happy to hear it helped.

There is also AVG that is FREE! I have it on my personal computer along with superantispyware.com and it catches everything. I dont pay a dime.

I was allowed a free version of mcafee through my provider, but found it just slowed me down, and forget nortons, I found that stuff is a nuisance. it is everywhere, and slow.

I set my AVG free to scan twice a week, and it updates itself. Same for superantispyware. no muss, no fuss, no money.

Yes, I also use the free AVG. It was recommended by the tech person where I used to work. I don't have any trouble with it so far. It seems to be working and not slowing me down.

Also, it was recommended to me here on NT to get a free RAM optimizer and it REALLY helped clear up some memory space. I was very thankful to get this information.

Ahhhhhh, thanks to Jo and the rest of you, my Dell Laptop is running as smooth as a baby's bottom..

If you have Road Runner or Time Warner or Bright House;
they offer a free full fledged security system which
includes everything (Email, Firewall, Spyware, Antivirus)
free! C.A. Security - aka Customer Associates. Exceptional!
Always on the guard and alert! You have full control of
everything from A to Z; moreover, to a "newbie", this
huge system can be downright intimidating at first (but
Road Runner / Time Warner / BrightHouse Customer Services
are wonderful in assisting you to set it up) - it is not difficult
at all and it also secures your entire network on top of
your router (and even if your router is encrypted, that is
perfectly fine, consider it yourself as being double-lock
down!).

I used to have ZAP (Zone Alarm Pro) for a very, very long
time and I still strongly recommend it (and they do have
a free version and you can get the download at
www.filehippo.com - as well as with other downloads such
as CCleaner (strongly recommend that), Defraggler, AVG,
etc - including updates - and yes, even Adobe is found in
there ... until they came up with the free C.A. Security;
and once my annual ZAP expired ---> I went with CA
and since then - I never looked back, 6 years+.

It has nailed down everything in sight! Never had a virus,
trojan, spyware, adware, yadda, yadda, yadda - nothing
gets by CA - and they continually update everything
constantly!

I confess I am amazed how many people attempt to hijack
into my hidden, stealth mode, browser - and fail, constantly;
because CA Security killed them.



Nice try buddies, but no cookies or milk for you! CA Security
has been hitting the top charts in Computer Tech for a very
long time, and many Companies uses it too on top of their
own private secured system. (e.g. - Comodo, for example).

I'm running pretty smoothly, now, if I could just get AT&T to quit zapping my DSL , I'd be a happy camper. Bunch of Idiots..

I have tried several but ended up with Live One Care. Obviously, you will want to have antivirus, antispyware, and a firewall. This product gives you all three. I do like Zone Alarm's firewall best though and have opted to keep their free firewall in addition to my Live One Care.

So here is the thing with free vs. a bought product.

1) Antivirus: they require very frequent updates. Hackers are constantly developing new viruses. Some do it for sport others do it for profit. Either way antivirus OEMs have to keep full time staff that are constantly working against the clock. While some of these companies may have creative revenue models (e.g. Zone Alarm's Trial Pay), the bottom line is that their product will only be as good as the professional researchers that they can employ. Having said all that, AVG makes a good free product, but you have to manually update it yourself (daily).

2) Antispyware: like antivirus requires some updating and for the same reasons.

3) Firewalls: they need some updating from time-to-time. Hackers eventually find new ways of compromising security.