2007-11-09 05:35:09 · 23 answers · asked by gordi 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
Download the free version of Zone Alarm - an excellent firewall. Avast (also available in a free edition) is an excellent choice for detecting spyware, malware, and the occasion trojan horse.
Refer to: http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp and http://www.avast.com
Good luck to you !!
2007-11-09 05:41:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a number of free programs avalable [see list attached]. However, in every review I have seen, none compare to the paid subscriptions -- i terms of being able to protect the computer as well. Some are close to as effective -- but none come close to the top.
There are some advantages to some of the free ones however, Norton and Mcafee seem to be 'bloat ware' and pack so much useless garbage into there programs that it actually slows down the computer and registry. Many of the free ones do not tend to do that and on comptuers with light resources [CPU process power, little memory, etc...] the smaller programs may be worth the trade off.
They may be worth looking at. One word of caution, When ever I have seen a virus on a computer [and I fix computers for a living], it has always happened when the user was using, nothing or freeware antivirus options. I have not seen a virus on properly configured Norton or Mcafee systems. That should tell you something about the programs.
Good luck in your decisions.
2007-11-09 05:47:22 · answer #2 · answered by Thomas H 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a number of programs such as Ad Aware, AVG, SpyBot etc.. some internet providers will also give you free anti virus. However none of them seem to be as effective as the paid versions. Perhaps you might get a better deal with McAfee?
It does seem a lot of money at the time, but you are covered for a year and the price pales in comparison to having to fork out for a repairman or new pc.
I had a laptop a few years ago which only had the free programs on it. After a while it wouldnt even switch on, and when I took it to the computer shop they said they had never seen so many viruses on one computer! So there you go...
2007-11-09 05:56:03 · answer #3 · answered by ~ Arwen ~ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have used AVG Anti Virus, Zone Alarm Firewall, Spy-bot Search and Destroy and Ad Aware both spyware killers for years. They are all free for personal use and I have had no trouble with Viruses Trojans etc. AVG does not slow the system down as much as some other products and Zone Alarm allows a lot of personal configuration unlike the Windows Firewall. They can all be downloaded from the following link. http://www.computeractive.co.uk/... On the home page select downloads and then the appropriate category.I also use Windows Defender from the Microsoft site. It is safe to use two anti-spy products but never use more than one A/V as it can cause conflicts. You should run A/V and anti spy weekly. Hope this helps.
2007-11-09 05:42:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry but I don't agree with wcanoodle about what happens if you uninstall and reinstall Norton. We needed to have Windows XP reinstalled back in the summer. I then used our original Norton disc to reinstall the internet security, and once done the system knew exactly how many days subscription I had left. I certainly didn't get another year!
Try AVG or Avast I've heard these give reliable free antivus protection.
2007-11-09 05:50:11 · answer #5 · answered by Rainbow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i like norton, but then i have 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard drive so i don't suffer with the normal resource guzzling of norton. i have recently bought my son a new computer and i have installed Avast for him, since using Avast there have been absolutely no problems whatsoever, i also have ad-aware from lavasoft installed and spy-bot search and destroy, so with these 3 (all free) the system is running well, hope this helps, take care and good luck.
2007-11-09 06:13:22 · answer #6 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take Norton out by start>settings>control panel>add or delete programs and then find Norton and delete it.
Now re-install it from the disc and your subsciption should start all over again for another year. If not, if you re-load windows and then re-load Norton it should start over for another year then.
2007-11-09 05:39:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Norton sucks. Ew.
Uninstall it using that tool from their website and replace with Avira.
http://free-av.com
2007-11-09 07:18:18 · answer #8 · answered by Laurence B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try AVG Anti-Virus. It's nowhere near as good as Norton though, and if you can afford to update your Norton - I would recommend that you do.
2007-11-09 05:39:23 · answer #9 · answered by .єmιlч. .ωєmιlч. ~♥~ 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Use free software, Like AVG Anti-virus Free, Ad Aware 2007, Spybot S&D, the list goes on.
2007-11-09 05:38:43 · answer #10 · answered by Gavin T 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