computer antivirus stuff question?

this subject is way too vast for me to figger out by myself, so i thought i would ask some people here that are far more knowledgeable about it than i.

i was having immense problems with any web browser that i was using (i.e. & mozilla) freezing up on me and me having to close the browser and start over. a computer guy came over and (among other things) installed microsoft security essentials on my computer and removed avg. i was wondering what everyone else used for firewall and antivirus software. what would you use (or do use) if you paid $ for one? i also use zonealarm for a firewall.

any advice? thanks in advance.

 

I have been having problems since the last update of mozilla.
I used macfee but it expired about the same time as the update.

So, i dont know if its Mozilla or my expired Macfee.

I have warnings popping up all over the place, and my email will not down load pictures?

 

I have used AVG for years and never had any problems...it was recommended to my by my friend who works for a computer repair company...I would not pay for any anti-virus as there are several free ones that are just as good as the ones you pay for.Just mt .2!

 

microsoft security essentials is something that i never heard of until now. any opinions about this compared to ___________?

 

I have always used avg or avast and zonealarm. Since having a free macaffe sub, I have decided it plays better with others and will pay for it when it expires.

 

I use avg free with good results. Have you tried "system restore" back to a point in time when your machine was operating fine?

 

I use whichever one I happen to steal that particular year.

 

Free - AVG, Avast
Pay - Kaspersky

 

avast

 

i've used AVG and Spybot for 8 years or so. no real problems. i've used the microsoft security essentials on my laptop and it's not bad. generally positive reviews and has a very nice user interface (which is not always the case with MS stuff).

 

Don't use any of that bull****, it all succs.

1) Don't look at pr()n.
2) Don't use Outlook for email, use a web-based service.

Follow those simple rules, and you'll be virus free. If you must look at pr()n, do so in a virtual machine.

Or, and I'm going to get hollered at for this, buy a Mac. After many years of deriding Macs and mocking their users as koolaid chugging poseurs, I bought a Mac and I'll never go back to PC.

Yes, they're more expensive. But how much do you value your time? I place a very high value on mine so it doesn't take too much time waiting for **** to load or ****ing around with anti-virus software to make up that difference.\

And yes, I recognize the irony inherent to talking about valuing my time highly on posting on here. Some people watch reality TV, I hang out on SF.com.

 

It's gonna be funny one of these days when everyone is all cozy in their Mac world or with their Firefox browser and some deviant hacker with a sense of humor shreds an assload of computers with a fun new virus.

 

If you're having to constantly **** around with av, you're doing it wrong, or have been going to a lot of sites that put your system at risk.

Microsoft Security Essentials is fine, I haven't noticed any problems on it on the machines I installed it on. I've read some information and what I recall is that overall, it was considered to be one of the better ones. It should be free, you can get it with Win 7, not sure about anything under that.

I wouldn't use avast, I personally found a trojan on a machine that had Avast Free as it's AV.

I run Kaspersky on my personal and parents computers. Overall, it has low memory usage, frequent automatic updates. It's default settings are pretty strict, but the only thing I end up changing is the firewall to allow access to my public folders.

 

I've never had a problem with Kaspersky, either the program itself or it letting anything "get me". One of the best for sure.

 

between avg free edition and malwarebytes i have yet to run into a virus i couldnt handle.

if your web browser is still getting hung up, it may not be due to your security features.

i spent 3 days last week finding a simple fix to locked up browser problems.

try this. open adobe reader > edit > preferences > internet > deselect the display pdf in browser window option and reboot.

i recommend doing that even if you arent having problems. it will correct a potential hickup with you system when reading pdfs. basically pdf reader doesnt get the command to shut down its .exe when you close the browser page and starts eating up massive amounts of processor resources to try and read pdfs that arent even there.

also download a free registry cleaner. i use abexo

 

I've seen that happen too.

 

Adobe is a gaping hole. if you can avoid installing Adobe reader or Flash do it

you really need to pay attention to updating them

that and Flash ads seem to be what kills my browser the most

my #1 thing to avoid malware is Internet Explorer. INTERNET. EXPLORER. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

i can't stress that i'm not joking.

if you are going to visit questionable sites, ie... pr0n, warez, pirate sites, use Firefox with Adblock and NoScript. it takes a while to get all the sites you use/trust set up, but it also shows you how many places use weird scripts from wherever

i haven't used MS Security Essentials, but i have heard good things, but i also use Linux like 75% of the time

i have been using AVG and had no problems. the problems seem to come from ignoring #1 when people bring me computers to fix.

the other thing is that once you are infected, you might as well assume your AV program is playing for the other team. boot from a thumb drive or CD to really clean your system.

 

Yeah, because hackers have had so much success writing virus to attack the *nix kernel.

 

does kapersky have a a firewall along with it's antivirus?

 

yes kaspersky has a firewall in their Internet Security package.