PLEASE ONLY ANSWER IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!

My Norton Utilities is going to expire in a few days.Norton has just totally slowed down my computer.

QUESTION-

Is there free ware out there that is better than Mc afee, or close?

Is there a free ware that is an all in one package ( spy, anti virus)?

Can you get away running your computer naked, if you update windows everyday?

Please help, I will not renew my Norton.

on my pc i use avast virus protection. worked well, its what my uncle, whos job is to fix computers and other similar stuff, recommended. Not sure if it protects against spyware.

I also have spy-sweeper, which protects against spy- and ad- ware. Its like $30 a year or something, not quite sure.

edit: I use the free version of avast. you can purchase the professional version on the website, and it states that it contains anti-spyware and anti-adware protection. The website also states the Home edition (the free one) has anti-spyware software built in. Check it out:

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-free-home-antivirus-antispyware.html

PLEASE ONLY ANSWER IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!

My Norton Utilities is going to expire in a few days.Norton has just totally slowed down my computer.

QUESTION-

Is there free ware out there that is better than Mc afee, or close?

Is there a free ware that is an all in one package ( spy, anti virus)?

Can you get away running your computer naked, if you update windows everyday?

Please help, I will not renew my Norton.

i do. i run windows defender and update my system as needed per windows. there are as many ppl out there that think anti-virus is a waste as there are ppl out there that think you have to have it.

im running both vista and xp.

I hate Norton.  It slows down your system, keeps on reminding you when your computer needs to be scanned and when your subscription is about to expire.

I suggest getting AVG Antivirus, the free version.  Works like a charm.  Good luck.

Posted by: fishinfewl      Posted on: Today at 12:10pm

I hate Norton.  It slows down your system, keeps on reminding you when your computer needs to be scanned and when your subscription is about to expire.

I suggest getting AVG Antivirus, the free version.  Works like a charm.  Good luck.

i second the avg.....it works great and its all that i use, i also use spybot search and destroy in conjunction with it (its also free)

Ok, Follow up question....

Should I uninstall Norton first, then install AVG?

And can someone provide a link to AVG? Or is AVG what njbasser provided?

The computer geeks at work consider Nortons a virus in and of itself.

I use AVG and it works great. I would uninstall Nortons completely, making sure you use Add/Remove programs in Windows and also search for anything named Symantec. Uninstall that as well (updaters, etc...). After you're done uninstalling, restart machine and run MSCONFIG and check the services tab and startup tabs to make sure nothing associated with Symantec is checked. If there is, uncheck it and then install AVG.

Good luck.

Should I uninstall Norton first, then install AVG?

Absolutely! That is a MUST.

Free AVG:

http://free.avg.com/download

Free Avast:

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Thanks for the info, guys!  Good stuff.

After you uninstall Norton be sure to use the Symantec Uninstall Tool to completely remove all of the cr@p that Norton installs on your system for the cleanest uninstall. The only down side is if your running Ghost, it will be removed as well.

As to running without some kind of protection, Not recommended!

One good application is Bit Defender, they have a free 30 day trial program, 2009 Internet Security that you can get from their site. After 30 days if you run their removal tool you can reinstall it but you must use their removal tool because Windows uninstall will not remove certain registry files and you will not be able to reinstall it.

Download Windows Defender, again, its free and works so why not.

Download the free version of Zone Alarm firewall because Windows firewall is a joke

Be sure you do Windows updates frequently.

A few of the best tricks are as follows.

In IE go to Tools/Internet Options/Privacy/Advanced and tweak the cookie settings as follows, Over ride automatic cookie handling. accept first party cookies, block 3rd party cookies, always allow cookie sessions.

Create a non privileged account on your system and use that while online. Most of the "bad stuff" cannot run or install without administrator privileged access.

BTW, I'm  Sys Admin for a major contractor with several IT certifications. If you have any questions PM or email me

bassnman mike

Ok, guy's

I did this before I got answers from ya...

I uninstalled Norton, restarted..installed AVG.

All is well except for windows firewall..

I went to play poker in FaceBook after turning on windows fire wall.

and it would not give me info, but did not freeze up like it use to with Norton.So everything is running faster and better except for a fire wall on? So it seems I should download zone alarm?

Man I love this site, and all the help in so many way's I get here...

Create a non privileged account on your system and use that while online. Most of the "bad stuff" cannot run or install without administrator privileged access.

great advice.

at home i have a kvm switch that allows me to switch between two computers and use the same keyboard, mouse, monitor etc. i use an older computer when im on the net dwnlding from newsgroups, filesharing sites etc. i can reinstall windows whenever i want and not have to worry about backing anything up. a portable hard drive is a good way to transfer files to the good computer after i've determined they are not a threat...

After getting AVG, I can't believe I wasted all that money on McAfee.  :-[

I second the Bitdefender suggestion. It uses more system resources than AVG but it works much better. I've said it a thousand times but I'll say it again. Free antivirus software is never as good as the stuff you pay for. If you are smart, you can get away with the free stuff but be careful.

As far as free programs with real-time system protection AVG is a good choice but I also suggest Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. It is only an on-demand scanner but it finds a lot of stuff that other programs won't.

Ok another follow up...

Which browser is the safest? I just started using apples safari.

For PC's Firefox is a little safer than IE but the bottom line is more people use IE just because it comes bundled with Windows however, the only reason Firefox is safer is because the jerks out there want to cause as much damage as possible and like I said, more people use IE.

Now dont take me wrong, Firefox is NOT completely safe, nothing is. You must still be careful. Its not IF you'll get "Infected" but WHEN and how much damage it will do before you catch it. I'll be the first to admit that even though I take precautions, firewalls both software and hardware, routers, switches, virus protection, blah, blah, blah, I've still had to format our PC's more than once.

I said it before and I cant stress it enough, DO WINDOWS UPDATES! This is your best defense. I dont use the automatic updates and I'll tell you why. Microsoft puts out their updates on Tuesdays, people download and install the updates then with automatic updates. Come Wednesday or Thursday MS discovers that the update had a bug that caused things to go wrong and then they release an update to the update on Friday. I wait until Friday evenish to view and install the updates.

Some people say that MACS are the best, while this MAY be currently true remember, as more people migrate to the MAC because of their security so will the jerks that attack windows based PC's

bassnman mike