Picking Anti-Virus Software...
Warning: Don't ever ever ever buy into a program called "Personal Anti-Virus" you will fight for days trying to get rid of it and it locks you out of the intranet!!!! That program is THE VIRUS, and it is set up to look like AVG... (When I dealt with this program I had to do a seven times military spec wipe to first get rid of the program then, reinstall all software...)
This page on this site is not geared to make money, but rather expose the truth about certain software programs!!!
Anti-Virus software is designed to prevent computer viruses. A computer virus is a program that makes copies of itself and infects files and just like any type of virus or disease works. They work in the unseen world of computers which can be devastating corrupting files and even causing data loss. You can have a virus(es) and not even know it. They can also change your data. I once repaired a computer where as soon as the owner finally was able to go online and her anti-viruses updated her computer was so unstable it would not run. You need Anti-Virus software especially when surfing the net. Anti-Virus software will also protect your computer from disks and other sources that may contain a virus. There are a lot of risks including cheap software. Often your computer will ask you if you trust a site before making a download. If it is an unreliable site it may not be safe to download stuff on the intranet because not having an anti virus can harm and destroy a users computer. I recently tried to reinstall a Cosmi PDF converter and it gave me a virus. (Cheap software can do this.) I have also had a virus in a private label product. A warning to the wise cheap software can fatally put a computer out of commission. This is especially true if you are installing and uninstalling the software. Often cheap software, even if it does not have a virus, can leave clutter all over your hard drive. Worse off cheap software can be difficult, and next to impossible to remove from your hard drive. In some cases you may even have to reinstall Windows in order to get rid of certain programs. I will be including a download link to a good uninstall program when I find one. I have one on this page but I haven't tried it yet...Without Anti-Virus software you can risk a total system crash even infecting back up disks. Disks or emails or downloads and uploads that are infected can cause a problem to other computers. If you can imagine the common cold and how bad it feels imagine your computer being not only sick but contagious. Be sure that when accepting a disk from a friend, it won’t crash your computer as infected files can do this. Also sometimes if you copy a disk it can give you a virus as some disks do not like to be copied and / or they will only let so many copies be made. Make sure all your software is up to date and that your subscriptions are still good. When your subscription runs out your software is useless. Also make sure everything is up to date as protecting software has to be renewed to scan for the latest threats!
Here are some key points to look for in Anti-Virus software. When picking antivirus focus on:
•Auto update (Make sure you do not have to manually update it since it is too easy to forget. Even some of the best software you have to update manually.)
Auto update (Make sure you do not have to manually update it since it is too easy to forget. Even some of the best software you have to update manually.) •Make sure that the software doesn’t too take much of your system resources for it to run. This happened with LavaSoft on an older machine. While the computer allowed the install it would not finish running and I also had a hard time even starting it. I did not have enough RAM. SpyBot will work on older machines, and I will be trying it shortly. As soon as I try SpyBot I will give you a full report on how it works. Norton a popular version that comes preloaded on many new computers is this way. It can really bog your system down and though I have never tried it I won't because I heard too many bad reports about it.
Make sure that the software doesn’t too take much of your system resources for it to run. This happened with LavaSoft on an older machine. While the computer allowed the install it would not finish running and I also had a hard time even starting it. I did not have enough RAM. SpyBot will work on older machines, and I will be trying it shortly. As soon as I try SpyBot I will give you a full report on how it works. Norton a popular version that comes preloaded on many new computers is this way. It can really bog your system down and though I have never tried it I won't because I heard too many bad reports about it. •Automatic scanning (Again the less you have to mess with the better. Without automatic scanning you will have to run it and that is just one more thing you should not have to do. BEWARE OF AUTOMATIC SCANNING IN THAT WHEN A COMPUTER AUTOSCANS IT OFTEN DOES NOT DO A FULL SCAN. That is OK acceptable just remember to do a full scan later on when the computer is not running so many resources. I had McAfee, and if memory serves me right I always had to manually run it. Some people swear by McAfee but I swore I’d never buy it again. AVG is interesting in that you can control the scan speed so when you need the computer you can slow the scan down, and when your computer is not being used you can speed it up. Just remember if you speed AVG scanning up then go to use the computer you will have to slow AVG back down so you will have enough system resources to run other programs.)
