Posted on 12/22/2004 1:06:17 PM PST by backhoe
Nancy, the two best free antiviruses that I have used and suggest others try are AVG and Avast! You can always try having a friend with a CD or DVD burner download & burn a copy if you have technical problems getting online, or are reluctant to DL online yourself. ( also see "PS" at bottom )--
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home2.html
One or the other ( it is not recommended running more than one at a time ) is about as good as the store-bought programs like McAfee or Norton. Some claim they are better, and I am inclined to agree. Smaller, less intrusive.
In addtion, it is not a bad idea to check occassionaly with an online scan- sometimes one will catch something the others miss.
The most thorough is Trendmicro ( virus, trojan, spyware and security holes )--
http://housecall-beta.trendmicro.com/en/start_corp.asp
Some other good ones:
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp?j=1&langid=us&venid=sym&plfid=22&pkj=CUXVBXUQIZQVMUYTACD
http://www.rav.ro/scan/indexn.php
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/license.php
Also, most antivirus software ( except for trend ) does not detect spyware, so you need something on the HD that does-- Microsoft's Antispyware ( search their homepage ) is very, very good. Ad-Aware SE by Lavasoft is well thought of:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Be sure to use the "full system scan"-- you need to check everything.
Do not use MS Internet Explorer, except for the sites ( like MS! ) that won't accept anything else-- get FireFox, or Opera, or even Netscape. IE is a popup and virus magnet.
You need a hardware firewall, too. How? Set up a home network, either wired or wireless. Even if you have only one PC, put it behind a modern Ethernet router-- all the new ones have a NAT firewall, and it filters out a load of garbage. Every hour, my router's log show dozens of "unrecognized attempts" by random port scans. You won't know how many intrusions are tried until you get a LAN ( local area network ) and see the logs. It's awful out there in 'netland nowadays.
No, I'm not really a Geek- Just an old Keyboard Cowboy ( going back to vacuum tubes ) who learned a lot from others while Ridin' the Trakball into the Dawn of the Information Age.
John R
PS-- regrading this:
"THIS one I'm using..........the D drive doesn't work.
The laptop? Doesn't have a CD writer program on it worth a dip....yes. I already tried. "
One workaround is to get a jump drive ( a RAM stick that plugs into a USB port ) and download software to it-- when you start a DL, you can specify where you want it saved, so just enter D: or whatever your PC "sees" the jump drive as. Jump drives are dirt cheap nowadays- look for a closeout or special.
Good luck-- the people who write ot propagate viruses, spyware, and spam should be triple fined, jailed, and publically horsewhipped-- they are wrecking the 'net for everyone else.
Doesn't matter since Firefox isn't anywhere near as vulnerable as IE is to homepage hijacks, secret malware installations, and phishing schemes. That's why everyone is dumping IE because they don't have to fool with a third party app to provide security to the browser.
Thanks for keeping this thread going.
Cheers,
knews hound
Thanks for looking.
How appropriate. Just got in 20 minutes ago from fixing a friend's machine after the latest version of IE was hijacked and his system taken over. He's now using firefox.
Think of IE as a Virus Magnet... honest to God, I've had fewer problems with old versions of Netscape on some of the backup PC's around here. But the Fox is more modern... I've used it as my main browser since having a nasty hijack last summer. 267 viruses... and this was working behind a hardware firewall.
I believe it. This poor guy is new to pcs and when I got over there, it took 45 minutes just to get some semblance of control over his machine so I could get into the registry. After 3 hours, the mess still wasn't completely cleaned up; but, at least he can function till he can get the OS reinstalled. Before I got there, they could run their machine a total of about 5 minutes before it shut itself down. And half that time was spent trying to close windows, exit programs, etc. They could literally do nothing. If software companies could be held legally liable for the damage done by their incompetance, MS would be out of business.
The people who write or propagate this sh!t should be triple-fined for lost time and damages, imprisoned, and whipped in the public square.
No, I am not kidding. It's time to come down like a ton of bricks on these vermin who are ruining the 'net experience for everybody else.
Yeah, he's got a special circumstance and doesn't have the install set for his pc as yet. So I fixed it enough that he can get by till he can take it in Monday to have the thing re-imaged. He's on a rent to own program and they wouldn't give him the install set till it's paid off..
Yeah, he's got a special circumstance and doesn't have the install set for his pc as yet. So I fixed it enough that he can get by till he can take it in Monday to have the thing re-imaged. He's on a rent to own program and they wouldn't give him the install set till it's paid off..
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