Keeping the computer healthy

[Count D20]

I'm quite incompetent with my computers.
I am just trying to stay safe, not do wonders.
What should i use to safeguard?
I have a laptop with windows vista.I use firefox
Currently i am trying to get some space with clean up by Steven Gould.
However it wouldn't let me do a real clean ,just the demo.

[reorith]

lol vista. don't connect to the internet and never install any software, you'll be fine.

[Krrth]

Couple of points...make sure you actually disable I.E. Try Spybot search & destroy to keep nasty things off your computer. Get a good antivirus software as well. I personally have both Avast and AVG installed. Keep you firewall turned on...and most important, keep everything updated! at least once a week.

[reorith]

Couple of points...make sure you actually disable I.E. Try Spybot search & destroy to keep nasty things off your computer. Get a good antivirus software as well. I personally have both Avast and AVG installed. Keep you firewall turned on...and most important, keep everything updated! at least once a week.

avast updates its definition file like every other day. not that i'd know because i never connect to the internet, or install software.

[Krrth]

avast updates its definition file like every other day. not that i'd know because i never connect to the internet, or install software.
Yep. So does AVG. Spybot doesn't though.

[memnarch]

I personally like Comodo as a firewall (also comes with antivirus).

[valadil]

Make sure you update Spybot and immunize each time. I'd also install adaware from lavasoft. It's the same type of program, but protects against a different set of malware than spybot.

AdBlock plus is always a good idea. Not that I mind seeing ads, but it stops other people on my computer from clicking them.

[Haruki-kun]

I personally prefer Lavasoft's AdAware to Spybot, but either should do fine. As for AntiVirus, I was told by computer engineers that Avast! wasn't the best thing. AVG or Panda would be a little better, supposedly, but Panda is not free, while AVG is.

Trust FireFox, but don't click links if you don't know what they are. Even FireFox has its limits.

Do not ever ever ever ever...

EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER...

...EVER even CONSIDER using LimeWire. EVER.

[CrazedGoblin]

*puts down shotgun* phew no one has mentioned norton, NEVER use it ever!

[The Evil Thing]

Agreed. Norton is an expensive practical joke.

I personally recommend Kaspersky (get their internet security suite) but if you don't want to spend any money then AVG and ZoneAlarm free is probably your best bet. I've heard very good things about NOD32 but I've never used it. Supposedly, the footprint is smaller than Kaspersky so you might want to consider it if you're running Vista on a laptop.

As for general housekeeping, I think CCleaner is worth a look. It cleans up unnecessary files and registry entries (you can configure what is "unnecessary") so it's useful for keeping your system relatively clear.

If you want to be paranoid, install Peerguardian 2 but unless you are... acquainted... with the less salubrious activities on the internet, it should be largely unnecessary.

[Castaras]

I personally prefer Lavasoft's AdAware to Spybot, but either should do fine. As for AntiVirus, I was told by computer engineers that Avast! wasn't the best thing. AVG or Panda would be a little better, supposedly, but Panda is not free, while AVG is.

PANDA! :smalleek: :smalleek: :smalleek:

Don't use Panda. For the sake of your insanity, please, please PLEASE don't use it.

Trust me on this. It's annoying with all it's popups on legit software, and then lets in the viruses that it's installed to prevent. There are much much much better programs for the money Panda costs you.

I'd recommend Mcafee. Costs a bit of money, but it's very good.

[Lord Tataraus]

I use AVG and ZoneAlarm (the free version) and they've really worked, of course I also have my security beefed up with Firefox add-ons like Adblock (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865) and WoT (Web of Trust) (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3456), I highly suggest those, especially WoT. If you ever accidentally click and link and go to an unsafe site WoT blocks it and asks you if you really want to go there.

[adanedhel9]

I've found the best bart of Spybot S&D is the resident (aka TeaTimer) - it prevents unwanted registry changes, which can really help keep your computer clean.

In case something does go wrong, it's good to have your files backed up. I use Mozy (http://www.mozy.com), which gives you 2 GB of backup space for free (and if you limit yourself to important documents, how many people need more than 2 GB?)

[Firestar27]

avast updates its definition file like every other day. not that i'd know because i never connect to the internet, or install software.

And yet, you somehow post here. And I agree with Krrth.

[Haruki-kun]

There are much much much better programs for the money Panda costs you.

