Computer expert anyone?

[Rose]

Originally Posted by AreYouReady?

When did Avast go free?

I had to pay them when I had a Windows for my operating system and IE for my browser.

Avast has both a free and paid version; I started using the free version on my laptop when TWC switched to McAfee. I have McAfee on my desktop and it takes HOURS to scan my computer.

[Esther]

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

I use Norton Antivirus myself and have found it to be good enough to warrant the $20 a year fee it costs to keep it current (this license also covers three separate computers).

I have tried almost ALL the free stuff.

Randy do you think my computer is safe now?

[Bro. Robbins]

My secular job is in IT... AVG Free Version is awesome... highly recommend it.

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by Esther

Randy do you think my computer is safe now?

I have used Microsoft Security Essentials myself and have mixed feelings about it. MS security software tends to be very quiet about doing its job which can be a good thing, but the bad part of that is you don't really know if it actually IS doing anything.

I always use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on all my PC's as well. It is not a program which is always running in the background, so it will not catch a threat until you run a manual scan but it works very very well in conjunction with other security software.

[SiblingRevelry]

One of my hacker friends (he was somewhat notorious and spent time in federal prison, but is now reformed and a family man) told me that if you're on Windows 7, Microsoft Security Essentials is sufficient.

The problem these days is not so much with viruses, but with malware. The virus software companies do a very good job with that. But they don't do such a good job with malware. I learned this from personal experience. I got a piece of malware ("Win 7 Internet Security 2011") downloaded onto my computer on Christmas Eve via an ad on tripadvisor.com. It took me the better part of three days to get rid of it and included having to hack the registry (which made me nervous). This malware was NASTY. At one point, my brother recommended I install McAfee and I did...and I watched in absolute amazement as the malware proceeded to uninstall it. O_o I talked to friends at work (I work in technology monitoring for a "too big to fail" bank) and online and found out I wasn't the first person to have gotten hit with that malware. Grrr.

I did a LOT of research in January trying to figure out if there was any software that could provide adequate security without compromising computer performance. MalwareBytes is the most recommended, but I don't run it because I tried it and it doesn't like that I run an Internet Relay Chat client. This is frustrating to me--I've NEVER had a problem with getting viruses or malware via IRC, but my software got blocked. Yet I got a nasty, nasty, nasty piece of malware via my browser, which was not blocked. Go figure.

So yeah, I'm running without protection from malware, but I'm not sure if there IS any good protection. Not even reputable websites are safe.

[Nitehawk013]

I have McAffe anti virus and I run AdAware and Spybot regularly. I wouldn't mind fnding something else if it worked better. I may look into this AVG.

[RandyWayne]

Originally Posted by SiblingRevelry

One of my hacker friends (he was somewhat notorious and spent time in federal prison, but is now reformed and a family man) told me that if you're on Windows 7, Microsoft Security Essentials is sufficient.

The problem these days is not so much with viruses, but with malware. The virus software companies do a very good job with that. But they don't do such a good job with malware. I learned this from personal experience. I got a piece of malware ("Win 7 Internet Security 2011") downloaded onto my computer on Christmas Eve via an ad on tripadvisor.com. It took me the better part of three days to get rid of it and included having to hack the registry (which made me nervous). This malware was NASTY. At one point, my brother recommended I install McAfee and I did...and I watched in absolute amazement as the malware proceeded to uninstall it. O_o I talked to friends at work (I work in technology monitoring for a "too big to fail" bank) and online and found out I wasn't the first person to have gotten hit with that malware. Grrr.

I did a LOT of research in January trying to figure out if there was any software that could provide adequate security without compromising computer performance. MalwareBytes is the most recommended, but I don't run it because I tried it and it doesn't like that I run an Internet Relay Chat client. This is frustrating to me--I've NEVER had a problem with getting viruses or malware via IRC, but my software got blocked. Yet I got a nasty, nasty, nasty piece of malware via my browser, which was not blocked. Go figure.

So yeah, I'm running without protection from malware, but I'm not sure if there IS any good protection. Not even reputable websites are safe.

One of our accountants got the dreaded "Internet Security 2011" drive-by download on her machine which was Windows XP at the time. Malwarebytes did an excellent job at removing it, BUT, you had to boot in safe mode (usually by hitting F5 during the start up process) and run it then. It took two complete scans and reboots but was completely gone afterwards.

Right now Norton 2012 has been doing a great job of blocking things and does also does a very good job at preventing other programs from shutting it down. Again, it is not free but you can find a three PC license on Amazon for anywhere from 18-25 bucks which is good for a year. I use it on my laptop at work where I regularly scan for viri on students USB drives.

[canam]

Originally Posted by Esther

Both my computers were hacked. When I contacted yahoo since that was the source of discovering my email account had been hacked they referred me to pcexpert247 who for a fee fixed both computers.

However, they removed my Norton security (which did not catch my virus). Anyone here ever used this company and what are your thoughts about removing the Norton and Malware security programs?

good idea to remove norton doesnt work anyway its full of viruses ! avg is the way to go

[Esther]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Have one program acting up again.

[MawMaw]

I got a suspicious email from a friend today that I know she didn't send.
It was from her yahoo email account. Evidently hacked? Does that mean
someone now has control over your email account? I'm very computer
illeterate. How do you fix something like that?