On a tight budget ! Advice please

jon_r_2

Friend of mine using Windows 98 still! Needs a good all round anti virus / internet security package for free!

I could not advise on a good 'free' one but i suggested
Kaspersky full protection package.Can anyone confirm that this is a good start and possibly better & cheaper than NORTON or Mc AFFEE.

Also does Win 98 support the latest firefox browser.

Many Thanks

liquidlives

I do not think that the latest Firefox browser is officially supported by Win 98 but it may still work.

Here is an article I found about security on Win 98:
http://www.5starsupport.com/tutorial/security_98_me.htm

It may be helpful.

tom9980

The problem is Microsoft dont support windows 98 anymore and therefore most software companies have moved on and dont make programs for 98 either. For this reason i think its unwise to spend even £1 on this old machine and would advise checking out your local freecycle website for a better spec machine.

Another option is installing a smaller version of Linux on the machine but this depends on the needs of your friend. If its just surfing and word processing then Linux + firefox + openoffice is perfect once up and running.

Marty_J

Your friend could look into getting an OEM copy of Windows XP; I think they're around £70 or so. As noted above, Windows 98 is seriously outdated.

Once they have XP, there are many excellent free security applications they can use.

Conor_3

TBH, using Windoes98 is a good security precaution in itself because most of the stuff out there is written for Windows 2000/XP which works differently to 98 and therefore the malware doesn't work on 98.

Marty_J

Conor wrote: »

TBH, using Windoes98 is a good security precaution in itself because most of the stuff out there is written for Windows 2000/XP which works differently to 98 and therefore the malware doesn't work on 98.

Not really considering that Microsoft no longer release security fixes for Windows 98, and you have to use an older, less secure browser.

spud17

and you have to use an older, less secure browser.

Firefox and Opera both work fine with Win98, as do Avg, Avast, Spybot , SuperAntispyware.

Firewall is tricky, Zone Alarm version 61-744-001works.

Marty_J

spud17 wrote: »

Firefox and Opera both work fine with Win98, as do Avg, Avast, Spybot , SuperAntispyware.

Firewall is tricky, Zone Alarm version 61-744-001works.

The latest versions of Firefox and AVG don't officially support Windows 98. I know Avast and Opera both do; I'm not sure about SpyBot or SuperAntiSpyware.

spud17

The latest versions of Firefox and AVG don't officially support Windows 98. I know Avast and Opera both do; I'm not sure about SpyBot or SuperAntiSpyware.

Firefox 3 and AVG 8.0 may not,but Spybot 1.5.2 and SuperAntispyware work fine on an old PC I have for emergencies.

Marty_J

spud17 wrote: »

Firefox 3 and AVG 8.0 may not,but Spybot 1.5.2 and SuperAntispyware work fine on an old PC I have for emergencies.

Well I guess that's something anyway.

Saw this today and thought it might be of interest to anyone following this thread:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7494988.stm

They have suggested putting use by dates on browser versions, which I think is a pretty good idea.

timbim_2

OEM XP home costs sub £60 if you go to the right places.