked and it will not do it again but on the whole it seems OK and there are regular virus updates and the firewall seems good. Heres a link to download it. I'm pretty sure this is the full version and you only need youe emaill address to activate it and to get updates.

http://download.mcafee.com/products/lic ... 7019EN.exe

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Jaglifter
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Post by Jaglifter »

I use Norton and Spyware doctor. I went for Norton after I had to dismantle my PC to get rid of a virus. Its resource hungry and can be a pain at times, but uts never let me down (yet).
I downloaded the version I have now and pay for updates anually.
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Kitch
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Post by Kitch »

Get a router to connect rather than a modem, learn how to lock down windows (plenty of tutorials around) and secure your admin account etc.

Then you'll have a hardware firewall in the router, a software firewall (windows built in firewall in XP will do - or Zonealarm is good)

Personally, I'd run Norton. It will only noticeably slow down your machine if you're running a very basic level PC. AVG from grisoft is probably my recommendation for free anti-virus.

Plus having Ad-Aware and Spybot search and destroy completes my recommended security package.

Also, probably most importantly, you need to make sure you update stuff regularly. This means Windows Updates, Anti-Virus and spyware definitions and web browser updates.
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Beast
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Post by Beast »

Highly recommend BitDefender or Avast! ;)
The rest use too much resources. :)
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Kitch
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Post by Kitch »

I don't understand the resources argument...

I mean, given the damage that viruses or hacks can do, why make such a deal over system resource usage?

With 2 gig of Ram and an 64 bit chip, it's irrelevant anyway.
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doggit
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Post by doggit »

well i use spybot, and also an internet security programme called kaspersky, [/url] http://www.kaspersky.com you can try for 30 days free then go to http://www.onlinesoftwareshop.co.uk [url] and get the full programm for £17.95 and the best thing is unlike norton kaspersky is not resources hungry
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kevg
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Post by kevg »

Kitch wrote:Get a router to connect rather than a modem, learn how to lock down windows (plenty of tutorials around) and secure your admin account etc.

Then you'll have a hardware firewall in the router, a software firewall (windows built in firewall in XP will do - or Zonealarm is good)

Personally, I'd run Norton. It will only noticeably slow down your machine if you're running a very basic level PC. AVG from grisoft is probably my recommendation for free anti-virus.

Plus having Ad-Aware and Spybot search and destroy completes my recommended security package.

Also, probably most importantly, you need to make sure you update stuff regularly. This means Windows Updates, Anti-Virus and spyware definitions and web browser updates.
I'd agree, AVG, Spybot and Adaware is what i use along with the windows firewall, i had norton b4 and it really slowed my machine down it was gradual over a long time but it just seemed to encroach on everything, tried to replace it with McAfee and that wouldn't even work, kept crashing my machine, so deleted them all and went for the free ones, i've read reviews that did tests and AVG was as good if not better than most of the big names a couple of years ago at detection and prevention.
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storminateacup
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Post by storminateacup »

I use AVG and Microsoft Defender both free. Norton screwed my system, took me 20 mins somedays to get it started so it would run at anything other than dead slow plus it didn't like this site, couldn't see the avatars.
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Gavin
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Post by Gavin »

On gadget show the other day had a piece of kit similar to a USB stick for antivirus, calleda yoggie pico for £50.

see http://www.yoggie.com would be interseted if anyone has tried one of these.

Gavin
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