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You are here: Experts > Computing/Technology > Internet/Network Security > Computer Security & Viruses > antivirus
Expert: Keith Davis - 9/6/2008
Question
dear friends,
i have important data on my laptop, celeron m, 1.8 ghz, 40 gb hdd,255 mb ram, it has given no problems and is running as good as new since 18months,
now i have brought an internet modem , which is a wireless usb can connect upto 115 kbps., dial up and as i'm aware that with net comes problems, hence i want to ask the following questions
1) which is a good antivirus, in free i have used avast earlier, then i have heard about avg free edition, my pc guy can arrange mc afee antivirus, but i personally dont like mc afee because i have used it on my home pc, firstly it slows down pc, secondly the download of update is massive 60 mb, (and i will be charged on time not data...)but yes it can be trusted.. do u still recommend mc afee,i can choose only between the above 3 options
2) do i need a fire wall, recommend a free one if necessary, used zonealarm before on home pc, it blocks all net traffic, infact my windows firewall blocked my net , i had to turn it off..
3) do i need spyware, adware, recommend good ones
4) lastly, since i have dialup, recommend a free download manager, i have used download accelarator plus before.
as on today my laptop is in excellent speed, but prevention is better than cure, pls recommend good free protection
thanks
nitin
Answer
I use 3 different programs and have been virus, spyware, and hack-free for close to 6 years.
Believe it or not all of these programs are free and are rated higher than programs you pay for.
Anti-virus- AVG Free Edition www.grisoft.com
Firewall- ZoneAlarm www.filehippo.com/download_zonealarm_free/
Make sure you disable Windows Firewall (it is worthless anyway) because they don't work well together. Don't get aggravated with the program. At first it will really bug you because it will be popping up a lot. When it pops up read what is trying to access the internet. If it is a trusted program click the check box "remember this" and click allow. After a short while you will get it set where it only alerts you to things that should not be accessing the internet.
Anti-spyware- Spybot Search and Destroy- www.filehippo.com/download_spybot_search_destroy/
Download, install, update, then run a scan and remove all spyware that is found.
Setup the program like this: Go to "mode" (top left of page) and click "advanced". At the bottom left you will see "tools". Expand tools and click "hosts file", then click "add Spybot S and D hosts list"
A little more safe internet advice:
1. I don't use Internet Explorer. It is not as secure as other browsers. I use Mozilla Firefox. It is faster and very secure.
2. I don't use Outlook email. I use web based email like yahoo or hotmail. Outlook actually loads email on your PC. Web based email stays on a server and you just view it from you PC.
3. Only download free software from trusted sources. There are very few that I trust. Trusted: www.filehippo.com, www.majorgeeks.com, www.snapfiles.com
I hope this helps you out. Let me know if I can help you further.
Keith
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