Anti virus software - any free packages worth using?

Big Red Machine · « **on:** 26 Oct 2009, 05:48 pm »

I have been a Norton user on all 4 computers at home but wanted to ask if there are free softwares that do a good job w/o lots of spam getting through?

bundee1 · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:00 pm »

I Use avg for free and so far my computers have been protected for the last 4 years.

jermmd · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:12 pm »

Check out CNET most popular downloads. I use AVAST.

Joe

bpape · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:13 pm »

I use Avast too though I paid for the upgraded full version. Works great and not expensive at all. Very unobtrusive and no problems at all since I switched to it.

Bryan

pjchappy · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:24 pm »

First, I'm not totally sure what you mean when you say "spam getting through." E-mail? Pop-ups? Much of that stuff can be taken care of by adjusting settings on your e-mail program / website and web browser.

I've used the following combo for years and have had no problems (ALL FREE):

- GRI Soft AVG anti-virus - anti-virus software
- LavaSoft AdAware - ad / malware protection
- SpyBot Search & Destroy - protects from numerous things, including spy software / bots (such as keyloggers, trojans, etc.)

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:42 pm »

I read some "free" s/w has or allows spam to come thru, hence what you paid for.....

I am primarily using Forefox now and try to avoid Explorer because I like how Firefox manages the mulitple open windows in one large tab. Any issues with Firefox and these free s/w's?

Doublej · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:43 pm »

If you have Comcast internet then you can download a free version of McAfee from the Comcast web site. I think the catch is you don't get the latest version but rather last year's version. However it still updates virus signatures on a daily basis.

For free no strings attached check out avast!, Avira, and AVG. Avira brings up a buy me page every so often. I have never seen this with AVG, and I can't speak to avast!

bpape · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:44 pm »

I use FF almost exclusively with Avast - no problems here.

Bryan

bluewax · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 06:46 pm »

A decent resource for freeware: http://www.techsupportalert.com/

MaxCast · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 07:14 pm »

Quote from: bundee1 on 26 Oct 2009, 06:00 pm

I Use avg for free and so far my computers have been protected for the last 4 years.

+1
+ spybot
+ adaware
+ ccleaner once and awhile.

pjchappy · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 07:17 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 26 Oct 2009, 06:42 pm

I read some "free" s/w has or allows spam to come thru, hence what you paid for.....

No such problems with any of the 3 I linked to. If you do a little search, all 3 programs come highly recommended (all 3 even on this thread, besides me).

I gave up McAfee and Norton years ago.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 07:19 pm »

Yeah, I wanna give them up also. Gonna need to do a registry clean up now x4!

TomS · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 07:25 pm »

I used this over the weekend for a total cleanup of old junk programs and registry rebuild. Seemed to work really well.

http://www.revouninstaller.com/

pjchappy · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 07:27 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 26 Oct 2009, 07:19 pm

Yeah, I wanna give them up also. Gonna need to do a registry clean up now x4!

Well, based on this comment re your registry, it may be worth it for you to just reinstall your OS. A bit of a PIA, as you have to reinstall all programs, but it can be well worth it, if you have a bunch of problems. Sometimes if your system is super cluttered and has registry problems, this is actually the best solution. A registry edit/clean/etc. doesn't always work like you want it to. (and make sure you back up your registry b/4 you mess with it)

However, 1st uninstall what you want gone. Then, install, update and run all 3 new programs (referring to my 1st reply) at their fullest / most thorough settings. Could completely fix any problems you may have.

gary · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 08:24 pm »

I hate Norton/McAfee with a passion. Avast, Avira and Comodo are all pretty nice and still free, although when I installed Windows 7 this past week I went with Microsoft Security Essentials instead of any of those. It's also free, and doesn't seem to slow things down much if at all.

Gary

flintstone · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 08:35 pm »

Avast for me...no problems. I have also used AVG in the past (3-4 years ago) and it worked pretty good.

Dave

macrojack · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 09:42 pm »

I bought an I-Mac recently. So far, so good.

Apple just came out with new versions last week. They look like incredible deals. Apparently I jumped about two months too soon.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #17 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 09:54 pm »

Quote from: gary on 26 Oct 2009, 08:24 pm

I hate Norton/McAfee with a passion.

Likewise, they've cause me more grief than anything else. Now I just use the renamed suite branded by my ISP (Telus). Don't know what it is, but it has been reliable. Just takes an extra minute or two for my machine to boot.

jqp · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 10:55 pm »

AVGFree (not AVG, which costs $35) (same software company)

To download it go here AVGFree.com

Better yet go here http://free.avg.com/us-en/download?prd=afg#tba2 to download the full package of AVGFree so you do not install over the web (73MB)

I have been using it for 3 or 4 versions, on all versions of Windows. You can schedule scans at off hours.

Niteshade · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 Oct 2009, 11:35 pm »

I'll second AVG free. I use it on my home computer and on all my customer's.

An Interesting fact: All the computers that come in here with viruses have some kind of antivirus software installed on them. Viruses can slip by any software on the market. I've seen them all. The best thing to do is to make sure your computer does a daily scan and to scan your download directories immediately after downloading software/music/etc...