Hi Guys
I would really appreciate your advice. I've used N/S antivirus for a couple of years and my latest subscription expires in under 30 days.
It is without a doubt that the present stuff has slowed my computer enormously and costing me plently through this.
The store where I buy my stuff recommended P#nda, which also is a 100 bucks cheaper.
I must say, the current stuff is doing its job as I've no trouble here. Only yesterday, the software blocked some truly horrible stuff, as it has done several times before.
In spite of the expense and the slowness, I feel kinda sorry to dump it and go for something else and unknown...
What do you think??
Regards
bulgin
I would really appreciate your advice. I've used N/S antivirus for a couple of years and my latest subscription expires in under 30 days.
It is without a doubt that the present stuff has slowed my computer enormously and costing me plently through this.
The store where I buy my stuff recommended P#nda, which also is a 100 bucks cheaper.
I must say, the current stuff is doing its job as I've no trouble here. Only yesterday, the software blocked some truly horrible stuff, as it has done several times before.
In spite of the expense and the slowness, I feel kinda sorry to dump it and go for something else and unknown...
What do you think??
Regards
bulgin
When my Norton subscription started wanting me to renew it every 6 months I got mad and decided to look for free alternatives. I found Avast and have been using it ever since (2 years now). I have never had any problems with it and don't notice any slowing down of the machine. I don't know why anyone pays for antivirus software.
More recently, I loaded Ubuntu linux on my computer and rarely use windoze any more. Linux has come a long way toward universal hardware compatibility. You should give it a try- you can actually run the OS from a "live" CD to try it out.
There are many fewer security problems with linux than windoze.
I_F
More recently, I loaded Ubuntu linux on my computer and rarely use windoze any more. Linux has come a long way toward universal hardware compatibility. You should give it a try- you can actually run the OS from a "live" CD to try it out.
There are many fewer security problems with linux than windoze.
I_F
Hi bulgin, my 2k install has run 3-4 years without AV and at last check is still clean of viruses or spyware. The trick is to always use a limited permission account (User) and never browse with Internet Exploder. For the rare software which still requires elevated permissions use the 'Run As' service. Holding shift and right clicking the program icon will bring up a menu which includes 'Run As', providing the option of running that piece of software as another user. Administrator for example.
It has a couple other minor operational inconveniences but the overall balance for me is overwhelmingly positive.
It has a couple other minor operational inconveniences but the overall balance for me is overwhelmingly positive.
I haven't used an anti-virus proggy for nearly 3 years now and have never had any problems.
I'm not saying they don't have their place, but I think they are a bit overrated and not worth the performance hit in some cases.
I run spybot search and destroy about once a week and do trend micros free online housecall maybe twice a month.
I'm not saying they don't have their place, but I think they are a bit overrated and not worth the performance hit in some cases.
I run spybot search and destroy about once a week and do trend micros free online housecall maybe twice a month.
Hello Guys
Thanks so much for your valuable insights. I originally had AVG but after some problems a few years back, the guy that fixes glitches for me, loaded N/S which definitely slowed the works.
I talked this afternoon to the manager of the store where I buy computer stuff (5 branch outfit) and he's been round the block a bit with computers and they sell both P#nda and N/S. The former came highly recommended, so I asked him if he has a bigger profit margin on the P#nda and the answer was "NO".
And I've already had 3 notices from N/S re the imminent expiry...
I will also look at Antivir...
Thanks
bulgin
Thanks so much for your valuable insights. I originally had AVG but after some problems a few years back, the guy that fixes glitches for me, loaded N/S which definitely slowed the works.
I talked this afternoon to the manager of the store where I buy computer stuff (5 branch outfit) and he's been round the block a bit with computers and they sell both P#nda and N/S. The former came highly recommended, so I asked him if he has a bigger profit margin on the P#nda and the answer was "NO".
And I've already had 3 notices from N/S re the imminent expiry...
I will also look at Antivir...
Thanks
bulgin
I also think the antivirus software is overrated. Use a less popular version of a less popular browser engine/platform and run without Java enabled for 80 percent of your surfing (I like to use Kmeleon). Turn on Java only when needed. Keep IE onboard for the 2 percent of the time the app absolutely demands it. This practice has kept me pretty virus free for a very long time. I don't use the anti virus software either.
You can download Kmeleon pretty quickly even on dialup, and it sets up with just two or three clicks. Another browser is Flock. There are really many out there, but you don't want to get too "unknown" or the browser you get used to using won't have enough of a support base of users to help you if you have questions. But features and flexibility are, again in my opinion, overvalued for the vast majority of us. Most computer users swithing from IE to any one of these alternative browsers would never notice the difference.