Automatic scanning (Again the less you have to mess with the better. Without automatic scanning you will have to run it and that is just one more thing you should not have to do. BEWARE OF AUTOMATIC SCANNING IN THAT WHEN A COMPUTER AUTOSCANS IT OFTEN DOES NOT DO A FULL SCAN. That is OK acceptable just remember to do a full scan later on when the computer is not running so many resources. I had McAfee, and if memory serves me right I always had to manually run it. Some people swear by McAfee but I swore I’d never buy it again. AVG is interesting in that you can control the scan speed so when you need the computer you can slow the scan down, and when your computer is not being used you can speed it up. Just remember if you speed AVG scanning up then go to use the computer you will have to slow AVG back down so you will have enough system resources to run other programs.)•Real-time protection (Make sure your computer always has it running. I used Avast from OfficeMax’s CntrCenter as bundled software. Avast even has an audible siren when it senses a virus. Avast worked great however, CntrCenter wiped out all my data so I don’t recommend using remote quick easy software fixes. WORD TO THE WISE, DON'T EVER USE OFFICEMAX'S CntrCenter products THEY DID ME SO DIRTY I ALMOST STOPPED DOING BUSINESS WITH OFFICEMAX ALL TOGETHER.)
Real-time protection (Make sure your computer always has it running. I used Avast from OfficeMax’s CntrCenter as bundled software. Avast even has an audible siren when it senses a virus. Avast worked great however, CntrCenter wiped out all my data so I don’t recommend using remote quick easy software fixes. WORD TO THE WISE, DON'T EVER USE OFFICEMAX'S CntrCenter products THEY DID ME SO DIRTY I ALMOST STOPPED DOING BUSINESS WITH OFFICEMAX ALL TOGETHER.)•Easy to use (Get a program with an easy install and uninstall so if you don’t like it you can later remove it. [Just remember what I said earlier cheap programs don't like to uninstall and they can become a major thorn in your side. They may pop up until you pay to activate them and the activation may only be good for a year.] Also make sure if you use different brands of virus protection, adware protection, and so on, together that they are compatible. Some software can wreck havoc on a computer if they are not compatible and this is true with all software. My best advice is to spend the extra money and get all the protection tied into one program that way you never have compatibility issues. As an example one time I tried a private label right reader program and it knocked part of Adobe Reader offline.)
Easy to use (Get a program with an easy install and uninstall so if you don’t like it you can later remove it. [Just remember what I said earlier cheap programs don't like to uninstall and they can become a major thorn in your side. They may pop up until you pay to activate them and the activation may only be good for a year.] Also make sure if you use different brands of virus protection, adware protection, and so on, together that they are compatible. Some software can wreck havoc on a computer if they are not compatible and this is true with all software. My best advice is to spend the extra money and get all the protection tied into one program that way you never have compatibility issues. As an example one time I tried a private label right reader program and it knocked part of Adobe Reader offline.) Avoid free software (There is freeware and they not good because…)
•Lack of support (If you absolutely must go this route due to finances, I recommend AVG. However they will get you too. Your virus vault will fill up and you will not be able to empty it which renders the program useless until you pay for it. Worse yet it will fail you at the most inopportune time.)
Lack of support (If you absolutely must go this route due to finances, I recommend AVG. However they will get you too. Your virus vault will fill up and you will not be able to empty it which renders the program useless until you pay for it. Worse yet it will fail you at the most inopportune time.) •Rarely updates (Paid programs you will typically have to renew the service once ever year. Make sure not to forget to renew your service. If you forget some programs cease to function altogether.)