Heh... :smallredface:

Well, I did say AVG. :smalltongue: Also, as has been mentioned, Nod32 is pretty good. My brothers have it in their computer, and they've never had any problems at all.

[Mc. Lovin']

I personally prefer Lavasoft's AdAware to Spybot, but either should do fine. As for AntiVirus, I was told by computer engineers that Avast! wasn't the best thing. AVG or Panda would be a little better, supposedly, but Panda is not free, while AVG is.

Trust FireFox, but don't click links if you don't know what they are. Even FireFox has its limits.

Do not ever ever ever ever...

EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER...

...EVER even CONSIDER using LimeWire. EVER.

Eugh, I made THAT mistake before ...

I tend to use AVG, and it has never let me down :3

[Castaras]

Heh... :smallredface:

Well, I did say AVG. :smalltongue: Also, as has been mentioned, Nod32 is pretty good. My brothers have it in their computer, and they've never had any problems at all.

Heheheh. Yeah, was just stating my own personal opinion of it after having it for about a year. :smalltongue:

[Count D20]

Yo!
I'll be checking out AVG,Spybot adAware and cccleaner.
I believe i can get free symantec from my university. Is that worth bringing it in?
So how do you tell if a site is suspicious?
Are the "chan" sites a good example ?

[Zanthur]

I use Avast! Antivirus, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy, and if need be, Hijack This. I refuse to use AVG because its a piece of crap. My uncle had it, it told him his computer was clean, yet he still had problems. I had him download Avast, and it found 14 viruses that AVG completly missed. Kaspersky is excellant for all around protection, but you'll want to buy it. I tried using keys from a list and about every 2 weeks, the key would be blacklisted (which wasnt much of a surprise since they have hourly updates). Webroot is also decent, but you can get Avast, Ad-Aware and Spybot all for free. The free versions work just as well as the full versions. I also use CCleaner to keep my drive clean from gunked up files and crud.

[DigoDragon]

And yet, you somehow post here.

Could be posting from work like me. If the company computer gets infected it's someone elses problem. :smallamused: Kidding of course.

But seriously, I use AdAware and AVG and find they both work wonderfully for keeping a computer infection free. On a more practical note: Never click on links that you're unsure about. Mouse over them first, usually a browser will let you know where the destination leads to before you click.

[TylerFerretLord]

I wouldn't rely on Spybot too heavily, from what I've read it used to be wonderful, but lately has just been a big meh.

[Dispozition]

Are the "chan" sites a good example ?

In my experience, so long as you don't download too much from /rs/, 4chan is fine. There again, that could just be me.

Really, all you need to keep your computer clean is the knowledge of what not to download and AdAware. I have little/no virus protection, I've gotten two virus' in my time, both due to my own stupidity of downloading something that was extremely suspect...That'll teach me to try and be illegal >.<

[RTGoodman]

I believe i can get free symantec from my university. Is that worth bringing it in?

I got the same thing on my old laptop and NEVER had a problem with it. I never had any viruses or anything (as far as I know) that it didn't catch and destroy, and it updates itself pretty regularly. I'd go with it, especially if you can get it for free.

(Of course, I'm currently using the Norton free 30-day trial that came with my new laptop, so I'll be needing something new soon too. I'm trying to get a copy of the disc that has Symantec from friends at my old college, but I don't know if I'll be able to.)

[The Valiant Turtle]

Yo!
I'll be checking out AVG,Spybot adAware and cccleaner.
I believe i can get free symantec from my university. Is that worth bringing it in?
So how do you tell if a site is suspicious?
Are the "chan" sites a good example ?


Avoid Symantec at all costs (and Mcafee as well)! For anti-virus the only things you want to consider are Avast, AVG, (both of those have free versions) Kaspersky or NOD32 (both non-free). I'd recommend Avast as the better free version. From what I've heard NOD32 may be the best out there as a paid version.

More important than an Anti-spyware solution is a firewall. I actually consider the firewall to be more important than anti-virus. Zone Alarm and Comodo both offer decent free solutions. I find Comodo to be the least annoying about pressuring me to get the non-free version. Admittedly, from what I've heard Vista's built-in firewall is a significant step up from the one they included with XP.

