ntl - free anti-virus protection

[LMH]

If anyone is on ntl, do they use the free avp?

I was with AVG but the free edition ends tomorrow. I've downloaded the ntl free one and it seems to be ok.

Lisa

 

[CarolineSimon]

Hi Lisa,

I am on NTL and have used their Netguard since I joined them.It seems pretty good and has picked up a few viruses and stopped them and always identifys spyware, cookie etc & various worms etc.

Other more techy people might say there are better & there probably are but this is free & seems to do all i need it to do.

Hope that helps.

Caroline

 

[sparkes]

Lisa

AVG have a new free version already out. Just go to their web site and download it

 

[hgv dave]

hi

ive just downloaded a avp free from microsoft go to the microsoft website and search for "defender" also there is a new version of internet explorer.plus some frre gams knocking around the site

dave

 

[Alan Partridge]

The AVG free link can take a while to find -

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/lng/us/tpl/v5#avg-anti-virus-free
is where you can download the updated free AV

John

 

[sparkes]

David

Windows Defender is not an anti virus program. It is an anti spyware solution and does not protect against virus.

What you need to do is run defender with an anti virus solution such as AVG free.

Steve

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Ive had AVG anti-virus and ZoneAlarm free firewall ever since I've had broadband with no problems. At Christmas I had a new computer and decided to do away with the above and use Norton firewall/anti-virus which comes with the BT package I have. I had all kinds of conflicts and had to do 3 system restores. Eventually I uninstalled the Norton and downloaded new ZoneAlarm and AVG with no further problems. My better judgement told me not to use Norton but because I was already paying for it I went ahead. I had heard so many bad things about Norton in the past, even when phoning Tech Support they would ask me if I had Norton running :O(

Lisa stick with AVG if you've had no problems and like others have posted it's still there for you to download.

 

[LMH]

Thanks for the replies. I don't know if it's a coincidence but I can't get access to my emails but the internet is ok.

I just assumed AVG was no longer free because I kept getting a message saying the free edition expires on 15 Jan.

I bought Nortons in the summer but had nothing but trouble with it. I eventually had to uninstall it and I got a full refund.

I think I'll try AVG again.

Regards.

Lisa

 

[Oldfogey]

Sorry Lisa, but the following is going to be complicated and probably boring.

Unfortunately just uninstalling Norton using the provided routine is not sufficient - it leaves it's sticky fingermarks all over your computer. I don't use it myself, so I can't advise on how to get rid of it - you should be able to find out on www.computing.net.

To be reasonably safe on the internet you really need the following;

1. Antivirus. I hear AVG is fine. I personally use Avira Personal, also free.

2. Lavasoft Adaware.

3. Spybot Search and Destroy

3. Spyware Blaster

4. A Firewall. The one in Windows XP is adequate (though it needs to be switched on), but for Broadband/Cable use I would recommend Zone Alarm.

All the above are available for free download.

They must also be updated regularly in order to protect against the latest threats - weekly is none too often, daily would not be ridiculous.

In fact, I suspect that this is the problem with AVG. If you have not been updating, then it probably expires because they do not want people running obsolete version which will not provide protection, and will give a bad impression of the software.

My apologies if you know all this, but there are an aweful lot of people out there who do not take adequate precautions, and I get a bit preacherish about it.

I was in my local computer repair shop recently when the manager showed me a machine that had bee brought in with over 5000 viruses and other infections; the owner could not be bothered about the protection "because it slowed the machine down". In fact what was slowing it down was that it had been taken over as a slave machine and was sending spam out around the world!

Rant over.

 

[sparkes]

Sorry Lisa, but the following is going to be complicated and probably boring.

Unfortunately just uninstalling Norton using the provided routine is not sufficient - it leaves it's sticky fingermarks all over your computer. I don't use it myself, so I can't advise on how to get rid of it - you should be able to find out on www.computing.net.