Rarely updates (Paid programs you will typically have to renew the service once ever year. Make sure not to forget to renew your service. If you forget some programs cease to function altogether.)•No guarantee (Be sure your software has a guaranteed virus protection and also has a refund policy. Most paid programs once opened must be returned to the company so make sure it is something you intend to keep.)
No guarantee (Be sure your software has a guaranteed virus protection and also has a refund policy. Most paid programs once opened must be returned to the company so make sure it is something you intend to keep.)•Don’t give full protection (Though a lot of programs don’t offer full protection try to get bundled software. Note that when you do this sometimes less money is truly less protection. Imagine a program like a bullet proof vest. You will want the best in protection or your computer and others will be at risk.
Don’t give full protection (Though a lot of programs don’t offer full protection try to get bundled software. Note that when you do this sometimes less money is truly less protection. Imagine a program like a bullet proof vest. You will want the best in protection or your computer and others will be at risk. •Try to get a paid program that gives you a hard disk CD because downloaded programs will be no good if you ever lose them. If you do download a program keep any emails so there is a record of it in case you ever have a crash. Also if there is an activation code be sure to keep it, along with any disks. WORD TO THE WISE IF A DISK LOOKS IMPORTANT CHANCES ARE IT COULD BE. BE CAREFUL TO SAVE DISKS IN A SAFE PLACE AS YOU MAY NEED THEM LATER ON.
Try to get a paid program that gives you a hard disk CD because downloaded programs will be no good if you ever lose them. If you do download a program keep any emails so there is a record of it in case you ever have a crash. Also if there is an activation code be sure to keep it, along with any disks. WORD TO THE WISE IF A DISK LOOKS IMPORTANT CHANCES ARE IT COULD BE. BE CAREFUL TO SAVE DISKS IN A SAFE PLACE AS YOU MAY NEED THEM LATER ON. •One more word of caution if you are backing up files they can be infected too just like an air born virus carries. Be sure your Anti-Virus scans all disks including flash drives as they can be infected as well.
One more word of caution if you are backing up files they can be infected too just like an air born virus carries. Be sure your Anti-Virus scans all disks including flash drives as they can be infected as well. •What it all boils down to is you get what you pay for, sometimes though not always. It pays to shop around and learn from people who have made mistakes. If you are using a free word processor such as the one I have used through Open Office that is one thing however a word processor or a free PDF converter isn’t your body armor protecting your entire computer. With anti-virus we are talking about protection against programs that will harm or destroy your computer not to mention what it can do to other programs. Since viruses can travel unseen from one computer to the next it is important to find and quarantine corrupted files. Also you might consider an email server such as Yahoo that scans attachments for viruses. In combat you need armor and running a computer is similar you need armor or, in the computer world anti-virus protection.
What it all boils down to is you get what you pay for, sometimes though not always. It pays to shop around and learn from people who have made mistakes. If you are using a free word processor such as the one I have used through Open Office that is one thing however a word processor or a free PDF converter isn’t your body armor protecting your entire computer. With anti-virus we are talking about protection against programs that will harm or destroy your computer not to mention what it can do to other programs. Since viruses can travel unseen from one computer to the next it is important to find and quarantine corrupted files. Also you might consider an email server such as Yahoo that scans attachments for viruses. In combat you need armor and running a computer is similar you need armor or, in the computer world anti-virus protection. •Note that some freeware is free because it is designed to infect and to spy. I noticed some of the highest ranking sites in Google were totally infected. Always use trusted sites even trusted sites that have freeware on them I have heard of them having viruses. I have learned my lesson the hard way. Free ware most often is no good. While some may swear by them they will fail you in the most inopportune time. Luckily I had just enough money on my credit card to download AVG paid version. Here is what happened with AVG free. It stopped functioning.
