New 'Protect Your PC For Free: No-cost Anti-Virus and Other Software' discussion

desjazz

there is a CD kit that contains a lot of stuff to kit your PC out, without all of the downloads.

The link to the item (on ebay) is here this might help some of you that don't have the time to download software, as this contains most of what a computer user would want.

There is also an deluxe office pack here which has openoffice on it and lots of other stuff.

Hope this is useful to someone.

jinkssick

spyware terminator has been getting great reviews and its great for spyware.

Plus its free.

litlwren

I've just moved my internet to BT Total Broadband option 1 - it offers the option of upgrading to Norton antivirus & firewall protection but I'm a bit concerned about them having read about it octopussing into my system.... and also I don't want to pay out any more money if at all necessary BUT I'm totally confuzzed and having read through all this thread - and the main article too - I don't know which way to turn .... I'm really a bit of a techno-phobe and am worried sick about messing my pc up with something unsuitable.

So please - What is the simplest easiest least dangerous and most effective protection for my pc??? Running XP.... I want antivirus and firewall - don't I??

aliEnRIK

litlwren wrote: »

I've just moved my internet to BT Total Broadband option 1 - it offers the option of upgrading to Norton antivirus & firewall protection but I'm a bit concerned about them having read about it octopussing into my system.... and also I don't want to pay out any more money if at all necessary BUT I'm totally confuzzed and having read through all this thread - and the main article too - I don't know which way to turn .... I'm really a bit of a techno-phobe and am worried sick about messing my pc up with something unsuitable.

So please - What is the simplest easiest least dangerous and most effective protection for my pc??? Running XP.... I want antivirus and firewall - don't I??

Use windows firewall and AVIRA anti virus
Also use MALWAREBYTES to scan weekly or so (Needs to be manually updated)

J0NM

Here is some brand new AV software for free download from Sophos.

You can use this alongside your existing AV to find any stuff that's been missed.

There is a 'Klingon' version, but also an English version.

Sophos are pretty good and have won loads of awards for their products - they usually only sell to businesses so it's really professional stuff. Have a look:

sophos.com/newtool/betatest/

peter_the_piper

Downloaded the English version but I'm damned if I can get it to update.Apart from that it works quite well, as one would expect.

J0NM

espresso wrote: »

However, the company warns that the software has compatibility issues "with the version of msxml4.dll used by cloaking devices on Romulan-modded D7-class battle cruisers. Installing this software on such vessels is punishable by ordeal of Ginst'a'Ed".

Hehe. Yeah, that's a bit weird.

BB78

My Internet Security is up for renewal, I've been using it for years & trust it; do these free downloads offer as much protection??

paul_mcl

I've been using AVG FREEe for years on my home network. It works well. As an IT Pro we use Sophos on the main network.

In fact, I'm going to BUY AVG ID theft cos I'm now transferring ALL banking to online at home - to try and save paper!

All the tips in the articles are worth taking - especially changing router passwords.

People tend to be secure about property and belongings - treat personal info in the same way!

Thanks

Paul

iboy

I've worked in the IT industry for a long time and I believe that all PC users have the right to free software that keeps them safe whilst using the internet. The industry as a whole has created the problem, so it should provide a free solution. I have never paid for any firewall/virus/spyware and so far I have been safe online. I've also had to clean infected machines for friends and I've always managed to do that for free as well.

For my home setup I have a sky router which has a built in firewall. I then turn off the broadcast of the SSID (the router's name) (so people can't see the wireless - unless they know about it) and the password is 64 characters long. I also register all the MAC addresses (address of network adapater in a PC/laptop/Wii) with the router so only known machines can connect. That's my first line of defence.

On my home PC I run Symantec Client Security (corporate edition), which isn't free, but my employer let me use it. For my laptop I use Comodo firewall and have just switched to Microsoft Security Essentials. In the past I have used AVG, ZoneAlarm and Spybot.

In general, stick to well known free software products as suggested by MSE, keep Windows updated, use the latest web browsers (I use Firefox), be VERY CAREFUL when browsing websites and delete any emails that look even slightly dodgy.

Hope that helps, iboy