Norton, McAvee, who?
 

I had Norton anti virus and found it toooooo controling and slowed my computer to a snails pace, even with DSL. I switched to McAvee and find if just as bad, if not worse..:mad:

Is there a reliable Antivirus that does not take over your PC????:rolleyes:

It has cost me money to find this out, too. Isn't there a freebe out there or a cheapy?

I'm sorry if this is a repeat question..:o

Thanks

I sampled the free trials of the top 5 or so Internet security suites - they all have those free trials.
It really helps to sort out which program workers best for you and your machine.

I do suggest having at least 1 gig of Ram or more if you are able to add it -1 gig ram around here is as low as 20.00 now.

The nice thing about getting the suites is that it covers so much instead of having 3 - 5 separate programs.

I ended up liking the Zone Alarm suite best.
This year they offered a free upgrade to the extreme version, so that was really nice.

With 30 day or so trials on each you can cycle though each brand till you find the one you like best.:)

here's the sticky thread with some freebies suggested and more -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread4535.html

I would only download any freebies from a site like cnet.com or other well known safe site.
cnet link to security suites page - you can click "free" on the left to show only those -
http://download.cnet.com/1770-2023_4...dows&tag=ltcol

I do suggest having at least 1 gig of Ram or more if you are able to add it -1 gig ram around here is as low as 20.00 now.

Duh...dummy here, how do you do above, what does that do and how do you know if you can??

Thanks Jo..:)

Ram is the same as Memory for your computer.
here's some explanations that are better than I could give-
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-RAM-Af...-RAM&id=832188

http://computermemoryupgrade.mysuperpc.com/

and some videos on how ram is installed-
http://video.google.com/videosearch?...8&sa=N&tab=iv#

It's pretty simple really - but if computer is under warranty opening the case could void that. You probably would need a approved tech person to do the job in that instance. But I'm not sure since I build my own so I'm the warranty person LOL.

You can see the amount of Ram you have by right clicking on "My Computer" and a pop up will come up with the General page.
in the lower part it should have Computer
and show the processor type , Ghz and MB or GB of RAM .

I did run with 512 for many yrs but just upped my ram last fall to 1.5GB

I have 1.4 GHz and 248 MB Ram. I have a Dell laptop..windows XP.

I have DSL ( not the super fast one) The slowness of DSL doesn't bother me as much as my computer speed itself. I have defragged, cleaned my disc and anything else I can think of to speed things up, to no avail. It takes forever for my computer to get up to speed, when I first turn it on.

Other than replacing McAvee with a less intrusive antiviris, what can I do?????

Thanks for all your help, Jo..:hug:

We have the free version of Avast....it has been great. Even catches things! The alarm will knock you out of your chair! LOL

LOL, you can shut the alarm off can't you?? I have an anxiety problem..:eek:

It doesn't slow your computer down?? If not, and it works, I want it.

Avast is the only virus program we have used that has set off
alarms. I search the net for people commonly, and never had one, until Avast. Lately I have stopped searching for others...I don't think I should shoulder that risk.

All one does is click out. Some of them I think are false alarms,
but hey, I don't care. It is obviously doing something!

LOL - you should be able to turn off the alarm sounds on any or all programs just look into the options, tools, preferences sections.

mine are set to pop up a small window as a notice.
I turned off all sounds in my settings/control panel /sounds - I don't need all those beeps and dingers


speed up laptop info sites-
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&ei=OZsp...fp=1mZ_-PL2Zjc

Jo, thanks for that last link. I did everything that the UK link said to do and now my computer is running much faster. Oh I took off McAfee ( the UK link said that they were the worst..) and added the free AVG!!

It's been a long day..:rolleyes:

Thanks for all the help..:):hug:

happy to hear it helped.:D

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..:D

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

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.