Posted on 12/08/2010 9:31:13 AM PST by Maceman
I had a fatal crash a couple of daya ago -- seems a virus corrupted my Windows XP, do had to do a reinstall. I lost a lot of data, but fortunately not everything.
In any event, I have reinstalled XP, and want the absolute best virus/spam/spyware, etc. protection I can get. I think I have heard of free software that's available for this purpose as well.
I'll appreciate your recommendations, as long as they don't include buying a Mac, which is just not an option for me.
Thanks, as always.
So is it Norton, McAfee, something else? I
LINUX
Buy a Apple MacBook...
+1
Go free. Norton and McAfee will slow your system down to a crawl.
Check out either AVG or Microsoft’s Security Essentials.
Run it in a Virtual Machine on a Mac.
I have used the free version of AVG for years with no problems. Go to free.avg.com
Avast, free.
BINGO!
NOD32
I have used Norton Internet Security 2010 with very good success. It is a nice compromise between computer resources used and effectiveness. Do an initial full scan in safe mode. On my Windows 7 system it found all kinds of trojans that McAfee missed.
A little advice. I would recommend getting a backup drive. My hard drive crashed a couple of years ago and I lost a lot of data. I bought an external hard drive for $80 and back up all my data on it. It’s been worth it. I purchased a new computer last summer and was able to just download all the data from the external drive to the new computer in less than an hour.
Kaspersky if the “BFH”(Big F’in Hammer) of anti-virus software. Too much on the nerdy side for most users, but awesome software.
I do not recommend Norton or McAfee. I recommend Avast. Here is there site: http://www.avast.com/index
Seconded.
MSE is very good.
That'll work. It will keep you from running the virus. It will also keep you from running the applications you bought the OS for in the firt place. Or you could just hit it with a sledgehammer.
Don’t allow Norton on your computer, you’re better off with a virus than with Norton. McAffee is almost as bad. I used to be a big AVG guy but they’ve turned into nagware so I switched to Avast. Both are free, both are actually very good, and really no matter how bad AVG’s nagging gets it’s still better than Norton or McAffee.
“Microsoft Security Essentials” is free from Ms and works fine for me... do a google to find the download.
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