Community Newsletter: Q&A: 7/29/05 Is it OK to run more than one antivirus utility?
- 7/28/05 4:16 PM
Ditch Norton
by swathingscientist - 8/28/05 7:36 PM In reply to: Dump It! by oasisifrasIndeed,do so.
You see,the problem,from where I sit,is that large conglomerates like Norton/McAfee have buckets of money.They pay stores to advertise their products,they pay computer manufacturers to install their products for so many months for free so they can grab the new buyer for the money to keep going.
That's the reason why so many unsuspecting new buyers never know the difference.It came with the computer---or--they see it advertised all through the various medeii.Majority just fall into line which is very sad.
Because something is free,DOESN'T mean it's not good,not the very best there is.These fellows and gals who create these fantastic programs KNOW that what is on the market is a rip-off.So,they create excellant programs that they know--have tested--work but they can't advertise,cripes,they get by on a shoestring and thus why,on most of their websites you'll see an appeal for donations.Isn't it FAR,far better to donate something to these folks so they can continue to create more and better programs?.Nobody OWNS them,nobody gets to take their program and do as they want with it(Conglomerates).They have to trust in the value of their creation and word of mouth to get it out there on the Internet.How many Fortune 500 companies are you aware of that give a tinkers darn about YOU?.If AVAST wasn't as good as I keep trying to impress upon users,would Microsoft have it on their website??.Nuff said,happy computing all.
Kudos Bruce!
by lacross - 8/29/05 5:37 PM In reply to: Ditch Norton by swathingscientistBruce, Earl here, I just want to say I get ya!
I finally downloaded Avast and I couldn't be happier, it catches what norton can't and it has a IM shield which is so important since thats the new port of entry for these scum hackers, Norton doesn't!
Plus there scan engines are better and you get two (2) shields, web and standard that act like a "thin" fire wall, although Norton may offer a better firewall it does no good when it's definitions are slow to update and bugs get in anyway!.
But I want to say that I found a easy way to by-pass Norton, true it's hard to uninstall, it causes problems with your PC, and it leaves bits of itself everywhere, making it even harder to delete it, BUT if you just uncheck every box associated with Norton in your start up menu and FIRST turn off its firewall before you unselect it in the startup utility, after you warm boot it doesn't come back AND it cannot put up it's firewall blocking your traffic and AVAST stands alone as the only AV and I recouped most of my resources, now back to 82%, with all programs running, pretty good huh?......CHEERS!!
Thank you!
by oasisifras - 8/20/05 7:36 PM In reply to: Msn Explorer by swathingscientistI'm using MSN now too. Java works beautifully with it as well. I'm having to use a chat room for an online class and I like to go in there and talk to myself. Actually, I'm just glad its working on my desktop so I don't have to use the tiny keyboard on the notebook. I had to give it a test run. This course is going to be a blast! My instructor has a sense of humor. Psst, it's contageous.
The strangest thing is that after I formated my hard drive, I still had my favorites left on MSN Explorer and I'm not sure where they came from. I'm just glad they're there. You're right about Netscape too. I do appreciate Mozilla Firefox though. I've finally got it working smoothly again. I have my favorite skin, Orbit something or other. It's nice to know that I can Update through MSN! Thank you.
Sharon
Msn
by swathingscientist - 8/20/05 8:53 PM In reply to: Thank you! by oasisifrasMost enthused everything is working out well for you.Msn is a great place,no hackers,viruses,nothing.If you save something,always save it to a folder on their server rather than your computer,just like the favorites folder.All of my emails,files,folders are stored with them so it doesn't matter if you have a crash,have to re-format,whatever,soon as you hook back into Msn,everything will be just as you left it before,nothing lost.Good on you.Bruce (SS)
Two Antivirus Utilities!
by oasisifras - 8/27/05 3:06 PM In reply to: Msn by swathingscientistI'm curious, my favorites do not automatically go to a folder on the MSN server, right?
I can certainly relate to using two antivirus programs. One can be disabled temporarily to do a full scan where the other runs continually - swapping back and forth. This sounds like a briliant idea to me! I haven't been entirely able to trust any of the well known brands so far.
Anti-virus programs
by swathingscientist - 8/28/05 12:44 PM In reply to: Two Antivirus Utilities! by oasisifrasGo to Avast.com and download the free version of Avast Home Edition,install it and DUMP your other two ASAP.
Yes---all your favorites DO get stored on the Msn servers.Even if you do something radical like a complete re-format,once you go back and take up Msn,all your favs will still be there waiting on you
just a couple things...
by piercedtiger - 7/29/05 6:14 AM In reply to: 7/29/05 Is it OK to run more than one antivirus utility? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Where is the free version of AVG again? I went to Products and saw no listing for free version. Several months again when I upgrade a 98 machine to 2000, AVG Pro was required (for 2000 and XP). The Pro version was not free so my assumption now is that there is no free version of AVG unless you still run Windows 98.