Note that some freeware is free because it is designed to infect and to spy. I noticed some of the highest ranking sites in Google were totally infected. Always use trusted sites even trusted sites that have freeware on them I have heard of them having viruses. I have learned my lesson the hard way. Free ware most often is no good. While some may swear by them they will fail you in the most inopportune time. Luckily I had just enough money on my credit card to download AVG paid version. Here is what happened with AVG free. It stopped functioning. A word of advice, pay people what they are worth. If you try to go the freeway of doing things sooner or later you will be burned. A man is worth his wages. It's like me I work my tail off on this site paying for all kinds of information and more just so I can give it away free. My links are good and safe and I work for free. But I really appreciate if you make a download do so from my site. They are not all paid links for me but every penny helps to run this ministry. Sometime ago people may have gotten away with all kinds of freeware that ran good. Let me tell you times change. It cost real money to host web sites and though I pay for everything out of my pocket it would be good to make a little money. I have to admit when I first wrote these articles that I had gathered a lot of this information from second hand places. Now that I am learning the heart of the matter, what I have written here is the absolute truth. Those free places that give away "free anti-virus protection," are like letting the fox guard the hen house. I mean even if you run NetZero by goodness pay the extra $5.00 for a extra Kbs or two and get "McLaffin at ya" for free. McAffee comes with the $15 version of NetZero. In reality the program is called McAffee or something of the order it is not effective to say the least. Use caution when getting too much in a bundle package. I run iolo System Mechanic and though it works good the anti-virus ain't worth a hoot. It will work in a pinch I suppose but it performs very poor.AVG free isn't free, because unless you pay for it, your trial will run out and leave you stranded usually in-between paychecks. What is real deceptive about it is you may think your computer is protected as I did and it is not. Let me reiterate something, the days of free have ended. Do yourself a favor and buy a good paid anti-virus and anti-spyware program preferably AVG. System Mechanics work especially well though there again, they are usually only good at certain functions and not everything. Don't expect a feature loaded inexpensive program to do all the functions you are expecting for example LavaSoft which turned out to be a complete waste of money. Typically a program is good at a few features, but they are not always the greatest at everything. Some popular recommended anti viruses
•spywareprotectionplus.com This software is in major demand downloaded over 125 million times and not slowing. It is probably one of the most popular Anti-Virus software money can buy. I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware.
spywareprotectionplus.com This software is in major demand downloaded over 125 million times and not slowing. It is probably one of the most popular Anti-Virus software money can buy. I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware. •antiviruspros.com Anti-Virus Plus identifies and eliminates viruses, spyware, adware, rootkits, ID theft, key loggers, Trojan horses, drive-by downloads and more, keeping your computer running smoothly every minute of the day. I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware.
antiviruspros.com Anti-Virus Plus identifies and eliminates viruses, spyware, adware, rootkits, ID theft, key loggers, Trojan horses, drive-by downloads and more, keeping your computer running smoothly every minute of the day. I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware. •onlinesecuritypros.net - All-in-one security suite featuring anti-spyware, Anti-Virus, firewall and spam protection! I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware.
onlinesecuritypros.net - All-in-one security suite featuring anti-spyware, Anti-Virus, firewall and spam protection! I have never used it, and I am afraid to try it because I know what works and doesn't. However if you find it works, I won't stop you, just buyer beware. One more thing is to make sure you have a good Internet connection such as Charter Communications. Unsecured places such as hot spot restaurants can leave you vulnerable to problems. Charter even has its own built in software to protect you, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need Anti-Virus software in addition to a good Internet service. Right now I am working on a computer that the owner relied completely on Charter and after scanning with AVG for several hours I have found over ten bad infections not to include other adware. Another computer I am working on had over 500 bad infections on it and it barely ran. Since it is Windows ME I will be trying SpyBot on it since that is one of the few compatible programs for it. I will give you a full report on how SpyBot did once I get it on the computer in a paid version.
