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What's the best PC anti-virus software?

What's the best PC anti-virus software?

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murrow
penguinpuffin

finsbury

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Currently running Norton Internet Security, but they want 35 pounds to renew for a year.

Are they insane?

h

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http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/AVG-Free-Edition.shtml

r
Ginger Scum

Paranoia

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Originally posted by murrow
Currently running Norton Internet Security, but they want 35 pounds to renew for a year.

Are they insane?
I paid it 😞 It seems to work though.


Touchwood.

DS

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Originally posted by hopscotch
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/AVG-Free-Edition.shtml
Agreed, that's what I've been using for a couple of years....it's been good, and free.[free auto-updates too]
Coupled with a free firewall is your best bet.
Everyone has their own favourite which they will push forward as the best, but really there ain't that much difference in them regardless of all the bs reviews etc etc. They almost all co-operate with each other on their findings anyway.
If you don't use any AV protection you are just taking pot luck on whether you will be affected - although Firefox helps a lot - it very much depends on your surfing habits too.
You can also always get an online scan for free.

K
Strawman

Not Kansas

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Originally posted by murrow
Currently running Norton Internet Security, but they want 35 pounds to renew for a year.

Are they insane?
Are they insane?

They eat.

mochiron
The Don

Nihon

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Originally posted by KneverKnight
[b]Are they insane?

They eat.[/b]
AVG and Firefox...all the way...very good and free.

Also try Open Office if you want a free word/excel. drawing. presentation. etc..software at openoffice.org

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Agreed, that's what I've been using for a couple of years....it's been good, and free.[free auto-updates too]
Coupled with a free firewall is your best bet.
Everyone has their own favourite which they will push forward as the best, but really there ain't that much difference in them regardless of all the bs reviews etc etc. They almost all co-op ...[text shortened]... very much depends on your surfing habits too.
You can also always get an online scan for free.
Have a question about AVG. I took out Norton systemworks because
it slowed down my system worse than the spyware it supposedly
took out.
So heard about AVG here and downloaded it and now I get this
email message window pops up when email is downloaded.
It doesn't seem to do anything, I am not sure whether I should
pursue finding what exactly its supposed to do. It seems to have
zero effect on spam even the ones with the spamtag.
Any idea what its SUPPOSED to do? Maybe I haven't tweeked it right
or something? Right now its just a little annoying, popping up and
saying its doing something but I don't know what.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Don.

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Originally posted by mochiron
AVG and Firefox...all the way...very good and free.

Also try Open Office if you want a free word/excel. drawing. presentation. etc..software at openoffice.org
I tried Opera but it comes back with a message I don't have
Javascript or something. Should I download this stuff and is
it needed to run Opera?

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Originally posted by sonhouse
I tried Opera but it comes back with a message I don't have
Javascript or something. Should I download this stuff and is
it needed to run Opera?
Also while we're on the subject, I used Norton AV till the systemworks
clogged up my system, AVG, Trojan hunter, Spy Sweeper, Spybot
search and destroy, counterspy and the like, I think the system is
pest free, oh yeah, also use Pest Patrol.
So something that has been on this system for a long time and
is probably just an annoyance, but when it sits around unused for
a while, the HD seems to start up buzzing like something is going
on, I used process view in Norton, and looked at open aps in IE
and process open with their CPU numbers but I watch it and
see nothing special listed actually running up CPU time but at the
same time I hear the HD whacking away. Anyone knows what thats
all about and is it maybe an indication of some spyware running crap
in the background or something? Or am I just being paranoid.
The firewall test I ran says there are no sneaky ports open and running
stuff outside so am a bit confused why the HD should be swapping
data or whatever its doing.

DS

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Originally posted by sonhouse
Have a question about AVG. I took out Norton systemworks because
it slowed down my system worse than the spyware it supposedly
took out.
So heard about AVG here and downloaded it and now I get this
email message window pops up when email is downloaded.
It doesn't seem to do anything, I am not sure whether I should
pursue finding what exactly its sup ...[text shortened]...
saying its doing something but I don't know what.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Don.
It's the email scanner, scans your incoming emails for viruses.


🙂

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
It's the email scanner, scans your incoming emails for viruses.


🙂
Oh. So if it sniffs a virus, it would stick it in the heart like a voodoo
doll, eh! And hopefully kill or at least quaranteen it.

s
Fast and Curious

slatington, pa, usa

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Here is another question, one that worries me more as time goes
by:
When I was first introduced to spybot about three years ago (had
problems with Gator I think on my workstation at work, Dell told me
to download spybot, which cured the problem ATT)
When I first used spybot, it had about 5,500 entries.
Now three years later it has grown to over 32,000!
Now if I get it right, each of those fingerprints has to be brute force
run by each and every file to test those files for scumware, right?
So it seems now, for instance, spy sweeper has over 100,000
fingerprints loaded.
As time goes by, these anti spyware suites are taking longer and
longer to run. Suppose 5 years from now, spy sweep or MS security
or Norton has over a million fingerprints to test.
It might start taking 4 or 5 hours to run. So how can we keep adding
fingerprints like that and still keep the run time to reasonable
numbers?
I ran counterspy and it took over an hour and AVG is also taking
close to an hour. If that trend keeps up, we will be running 6 hours
of anti crudware and getting two hours of work each day.

DS

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I use Opera, I think it's great, [also use FF]
You can enable javascript in Tools > Preferences > Advanced tab > Content [on left] and you'll see the box to check in the main window.
Shouldn't cause you any problem.

And are you sure the noise you hear is not your fan starting up when it thinks things need cooling.

DS

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re: Spybot.
You could try using the immunize function, see if that speeds it up.

Also, make sure that you've got the newest version 1.4.

Have a look under 'Info & License'[in Spybot]

g
Wayward Soul

Your Blackened Sky

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2 edits
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Originally posted by sonhouse
Here is another question, one that worries me more as time goes
by:
When I was first introduced to spybot about three years ago (had
problems with Gator I think on my workstation at work, Dell told me
to download spybot, which cured the problem ATT)
When I first used spybot, it had about 5,500 entries.
Now three years later it has grown to over 32,000 ...[text shortened]... d keeps up, we will be running 6 hours
of anti crudware and getting two hours of work each day.
the solution? change OS! linux iscustomisable and free although you can pay for support, and the apple one looks rather snazzy and isn't too hard to use. both are virtually virus free, although switching is a lot of hastle.

meh, i don't know. computers are bad.

EDIT2: deleted answer to opera question as it was wrong...

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