If you do want free av protection, check with your ISP. AOL gives it's members McAfee for free, Time Warner gives it's Road Runner customers Computer Associates eZArmor for free, and there may be others. I personally use eZArmor as it guarantees to catch 100% of the "in the wild" viruses and I hardly ever notice it running. No system slow down or locking up like with Norton. I also don't have to tell the thing to update itself. It does that automatically every day or every few days. Whenever a new definition is released. I installed it on my parents computer mainly for that one reason. They still have dialup so the twice monthly HUGE updates Norton does would take forever to download. My parents would log off before they finished (probably HOURS later) and so they would never be properly protected. eZArmor downloads a few hundred K of data every couple of days or so. That makes for faster and more current updates. Unlike Norton that only does it twice a month. (Unless that's changed since I used it last.)
re:just a couple things...
by JAMoore - 7/29/05 7:55 AM In reply to: just a couple things... by piercedtigeri am using the free version with xp pro
Try this link
by MarkFlax - 7/29/05 9:25 AM
In reply to: just a couple things... by piercedtiger
Piercedtiger, try this link fr the free version of AVG 7.
http:// free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php
(forum policies do not allow links with the word ''free'' to be posted, so copy the whole link and paste it into your browser address bar, then remove the space between http:// and free, then press Enter).
Good luck.
Mark
Grisoft.Anti-Vir (Free Version)
by CburgRose - 7/31/05 11:41 AM In reply to: just a couple things... by piercedtigerYou really can get the Personal Version for free. I use Windows XP Home, and my daughter uses Windows 2000 Professional, and we both have it, and it is free. Check it out and see for yourself. It is definitely free. That is, unless you're looking for the Pro Version. That one is not free. Hope this helps.
Suggestion If I may
by swathingscientist - 7/31/05 1:14 PM In reply to: Grisoft.Anti-Vir (Free Version) by CburgRoseHave to be careful about your wording.Grisoft has AVG AV.Anti-vir is a totally different AV by a different company.
avg website
by garyofcourse - 8/1/05 4:51 AM In reply to: just a couple things... by piercedtigerthe link Id put in my answer to the free version of avg was sensored. the avg website doesnt really make it very easy to find the free version. they actually have a different website for it.
This link should take you to it:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
If this link too gets censored then instead do the following. Go to www.grisoft.com which is the grisoft avg website. In the search bar at the top right corner type free and hit search. One of the results will link you to the free version webpages.
-Gary
Tweaking the Registry
by hink2000 - 7/29/05 6:20 AM In reply to: 7/29/05 Is it OK to run more than one antivirus utility? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In the last five years I have learned quite a bit using my Windows XP Operating System.(98 before XP) Now and then, I accumulate little glitches and over time, they all add up. When enough error messages pops up that bugs me, I take my computer to the shop and they "clean" it for 25 dollars. I want to know what I can do to "clean" it myself. I have backed up my registry but I have no idea how to put it back on my computer in case it is needed. Any Ideas? Thanks so much for your help...Hink
Cleaning
by MarkFlax - 7/29/05 9:42 AM
In reply to: Tweaking the Registry by hink2000
Hink, I believe when the shop "cleans" your computer that they are removing any parasites that have infected it, ie viruses, adware, and spyware.
A backed up registry may not always be a clean registry as there are parasites out there that do more than pop up messages and you would not necessarily know about it. So you may be backing up a registry that is already infected.
In addition, any programs you have installed since the backup would become unuseable if you restored the registry.
However, for your information the article below from Microsoft explains the procedure;
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322756
But in my view your best course of action is to protect your computer from infection in the first place and to do that, you need a suite of software applications, (the ones I use are all free, reasonably small and inconspicuous and easy to configure). Have a look at this link, to see the general advice I have given in the past to a similar question.
http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-10149-0.html?forumID=7&threadID=95901&messageID=1086971&tag=nl.e497
Please note the link to grisoft for their free AVG 7 is now;
http:// free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php
(you will need to copy and paste into your browser address bar, then remove the space between http:// and free, as forum policies do not allow the word "free" inside clickable links).
Good luck,
Mark
What if I already have Norton?
by sbrener - 7/29/05 6:21 AM In reply to: 7/29/05 Is it OK to run more than one antivirus utility? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I installed one of the free software packages after already having installed Norton SystemWorks. The new software won't run because it detected Norton. I tried to disable Norton anti-virus so that I could run it instead, but I do not want to lose the other features of Norton. Does anyone know of a way I can do this without uninstalling Norton Systemworks?
Thanks.
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