WORD TO THE WISE: IF YOUR COMPUTER IS EXTREMELY INFECTED BE CAREFUL TO PUT YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION ON THAT COMPUTER AS IT COULD BECOME COMPROMISED. BUY THE LICENSE OFF ANOTHER PROTECTED COMPUTER AND PUT THE CODES IN THE ONE YOU ARE CLEANING.
Adware Program I just bought this program and this is how it works... Though I was originally upset with the performance of this program it just saved the day! This program cleaned up a virus whereas AVG did not. Note: Different adware/anti-virus programs have different databases. Who knows McAffee has picked up viruses that others never detected though for the most part McAffee stinks. I personally tried McAffee and SpyRoot (WebRoot???) I think it was called and my system messed up and that was with running my computer protection programs continually. Avast also messed up though I never ever manually ran the program because I thought it was running correctly. This program is also a memory hog on older machines. Half a gigabite of ram is about the lowest amount of RAM it takes to run this program.
Adware just had did a major update on October 14th, 2009. The program works far better now and picked up an incredible amount of viruses and seems to have cleaned them well. I am going to scan drive F now so I will let you know how well that works out. This program is a great value for the money and if you purchase a disk, I am not sure about downloads, it works on up to three computers. I scanned a secondary and primary drive three times, and though 16 threats were detected on one drive, they kept poping back up and were never cleaned. Though this program sounds good it is not very good. Looks can often be deceptive, and this program spells out too many things for the low price. It doesn't work well! It is a better scanner than cleaner. Anti-Virus Plus I never tried this program so I honestly couldn't tell you, but they do have attractive web sites... If attraction sells then these might be the answer but for performance I honestly could not tell you.
Kapersky I will be trying Kapersky out for the first time. I just installed Kapersky on a client's computer and I will see how it works. I heard Kapersky out performs AVG so I will soon find out if the value is worth the price. I will write more later about Kapersky.
If you are in dire straights like me and can't afford to even pay attention then here is some software for you. I have to warn you though the software, Freeware has its drawbacks. It can be over sensitive not allowing you to do things that most systems will allow. While that may sound good it is bad because when you know you are on a trusted site like Hewlett Packard, sometimes it won't allow you to do certain things and there is apparently no override on it. Here are some free downloads, which can ultimately be upgraded even further to enhance your protection, that work good in conjunction with one another.
http://free.avg.com/ AVG is free or they have upgrades. I recommend a 30 day trial to get you started, however be sure to purchase a license when you register. YOU MAY BE BETTER OFF BUYING A DISK IN A STORE!!! OFTEN THEY PROTECT 3 COMPUTERS AND THE PRICE COMES OUT EVEN BETTER. AVG IS ABOUT THE BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AND THEY INCLUDE FIREWALLS, THOUGH I AM NOT COMPLETELY PLEASED WITH THEIR FIREWALLS SINCE THEY REQUIRE A LOT OF FIDDLING TO MAKE THE FIREWALL WORK. Check out their software for root kits. One they give you a 30 day trial. People do have to make money somehow. Once your trial is finished your AVG program ceases to function and becomes dead weight on your hard drive. Have a solid backup plan in mind when this program stops functioning. (Such as a credit card with about $50.00.)
FOR AVG's web site try http://www.avg.com
NOTE: If you have trouble installing this program make a download and install it on your computer in a trial version from the intranet. Once it is on your computer key in your codes to activate the full version.
