Am i protected from viruses?

Question

My pc runs on windows xp. I have just installed McAfee security center from my friend's cd-rom. Windows security center is displaying virus protection is ON (in green) and so is Firewall and automatic updates. Does that mean I am fully protected? Can windows security cente detect on a current basis if my antivirus is out-of-date and needs upgrading?

Answer 1

from reading all the answers you have got up to now,none have really answeed youe question in a easy to understand way
as long as your security center has all three items saying "on",then you are o.k,
also run your mcafee anti-virus program and look under automatic updates,and make sure that this is enabled
windows will detect if your anti-virus software is out of date and will alert you in the way of a "notification "that will appear in the taskbar,it will then recpmmend you what to do,such as updating it,or if its subscription has run out,how to get anti-virus programs while you wait to buy a new anti-virus subcription
this may be in the form of trialware,which can last you from 15days to 1 year,the one year trial being from computer accosiates(e-trust),so this is really a full product
only one problem with mcafee,it drains system resources quite bad,so unless you have around 1gb ram ,you may notice your system suffering when doing a large scan
a very good free anti-virus which uses little memory is avast4.7(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html),i use this and to be honest i would,nt use anything else,its everything you want in a a/virus and as its free ,it makes it even better
i used to use norton anti-virus 2005 and panda platinum and avast4.7 has done a better job than both these put together
so yes your security settings are fine,but do what i do , every sunday night do a security sweep,this includes a anti-virus scan, a spyware scan , and run disc clean up ,then go to run type msconfig and press start up tab and uncheck any start up items that you dont want running.........all these will optimize your systems security and performance...oh yes..after all these tasks do a restart
good luck

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

there are viruses for Linux, yet they could't stay very lengthy in a Linux's detrimental environment, subsequently they don't look potential there's some issues that "guard" a linux pc hostile to viruses: a million. permissions, maximum executables are owned through root and subsequently a universal person does not have writing permissions and would't "turn on" the virus. that is extremely for unexperienced customers 2. can't propagate. the way linux is built blocks lots of "injuries" and blunders that a person would make 3. an epidemic can't conceal in an open source product o.k.

Answer 4

I would say,you are protected for now. but soon you will be vulnerable to virus. Everybody are vulnerable. See, virus are programs that is developed every now and then. If your antivirus is able to detect that new virus then is good otherwise you will be chaos. What i am saying actually it is that there is no such superior antivirus its all up to you after all. Though, they antivirus programs help a lot. just update what you got every month or as often as u could.

Answer 5

You are pretty much protected against most viruses and the average hacker, but not spyware.
You can only run one anti virus program, and there is no anti virus that will find all viruses. So just pick one, update it regularly, and run it.

You need all three anti spyware programs;
http://www.ewido.net - AVG(Ewido) anti trojan.
http://www.lavasoft.com - Ad-Aware SE Personal anti adware
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search and Destroy anti spyware

http://spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm - The Spyware Warrior site identifies fake anti spyware programs.
http://www.ccleaner.com Cr*pcleaner Registry cleaner and privacy tool
http://www.mailwasher.net/ -spam filter
Winpatrol is a handy utility that tracks cookies on your pc and stops unwanted changes to your startup folder.
http://www.winpatrol.com
Spywareblaster works with Internet Explorer and Firefox. It won't uninstall spyware that is already on your pc, but it will prevent hijacks and other malicious changes to your browser.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com
http://www.siteadvisor.com -MacAffee Site Advisor warns about malware on sites you are about to visit.
http://www.sys-shield.com - AbsoluteShield File Shredder
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Lavasoft-ARIES-Rootkit-Remover.shtml - Aries Rootkit remover.

Remember to update and run all of you anti malware programs at least once a week.

Answer 6

McAfee will run out and charge you to renew, and so will Norton. I have found the programs below to be far superior:

Run the tool and then download the free spyware and virus protection programs:

Malicious virus removal tool:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Ad-Aware Free download:
http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/...

AVG Download free
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Yahoo Toolbar has good pop-up blocker:
http://toolbar.yahoo.com/

Good Luck

Answer 7

Go Google AVG FREE it's a free virus protection program,and gives updates regularly,and is 10 times better then McAfee.

Answer 8

As long as you keep the software up to date, and you're using a reputed software suite (McAfee being one...) then you're as protected as much as can be. All you can do in addition is watch for dodgy email attachments, and avoid dodgy websites. Porn sites are notorious for doing funny things with your PC.

As you've installed McAfee firewall, make sure you go into control panel and then windows firewall, and turn that off. Having two firewalls can cause all kinds of fun.

Answer 9

You are pretty well protected, but remember MaFee et all by their nature are always playing "catch up" with the evil doers. Nobody is 100% protected. P.s. another good protection program (free) is SpywareBlaster

Answer 10

just remember, even if you have antivirus, firewall, updates and anti-spy.. you still need to know what you're doing..don't press okay unless you're sure it's safe.