Member Avatar for media_luvvie

Hi

Am new to the forum and hope that you're all really nice and someone can help me out!

I've just bought a new computer which has mcafee installed on a trial basis, but i have no idea which antivirus, firewall, spyware etc software to install once this trial runs out... I want something that's going to be effective that doesn't cost the earth.

I've heard about Norton AntiVirus, but don't know if it's any good....

Am totally confused!

Thanks,

Media_Luvvie

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kerpyok

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A short, practical summary: a layered defence is the most effective and enduring strategy — up-to-date antivirus, a properly configured firewall, timely OS/app patches, and regular backups together reduce risk far more than any single product alone. Government guidance highlights running current antivirus, enabling a network/host firewall, and keeping software patched as core steps for home networks. (cisa.gov)

On choosing an antivirus: free products can be perfectly acceptable for many users, but comparison should be data‑driven. Independent lab results (protection, performance, false‑positive rates) are the best objective way to compare vendors before buying or renewing a subscription. As and implied, consult recent independent test summaries and factor in system impact and feature set when deciding. (av-comparatives.org)

Addressing ’s question: a firewall and anti‑spyware still serve distinct roles from antivirus. Firewalls control network traffic (blocking unwanted inbound/outbound connections); antivirus focuses on file/process threats; anti‑spyware/anti‑PUP tools target browser‑based trackers, toolbars and intrusive adware. Many modern suites bundle these functions, and built‑in OS tools provide a solid baseline for typical users — but high‑risk or business users often need the extra features of paid suites. Crucially, avoid running two real‑time antivirus engines at once (conflicts, slowdowns, and instability); use one real‑time product and add on‑demand second‑opinion scanners if desired. (techradar.com)

Practical checklist (applies regardless of product choice): remove preinstalled trial “bloatware” before installing replacements (as noted), enable automatic updates for OS and AV, confirm the firewall is active, schedule regular full scans and offline/portable scans, and follow a 3‑2‑1 backup strategy so ransomware or failures don’t become disasters. Before any purchase/renewal, consult recent lab reports and choose the combination that fits the device’s risk profile and performance constraints. (cisa.gov)

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Member Avatar for DMR

Hi media_luvvie, welcome to our site :)

Don't worry about being confused when it comes to trying to figure out which programs you should use to protect yourself from all of the possible threats out there; given the huge amount of "nasties" that Windows users can suffer from, your question is well worth asking.

Use McAfee until your subscription runs out if you'd like. I wouldn't suggest renewing it after that though, and nor would I suggest switching over to Norton's products as an alternative. The offerings from McAfee and Norton are both "pay for" products to begin with, and Norton's programs have the same sort of subscription-renewal plan as McAfee's. In addition, there are other (free) programs which often do a better job.

My suggestions would be:

1. Installable anti-virus programs:

AVG: http://www.grisoft.com/doc/40/lng/us/tpl/tpl01
Avast!: http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html


2. Free online anti-virus scanners:

http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus.html
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp?cid=9914
http://www.pandasoftware.com/active...n_principal.htm

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php


3. Some specific "anti-spyware" detection/removal/protection programs:

ewido Security Suite -
Microsoft Anti-Spyware beta - &displaylang=en
Ad Aware SE Personal -
SpyBot Search & Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/
SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/downloads.html
IESpyad -


4. Firewall programs:

Kerio Personal Firewall - http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html
Zone Alarm - the direct link to the free version isn't working here for some reason, but you can get to it by starting here:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/application?namespace=zls_catalog&origin=global.jsp&event=link1.skuList&&zl_catalog_view_id=201&lid=nav_db

Member Avatar for dlh6213

Here's a detailed review of different antivirus programs:

Member Avatar for media_luvvie

many thanks for your help. much appreciated as i understand you're very busy. hope i can help out someone in the near future.

loving the forum.

thanks again

Member Avatar for media_luvvie

:mrgreen: thanks so much for all your help. really appreciate your time to respond. loving the forum.

Member Avatar for kaz

Hello there! I have recently been in the same boat as you (so to speak!) and can recommend the following FREE downloads all available on your IE search engine:

Spybot Search and Destroy
Grisoft - AVG antivirus
Lavasoft/Xsoft spy
Firewall - Zone Alarm
Microsoft Spyware

These were all recommended to me by an IT engineer, are incredibly easy to find on the net and to download free. Once you've found the programme, run it to download and then run it again to install it. When free trials run out of time, delete the whole programme from your hard drive and then start again. I've only once run out of trial time on one programme and that is since March 2005!

Good luck from Kaz

Member Avatar for kerpyok

Hüllo. I just wanna ask. Is it really necessary to install a firewall and a spyware software to my computer eventhough it already has an antivirus working? What would be the adnvantages and disadvantages?

I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you, kindly.

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