Question re Closed's thread: how to speed up a slow pc

zzzLazyDaisy

I thought it best to start a new thread rather than clog up the original one, hope that's okay...

So I am following this thread to speed up my PC.

So far I have:


1 done a reinstall (which has already speeded things up)

2 returned all my important documents etc from the external HD to the laptop

3 uninstalled McAfee which came with the laptop

4 installed Avast free

But although McAfee has gone from the list of programs, on doing a search from the start button, I am still seeing a lot of McAfee files, so I am guessing it leaves some sort of footprint on the pc?

So the question is... how do I completely get rid of McAfee from my computer?

Thanks

Dx

flashsnaps

They are probably just old shortcuts to the program. Just delete them.

fiddiwebb

McAfee removal tool & instructions....

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=TS100507

zzzLazyDaisy

Great! Thanks! I am now rid of McAfee :j

Next question...

I am running windows defender and avast free. I know that you shouldn't run two AV programs at the same time because they might conflict, but I think windows defender is different from AV so is okay to run with Avast?

Can someone please confirm this?

Also is windows defender adequate to protect against spyware etc (I used to have spybot and adaware but to be honest I'd rather keep it simple if possible)

Thanks

Dx

SteveJH200

Always disable Defender if using another anti virus programme. Avast and a Firewall of your choice is all you need.

agrinnall

I used to run Zone Alarm as my firewall but following suggestions on here I dumped it and now just use Windows firewall, along with Avast - so far, so good!

zzzLazyDaisy

SteveJH200 wrote: »

Always disable Defender if using another anti virus programme. Avast and a Firewall of your choice is all you need.

As far as I know, Windows defender isn't an anti virus program, but an anti spyware program... or have I got that wrong?

SteveJH200

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

As far as I know, Windows defender isn't an anti virus program, but an anti spyware program... or have I got that wrong?

My understanding is that it is an anti spyware programme but not a particularly good one. I have read many posts in many forums saying that it is not good to run this alongside an anti virus programme such as Avast. Maybe others will chip in with their views, but I always disabled Defender even when I used Microsoft Security Essentials. All my computers run like clockwork and I use this experience as a benchmark.

zzzLazyDaisy

Thanks. I have disabled Defender.

I have also reinstalled microsoft office and a couple of other programs that I use a lot and am now doing a complete backup of the c drive to an external hard-drive (in the hope that if I have to go through this again, I can at least save some time by being able to re-install all the settings in one go (well, that's the theory, any way).

Next question (not related to closed's excellent thread, but related to streamlining my latop).

I currently have a mixture of hotmail and gmail accounts (for historical reasons). I use windows live mail to collect messages from all accounts in one place. I have gone over to google chrome from firefox and am aiming to discontinue my hotmail accounts in favour of gmail. I know I can access gmail through google chrome, but it is a pain having to check email accounts individually.

On my android tablet I get alerts when I have a gmail message and I can switch between accounts easily - there must be an add-on for chrome that does something similar, but I am not finding anything?

Any suggestions?

thanks

Dx

spannerzone

Windows Defender is automatically decativated on Windows 7 when you install Microsoft Security Essentials (antivirus) so presumably MS consider Windows defender a duplication - I suspect the two programs share a common database for spyware but MSE also includes viruses.

Bossmanboost

SteveJH200 wrote: »

Always disable Defender if using another anti virus programme. Avast and a Firewall of your choice is all you need.

This is very important ^^

Also if you are going to use an anti virus program, make sure to clean your registry using a program like PC Tuneup Maestro before you do it. This makes sure that your program does not find anything in your registry that looks foreign and starts attacking it. Dont ask my why but i have been told to do this many times before!

again just my two cents!

goodluck!