Computer help

Hey does anyone know any good anti-virus software that is free or really cheap? Also, if there is one that will clean my hard drive?

http://www.bitdefender.com

You can get either a free version or a full evaluation version.

bitdefender is THE best AND the least intrusive (and there's a free version on their site that's fully functional). When i say the best i mean in objective tests of which virus types it can recognize even without a specific definition for it compared to mcaffee or norton (ie finding new crap and fixing it before it makes the news).

AVG is totally free, but its not as good.

free.grisoft.com

AVG Antivirus Free Edition - I haven't had any problems.

free.grisoft.com

AVG Antivirus Free Edition - I haven't had any problems.

Ditto - that's what I use.

free.grisoft.com

AVG Antivirus Free Edition - I haven't had any problems.


Thats the only way to go.

As for Spyware, I use three four programs to scan, only the Microsoft runs in the tool tray. SpywareBlaster will permanately block known virus/spyware sites from your browser.

Lavasoft Ad-aware (http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5)
Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html)
Microsoft Anti-Spyware (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx)
Spyware Blaster (http://www.download.com/SpywareBlaster/3000-8022-10196637.html?part=dl-SpywareBl&subj=dl&tag=button)

There are some other things you can use to protect yourself such as turning on your Microsoft automatic updates to insure Windows has the latest protection built in.

Give those a try and see what you find.

And, don't forget Zone Labs ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=dbtopnav_zass). After a while, it runs transparently until something unauthorized tries to get in or out of your computer.

AVG doesn't find every virus, it only finds have of what bitdefender does... its nice that its free and all, but its not that good at the one job its supposed to be good at (its #4 or 5 behind bd, mcaffee and norton).

lavaoft and Spybot search and destroy are great for spyware.

If you want a perfectly clean, quick-as-hell system, here is what I do before I prepare a computer for a client.

Do a complete reformat. I'm talking to delete all partitions, format using the NTFS file system and install preferably from a Windows XP Professional CD with Service Pack 2 included. As an aside, Service Pack 2 is about the best spyware protection you can have (in addition to just having knowledge of sites and pop-ups that CAN harm your computer).

After Windows comes up, and asks you to "Take the Tour", just do one part of the tour and quit so the icon will go away. Turn off Desktop Cleanup and "Highlight any New Programs Installed". Right click on "My Computer" and go to properties. Next go to Advanced and then Performance, turn off the first six options (this will increase your menu/minimizing/maximizing performance) and click OK. Next under Advanced, turn off Error Reporting because this feature is only really helpful to extremely advanced computer users and you can find the same information under "Manage" and "Performance Logs and Alerts".

Everyone who stated above about their antivirus/spyware solutions are dead-on. I also prefer AVG however because it is a completely free alternative, and if you're a "good" computer user, you won't get a virus anyway. Spybot and Spywareblaster are two great programs to leave installed, but I'll preface it by saying that as long as you know when a website is trying to install bullshit software on your computer, you should never get spyware installed.

Also, make sure you go to Windows Update and get every Windows update available. Go to the manufacturer site for each one of your devices and get the most updated drivers available. Also, I strongly recommend doing a BIOS update for your machine, especially Dells. These updates will fix any lingering hardware problems that were present when your machine was first built. Also, it can enable you to add more advanced hardware (processor, etc.) in the future.

Malcolm is spot-on - if you are reasonably conciensious, you should not get a virus or Spyware, with one major caveat. If you are on a network and you have publicly shared a drive (i.e., without hiding it by ending it with a "$"), some viruses on OTHER people's computers can reach your computer. To be safe, always hide your shares.

Another thing is that you have to do the Windows Update several time since there are some updates that require other updates to be installed first. To be safe, keep going back till there are no updates to be installed.

As far as AVG v. Bitdefender, I have to disagree with That Guy. I'm not sure where he got his info, but Virus Bulletin gave AVG highest marks (http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/results?display=summary) (free registration required), as did an informal study at Tech Support Alert (http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-vs-paid-av.htm). Maybe he can shed some light on the basis for why he thinks AVG doesn't catch most viruses. After all, I'm always looking for something better!

I do agree that BitDefender has way better features than AVG, I prefer AVG mainly because during my benchmark testing, when my machine was loaded with AVG, the computer was much faster. It's really the typical technology question of performance vs. security. I pick performance because I feel that if I get a virus on my personal computer, it's because I was being a dumb ass and doing things I shouldn't be doing.