What's the best antivirus / security software?

[heatemyfather]

People should also stop trying to run vista using the minimum specs, its going to run slow, try xp with the minimum specs, and you will find its also slow.

Win 2k can run most programs just fine and is a LOT nippier than XP, Vista is slower still, and will run like treacle on a system that runs Win 2k very well. I think that is people's biggest grief with the new OS - it should be *faster* than the old one, not slower. Just seems like they did the typical lazy PC developer thing of sloppy optimisation and just told people they need xyz new hardware.

When I run XP in an emulator, it is sloooooow. When I run Win 2K it is almost full speed, and I can run a *lot* of software in Win 2k.

[kengillam]

I could never see the point in the aero interface, I mean what does it actually do apart from use resouces! I'm sticking with XP, the only reason to change software is when it doesn't do what you want, else it's upgrading for the sake of making someone else rich. [/cynical]

[cruellady]

Agree all the way there, Ken - if it ain't broke, the rest is just eye candy and flim flam.

ubuntu linux, tried that, it looked good on the website, but getting the nvidia graphics drivers to work was a nightmare, and they still didn't work. even after switching to ati, the drivers worked but were absoluty useless.#

I was kind of joking a bit here, mcblob - i.e. you get less crash with wine than you do with Vista on a medium spec machine, which is appalling considering one is open source and the other has millions of dollars backing it.

and what exactly is wrong with vista, have you tried it or are you just one of the bashers who don't like any sort of change.

Nope - I just like beneficial change. Son-and-heir has just got a new laptop with Vista, and he's found that unless he wants to run MS Messenger (antsy) or games, Fedora linux is what he fires up when he wants to do some real work. As in -

I think that is people's biggest grief with the new OS - it should be *faster* than the old one, not slower. Just seems like they did the typical lazy PC developer thing of sloppy optimisation and just told people they need xyz new hardware.

Your average, non-tech wants an OS that goes like sh*te off a shiny shovel on a mid-range PC without having to take out a screwdriver and and chequebook to get the damn thing to work. I don't think this is an unreasonable expectation considering the advances in software programming; demonstrated by the fact that an entire Linux installation can be hung on the ear of an angel dancing on the head of a pin. Nvidia, ATI or any hardware manufacturer, are unlikely to write good drivers for home desktop apps/users with an OS that nets them no money in royalties, and is still financed, effectively, by enthusiasts and BOFHs who know how to secure their servers.

MS Vista/Office/ad infinitum bloatware mirrors exactly the online auction sit. - fail to listen to the knowledgeable users, and you eventually lose the confidence of the mass market. I'm not an apologist for Win2K or Linux - they work for my requirements, and XP is the next-best-thing if you want games/media. Vista has been acknowledged by the critics as a mess, and the uptake simply due to the fact that it's shipped with new machines. Sites showing how to roll back to XP abound ...

I look forward to their latest piece of nonsense, codenamed Splat 7, due ... :: grin ::

Cru
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[TiasTreasures]

Norton was a nightmare to install, unreliable (it let a couple of viruses in), and an even worse nightmare to remove. I actually had to buy a new computer to get a fully functioning system again. Among other things, my Recycle Bin icon disappeared. Fortunately, I had another piece of software that I could use to empty it!

I have been using McAfee for three years now. Doesn't slow my system, inexpensive, updated daily. I also use AdAware (free), run it once a week. Microsoft's firewall came with my Windows XP. I haven't had any security problem in three years, so this seems to be enough protection.

[cruellady]

A good point, Tia - tailoring your security, if you're using Windows, can be just down to fiddling your machine down to what jolly well works. Some folk, however, run programs that have vulnerabilities on any OS, and will constantly cause difficulties.

Cru
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[canuckbid]

I agree with all the posts and free antivirus. I use it myself. If you want a really good one, the micro**** boys go calling on F-secure when they need help removing mean virus's. They have won alot of awards.

[r1bby]

Anti Virus software does slow down your PC, (when you think about it, it's quite obvious as it's working behind the scenes for every file you open, close, move, download, upload, webpage, etc that you look at, it has to look at it first)

I sell ClamWin for Windows based PC's for £1.98 inc P&P
1224585814-881-8

This will do the job no problems.

Or you could look at changing your OS from Windows to something more secure (any flavour of Linux) as this is coded differently you don't need to have an anti virus or firewall.

Try Ubuntu 1224585806-881-0
or Linux Mint 1224585814-881-9

Also £1.98 inc P&P.

You can try these out in DVD/CD-ROM mode where you don't actually install or overwrite your existing OS, so you can see what you think before actually committing. I've been using Linux Mint solely for 8 months now and am chuffed I made the move from Windows XP SP3 (it's so slow, overcomplicated and unreliable by comparison) Give it a try :-)

[canuckbid]

Anti Virus software does slow down your PC, (when you think about it, it's quite obvious as it's working behind the scenes for every file you open, close, move, download, upload, webpage, etc that you look at, it has to look at it first)

I sell ClamWin for Windows based PC's for £1.98 inc P&P
1224585814-881-8

This will do the job no problems.

Or you could look at changing your OS from Windows to something more secure (any flavour of Linux) as this is coded differently you don't need to have an anti virus or firewall.

Try Ubuntu 1224585806-881-0
or Linux Mint 1224585814-881-9

Also £1.98 inc P&P.

You can try these out in DVD/CD-ROM mode where you don't actually install or overwrite your existing OS, so you can see what you think before actually committing. I've been using Linux Mint solely for 8 months now and am chuffed I made the move from Windows XP SP3 (it's so slow, overcomplicated and unreliable by comparison) Give it a try :-)

Against popular believe Linux is less secure than windows for the average user. Do so some in depth research and you will find this out. If you are a pro you can really beef up Linux though. Clam anti virus is fine but it's not as user friendly as alot of the others.You have to tell the program what to do. Last I checked they do have free updates for life. If you're good on a computer no problem but I would not recommend it for the average user. I still stand by that F-secure is the best out there. It does cost some money though. Here's hoping you all have a great day. What is secure also is buying some software off me!

[rokins_toys]

I use norton and have no issues like that.. Maybe you should adjust your settings so it doesn't keep blocking such common website that you visit and or/add them to your norton safe list. Keep your security zone setting on "internet" which is a symbol of the Earth and keep your privacy internet zone on medium. Norton will block any threats and attacks while giving you freedom to browse the net without any issues or being prompted at every website by norton. Same with emails. You do need to sort out the settings, something a lot of people do not do then complain that this and that is blocked!

Norton has been excellent for me. Constantly updates itself against threats, 99.9% of them are blocked and dealt with without me being informed and in the past 6 years of using Norton, only two viruses have ever got through (new viruses they were that Norton didn't know about) which Norton quarrentined and deleted with no problems caused for my computer. Worth every penny of the subscription and value for money consdiering the cost of reparing a PC if a virus does do damage to your computer files etc. But I've never had that issue.

Most important thing is to keep things up-to-date and settings as well and you won't have any problems.

[craig7501]

AVG Free edition 8.0 is a good antivirus as it picks up trojans and blocks them.