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Just wondering about Microsoft Security Essentials. How does it compare to Norton, AVG etc? Often when its free you tend to get your money's worth. Is that the case here? Should I use it in conjunction with other anti-virus software?

From somewhere, this horrible rogue "antivirus" software called XP Smart Security is managing to install itself. It completely takes over my system and won't let me do anything while constantly displaying messages that I should purchase their scam product to clean up my computer. The only way I can get rid of it is to completely wipe out my hard drive and then reinstall the operating system. However, even after I do this, I can't access the "add or remove programs" section in the control panel. And a few days later, this scam software shows up again and I have...

One of the Internet security companies (McAfee) that monitors hacker activity (by compiling data on attacks their clients have suffered), estimates that more computers are being turned into zombies in China, than in the United States. At least during the last three months of 2009. Both countries have about 12 million zombie computers. Many of 1.5 billion computers in the world are infected with secret programs that enable criminals, or intelligence agencies, to control these PCs, turning them into "zombies". These captive computers are organized into "botnets" of thousands, or even a million or more, PCs that do the bidding...

Somehow I picked up this beauty. I had Avast and old Norton which I need to remove. I am now trying to remove it with Avast on a reboot scan. I tried to download Malware Bytes on this machine but this awful virus sucks up everything on the machine. Avast is at 10%. I am not sure it will get it.

I had the free version of AVG on my computer but these past few days things started messing up all over the place (processes getting slower and slower, couldn't download, mouse right click stopped working, among others). Went online and followed the suggestion on one site to remove AVG, which worked! Everything is running blazing fast, no hiccups, mouse is working again. Only problem is my computer isn't protected from viruses, malware, etc. Looking for a FREE product that works without all the unnecessary bells and whistles. Any recommendations, FReepers? TIA!

There’s a particularly nasty virus making the rounds right now. It’s informally known as the Antivirus Live virus, as it bombards your PC with scary, real-looking security warnings and masquerades as a program — Antivirus Live (pictured) — that can protect and repair your system.

I'm no computer expert, but I have Trend Micro Internet Security installed in my PC (renewed subscription yesterday) and scan the whole thing once a day (it takes over an hour, but I think it is worth). This morning, when I turned on my PC I got a warning from "website" that my PC is infected with a trojan and asking me to click and install some program. I did a quick scan of my PC, and Trend Micro says it is clean. When I tried to X out of the warning, it refused to go away, it kept demanding...

Tomorrow there will be free one year licenses for security software! Coiciding with W7 release of course. http://us.pandasecurity.com/windows7party/index.html http://usa.kaspersky.com/shakeitup/ I don't know panda security, but Kaspersky, cool! One day only, for one year free! I'll try to ping this tomorrow.

You paid for your antivirus software? Why? Good free options have been available for years, mainly from no-name companies. Nervous consumers figure they’re better off buying major brands, like Norton security software from Symantec Corp. Well, here’s a major brand for you: Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft today lifted the curtain on its Microsoft Security Essentials, the free successor to its OneCare security program. MSE uses the same antivirus engine as the phased-out OneCare, but the new free program focuses only on malware blocking. It doesn't include a firewall, system optimizer or other security suite-type features......

A trial version of Microsoft's free anti-virus software has been launched in the US, China, Brazil, and Israel. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) promises to provide people with basic protection against viruses, trojans, rootkits and spyware. The software giant has been criticised in the past for failing to include free security software with Windows. Its first security package, Windows Live OneCare, failed to attract many customers and will be discontinued. Microsoft is hoping that MSE, available as a free download from its site, will prove more popular. It has said it will automatically update it for users. However, rival security vendors...

BOSTON (Reuters) - A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said. Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said. The worm started spreading late last year, infecting millions of computers and turning them into "slaves" that respond to commands sent from a remote server that effectively controls an army of computers known as a botnet. Its unidentified creators started using those...

Researchers have discovered another feature of the Conficker worm that provides an additional clue about the intent of the creators--the worm installs malware that masquerades as antivirus software, Trend Micro said on Friday. The worm, which has infected millions of Windows-based computers on the Internet, is downloading a program called Spyware Protect 2009 and displaying warning messages saying that the computer is infected and offering to clean it up for $49.95, according to the Trend Micro blog.

"What is PIFTS.exe?" or How Symantec Turned A Simple Mistake Into Corporate Disaster.First posted: March 9, 2009Updated: March 10, 2009 On March 9, 2009, Norton Internet Security users around the world encountered a suspicious message which indicated that an unsigned program, PIFTS.exe, was trying to connect to the Internet. Users quickly turned to Google where they only found other users looking for the same answers. Next they began posting questions on the official Norton Internet Security message board. Here is where the situation quickly deteriorated. Forum moderators began pulling every single post which mentioned PIFTS or merely alluded to...

Sorry to post a vanity but I got the parite virus that somehow got on my laptop. I rarely use it for too much and rarely surf the web with this laptop. I lost my desktop icons and was stumped. I have AV programs I have bought for my other machines like Spybot and PC Tools and Iolo System Mechanic to name a few. I was just lazy on this machine because it came with Norton. The machine is about 2 years old so my mistake.

Apple Macs have long had a reputation for being free of the viruses and malware that often plagues Windows. But even Apple is now admitting that its users could benefit from protection from security threats.

UPDATE .BIN error information... Aug 16th 2008Posted by: rdsok - Moderator (IP Logged) Date: August 17, 2008 12:07AM Currently the update for AVG Free v8 is corrupted... you will have to wait for AVG Technologies to address the issue with the update. Reporting the issue again by other users here will not do any good until it is resolved. The updates that your AVG currently have will still provide the protection it is setup to detect. In otherwords, not being able to get this update will not make your AVG Free ineffective and as soon as AVG Tech resolves the...

Exclusive AVG has rejiggered the fake traffic it's spewing across the internet, causing new headaches for the world's webmasters. In late February, AVG paired its updated anti-virus engine with a real-time malware scanner that vets search engine results before you click on them. If you search Google, for instance, this LinkScanner automatically visits each address that turns up on Google's results page. According to the company, more than 20 million people have downloaded the new AVG 8, and this has caused a huge up-tick in traffic on sites across the web, including The Register. Because the scanner attempts to disguise...

Ex-CEO charged in fake anti-virus software scheme March 01, 2008 The former CEO of a Korean anti-virus software company was indicted yesterday on charges of distributing a fake virus-detection program to 1.26 million Internet users. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday that Lee Shin-ja, the 41-year-old former head of Media Port, was indicted for cyber fraud. Two other computer programmers were also charged for participating in the development of the software. The businesswoman earned more than 9.2 billion won ($9.8 million) by cheating Internet users since 2005, the prosecution said. Lee told reporters she had already left the...

I currently have Norton as a firewall and the subscription runs out in 3 days. I will not be renewing it. I have downloaded a program called Comodo Firewall Pro but have not run the install yet. Comodo is a free and completely functional version of the product. I will also want to install the free version of AVG. I also run Spybot Search & Destroy regularly. My OS is Win XP. I have a couple of questions: 1. Can I run AVG with a firewall that also includes virus protection? 2. How do I completely delete the Norton product?...