Free Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware Programs...

[jimkim]

The only free one I use is SUPERAntiSpyware 4.0. It cleans house. I also use Zone alarm security suite. I pay for it though. I liked the free trial version so much I got the premium copy. I had AVG on here forever and a day but it had trouble with Zlob and between it and the Zone alarm it slowed things down too much. Just keep in mind that some of the free ware is not compatible.

[GlockMeister]

When I had an issue with McAfee locking up my computer during a complete scan, as remember, McAfee scans much deeper into your hard drive than other programs. It's why it usually takes longer. But with mine, it turned out the lock up was caused by a bad hard drive. McAfee could read it, scan it, but it wouldn't/couldn't write it back where it was due to a bad spot on the hard drive so it locked up. Always on the same file. I've since had the hard drive replaced, and also added memory and a better graphics card. The problem now is, my system has things that run faster then this Dell piece of crap can run itself. The thing was/is, the mother board wasn't/isn't very expandable. So those that buy a Dell, or other already made unit, keep that in mind.

Next time, I'm buying a box,mother board and all other components and making my own, well having it done anyhow. Thing is, I found out from the guy that will do it, I can spend about $500-maybe $800 and have a far better more expandable system then I got from Dell and have. Dell saw us coming when we bought this one. Jerks... Bought a 3 year warranty and until I had a problem they didn't bother to tell me it didn't cover software issues except for the first 30 days. Had I known that upfront, I'd of not bought the warranty to save a measly 10%. In fact, I'd of never bought a Dell!

If not for a neighbor, I'd not have a computer at this time and this one would have been used for target practice. And trust me, it would have been extremely therapeutic. lmao

[Marine1]

Originally Posted by SuckLead

I did. I have one that use now. McAfee eventually did something similar, but worse. It updated one time and completely blocked the internet. So we had to uninstall it (which is a trick, btw, it still gives us warnings that it was uninstalled a few years after the fact because you can't get rid of it completely).

I think the issue is my computer itself. It's ten years old and really not feeling well. I'll try it again if I ever get a new one.

Thanks much for the explanation, I think I see what happened here with your old system. Appreciate your honesty!

Originally Posted by jimkim

The only free one I use is SUPERAntiSpyware 4.0. It cleans house. I also use Zone alarm security suite. I pay for it though. I liked the free trial version so much I got the premium copy. I had AVG on here forever and a day but it had trouble with Zlob and between it and the Zone alarm it slowed things down too much. Just keep in mind that some of the free ware is not compatible.

Zone Alarm and AVG will definately clash with one-another. I had this problem a few years ago. I uninstalled Zone Alarm, went to Windows Firewall. I should have mentioned this earlier, but I had completely forgot about it. Zone alarm vs AVG is a.........

[Chris]

Personally I wouldn't use older Norton Internet Security nor would I use Mcafee. Norton and Mcafee scan the computer all the time.
I haven't used AVG on any of my computers, but I've heard good things about them. I recommend Spy Sweeper with Antivirus.
I don't recommend software firewalls, they cause more issues and offer little protection. They cause more issues than they are worth. I recommend getting a router and set up the firewall.

It's all about smart web browsing, and keeping current backups in case something happens.

[billy]

i use AVG and this Deep Freeze (software) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

i like being able to open anything i want.
i open everything that catches my eye.
not 1 problem in 5 years

deep freeze isnt free though.

[roadie]

Get a mac and you won't have those silly problems anymore.

[Windwalker]

Thanks for the post Marine1.

[Marine1]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

Thanks for the post Marine1.

Quite welcome, Windwalker!

[billy]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

Thanks for the post Marine1.

+1 thanks for all the cool pictures too!

[troy2000]

Another suggestion: running Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer as your browser will knock out most of your viruses and spyware right off the bat. Most of them so far are still written for Explorer.

Another thing I like about Firefox is that if my computer freezes up, loses power or accidently gets shut off, I don't lose the internet pages I was on. The next time I open Firefox, it tells me my last session ended suddenly and asks if I want to restore it. When I click 'yes,' Bingo: everything comes right back up.

[LarryO1970]

The Microsoft Internet Explorer is a piece of crap. It is too corrupt, errors out far too often and is a sieve for security issues... not to mention is a memory hog.

FireFox is much better, hands down. Much more stable, few errors (and actually lets you see the work being done to fix them) and is much better with security related concerns. While some Internet sites are formatted better for the MSIE, FireFox is working to fix these "issues".

Much agreed Troy2k...

[Marine1]

Originally Posted by billy

+1 thanks for all the cool pictures too!

My pleasure, and if you are one of the G&G Admin's, a return thank you, and to the G&G staff, for the space-forum you have graciously allowed me, in order to present these historical photos, of the sacrifices of the men and women, who maintained our great nation, as a free democracy, with their blood, sweat, and tears. (sulute).

Originally Posted by troy2000

Another suggestion: running Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer as your browser will knock out most of your viruses and spyware right off the bat. Most of them so far are still written for Explorer.

Another thing I like about Firefox is that if my computer freezes up, loses power or accidently gets shut off, I don't lose the internet pages I was on. The next time I open Firefox, it tells me my last session ended suddenly and asks if I want to restore it. When I click 'yes,' Bingo: everything comes right back up.

Hmmmm, this is an interesting factor, Troy! Good information here. Something I was not aware of. Thank you for the input. Might be helpful to someone experiencing these problems. As for my system, as I previously indicated... I run Microsoft Explorer. I have found if I stay on top with the updates from AVG (both anti-virus and anti-spyware), with the Microsoft Firewall, as a back, I have had no problems thus-far. I "manually search for updates", on all (3) each day, before I go onto the internet. I don't wait for the automatic updates. But.....as I said previously, each has his own programs and internet providers, they are quite content with. If it works....don't fix it!

[GlockMeister]

I've been using Mozilla Firefox for about 3 years now and I'd have to agree, far better then IE7.0 or whatever is currently out. Most viruses are aimed at IE. Mozilla also has an open in an IE tab option for those pages that have to be opened in IE. They also have some other very cool and useful options.

Try it, you'll like it...

[SuckLead]

The Opera browser is another to consider. I've forgotten what pop-ups look like, and haven't had any security issues at all. Even the one test I did get to run with AVG showed nothing wrong in my system.