AVG is a good program in that it allows a slow or faster scan which uses more or less resources, however the fast scan uses all the system resources and I am not sure if that if a good thing for the CPU. I recommend a slow or fast scan speed, not to be confused with a full scan. Run a full scan everytime getting down and getting everything out of your system. This program is probably best purchased in a store since they seem to give you licenses for three computers whereas when I purchased it online I only got one license for the same price. Here are the system requirements for AVG: Intel Pentium 1 or 2 GHz, 70 MB free hard drive space for installation, (more for upgrades) 256 MB of RAM. This is compatable with Vista 32/64 bit, Windows 2000, XP 32/64 bit. It has free program updates, free database updates, and free 24/7 tech support. The boxed version, (I am not suggesting a download the price is more reasonable in the box. I pinch pennies too.) This version I store bought, it comes with 2 year family edition, protects 3 computers, it is easy to use and it takes very little system resources so you can run other programs when scanning. I bought AVG Internet Security, I think my computer uses a wimpier watered down version I downloaded, but the versions I installed on clients computers is better. It has a firewall, anti-spam, real time protection, (Not on my version, I got burned on mine!) schedualing, email scanner, auto-updates, anti-spyware, anti-virus, rootkits, adware, worms, drive by downloads, prevents opening infected files, (something Lavasoft didn't have, been there found out!). It says it automatically heals or removes infected files, rapid system scans. Word on raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapid, it ain't that fast! It is fast on a quick scan but not a slow scan. If you scan at full throttle your CPU will redline!!! NOT COOL! Fast scanning is not a full scan. I need to upgrade. I scanned another infected computer and it worked real well. The other one was bran new so it came up clean. I lost a third license. This is how I lost it. I scanned a severely infected computer and it wasn't able to clean. I reinstalled XP and re-licensed and it I lost a code so AVG burned me and I probably am not getting that 3rd use back! A similiar thing happened with Lavasoft but they allowed me to license a computer in an event like the above. http://www.superantispyware.com/index.html Super Anti-Spyware is free or they have upgrades... This is the best free anti-spyware I have used. I use it in several machines. This one I have used for a while and the free version and it seems to work well. No telling how the paid version works, it is inexpensive and if the free version works well I can't even imagine how well the paid version works.
Please note: This is for spyware only and though it works great to my knowledge it doesn't do adware, rootkits or much else. Also note some programs find viruses but don't always clean them. Lavasoft below had that problem. I scanned three times and each time the same viruses were found in the same places. http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php This program also has a free version however Super Anti-Spyware outperformed it finding adware that lavasoft did not. Also lavasoft failed which was why I uninstalled and switched. I later bought the full paid version of Lavasoft which seems to work good however it does not run well on older machines. The paid version I purchased does not perform well. In fact it would not let me install anti-spyware at a later time though it promised it.
Spy bot freeware. This is a direct link to the company. I have just tried it and I know friends who swear by it. I contacted this company in the middle of the night, and I am sold. Their tech support was excellent, friendly and knowledgeable. (Well not prefect.) I am working on a Windows ME Computer and not everything is compatible with it, so don't purchase it for Windows ME. This software is well priced for the job they do, plus they work on older machines where AVG would not. (Parts of it does, I can't make the firewall work. That is a problem with Windows ME. They offer a firewall and everything for one low price. I installed it on a Windows ME computer with over 500 infections and so far it seems to be working great. The software came bundled with RegistryCleaner, Avast, (I used Avast before and it worked well, and now apparently I am trying it again.) and it has several other features. THIS PROGRAM GIVES A LOT OF BANG FOR THE BUCK!!!
This program is incompatable with Avast!!! Avast- This seemed like a good program until my computer finally crashed!!! I don't think I will try it again, though it is not a memory hog and it does do a lot automatically and the automatic functions seem to have did real good.
THE ULTIMATE COMPUTER PROTECTION!!!
STOP SIGN- This program is perhaps the best computer protection on the market. Unlike other programs this program is real time, allowing you to block invasions to your privacy. This is a good program if your computer is running very poor. They do have a lot of negative feedback however, I have seen this program in action. It is worth the money if you have it however they offer no special promo's, so you will always pay full price. Here is their number 1-800-253-3031. http://www.stop-sign.com Also this program has great tech support and emails custom cleaners. It is priced at around $100 per computer however, it provides by far the best protection on the market. I did google it and there is a lot of negative feedback, however I would try it had I had the money.
