# Internet Security



## Homer (26 May 2012)

I know this is covered piecemeal in other threads, but I would welcome advice on whether or not it is worth paying to renew my internet anti virus software.

I currently have Kaspersky anti virus and it is due to expire in just under 2 weeks.  Is it worth renewing and, if so, where is the best place to buy it? (I imagine there are probably cheaper options than just paying full price for a straight renewal).

If not Kaspersky, what do people recommend?  Or are there free packages out there (AVG?) that are just as good as the ones you have to pay for?

Thanks
Homer


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## Spear (26 May 2012)

Most techies I know ecommend AVG


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## gipimann (26 May 2012)

Another recommended free package is Microsoft Security Essentials.


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## Romulan (26 May 2012)

I work in IT and reckon Microsoft Security Essentials is better than AVG now.
But these things can change over time.

Download MALWAREBYTES as a backup and run it every now and again.
MSE updates automatically but MALWAREBYTES needs to be updated manually.

I do this and have had no problems.


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## penury (26 May 2012)

Individually, on two separate computers, I have AVG and Avira which is also free - both work great

http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus


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## pudds (26 May 2012)

For personal users paying for internet security is not necessary and a waste of money.

If you use the freebies such as mentioned above coupled with your own common sense as to what sites you visit then you should have little or no probs.

Also do regular scans with malwarebytes/ccleaner's main scan + registry scan.

And a more detailed registry cleanup tool I use in addition to ccleaner's reg cleaner is Glary Utilities  [broken link removed]

and it's simple to use, just scan>fix problems>done


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## hastalavista (27 May 2012)

+1 re above,
just ensure u only have one AV running so if u dont renew the current one make sure u clean it all off, this is a real problem with Norton.

Re MSE, for me it works good with malware and ccleaner as mentioned above, however be aware that, at least for me,  every so often it checks to make sure the windows on the pc is legit and not bootleg/pirated/stolen


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## Homer (28 May 2012)

Thanks everyone for the replies.  

How do I make sure I have fully deleted existing AV software?  I keep getting messages from Norton every so often, even though I thought I had deleted it when I purchased Kaspersky.


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## demoivre (28 May 2012)

If you have unsuccessfully tried to remove Norton through the Add/remove programmes section in the Control Panel try the "Uninstall" tool in Crap cleaner.


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## Guest125 (29 May 2012)

Use the Norton removal tool [broken link removed]      It takes a good while to complete but is the only proper way to completely rid yourself of the beast!! I think any of the free av's are good but I find MSE can be a bit of a memory hog. If your computer has little memory 1-2Gb I'd go with avg.


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## DrMoriarty (29 May 2012)

There's a useful comparison here of the main freeware contenders (MSE, Avira Free, Avast! Free, and AVG Free)


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## dewdrop (15 Aug 2012)

I am uneducated in this area but often see the comment to be careful regarding what sites you visit. How does one know the type of sites that can cause you probems?


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## DrMoriarty (15 Aug 2012)

You could download and install the appropriate "Web of Trust" extension for your browser. It's not foolproof but it helps.


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## Leo (16 Aug 2012)

dewdrop said:


> I am uneducated in this area but often see the comment to be careful regarding what sites you visit. How does one know the type of sites that can cause you probems?


 
You could use something like AVG's Safe Search plugin for browsers. Search any sites you want to visit and it'll check them for you. It will have a performance hit though.


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## iamwill (23 Aug 2012)

No offense but if you had a MAC there wouldn't be a need for virus protection.


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## Guest125 (23 Aug 2012)

iamwill said:


> No offense but if you had a MAC there wouldn't be a need for virus protection.


Yes there is...  [broken link removed]  Many more AV products for Mac out there, it's not as safe as people are led to believe.


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## Leo (27 Aug 2012)

Absolutely, Mac's low market share kept the virus writers away, but they are increasingly being targetted.

In one instance in April, over 600,000 Mac machines were infected by the Flashback Trojan.


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## itsalottery (13 Sep 2012)

Hi all,

I am not the most knowledgable but in my view this is a minefield. I use Internet Explorer( or used to) a lot and I have a hotmail account. Last month my laptop became virased. I brought it into shop and paid €90 to have it cleaned down to shop level (not the right termonology but you know what I mean) I am not sure if they told me to change my hotmail password but at any rate the viras is back. I have now chaged to g mail. 
I tried to access office 2007 again but couldent locate the security key. So I went out and bought Microsoft 2010 but wouldent let me install as the 2007 was still instaled but I dident have the security key to access. At any rate I paid €20 today to have the Microsoft sorted but it now tells me that the security key has been used. Problems !!! Problems!!! I have Norton and thought I was protected but have since installed Firefox. I think the best solution is to install as much protection as you can ( like sunscreen ) and hope for the best. 
I will use some of the systems above and hope for better luck. Thanks for any solutions that might be further suggested


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## DannyL (14 Sep 2012)

I agree that Avira is great. I use paid version because I send/ receive a lot of emails but free version is also great.


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