posted
Okay, I've had it. I got an automated thing telling me to download Norton Internet Security 2008 and upgrade. Which I did (yes, I'm dumb).
My computer is hosed. Norton kills me. It kills websites, and it kills MS Word.
Norton must be destroyed.
At least on my computer. So... I'm running WinXP SP2 with half a gig of RAM. Any recommendations here for an antivirus and a firewall? I assume that using Windows Firewall isn't the best idea in the world, right?
What's good? Something that'll do the trick and not annihilate my computer. Thanks.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Using avast! has been the best decision I've ever made.
It's free, fairly lightweight, and automatically downloads updates. Plus it blocks more than Norton ever did for me. Ran Spybot for the first time in a month, and only 8 things popped up. Norton would commonly allow 50+ through.
edited to add: while being free, you have to register your email once every 14 months. But I have yet to receive any spam because of it. So don't worry about that.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
"I use AVG for anti-virus, but I guess the freeware version is not going to be updated starting July 1st."
AVG will cease updating the old version (I think it was 7.2) of their freeware. Updates will continue on the new version (8.0), which has been available since the beginning of June or thereabouts.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I'll look at Avast. What about getting rid of Norton? I've heard that it's painfully difficult to rip all of the roots of Norton out of your system. Are there tools that will do a search-and-destroy?
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I uninstalled everything manually. Then deleted all the folders in Program Files. Then I used CCleaner to scan my registry and get rid of useless crap.
It's probably not all gone, but I see no sign of it.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
I don't have anything substantive to contribute to the discussion, but I wanted to say that this thread title is absolutely fantastic.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I like AVG, so I will probably update...but I was under the impression that version8 was something you had to pay for.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I use basic Norton Anti-virus, I haven't seen any problems. Is there something I should look out for?
On a related note, my new PC has a Norton/Dell back-up system that backs-up my hard drive...on itself, and takes up a very large portion while doing it. I haven't yet found a way to disable this. Any suggestions?
Posts: 2489 | Registered: Jan 2002
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posted
MEC, it's not that there is any real problem with Norton, per se. It is more that it tends to be a resource hog in the way of AOL software and Vista.
Also, my big problem was that I didn't like paying for software when there are free versions out there.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
Also, it seems that I should have removed the old Norton completely before installing the new one. Only they didn't bother saying so. As a result, there's a file that's going crazy trying to find stuff.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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You could try booting it in safe mode and uninstalling. I'm not sure how much good this would do you, though.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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quote:Originally posted by adfectio: Using avast! has been the best decision I've ever made.
It's free, fairly lightweight, and automatically downloads updates.
"Your virus database has been updated." [/friendly man]
This is the source of much amusement at my house, much as we enjoy the product.
"Hey, sugar?" "What?" "I was getting worried." "About what?" "The computer. You know." "But has the virus database been updated?" "Yes! Yes it has! Whew. My fears are thus assuaged."
posted
Just make sure you turn off the voices on Avast!
We tend to leave our computers on and there's nothing like being awaked at 3am by a man's voice and thinking there's someone in the house.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Are there technical reasons to prefer Avast! to AVG? I've installed AVG 8. Is there some tangible benefit to installing Avast!?
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Dag, my experience with AVG was less that friendly. It was an older version, and just was not very user friendly. A lot of it was manual work, when I would rather set it up and forget it even exists. It should work on it's own IMO. It's possible that AVG has since been updated and does a lot of this on their own, but it didn't when I used it.
Lisa, are you behind a router? I don't use any firewall, and I have no issues. However, I am also always behind a router, which blocks a lot of the attacks.
As for the sounds, yes it's easy to turn them off. I tend to leave them on, just because I like knowing that it is still working. Even in the middle of a game, it is interesting to hear him pop up and tell me that I'm protected.
There's also Comodo which has both a free Antivirus and Firewall. Those also seemed as bulky as Norton to me. Extra Firewalls tend to slow your computer down. And with half a gig of RAM, you probably don't want any extra programs open that you don't need.
In general, however, if you feel like you need a Firewall, I feel confidant enough with avast! that Window's Firewall is enough to perform decently well.
Posts: 349 | Registered: Oct 2007
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