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

paddywak

Have read through these emails and would appreciate a link to either AVG or Avast virus protection. I'm a small user but have had lots of problems which Alienrik solved and Browntoa. Thanks

[Deleted User]

paddywak wrote: »

Have read through these emails and would appreciate a link to either AVG or Avast virus protection. I'm a small user but have had lots of problems which Alienrik solved and Browntoa. Thanks

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=avast

JHC

If you need to give your email address to a website but don't want to risk getting spam, try using a redirecting service such as spamgourmet.com

This is free and will reject mail addressed to you after a pre-defined number of emails have been redirected.

Incidentally, prolonged arguments over which free anti-virus or firewall is best are tiresome and largely pointless - they all work, and the most important thing is to be aware of the risks and to act sensibly on-line.

JasX

JHC wrote: »

If you need to give your email address to a website but don't want to risk getting spam, try using a redirecting service such as spamgourmet.com

This is free and will reject mail addressed to you after a pre-defined number of emails have been redirected.

Incidentally, prolonged arguments over which free anti-virus or firewall is best are tiresome and largely pointless - they all work, and the most important thing is to be aware of the risks and to act sensibly on-line.

Somewhat disappointed to see AVG still on the list MSE article, not seen any sign of improvement of its abysmal virus detection/prevention performance.

A quick forum search of the number of AVG users who catch viruses would definitely put AVG well outside the what you might expect of an anti virus program that 'worked'.

useful spam link there JHC thanks.

ernie-money

After experiencing problems with the free AVG (I keep getting a message saying that rthe connection with the update server has failed) I thought I'd have a look here for other options. I see that Microsoft Security Essentials is the top recommendation in the article, but it's not been mentioned much in the discussions here - does anyone have any feedback on it please? Also - if I do install it - should I have Malwarebytes (Or A-squared Free - which is best?) as well, or is it all included in the MSE?
Thanks to anyone who can give some advice!

Knarf44

Microsoft Security Essentials is probably the most recommended AV software on this forum, its growing popularity and reputation for the high level of protection it gives against viruses and malware has not been fully justified yet by the independent anti virus testing organisations as most results published so far are for version 1.0. However, it is still likely to give at least as good a level of protection as the other FREE often highly recommended av programs such as Avast 5 and Avira Antivir.

To answer your other question, Malwarebytes is now the de facto standard in malware cleaning tools along with another FREE one called Superantispyware. A-Squared is good but generally not regarded as good as the two mentioned. You can keep both Malwarebytes and Superantispyware on your PC but you don't need to keep them active, just update and scan with them regularly, once a week, bi-monthly, or whatever suits your internet usage.

ernie-money

Thanks a lot for the friendly advice!
My pc is pretty slow, so would probably want as little extra software on it as possible - bearing this in mind, which one would you recommend Superantispyware or Malwarebytes?

fiddiwebb

ernie-money wrote: »

Thanks a lot for the friendly advice!
My pc is pretty slow, so would probably want as little extra software on it as possible - bearing this in mind, which one would you recommend Superantispyware or Malwarebytes?

Go for Malwarebytes, just remember to udate it first before running any scans.

You can get Superantispyware Portable which you can install and run from a USB memory stick so it does not need to be loaded onto your pc/laptop.

http://www.superantispyware.com/portablescanner.html

Knarf44

I have both as sometimes one will pick up malware the other doesn't but if I had to choose I'd go with malwarebytes.

It is important though to update it before you use it. Here's a tutorial that might help.

Another program I should have mentioned is CCleaner. It's a program that you can use to clean your pc's temporary files out after every browsing session or again, once or twice weekly depending on your usage. It's important that you always use the latest version. The program's interface has a "Check for Updates" link. WARNING, don't install the optional Yahoo Toolbar - make sure you uncheck the tick box, not having it won't affect the program's effectiveness.

Here's a CCleaner Tutorial.

closed

If your pc is slow start a new thread with a hijackthis log, physical ram, and commit charge from task manager, performance.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2436849