what can i download to get rid of viruses, spyware,adware, pop ups and also a good a firewall?

Question

i have a windows xp home edition computer, i did have norton internet security 2006 but i had to restore my computer back to factory settings because it is so ****, and no longer have it on my computer. I tried to install it again but it is impossible.

Answer 1

goto www.free.grisoft.com download Avg free edition the goto www.zonelabs.com and get zone alarm free ad-aware would be my choice for spyware

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

Well if u want all these things, and r willing 2 pay about £14-£20 per year, u should try Pc-Cillin from Trendmicro....... Best Firewall out there, has even been verified as the best, the most comprehensive virus scanner, with usually up2 3 updates aday (can find at least 3 times as much as norton) has a built in Spyware scanner, but i advise using Lavasoft's Ad-Aware..... I think its the best and so does my friend, who owns a Computer Shop, he reccomends it 2 all his customers and even puts a 90-trail on his £5 shop disc......... By the way "Norton Is A Pile Of S**T"

Answer 4

◙ The very best virus scanners are free. Mcafee & Norton Antivirus are mostly hype and won't do as good as the free ones. -- About.com & Smart Computing Magazine

◙ Download and install AVG. Use it first and see if it finds any viruses or trojans.

► http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

◙ After running AVG go here and run this virus scanner online. There is no need to install it on your computer.

► http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

◙ Microsoft's New Live Safety Center. Download this scanner to check and remove spyware, viruses, get rid of obsolete files and junk off your computer, and improve your PCs performance.

► http://safety.live.com/site/en-US/default.htm?s_cid=msep

◙ The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks computers running Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software?including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom?and helps remove any infection found. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. You can run this tool online FREE.

► http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

◙ Best spyware remover is Ad Aware. Download and install the free version.

◙ http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/

◙ Here is a wealth of information about fighting spyware and spyware producers. Join their free forum for answers to your questions. -- Smart Computing Magazine

► http://www.spywarewarrior.com/

◙ Before downloading email attachments in Gmail and Yahoo Mail click on the link that says, "Scan With Norton Antivirus".

◙ Before downloading any software from the internet type it into http://groups.google.com/ to see if that title is known for spyware or viruses. Google Groups has over 1 billion posts spanning 25 years to help you. Even after checking it there ALWAYS scan it before opening it. You just can't be too careful. -- Smart Computing Magazine

◙ A lot of the download sites like http://www.download.com/ and http://www.tucows.com/ scan software before releasing it to the public. But just for safety sake you should still scan it yourself.

◙ If you have a broadband modem or network router the firewall in these is not as effective as a software firewall. The firewall that comes with Windows XP isn't very good either. Download ZoneAlarm and your system will be a lot safer. -- Smart Computing Magazine

◙ http://www.zonealarm.com/

Answer 5

i've had alot of problems in the past now my pc is as safe as houses i've tryed most of the top antivirus & firewall software like kaspersky,panda& norton, norton is very over rated. If you dont want to spend money which i did'nt to start off i,d recomend avg free version for anti virus,spybot search & destroy,ad aware se from lavasoft & zone alarm free version for you're fire wall run these a few times all you're troubles will disapere and keep you're system safe u can safely download these from majorgeeks.com if u want somthing top notch later on u have to pay for witch i have now u cant beat nod32 for antivirus that beat anything i previously had it also light weight and wont slow down ur system at all the interface is not as user freindly as some dont let that put u off it's the best and for you're firewall i dont think you'll beat out post firewall pro it's full of features and stops everything, also at majorgeeks.com hope this helps it did 4 me

Answer 6

CA (Computer Associates) has a good security suite. It is called Internet Security Suite and it includes their antivirus program, anti-spyware program which also removes adware, and has a firewall. If you download the Internet Explorer 7 it has a very good pop up blocker.

Answer 7

get the following, all are free for a safe surfing experience,
install in SAFE mode with networking ( hit F-8 at boot time ), run them all in SAFE mode
with networking as you'll need it for the updates all the programs below will need.


ANTI VIRAL

AVG (free) http://free.grisoft.com/


FIREWALL

ZoneAlarm http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

WEB BROWSER - http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox

EMAIL use thunderbird. It has a good built in spam filter and learns when you teach it. http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird

SPYWARE

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html


and if you have a wireless router follow these tips,


1. Use WPA encryption (WPA-PSK) it's less crackable then WEP.

2. Make a passphrase that is upper & lower case and has some numbers thrown in there as well, again harder to crack.
some like mAkE1t5eCurE0rel53 and as long as possible.

