I figure that since we are all or mostly all Masons in here, my title of the thread would get plenty of attention......but my question is purely non-masonic... OK, so now that I have the new laptop....what anti-virus...etc do you suggest using??? I currently have the free-trial from Nortons on it...but I am not a fan of it...getting ready to remove it. I have MS Security Essentials on my PC,spybot and malewarebytes anti-malware I have read about "avast" but dont know anyone using it...well that I know of.... Whats your thoughts???
AVG Antivirus is a nice freeware piece. You get a pop-up asking you to upgrade (read:buy) every week or so, but it works on viruses, spyware, all sorts of malware. You configure it to run nights when you're not on the computer, but can manually scan, if you're worried you've been surfing somewhere...dangerous. S&F
Ditch Norton. The recent versions of that are utter crap. A memory/resource hog is all it is. I use; AVAST it's free, updates itself, and runs in the background. No pop up nags to buy bit either. I use spybot search and destroy (also free) and I use a program called IObit-Advanced System Care. It's free, (some features disabled but works really good!)but if you buy the full version, you won't be sorry. It should be noted that the reason I use three programs is that no antivirus software catches all of the malware/spyware stuff. I know, because I work in the IT field, and security is part of what I do. Also Ditch the MS crap. Useless. Their defrag software is crap. The Advanced System Care does everything you could possibly want for system maintenance at the touch of a button. It also won't screw up your computer or system registry in the process. All three are free, and well worth it. I've never had a Virus, or malware hack to date... And I've been known to try and test the waters in that department. That's all I'll say, as it is an EIEIO protected covert operation.
The add for Avast (free) says it doesnt protect against spam, while surfing, and banking...is that a big deal?
Well, spam is unsolicited junk mail. That would be protected by your email client. Avast does do email scans. The Spybot removes the cookies and tracking bots if that's what you mean.
I'm told that if you try to uninstall Norton, you won't be completely successful unless you download their uninstall tool from their website. Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product | Norton Support
I did down load this for my PC...IObit-Advanced System Care. So do I dc the MS first or download the avast then dc MS Essentials?
LOL...Um...Your recent payment is late, so you only get partial technical service...LOL I've never had a problem with email SPAM, and the AVAST works just as good as the other software you have to buy. In other words, don't worry! Use the other software in conjunction with a good antivirus program and you'll be very happy with your PC security and performance.
OK...so I am gonna give the Avast a try....what are the correct steps...keep the MS essential until I get the avast downloaded or get rid of MS essentials then download Avast
If your system is problem free, the uninstall both Norton and MS essentials. Running more than one antivirus program on a machine may cause installation problems with the new software. Install AVAST and set it up. Just follow the directions. I'd get a spyware/malware removal tool such as Spybot Search and Destroy too. Antivirus programs aren't the "all protecting" things they are touted as being. You need a few specialty programs like what has been mentioned in this thread.
I am doing this on the PC first...only have MS on it... I have the spybot already.... So I uninstall MS E then install Avast.....I have it ready in another window ready to go....just need to click download...
Hmmm... I've heard that before....How about I'll charge you a department patch. You send me one of yours, and I'll send you one of ours as a "receipt"....
