posted
Is there a decent free antivirus available anymore?
Not being cheap.... I currently have Norton on three machines which have been updated for years and recently acquired a fourth machine and was wondering what kind of options there are and what kind of experiences other 'heads have had.
-------------------- Happy Signing...... Marty
M.F. (Marty) Happy Signmaker Since 1974 Happy Ad Sign & Design Regina SK, Canada S4N 5K4 306-789-9567 happyad@sasktel.net www.happyad.ca
Get Happy & Get Noticed! Posts: 773 | From: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | Registered: Jan 1999
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My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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I use Vipre. You can purchase from HSN and usually with a Lifetime License for up to 5 computers. I have had it since 2012 and am very satisfied with it.
posted
I have tried numerous ones and like Avast. Earlier this year, I hired a pro to come in and really virus protect and clear my machine of any weird stuff and that helped. He installed Avast and other spyware tools. I do find it helps to simply turn off completely, the machine every several days. Not just a restart, but let it be off for several minutes. I know it sounds like smoke and mirrors, but the guy knows his stuff and I have taken his advice.
EST is junk. Had problems with the Norton, Panda and some others. Avast seems to be good.
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1552 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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Preston, by "turn off", which do you mean, simply Shut Down, or cut the main AC power?
-------------------- dennis kiernan independent artist san francisco, calif, usa Posts: 907 | From: san francisco, ca usa | Registered: Feb 2010
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I mean simply do a complete shut down of the computer for more than 30 seconds. No unplug from wall power.
Another thing the guy told me is to shut down the browser after going to any site not normally associated with my browsing....Huffington Post, NY times etc. They set in cookies that sometimes are hogs. Clear the cache once a week.
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1552 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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under a full power cut off, this is the only time your RAM gets cleared of all the crap you have done since the last time you had a complete POWER OFF/SHUT DOWN. there is this littel program with in window called task manager. most never seen it. when the computer is running hold down the CTRL, ALT & DEL key. this window opens and you can choose to open TASK MANAGER. it will open to PERFOMANCE, YOU can see how your processor/processors are being used....the icon in the left corner, you can minimize the performace window, to your tool bar on the bottom near the time. it will show when your processor is working.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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Norton and Mcafee were the best up till 10 years ago. Then they became bloated and out of control. In fact Norton became well known for causing serious problems.
Then AVG acme around and the geeks loved it. But alas it went the way of bloatware trying to do too much. One day AVG went the way of Norton and Mcaffee and became disliked.
Now Avast Free is one of the three that is well liked by geeks for virus deflection. And comodo firewall is a good firewall protection. There is no need to pay for any antivirus or firewall any more with the really good products being given away.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5273 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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avast all the way. I have even moved to their subscription one. Norton, AVG, Macafee are all crap and bloted and cause more issues than good
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
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I think you are all listening to hearsay or your information is very outdated. Norton has actually been rated as one of the top antivirus programs in recent years by many respected organizations.
-------------------- Gary Boros SIGNWORKS STUDIOS LLC Monroe, Connecticut, USA Posts: 264 | From: Monroe, Connecticut, USA | Registered: Dec 2007
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EST claimed they had never had a virus sneak through, but they forgot to mention malware. It caused serious problems for me last year and basically cost me $500 to get the machine cleaned out.
Panda was full of glitches that caused a huge slow down of all operations.
Now maybe it is just me, but Avast seems to be working well.
-------------------- Preston McCall 112 Rim Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 text: 5056607370 Posts: 1552 | From: Santa Fe, New Mexico | Registered: Nov 1998
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I haven't used Norton (or McAfee) for many years, so they may have improved. Before I bid them good riddance I had problems with every single solitary install on multiple computers. Norton was worse than any malware I encountered. It was like the borg and would end up taking over, causing legitimate things not to run, giving no warnings whatsoever. As a consequence, I never allow anything branded as Norton on any of my machines.
My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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The TDSSKiller might be specific for a particular virus svchost.*exe32 also listed as winrscmde in your Taskmaster Screen. It just bogs your computer down using all the available memory 'til your PC shuts off.
-------------------- Phil Steffen, 29 Van Rensselaer St City of Saratoga Springs DPW Saratoga Springs NY 12866 Posts: 563 | From: beautiful Saratoga Springs NY | Registered: Aug 2001
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AVG here. I used Norton for years until it got so bloated, switched to Avast til it got the same way. AVG has been fine for the three or four years I've been using it.
Also Malware's Anti Malware.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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