Anti-virus, spam, pop-up thingy???

[Helenbodrum]

Hi All,
can anybody help me - the Norton anti-virus package that came with my laptop is due to expire soon, and it says I have to buy a new one, which seems really expensive. Is this right?
Does anybody know of any free versions I can get?

Thanks v much
Helen

 

[lorraine]

Helen have a look at this thread HERE I am in the same situation as yourself and to renew mine it is only 32£ but I cant get it to accept my credit card so I have taken the advice of the replies offered..

Good luck

 

[Karyn UK]

I hate Norton so much, I was stupid to think that just cos I paid for something it would be better than the free stuff. I wish I had never installed it on my laptop. I can't wait for the wretched thing to expire.

On all our other computers we have been using AVG which is a free German program and you can find it here AVG Free Edition

But we recently switched to a new free one called Avast! which so far seems brilliant and found and repairs stuff that Norton and AVG didnt know we had - and it gives a nice friendly "Don't Panic" announcement when it finds a virus. You can download it here Avast Anti-virus Software

Karyn

 

[parrot]

Helen,for what it's worth I'm with Blueyonder and get anti everything free,don't know how good it is but it seems ok

 

[lynne]

Hi.Perhaps I can put a question here.I am looking to get my first laptop.I want to take it back to Turkey so that I dont have to keep going into the office and I can work from home (beside the pool !!! maybe !!). What kind of anti-virus can I put on the laptop over in Turkey ?(Bodrum).Its going to be through the phone cable as I doubt if half our village even know what broadband is ! Help please
Lynne

 

[Mushtaq]

Lynne, you can use the ones Karyn has suggested above, they should work just fine.

 

[Serdar]

I have AVG for antivirus and Zonealarm (free edition) as firewall. Alexa and Google toolbars for the pop ups. They work fine and considering the problems caused by norton I think they are much better than Norton and free.

Lynne - If you are planning to use dialup you better be careful with the pop ups and dialers because pop up blockers sometimes don't work. As far as I know nearly all the peninsula has the ADSL facility.

 

[Akbuk Rob]

Reassuring for me to read Karyn's comments about Avast, I recently downloaded it on Spitfires recommendation, love the look of it and seems to work very smoothly, but haven't got any virus's or Trojans to test it out.

 

[puma]

have have just purchased on offer the firewall privacy and virus scan and anti spyware etc all for £29.99 instead of £49.99

 

[lewismark]

Zonealarm (free edition) as firewall. Alexa and Google toolbars for the pop ups. They work fine and considering the problems caused by norton I think they are much better than Norton and free.

I would totally agree here, i have the same and all is well, ontop of that i have Lavasoft second edition to scan for faults, this was a free download also.

 

[JohnF]

Just read a review of Anti Virus software today and one of the products mentioned in this thread, avast! Antivirus 4.6 did not fare particulary well. Grisoft's AVG free edition did a bit better but not the best in the test.

The full report is here.

JF

 

[Smiler]

I think you get what you pay for. For everyday "home users" Norton and Macafee can't really be beaten.

 

[JohnF]

Don't know so much; in these particular tests neither Norton nor McAfee, the two market leader in AV, were recommended purchases.

I personally use AVG, and recommend both the Pro and free versions to clients depending on circumstance. Never has a major issue so far which I feel is a better recommendation than simply being the biggest or the most popular.

JF

 

[Terry]

Good tips, ta. They always give Zone Alarm (free) great write ups I notice.

How about accessing emails in Turkey via notebook, what's the most popular? Is it Hotmail? I am with Blue yonder and have joined their web mail which seems to read my Outlook express ok, but I find it awkward to get on with. When I cancel Blueyonder soon and even allowing for the fact that their web mail is free....will I lose my continuity in anyway, or will it keep my original blueyonder email address etc etc.
Thinking that will save me informing everyone of yet anothet email address, or is Hotmail a better option....slightly confused!!!

 

[JohnF]

Quick update for anyone using AVG Anti Virus Free Edition.

AVG have announced that they will no longer be providing/supporting the free edition as from January 2007. You *should* receive a message to this effect when you download the updated definitions file but I've noticed that at least two of my machines didn't. What this basically means is that you wont be able to download new virus definition files (not sure of the exact date) after January.

If you rely on AVG for virus protection then now is the time to start looking for an alternative.

JF

 

[Serdar]

JF - This might be for the version 7.1
There is a new version 7.5. I've just downloaded and using it now.

for the new version 7.5 it says on their site:

New in AVG 7.5

* Improved virus detection based on better heuristics and NTFS data streams scanning
* Smaller installation and update files
* Improved user interface
* Windows Vista ready
* and more

What you get with AVG Anti-Virus Free

yes Easy to use
yes Regular and automatic virus database updates
yes Realtime protection of files and e-mails
yes Scheduled and manual testing
yes Windows and Linux
yes And most of all ... great customer satisfaction!

What you do not get
no Anti-Spyware Available only with commercial versions
no Anti-Spam
no Firewall
no 24/7 Technical Support
no High-speed updates
no Multiple languages
no Detailed settings
no Consent for commercial use

 

[JohnF]

Could be Serdar, I've got 7.1 & 7.5 installed but haven't had a chance to look to closely at their web site. I got an email and a couple of pop up's announcing withdrawal of support and that might explain why some machine's got it and some didn't (maybe those on 7.5?).

Be good if AVG are continuing a free product, it is one of the better out of the bunch.

JF

 

[KLS]

I bought McAfee Virus Scan Plus (39.99USD) not long ago and am very happy with it. It includes virus protection, spyware protection, firewall (in and out), safe surfing, etc. So far so good.

I had free anti-virus on my last pc, and it ended up in the pc graveyard (that wasn't it's only problem....it was old too) but it made me wary. The main problem i had was that although the anti-virus notified me i had one, it didn't remove it and despite my best efforts things just worsened to the point where the bloody thing was rebooting itself every 5 mins. I figured, well i've shelled out for a new pc, it may be wise to shell out a little bit on protection. You can never be completely protected i know but i'm trying! And it's nice to know if McAfee finds anything and i have any trouble, i can call on their support. Just thought i would add a recommend if anyone else is considering a purchase rather than freeware.

Karen

 

[immac]

I switched to AVG after Norton. I could not get Norton to accept a payment to renew and after weeks of trying went with AVG, which I am very happy with.
AVG are now also doing a FREE anti-spyware prog on the same download site. As with the free anti-virus, there are some features switched off on the free version but it seems OK in its basic state.
Ian

 

[westonalan]

Hi All,
Anyone who has Norton Anti-virus software and wants to stay with them rather than changing.
Can save £'s by buying from Ebay.
I've just had to renew my Norton protection.
I was quoted £60 in Curry's electrical store.
It was approx £35 direct from Norton.
I ended up buying it for £14.50p off Ebay.
It was a Spanish/English version, but it works GREAT......