3. Use MAC access control so only you or authorized PC's can connect (even if you do have encryption turned on)

4. Turn off DHCP use static addresses.

5. Turn off SSID (and change it) unless your card really needs it (some do)

6. Change username/password of access unit front end

7. Ensure you have the usual firewall enabled on your PC.

8. Paranoia rules, turn WLAN off if your not using it :)


one last tip
control panel---administrator tools--services--messenger

right clik on it
stop the service
then disable it
save changes

Answer 8

first of all ,you must get some anti-virus protection on your computer,a very good free scanner is avast4 avalible from http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html#3,i know this is good as my wife uses it and it has kept her system in tip top condition,you do have to register it before 60 days is up,but registration is free
for spyware protection you cannot go far wrong than to use spybot and adaware,you can get spybot from http://www.safer-networking.org/,and adaware from http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/.
both these programs need to be updated every time you use them,and in the case of spybot you should also imunize it after every update(this creates a barrier protecting you from known spyware),it blocks pages silently within internet explorer
adaware personal is a dedicated adware scanner,so thats why it runs so well along with spybot crearing a all round security package against all threats
you should only install one anti-virus as more than 1 scanner will cause conflicts and mess up your computer
i am glad to hear you have ditched norton,as it drains recourses and has compatibility issues with service pack 2,avast or avg free avalible from http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 ,is plenty good enough for the average home user and both give regular updates
for some added protection why not download and install the yahoo toolbar from http://uk.toolbar.yahoo.com/,this has a pop-up bloker as well as a anti-spy scanner(which apparently is very good at blocking browser hijacks(were spyware changes your homepage to unknown shopping websites))
i hope this information will help you to use the internet more safely,why not burn the programs to disc when you have downloaded them so you have a dedicated security disc containing all your security needs
good luck

Answer 9

Here is a package that protects me and my neighbor. I haven't been infected in 5 months, and since I put it on his computer, he hasn't been infected in 3 months. He likes to download porn and it still protects him. Best of all everything is Free and work as good and better than pay packages.

Download the latest Java Update 7. Then remove any older versions from your computer.

http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_...

Go here and download the following programs: All will be in the first 3 red boxes.

http://www.filehippo.com/

Firewall. - If you have XP with SP2 then use the existing Windows firewall. It is excellent. If not then download Zone Alarm free version.

Anti-Virus program - If you have one then use it or replace it with one of these: AVG 7.1 or AVAST

Anti-Spy programs: Use more than one. None can catch all the garbage out there: Windows Defender Beta 2, Spybot Search and Destroy, AdAware SE Personal.

This program will work with the AV and AS programs and add an additional layer of protection and it really works great.

http://www.novatix.com/home.aspx...

This program will alert you to bad sites:

http://www.siteadvisor.com/

These are my recommendation based on what protects me and my neighbor

Answer 10

hmmm... Symantec is very susceptible to viral attacks,,, it's kind of like the Windows OS,,, its very possible, u have a virus in which has undermined Symantec and possibly disabled some or all of it's functionality,, a more tailored approach than jumping to restoring ur operating system is to use another Virus Scan Program,,, u can can also use registry cleaner to remove rogue entries that are probably disabling ur firewall (i usually do a recursive search for bad words in the registry as well,,like disable,, ull be surprised what u find).. also there are higher levels of scanning and resolving that can be done on ur hard drive rather than your OS,,,see virus scans work by recognizing the signature of viruses,, which is why they update,,, to know the new signatures,,, u can use something like linux defender which will boot from a CD and scan your Hard drive,,, this is fail proof with a updated Virus Scanner,, like the one linux defender comes with,,, just enable ntfs-3g drivers which should be done by default..

Answer 11

if you are willing to pay try http://www.kaspersky.com/ they are reputed to be 'the best' but as you are well aware new viruses popup almost overnight, though they have strong filter system to protect your pc....otherwise another good one is avast AV (they have a free personal edition) also try download.com >> security but be sure to read user comments about free software. for a good firewall check firewallleaktester.com you can even test your current firewall on the site.
a word of note: microsoft security products are not the best youv'e seen yet :)