In the anti-spyware category Windows Defender is actually worth a look. It was an optional add-on for XP, and might be a part of Vista. It's not very good at removing existing spyware, but it actually is pretty good a defending you from getting anything. It also has some excellent diagnostic tools with a really good user interface.

CCleaner is great to have around and run every few months. It can be a bit of a safety measure, but it's really just a great housekeeping tool to get rid of junk that you and your computer are no longer using. On PCs I've worked on in the past I've found I often have to run it about 3 times to really get everything, since sometimes the trash is hiding under other trash.

The two most important things you need to do haven't even been mentioned yet. Keep Windows and other software up to date, and educate yourself. As long as you keep Windows up to date and don't do anything stupid you can run just fine without any additional security software. I don't recommend it, but it's quite possible. Educating yourself isn't nearly as easy, but it's far more valuable in the long run. A little bit of common sense goes a long way to keeping you safe. Don't install software unless you know exactly what it is, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Internet Explorer isn't the huge security risk that it once was, but I do think Firefox is far superior, and installing Ad Block certainly makes for a more pleasurable and safer browsing experience. I've not heard of Web of Trust, but it sounds like a great idea.

Vista really is a very secure operating system. It's just outrageously annoying. If you leave all it's security features in place and pay attention to them when they complain then it really will help you quite a lot, it just might drive you insane as well.

[UncleWolf]

Every once and a while you may want to go to housecall.trendmicro.com and run housecall. Its free and it will find and kill most viruses if you have any. It works for my brother but for some reason I can't get it to run on my computer (maybe its Vista). And if you have Firefox you might want to get the add-on that puts a circle on your explorer bar and depending on the color it tells you if the sight is safe or not. If it isn't a warning will come right up and ask if you want to leave the site before going any further.

[Zanthur]

I use Opera internet browser. Its right up there with Firefox. Opera will tell you right away if there is a link to an unsafe page, even if you are using a search engine. Yahoo and Google do that too, but Opera has got some that the search engines have missed.

As for Symantic, McAfee and Norton, stay away from them as much as possible. They use up way more resources than they need to. From just about everyone I've talked to that ran Norton 360 on their computer, they said it did nothing but slow it down and made it run like molasses in a freezer. Its even worse if you install Norton 360 after having another antivirus program installed at the same time. Avoid those three at all costs.

I use the Windows Firewall that came with Vista and I never have a problem unless I download something I'm a little iffy about in the first place. One of the things I like about Avast is that it adds a menu option so that when you right click on a file or even a zipped folder, it will scan it before you even open it, thereby avoiding installing a virus at all. Spybot S&D hasnt given me any problems recently, the only thing I find annoying is that you have to get the updates before running it. Which sucks for those without the internet. But thats not me so I dont complain. The other advantage of Spybot is that it has protection running constantly that will monitor if anything makes any changes to your registry. If it pops up all of a sudden while you are sitting there picking your nose, then you obviously have an issue. However, if you do something, such as changing your startup programs, then you know its ok to allow the change to be made.

[Count D20]

Now i've got a weird problem. I can't log in to facebook or msn hotmail.
it says it's either because: it goes through a proxy because of firefox, a proxy done by my isp or a firewall is blocking it.

[streakster]

You could always swap to Ubuntu. Easy and secure.

[Miklus]

I have a problem here...Whenever I boot my computer, it shuts down 60 seconds later. This happens until I disconnect it from the web (pull the plug). That can't be good.

I have installed AVG and it found a trojan. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

[FdL]

I currently use Avast on my main computer. I was using Kaspersky but switched to this because it's free and I think it's pretty good.

To be fair, I tested it when I had to clean my mom's PC from nasty viruses which crippled it. I used a whole bunch of stuff.

Lavasoft Ad Aware didn't do to well, but maybe because it wasn't working properly. Nod32 was ok, but Avast worked better. CCleaner was really good. AVG Anti Spyware was good too.

And I installed a good firewall there. I went for Sunbelt Personal Firewall IIRC.

It wasn't easy to clean it up completely, but with all those and a lot of patience I did it. So now I switched to Avast in both my main computers, and it works very well.

In any case, the main problem is my mom doesn't know enough to use the computer responsably. But now I have it covered, would take a hard time for a virus to break in.

Edit: I have to add, I have suspicions that the virus actually got in her machine when I installed the new ISP testing it there, as they installed it directly on it without the router, which has a firewall layer.