What anti-virus+anti spyware etc programmes is best to have?

Question

Hi, My Norton security suit has recently expired which was easy to use an protected me quite well.

I have now installed a free version of McAfee which I got with sky broadband and its not user friendly,also does not block spam like Norton does.

Can anybody give me some advice on which anti-virus,anti spyware and antispam etc. programmes to get for full overall protection on my PC.

Thanx very much
paul

Ps I have a programme called system mechanic and would like to know if this is a good programme and if not what is the alternatives?

Answer 1

Norton Systemworks is very good, I recommend it. If you get systemworks you have no need for mechanic. Systemworks takes care of alot of things. If you stick with norton I would get this. I would get rid of McAfee, it's not that good. However the best for both anti-virus and spyware is Spysweeper with Antivirus. This program is too good and gets better each day. It protects from over 170,500 threats. No other software can even compare or come close to it. Spysweeper is 2nd to none. They have a free trial. I highly recommend it.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

For Antivirus

The best pay-for ones are Kaspersky and Nod32. These brands may not be as well known as Norton or McAfee but are more effective and far less intrusive. They also don't hog up so much system resources. Norton and McAfee were great 5-10 years ago, but now they are bloated and overpriced compared to the alternatives out there. For free, AVG works great (I use it at home)... Better than Norton but not as good as the aforementioned two above.

For Anti-Spyware

Windows Defender is free and so is Spybot Search and Destroy. I would recommend a combination of the two. The only downside is you have to manually update Spybot every so often.

Anti-Spam

Personally I am not a fan of any anti-spam software you have to pay for. None of them really do much to actually prevent spam. I prefer to just train the junk mail controls on my e-mail client and find that it works just as well without having to buy anything.

Firewall

Nothing beats hardware. Even a cheap router. The best protection is a firewall router or any new NVIDIA nForce motherboard now comes with a hardware firewall (ActiveArmor) built into the board. If you do go software, then ZoneAlarm free works as good as any.

Answer 4

I have Norton Internet Security 2005 on three computers plus 2 free spyware programs Ad-aware and Spybot....never had as much as a pop up in 2 years...very happy will upgrade to Norton 2007 when update subscription expires in June.

But remember a good security program is just like a good lock on your door.......it's useless if the door is left wide open.

if you don't keep the anti virus definitions updated and run the programs several times a week.....you will get a virus and spyware.

Answer 5

Trend Micro works really well. They have a website you can go to and run what they call "Housecall" which is an AV and AS scan. Runs pretty fast compared to Norton or the others and it's free. They usually update their software with fixes for new bugs faster than alot of the others... rated in top 5 by PC reviews, none of which included Norton, McAfee, etc. If you want firewall protection, etc. buy the download or cd for about $39. Shop around and it might be less somewhere else.

Answer 6

most anti-spywares programs are equally created, their job is the same, but not all of them is 100% perfectly works, some might left out whatever others catched, so it's wise to have more than 1 in your computer, you can get them for free at http://filehippo.com, check out Ad-aware, Spybots Search and Destroy, and Windows Defenders, these 3 are popular, and will complementary each other nicely, and all of these are free. Don't forget to update them regularly to catch newer bad guys.

on the other hand, you cannot have more than 1 antivirus and firewall. If you more than 1 antivirus, they don't play nice with each other, same for Firewall, so just one of each would do, just make sure you update them regularly, then you'll be okay.

Answer 7

Here are all the tools I use to keep my computer clean. All free.

Anti Virus
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/products-avg-... - AVG Anti Virus
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/...... - Trend Micro free online virus and spyware scan

Protection from BHO (browser helper objects) spyware, malware
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareb... - Spywareblaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareg... - Spywareguard

Scanning for spyware and removing
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad-awar... - Ad-Aware SE Personal
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirro... - Spybot search and destroy
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security... - Windows Defender Spyware protection for free

Answer 8

I prefer free things. AVG Antivirus and Spybot Search and destroy are great free programs. You may also consider a free firewall like ZoneAlarm since Norton suite has that - and you will no longer be protected from attacks if on dsl or broadband (any service with a constant internet connection).

Answer 9

Avast Anti-Virus is great, has 7 different active protections that run at the same time. And the home version is totally free.

Spybot search and destroy and AdAware are also great for removing spyware/adware.

Answer 10

system mechanic is a good program you can use it as your anti virus it helps to speed up your PC it tells you whether your PC is safe from virus...it tells you secuirty level......it has kaspersky antivirus n this is best....coz it is user fridenly..n can update any time..it is free version....kaspersky prompt you when some virus is entering in your PC..it tells you from which IP the virus is coming..

i m using system mechanic n i m very satisfy with its performance...

about spyware you can use spybot search n destroy software...this is good program..