Can I buy a pc with O/S and antivirus already installed?

LizEstelle

Sorry if this is a very naive question but I'm dreadfully non-technical and my pc is ancient and probably due for replacing in the next year or so.

Can I assume that pcs are available off the shelf these days with the operating system of one's choice and an antivirus package already intalled? In other words, one can more or less just plug it in and start surfing with relative peace of mind?

jem16

I would say that all PCs bought off the shelf have the OS already installed, usually Windows XP. Can't say you would have a choice although I suppose it would be possible depending on where you went. Most will have an anti-virus program already installed too.

However a firewall is almost a necessity too. Windows XP has its own built in firewall but you would be better adding a better one as well.

Edinburghlass_2

Generally though the anti virus software will only last for a year then it will cost you to upgrade and usually they are not ones that are recommended by the techie bods on here.

However there are plenty of good free anti virus that you can install very easily as soon as you get set up.

LizEstelle

jem16 wrote:

I would say that all PCs bought off the shelf have the OS already installed, usually Windows XP. Can't say you would have a choice although I suppose it would be possible depending on where you went. Most will have an anti-virus program already installed too.

However a firewall is almost a necessity too. Windows XP has its own built in firewall but you would be better adding a better one as well.

Ah yes, thanks for that - I meant to mention firewall as well. I hadn't realised that XP had its own. My current one is Zone Alarm. Would that be better than the XP offering, then?

jem16

LizEstelle wrote:

Ah yes, thanks for that - I meant to mention firewall as well. I hadn't realised that XP had its own. My current one is Zone Alarm. Would that be better than the XP offering, then?

Zone Alarm would definitely be better as it will monitor the outgoing connections too. The Windows firewall will monitor the incoming connections only so it's better than nothing.

Did you have a particular OS in mind when you said OS of your own choice?

ncd

LizEstelle wrote:

Ah yes, thanks for that - I meant to mention firewall as well. I hadn't realised that XP had its own. My current one is Zone Alarm. Would that be better than the XP offering, then?

The XP one is rubbish, a bit like using a paper bag to keep you dry in the rain. Stick with Zone Alarm.

LizEstelle

[QUOTE=jem16

Did you have a particular OS in mind when you said OS of your own choice?[/QUOTE]

Well, not really, although I had assumed that it would be Microsoft's finest, whatever that is. Do you think that there will be yet another Windows product on the market in a year's time, say?

Someone has also mentioned that something called Linux might be worth using , as it's less subject to spyware/virus attack or suchlike. Have I got that right?

jem16

LizEstelle wrote:

Well, not really, although I had assumed that it would be Microsoft's finest, whatever that is. Do you think that there will be yet another Windows product on the market in a year's time, say?

Vista is the next release and may well be in about a year's time. However it could be longer, who knows? I wouldn't wait for it - just make sure it's "Vista capable" then you could upgrade if you really want to.

Someone has also mentioned that something called Linux might be worth using , as it's less subject to spyware/virus attack or suchlike. Have I got that right?

Linux is certainly less subject to attack but I wouldn't say it's an everyday OS for most users, especially those who don't feel to confident. Things such as drivers and programs aren't as compatible but can be worked around if you know what you are doing.