Posted on 04/21/2014 7:05:52 AM PDT by GYPSY286
AVG free edition + Spybot search and distroy + Auslogics registry cleaner + Auslogics disk defrag
Run once a week.
For what it’s worth
http://www.pcmag.com/reviews/antivirus
Everything changes every couple of years. Looks to me like ESET & Avast both rate ‘up there’. And, parroting others’ comments, Norton & McAfee are to be avoided. I wipe new systems that come with either and both cause more problems than they solve, imho.
As with everyone else, I have my own experience: Microsoft Security Essentials on Win7-64 platform, backed up with periodic Malwarebytes scan.
Worst thing you can do is have multiple antivirus/malware applications running processes at the same time. I like Malwarebytes as a backup as I can activate it at will.
I’ve gotten ZERO infections with MS SE. I used to use Avast, but like happened with Norton years ago, Avast left my system unprotected during a ‘renew’ period (prior to expiration) and I got infected. Couple that with their CONSTANT messages to UPGRADE, I tired of Avast and went with the free MS SE. We used MS SE at the office on Win7 platforms for the past 6 years with no problems as well after dumping Avast.
If I had an inclination to do something different, it would probably be to go back to Avast (not the free, which has limitations I’ve always been suspicious of).
Again, FWIW...
None of the antivirus programs for Windows actually works. I see infections from all of them. They ALL also consume big chunks of resources, popup annoying messages, and raise false alarms.
Your best bet is to establish a second login id, giving the new one Administrator privilege, and then revoking Administrator privilege from your current account, changing it to a limited/standard account. You do your ordinary work from your old account, but do all adds/updates/removes of software and peripherals like printers from the new account.
If you do get a virus, it affects only the limited account and cannot alter the system itself in any way, and is easy to get rid of as you just logoff, login to the Admin account and run antimalwarebytes to find and delete the virus files.
Both Avast and AVG offer free anti-virus software that is quite effective. Periodic scans with a top notch anti-malware software like Malware Bytes or Super Anti-spyware scans are a necessity regardless of what anti-virus software you might be running.
When Peter Norton made and ran his company (and the software that came with it, the utilities), it was the best out there (talking DOS days)..
As soon as he sold it, it has become the worst nightmare :/ NEVER get Norton ANYTHING :p
MSE was excellent, but on the ‘04 model XP laptop it failed to update about 3 months ago and left me defenseless. I tried a few other of the above mentioned freebies but they were all too intrusive and demanding compared to MSE...
...now on the advice of a comp geek I surf the net with Firefox with the ‘noScripts’ add on... that gives new life to my XP computer and I’m very satisfied.
I use Avast free and never had those problems.
OS X.
“I use Avast free and never had those problems.”
Ah. A sample size of one.
(I’ve done PCs for a living for 16 years, and have worked on hundreds of PCs.)
I have used discarded computers almost entirely for 20 years, the kind that are brought to you, and am the guy that people bring their computers to to clear up issues related to malware, you are wrong about Avast.
I have been using it for about 20 years, on dozens of computers and don’t run into what you claim.
I recommend that everyone run an antivirus program, and Avast free is great for most of us, what I find on the computers that I work on, is that some people don’t scan, and many don’t even update.
Unplug from Internet!
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