Free anti-virus

lellie

norton isn't very good though.. avast is better than norton.. although norton is a million times better than mcafee which should always be avoided..

AVG is fantastic for finding viruses - only sophos has more up to date virus databases..

shazrazmataz

I used AVG for years but I recently upgraded and bought Norton (on sale for £20!).  AVG finds the viruses every time - but it isn't always 100% effective at getting rid of them.  I put it onto my dad's machine and he was hit by 3 consecutive worms - AVG was useless against them...whereas Norton sorted the problem in under 10 minutes from install.

Its worth shopping around for cheap copies of Norton - its the kind of thing that always ends up in a bargain bucket at Asda or PC World.

I agree with you, Avg scans my pc everyday, & everyday it picks up a virus but it never actually gets rid of it for me ! :-/

alexj2002

IIRC isn't there a renewal/subscription with Norton?

lellie

I used to have AVG , but it didn't detect the virus I had on my pc , so when I had my pc upgraded I went to Pc World ( yes I know  ::) ) and asked a member of staff whether he recommended Norton or McAfee. He said loads of people had problems with Norton and he would recommend McAfee , so I bought it and so far so good.
I'd be interested to know why you think it should be avoided  ???

on my old pc (my sisters) we tried norton and it caused an error.. so tried mcafee and that seemed ok for a while but we then realised something was causing the computer to crash.. eventually it died. When we got it sorted out it turned out mcafee has actually developed a corruption/virus that was making windows die. basically mcafee caught a virus and actually made it worse rather than fixing it.. the local computer blokey said it wasn't the first he'd had that had done it too..

this was before I learnt anything about computers and was a while back but I'd still avoid it..

anyway there is no point buying virus software when you can get excellent online protection.

blood

I used to have AVG , but it didn't detect the virus I had on my pc , so when I had my pc upgraded I went to Pc World ( yes I know  ::) ) and asked a member of staff whether he recommended Norton or McAfee. He said loads of people had problems with Norton and he would recommend McAfee , so I bought it and so far so good.
I'd be interested to know why you think it should be avoided  ???

I gotta say I've tried a number of types of software, however McAfee completely crashed my system upon installation and replaced all system fonts with symbols. I had to rely on memory to navigate through my system to find system restore to get evrything nack to normal (more luck than judgement, I can tell you) A very strange one, but it happened. AVG is good and I know many people who rely on it, as is Norton. Both will do bits the other can't so run them both. I do with no problem whatsoever... (well, apart from a trojan I can't get rid of) :-/

royalsteve

try and uninstall mcafee.........

definition for macafee - a three legged blind dog with diahorea

ask any techie what they think of mcafee and you may get an answer fter the fits of laughter...

it doesnt surprise me that PCworld recommended mcafee..i remeber on one visit..some 'techie' was advising a lady to buy a Buffalo usb cable modem rather than a dlink ethernet variety...he didnt know what he was talking about....

I helped out..the ethernet one was a better option, better make, product and also slightly cheaper even if you had to buy a network card..the buffalo was easier to install cause it was usb.....guess it depends how confident you are opening up a pc..

weatherwax_2

OK peeps, totally unsavvy re computers, so bear with me. My computer came with Norton pre-installed free for 6 months, so when it came time to pay I went ahead.

The thing is, it's the bog standard, cheapo 2002 version. I assume :-/ it has a built-in firewall(other than the one which comes with Windows XP, which I'm told is useless). Does this mean I'm dicing with death and should install a more up-to-date version?

Should I install something like AVG? I've read that there's often a conflict between Norton and other AV software. Basically, I have'nt a clue(like you did'nt notice!). Help! :-[

iBusiness

Hi all,

Just to say that Service Pack 2 for XP is due any day now which, apparantly, is 80% security based and will include a major firewall upgrade amongst other things.

May help those of you with conflict probs?

SONIC_2

OK peeps, totally unsavvy re computers, so bear with me. My computer came with Norton pre-installed free for 6 months, so when it came time to pay I went ahead.

The thing is, it's the bog standard, cheapo 2002 version. I assume :-/ it has a built-in firewall(other than the one which comes with Windows XP, which I'm told is useless). Does this mean I'm dicing with death and should install a more up-to-date version?

Should I install something like AVG? I've read that there's often a conflict between Norton and other AV software. Basically, I have'nt a clue(like you did'nt notice!). Help! :-[

Right, lets see if we can help.

It doesn't matter what version of Norton you actually have, as long as it is still currently supported by Symantec (the people who make it). Some basic calculations say that you probbaly purchased your PC in 2002, had 6 months free updates, and then paid for 12. Does this mean that subscrition has expired, or is it still valid? Whn did you pay for your 12 months of updates?

The 'standard' Norton Anti Virus does not included a firewall. They make a seperate product - Norton Personal Firewall - which surprisingly provides the firewall side of things.

It maybe that you feel that you want to upgarde to a newer version of Norton now anyway, espically if your 12 months subscrition is up. I would recommend that you take a look at Norton Internet Security. It should cost you about £40ish but for that you get
Norton AntiVirus™
Norton ™ Personal Firewall
Norton™ Privacy Control
Norton AntiSpam™
Norton™ Parental Control

5 good products, especially if you have got kids that you don't want looking at naughty sites! Remeber it includes updates for 12 months as well.

It currently on offer at Dabs £33 +VAT
http://www.dabs.com/uk/shopbybrand/symantec/ProductView.htm?quicklinx=2PSY

Don't have more than one AV program installed at once. You will be just asking for problems!!!


One final word about AVG everyone, I'm sure that have read in one of the IT Pro newspapers (Computer Weekly, Computing, It Week etc) that AVG will be withdrawing there free anti virus product in the near future!

weatherwax_2

Thanks, Sonic! I renewed my subscription for Norton AV in April, so it does'nt expire until April 2005. I had'nt actually considered it a bit odd that, though I subscribed this year, I now have the 2002 version. ???

It only cost me around £15 for the year which is sort of why I went for it(removes Scrooge hat and shuffles feet, embarrassedly ::)). Maybe £15 does'nt merit an up-to-date version........BTW, it is the Symantec one.

So, I'm perfectly happy to buy the one you recommend if it will make me a safer surfer! Think I should go for it?