topic Re: Best Antivirus? in Electronics

Best Antivirus?

anxiousone — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:48:32 GMT

Got new desktop; would appreciate suggestions for free antivirus downloads. TIA

Sincerely,

anxiousone

Re: Best Antivirus?

PinkyPetunia — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 15:59:22 GMT

I assume you have Windows 10 since you have a new pc. Free AntiVirus programs are good, just make sure whatever you pick is compatible with Win10.

I use Avast (free version) and it does the job but I have Win7.

Re: Best Antivirus?

ChynnaBlue — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 16:24:05 GMT

Avast is very good.You should also get Malwarebytes, which you can usee along with Avast.

Re: Best Antivirus?

anxiousone — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 16:35:52 GMT

PinkyPetunia, my bad for not telling everyone that I had my desktop designed for what I wanted. I had Windows 7 put into the system because that is what I like. I wouldn't have even gotten a new desktop if the one I had, had not crashed. It was getting old. I also got a good price.

Re: Best Antivirus?

anxiousone — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 16:38:31 GMT

Thank you for your replies. Got 'em both-running now. Sincerely, Anxiousone

Re: Best Antivirus?

Nuttmeg — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:05:06 GMT

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
Avast is very good.You should also get Malwarebytes, which you can usee along with Avast.

I would buy the paid Malwarebytes. It comes with real time protection. The free one scans a computer very slow.

Re: Best Antivirus?

anxiousone — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 17:18:03 GMT

Thanks, nutmeg3. Grand advice! Anxious.

Re: Best Antivirus?

LTT1 — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 19:34:52 GMT

Norton 360 by Symantec has always served us well. We have our personal account, but Symantec was the program used by our school district...

Re: Best Antivirus?

chickenbutt — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 20:36:04 GMT

nutmeg3 wrote:
ChynnaBlue wrote:
Avast is very good.You should also get Malwarebytes, which you can usee along with Avast.
I would buy the paid Malwarebytes. It comes with real time protection. The free one scans a computer very slow.

All of this! Avast, even the free version that many of us use, is a very good antivirus.

Malwarebytes, for antimalware, is even better. I use the paid version on my computers. The only bummer is that I notice they don't sell Lifetime licenses anymore. So if you have a Lifetime license, hang onto that (I keep a file so I know which license is on which computer) because you can use it on your next computer, when one dies.

I did find some sites that still had Lifetime license for Malwarebytes but I am not sure how comfortable I was with that. I wanted to get a license for my husband's computer, as all of mine are in use. But at their site you can just get one year or two year licenses. It's really not expensive, though. The two-year is a better deal.

Re: Best Antivirus?

anxiousone — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:37:33 GMT

Thanks chickenbutt. I am going now to look into the 2 year deal. TY Anxious

Re: Best Antivirus?

petunia — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 03:37:46 GMT

I've used AVG Free for many years and never a problem!

Re: Best Antivirus?

oceanbreezy — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 21:50:23 GMT

I am an Avast user as well. I've have always relied on Avast for my computer for years. They have good support team, just email them if you have a problem. They make you feel safe and secure. You don't get bogged down with big files or computer running slow. There is a community forum that you can avail yourself with lots of reviews and information https://www.avast.com/en-us/index-win#compare-home

Good luck in making your decision.

Re: Best Antivirus?

LilacTree — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 17:49:39 GMT

I recently purchased Kaspersky when I purchased a new Dell desktop with Windows 7. It had McAfee pre-installed which I found could not be uninstalled without a special program file that does NOT come with the installed program.

I had to call Microsoft to get McAfee uninstalled and I was then able to install Kaspersky. So far I find it very reliable and I like the protection it offers on passwords.

I was undecided between Avast and Kaspersky, but went with the latter. I'm sure Avast is an excellent program as well.

Just stay away from McAfee . . . it "protects" you from nothing!! Never did, actually.