I like to look for less popular versions of programs like Acrobat Reader that are required to see docs. A great free one is Foxit Reader. I discovered it last year when I was settling an estate and needed to fill out and save pdf documents. All the downloadable Gov docs were PDF. Adobe, and all of the support forums that I checked into, said "tough".. you'll just have to purchase the full featured version from adobe JUST to unlock the ability to save data on forms. A very deep search finally uncovered Foxit for free. It saves data, and opens pdf docs about 75percent faster than Reader.
Anyway, I'm not a programmer, but since malware finds its way into your system through the browsers and programs you use to open files, it seems logical that writers of this stuff are not going to waste much time trying to hijack the code of lesser used programs. That's too much work just to get into 1 percent of the computers out there. This is probably why using Kmeleon has (seemed) to keep me so virus free. When it gets too popular, I'll just look for another quiet little one.
I'd love to switch to a Linux OS but unfortunately the ease of use has not reached down far enough to my level of technical ignorance. I've looked far enough into it to be justifiably turned back. At present, I put too much value in the abilty to use thousands of programs designed for MS with the least amount of tinkering. I'm afraid that by the time Linux is ready for the ignorant masses to which I belong, it'll have the same security concerns that Windoz has - for most of the popularity reasons I mentioned above. Oh well.
Good luck.
You can download Kmeleon pretty quickly even on dialup, and it sets up with just two or three clicks. Another browser is Flock. There are really many out there, but you don't want to get too "unknown" or the browser you get used to using won't have enough of a support base of users to help you if you have questions. But features and flexibility are, again in my opinion, overvalued for the vast majority of us. Most computer users swithing from IE to any one of these alternative browsers would never notice the difference.
I like to look for less popular versions of programs like Acrobat Reader that are required to see docs. A great free one is Foxit Reader. I discovered it last year when I was settling an estate and needed to fill out and save pdf documents. All the downloadable Gov docs were PDF. Adobe, and all of the support forums that I checked into, said "tough".. you'll just have to purchase the full featured version from adobe JUST to unlock the ability to save data on forms. A very deep search finally uncovered Foxit for free. It saves data, and opens pdf docs about 75percent faster than Reader.
Anyway, I'm not a programmer, but since malware finds its way into your system through the browsers and programs you use to open files, it seems logical that writers of this stuff are not going to waste much time trying to hijack the code of lesser used programs. That's too much work just to get into 1 percent of the computers out there. This is probably why using Kmeleon has (seemed) to keep me so virus free. When it gets too popular, I'll just look for another quiet little one.
I'd love to switch to a Linux OS but unfortunately the ease of use has not reached down far enough to my level of technical ignorance. I've looked far enough into it to be justifiably turned back. At present, I put too much value in the abilty to use thousands of programs designed for MS with the least amount of tinkering. I'm afraid that by the time Linux is ready for the ignorant masses to which I belong, it'll have the same security concerns that Windoz has - for most of the popularity reasons I mentioned above. Oh well.
Good luck.
Ohh man,I just un-installed McAfee from a freiends laptop,It was slowed to such a crawl,that IE wouldn't even open (it just crashed if you clicked the IE icon!) It literally took ~5 minutes to boot up.
I put NAV on my server,Ugh.I want to remove it. It's a PIG!
NAV is nothing but bloatware anymore..it used to be okay.
Currently on this PC i'm using "NOD32" It's small,and stays out of the way,and I havn't had any viruses or anything yet,so i'm assuming it works.
I put NAV on my server,Ugh.I want to remove it. It's a PIG!
NAV is nothing but bloatware anymore..it used to be okay.
Currently on this PC i'm using "NOD32" It's small,and stays out of the way,and I havn't had any viruses or anything yet,so i'm assuming it works.
Antivir personal edition calassic is free and only gives a pop up when it updates. it works fine and has low CPU usage.
for spyware, i use spybot search and destroy resident protection. i have not had a virus or spyware that could get though them yet.
oh yeah. i do not use microsoft programs for browsing or email which may or may not also help.
norton, mcaffe, CA etc are so bloated and slow down your computer worse than some spyware does. and install funky intercepts for email and www which can cause connection troubles.
for spyware, i use spybot search and destroy resident protection. i have not had a virus or spyware that could get though them yet.
oh yeah. i do not use microsoft programs for browsing or email which may or may not also help.
norton, mcaffe, CA etc are so bloated and slow down your computer worse than some spyware does. and install funky intercepts for email and www which can cause connection troubles.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.