I need to install some kind of virus and spy ware program and want to know what is best. My computer is about a year old and windowsXP. I am worried that I have a virus on here. Thanks for any help, Froggie

southernlady posts has some good info up in the sticky .
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=4535

but any of the name brands should be good.
mcafee
bitdefender
pcillin
AVG
etc

for easy - I liked bitdefender and AVG stuff
but mcafee has a virus scanner called stinger - that will do a quick check for viruses - {but maybe the others do to- i just found mcafee first at the time}

some have free trial programs to see if you like the way they work

some have a free downloadable AV version & even an online scanner

don't forget about adware and spyware
and
spam /email protection

hi froggie lady,

If you are only running one PC in your household and don't use it much for anything but email and internet surfing and other minor stuff.

I would recommend the free anti-virus stuff such as:

AVG free edition:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti.../lng/us/tpl/v5

or AVAST free edition:

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

both are a little limited but adequate if you have a little bit of tech know how.

If you want to pay for anti-virus or if you are running multi-PCs in your household through networking. I would suggest either PCillin or Panda anti-virus (you can google those and choose the package that you like)

one thing to remember about anti-virus programs is that you can only have ONE anti-virus on your PC. Anymore than that and it'll give you more problems.

You can download free trials for any of them and give them all a shot to see which you ones you'd like best. I would suggest that anyway because if you suspect a virus. One might not catch it while the other will. Just make sure you uninstall one before downloading another.

Another thing to DEFINITELY do is to make sure you UPDATE anything you've downloaded to its most current state. If you don't update as soon as you've downloaded, it won't work well.

I would run the free ones in safe mode the very first time you run it. (make sure you are NOT connected to the internet while you are running it in safe mode)

I will post about anti-spy in the next post. Hope this helps

OK, anti-spyware works differently from anti-virus.

While you can only have ONE anti-virus, you cannot have enough anti-spywares.

I would recommend the following free ones:

AVG anti-spy(yes, it is the brethren of AVG anti-virus and they look alike on your desktop, so becareful which one you think you are running. LOL)

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti.../lng/us/tpl/v5

spybot S & D:

http://www.spybot.info/en/mirrors/index.html

super anti-spy:

http://www.superantispyware.com/

and then there are many others, but you can add a pay one to your repertoire with either spyware doctor or adaware

spyware doctor:

http://www.pctools.com/spyware-docto...FRS-Sgod7n3EEQ

adaware (pick the one most suitable for you)

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/...ur_product.php

and that should do it for the most part. You'll probably have to download others from time to time and switch around. But that's for down the road.

now, I suspect that if you have a virus, it has introduced malware,greyware,spyware,silverware, underware, etc., OK, maybe NOT underware(at least not soiled ones. LOL)

as with the anti-virus. Make sure you update as soon as you've installed them.

Now, I would run the AVG in safe mode after you've installed and updated it. I would also unplug your internet connection while you are running anything in the safe mode.

(to get into safe mode, tap F8 repeated as soon as you start your PC)

after you've run AVG in safe mode and get rid of the bad stuff, run all others in regular mode and then run AVG in safe mode again.

See if your computer runs faster.

IF, there is any reason that these don't do the trick. We will have to go to the alternative, but that is a whole another enchilada and we'll have to find the time to do it. Either way, I wish you success and hope these helped

GG

if you are still having problems after all of the above, do not uninstall them, but let me know, and we'll run a "hijackthis" file and see if we can find the problem.