Re: Best Antivirus?

chickenbutt — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 18:33:27 GMT

Hi LT!

Most of the computers I've purchased in recent years had McAfee on them. ITA with you that it is the worst and would never use it.

But I've never had trouble uninstalling it. I wonder why MS had to do it for you. I just go ahead and download (NOT install, just download) the a/v software I want. Then I uninstall the McAfee. Then I restart the computer. Then I go to my 'downloads' and grab the new a/v download and intall it.

Re: Best Antivirus?

Nuttmeg — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 23:22:44 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
Hi LT!

Most of the computers I've purchased in recent years had McAfee on them. ITA with you that it is the worst and would never use it.

But I've never had trouble uninstalling it. I wonder why MS had to do it for you. I just go ahead and download (NOT install, just download) the a/v software I want. Then I uninstall the McAfee. Then I restart the computer. Then I go to my 'downloads' and grab the new a/v download and intall it.

I use a free McAfee uninstall program to remove all traces of the software. A Google search will help you locate it.

Re: Best Antivirus?

chickenbutt — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 23:32:15 GMT

Thanks, Nutmeg! Maybe I should see if I've left any traces of McAfee behind. I have never seen anything but I suppose you never know.

Is there a way to determine if you have any scraps left?

I remember, years ago when Norton got so bloaty, after uninstalling that there was all kinds of stuff left that had to be purged. But with the McAfee uninstalls I have not seen anything hanging around.

Re: Best Antivirus?

LilacTree — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 15:20:12 GMT

@Nuttmeg wrote:
@chickenbutt wrote:
Hi LT!

Most of the computers I've purchased in recent years had McAfee on them. ITA with you that it is the worst and would never use it.

But I've never had trouble uninstalling it. I wonder why MS had to do it for you. I just go ahead and download (NOT install, just download) the a/v software I want. Then I uninstall the McAfee. Then I restart the computer. Then I go to my 'downloads' and grab the new a/v download and intall it.
I use a free McAfee uninstall program to remove all traces of the software. A Google search will help you locate it.

CB, when is the last time you did this, as it is brand new within the last six months or so. Once Dell purchased it, they configured it so that it couldn't be deleted without a special file that doesn't come with the pre-installed program.

I'm not implying your way doesn't work. Maybe when one downloads it from the website, it doesn't have this (deliberate) glitch. As I said, the Dell I bought came with it pre-installed and I had every intention of uninstalling it as soon as I received it. Maybe they received a lot of complaints on this and did put the file out there for users.

I always call Microsoft when I have problems because I paid for it for a year subscription and want to get my money's worth! LOL

Re: Best Antivirus?

chickenbutt — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 20:03:38 GMT

Hi LT! My most recent computer was purchased last month - just under a month ago. It had the dreaded McAfee on it. I did what I always do - download (but don't install) the a/v software I wanted. Then uninstall the McAfee. Restart computer. Go into my downloads to find the new one and complete the install.

Near as I can tell there are no signs of McAfee. I've even searched for any files that are McAfee and nothing came up.

I did it right away, though. That's always my #1 priority after getting into the new computer and doing all the set up stuff. I get rid of that and replace it, then I'm ready to see what other qrap is on the computer that I want to uninstall. Then I get my Malwarebytes and other softwares installed, do the Windows updates, and make sure everything else is up to date.

Then I run CCleaner and Auslogics defrag to clean it up. With installs, uninstalls, etc, there are always a lot of scraps laying around so that cleans things up and I can go on to the next tier of programs I want to add.

Re: Best Antivirus?

Nuttmeg — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 22:00:05 GMT

HI LT,

When I buy a new Dell XPS desktop computer I get one year free use of McAfee LiveSafe. I use this software for nearly a year and then change to Comcast Norton 360. I use the removal tool to help take out this program.

I find McAfee Live Safe to be a very nice program. I just use Norton 360 from Comcast, because it is given free with service.