Hi. This is my System Spec :- Windows XP Service Pack 2 1.2 Ghz AMD Athlon XP Thoroughbred Motherboard - ECS K7S5A SiS Chipset 1024 Mbytes Kingston Value RAM GeForce 4 MX440 128 Mbyte Graphics Accelerator 80 GIG Hard Drive Soundblaster Audigy 5.1 Sound Card I have my internet through a company called NTL (for those who don't know - it's a cable company in england, TV, Phone, Broadband Etc.) and I have their Internet Security Suite called NTL Netguard. It seems OK but now and again it detects certain viruses that it cannot disinfect and seems not to be able to delete (which it has to do on the next restart) this is the internet address for more info if you're interested http://www.ntlworld.com/microsites/netguard/ It seems like a good program as I said, but I want a better one. I want something that is cheap, or free , has good updates and features, is easy to use and is that sort of software that you can "install and forget". Asking a lot, I know, but reading some of your threads on here I am guessing that you guys mostly know what you are talking about I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what good programs are out there. I have read good things about AVG and NOD32 but i downloaded a copy of AVG, installed and promptly had my entire computer crash down in flames. The start bar completely dissapeared and after being on for five minutes or so a message appeared stating that windows had encountered some sort of conflict and it gave me a 60 second countdown before automatically shutting down my PC. After formatting and re-installing everything I finally am able to get some advice. Anyway, if possible I am after a full Suite that does Virus Protection and Firewall and anything else good. I know I need a virus detector and firewall but the rest of the stuff you can get confuses me a bit, I know you need some of it but I am not really Sure what most of it is for. I play games online, do a bit of downloading and surf a bit. I also do online banking and manage some accounts for other stuff online, to give you an idea what sort of stuff I need it for I am sick of going online and getting Netguard shouting that it has detected a virus but can't do anything about it, it's really annoying.If it just had a better way of dealing with viruses I wouldn't change it 'cause it has free updates and is easy to use. Sorry for the length of the thread but if I give you as much info as possible then you might not have to keep asking me for more info. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
If you are willing to pay money for it i would go with Norton's Internet Security 2007. Although it does not get good raps here. It is easy and simple to use and you can set it up yo update automatically. This package is an Antivirus and Antispam and Firewall all into one. If you are looking for something free and good I would go with Avast Antivirus as the strongest and best free anti virus out there. Or you can go with AVG. Also very good. For a free firewall i would suggest ZoneAlarm. Its good enough to block anything that comes your way.
Mad_Mav, selecting an antivrus suite that suits your rquirements, shouldn't be all that difficult. A choice from a leading brand, such as Norton or macafee, will do fine. Having said this, those A/v suites come under heavy scrutiny as the be all and end all of your security needs. Being a Norton user, I do not rely on it 100%, installing other defences in my opinion are crucial. It could be said that freeware apps don't give the best protection, this can be discounted by the testimonials of actual users here at AD. The software that is installed on my machine at present, besides norton internet security '07, can be found right HERE. It's a link to various a/v options and downloads thanks to rav009. When you've selected your arsenal of defence, and have decided what to keep and what to dice out, please keep in mind that uninstalling system protection software, may not be as straightforward as it may seem. A point in case would be Norton, they have their own Norton removal tool. On the odd occaision, uninstalling software can have side effects, these can usually be overcome with a little research and posting questions here at AD. You also might try using system restore to your full advantage by creating points at PRE installations and POST installations. If I remember, I set points whenever any addition to my system is made, software or hardware. All the best with your selections, and keeping away from those net nasties. Cheers.
Thanks for the advice but I am a little unsure about a few things. Namely :- If you get an Anti Virus program, Firewall and other different security software frow different places and all with different names, like AVG, Norton, McAfee, Avast, etc> Will they conlict with each other? I thought that if you had more than one program that did the same thing they would be fighting to see who did it first? Surely if two Anti Virus programs were scanning all incoming files and such then they would make your system slow considerably? And as far as I understand, if one program is accessing a file, usually other programs that try to access it at the same time can get stuck? Sorry if it is a daft question but I know some of the in's and out's but I am quite new the Internet world and some of it puzzles me. It's really weird reading some of the threads where people are explaining how they do stuff and it goes right over my head a lot of the time. Anyway I've got post another thread somewhere on AD to find out how to network my Girlfriends PC to mine so she can use the Internet as well. Not sure what effect that will have on the Security problems I am having at the moment but oh well that is what these forums are for Brilliant site this is. Thanks
We're glad you approve... To answer your first question, yes there can only be one active firewall, as far as I'm aware anyhow. Using multiple firewalls I believe will create conflicts. Norton was the first a/v app that I installed, all others are configured separately, meaning that Norton rules the roost as far as firewalls go. To date there has been only one conflict, and that was incoming email checking with AVG pro. To fix this issue I disabled AVG mail, and all is well. Avast produces no conflicts at all, so far I'm happy with the fact it seems to be integrated with current a/v apps. Another possible issue you pointed out was a slow down in performance, this would not occur in normal uses, for eg, you wouldn't configure any of your a/v apps to scan at the same time. Another example would be checking a downloaded file for nasties before you install it, simply right click on the file(s) in question, and a short menu of actions is shown, and there are your choices of which a/v you want to use. Right now my choices are Norton/avast/avg. The only other aspect of slowing down your machine would be perhaps all of the apps detecting the same problem, at the same time. Thankfully this is not something I've ever come across. Guess I'm lucky so far...lol The way forward may seem a little cloudy, but take the step, make the choices that seem right for you. Good luck, and we are here to help out. Cheers. EDIT: spelling.