To be reasonably safe on the internet you really need the following;

1. Antivirus. I hear AVG is fine. I personally use Avira Personal, also free.

2. Lavasoft Adaware.

3. Spybot Search and Destroy

3. Spyware Blaster

4. A Firewall. The one in Windows XP is adequate (though it needs to be switched on), but for Broadband/Cable use I would recommend Zone Alarm.

All the above are available for free download.

They must also be updated regularly in order to protect against the latest threats - weekly is none too often, daily would not be ridiculous.

In fact, I suspect that this is the problem with AVG. If you have not been updating, then it probably expires because they do not want people running obsolete version which will not provide protection, and will give a bad impression of the software.

My apologies if you know all this, but there are an aweful lot of people out there who do not take adequate precautions, and I get a bit preacherish about it.

I was in my local computer repair shop recently when the manager showed me a machine that had bee brought in with over 5000 viruses and other infections; the owner could not be bothered about the protection "because it slowed the machine down". In fact what was slowing it down was that it had been taken over as a slave machine and was sending spam out around the world!

Rant over.

Oldfogey

AVG is not expiring due to lack of updates, it is undergoing a step change so that it is completely compatable with Vista when it is released to the public on the 30th

AVG is one of the very few AV programs with a 100% catch rate under tests.

As for running all that lot, sorry but you have too many processes running and that will slow your PC.

I suggest AVG and defender. Then run the Once Care Scanner (again a microsoft freebe) once a month to ensure your PC is clean and tuned right. This will scan for nasties then tune your registry and hard drives.

http://safety.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm

 

[cris_408518]

Antivirus only works against known threats I gather, if something new comes along and you get it by it before the AV guru's know about it your PC goes down.

A friends family computer went hay wire as his daughter came home from Uni and downloaded some music for her MP3 and switched off the AV to allow the down load !

The virus kicked in weeks later in December. Long after the download and before it was known about, it took calls to Microsoft and others to unravel the problems caused.

Regular routine anti virus scans had detected nothing, one day they ran Media Player that triggered the virus.

The PC medics said that most of the problems they see are caused by kids doing downloading of music and video's from the likes of "Lime Wire" and "Bit Torrent" type sites.

 

[sparkes]

Cris

Some of the new AV software like the one care system looks for anti-virus behaviour such as installing and waiting.

I have been beta testing the one care solution on XP and Vista and I am very impressed with its overall capability. All they need to do is sort out the 100% processor usage with windows update and they may have the best solution around.

But, and this is a big but! For every person working on this technology there is about 1000 others working on ways to get past it!

 

[cris_408518]

I have little understanding of the Techie side Steve, I've used Norton for years and have never had a problem with it myself.

Maybe you can shed some light on this Steve.

My friend was told that his problem was caused by a "trojan type" virus that was hidden with a music download. It hid away "dormant" until he started to burn a music ( a rare act for him and his wife ) disc using Media Player, the machine locked up and went into free fall.

His PC medics told him that some of these virus's were designed for use by organised crime to hide their information on other people computers in the recent past.

Not sure if that is fact or hype, but sounds frightening !

 

[Oldfogey]

Oldfogey

AVG is not expiring due to lack of updates, it is undergoing a step change so that it is completely compatable with Vista when it is released to the public on the 30th

AVG is one of the very few AV programs with a 100% catch rate under tests.

As for running all that lot, sorry but you have too many processes running and that will slow your PC.

I suggest AVG and defender. Then run the Once Care Scanner (again a microsoft freebe) once a month to ensure your PC is clean and tuned right. This will scan for nasties then tune your registry and hard drives.

http://safety.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm

As I write, CPU usage is at most 4%.

I doubt if it matters too much which AV you use, sometimes one will be up to the mark, sometimes another. I mention Avira because it has served me well.

To confirm, I regularly use some of the free on-line scans offered by such as Trend and McCaffee to get a second, third, or fourth opinion on my machine.

I do "catch" something very occasionally - maybe once a year - but have always managed to clean it successfully.

Once Care Scanner I don't know - I'll check it out.

 

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