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kthompson
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2007-01-26          139185

I have been using Zone Alarm antivirus software. Not pleased with some point about it. Have to either renew withthem or someone. Probably will go back to Norton. Any suggestions?



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DennisCTB
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2007-01-26          139186

Ken,

Its funny I was just looking into this as I had let my Symantec Anitvirus
expire for too long a time.

I wanted to get something on a trial so I got the CA product. Did not like it too slow, uninstalled it.

I checked a anti virus rating service and an Anit Virus program from Australia, NOD32, came up pretty high, small footprint and faster, less intrusive. On day 3 with it, much better than CA, I think I like it better than the over intrusive Symantec products.

This brings up another topic, I am going to create another Board on Technology so we can put these threads there.

Dennis ....

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kthompson
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2007-01-26          139188

Dennis

Is that in stores, on line or where can I find it?

Thanks.

Wow, another world to check out. Sure hope there will be people there who are software experts. Computers prove you can use something and still be a dummy. Guess some advice about guns also applies to them.

kt ....

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DennisCTB
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2007-01-26          139189

Ken here is the link, I was looking for something, quick, small footprint, and inexpensive. Here is the link for the Trial SW. ....


Link:   NOD32 Anitvirus 30 day Trial

 
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Billy
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2007-01-26          139194

Ken, for a "free" anti virus software you can't go wrong with AVG. If they stopped offering it for free, I'd buy it today, no questions asked. Been using it for right at 5 or 6 years and not even a hiccup. ....


Link:   AVG

 
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kwschumm
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2007-01-26          139196

After a terrible failure by Norton followed by abysmal support I swore off all Symantec products. I stumbled onto AVG a few years ago and couldn't be more pleased with it. ....

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cutter
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2007-01-27          139213

AVG is a great product but I would certainly check out the one Dennis is recommending as well.

I use AVG and pay for the premium package. I can tell you their support is great if you ever need it. Last year I did get infected a couple of times from something and since I have an automatic scan every night they were cleaned off immediately.

If you choose to pay for the upgraded version it is a fraction of the cost of Norton and McAfee.

....

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DennisCTB
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2007-01-27          139216

Here is a link to one of the many sites that have ratings on antivirus software.

Has anyone used their top rated "BitDefender", also one of the cheapest I have seen? Has anyone used Kaspersky, though a bit out my price range ;)

Dennis ....


Link:   One Rating site

 
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JAZAK5
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2007-01-28          139221

I went to "webroots" spysweeper. With anti virus
it caught alot more than NORTON/MCFEE that I previously used and cheeper to.
down loaded it and payed on line ,got the hard copy sent to the house,
HIGHLY rated on PC mag.
trogans/hijackers/spyware dont have a chance with this one,I practicaly get up dates every other day and think I am safe with 160,983 definitions on file right now !!!!!!
online /phone support was excellent/I went to this program after I caught a trogan horse that the other two did not catch or could not remove!!!!!!!! ....

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cutter
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2007-01-28          139225

I purchased the new StopZilla as my spyware program. I like the "active" feature and the daily updates. I works like a virus program and will prevent most stuff from ever infecting your machine unlike most others that require a scan to remove what you catch. ....

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kthompson
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2007-01-29          139302

I downloaded "bitdefender" this morning. It had to scan before it completed download. It picked up 3 or 4 infections. Not sure it was a full scan, but if it was, it took about the 1/3 the time Zone Alarm did. At present it seems to be working fine. Then it is easy to know when your antivirus is not working compared to it is for me. The Zone Alarm had just run out so it had done a full scan on Thursday.
....

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wr5evk8jj
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2007-01-29          139307

The thread's theme highlights a problem that I have had with PC antivirus application. Here's a question that I have been wanting or needing to know for some time; a question for the experts.

I bought my first PC about 6 months ago from Dell. My background has been with VAXs and Unix-based machines for quite some years at work, and Apple Macs since the first one out in early '84 with Apple IIs and 8-bit single-board computers prior to that. So, my entry into the PC world was quite resistant. Looking back now, I should have bought another Mac. But, here we are with the PC today.

When I bought the Dell, I got McAfee installed on it as part of the bundle (Norton too I think). I have a great big headache around this application. It seems to be screwed down so tight that my son cannot go to the sites that he needs to (he's studying Japanese through the University of Alabama). Every day, and sometimes multiple times a day, I have to "unlock" or get McAfee into "unprotected" so that he can access the sites that he needs to go to. I have looked into getting McAfee less restrictive while still allowing some level of protection (something that I have not really had to worry about in the Mac realm). After six months of messing with it, I have about had it with the thing.

I have read the thread here about BitDefender and SpySweeper, and then looked at the reviews. Would it be in my best interest to can McAfee and I believe Norton too, and just go with BitDefender and SpySweeper? ....

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kwschumm
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2007-01-29          139309

I can't speak for BitDefender or SpySweeper but my experiences with Norton and McAfee could not be worse and I don't care what reviewers think. Those two products always got in the way, didn't work as well as other products, and are geared towards Fortune 500 companies so their support for the little guy is nonexistent unless you want to buy an expensive service contract. At least McAfee can be uninstalled fairly easily but Norton is totally intrusive and requires third party apps to completely remove from your machine. YMMV ....

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kthompson
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2007-01-30          139327

wr, I am so far from knowing the answer to your question but with Zone Alarm I could set it to allow access to a certain site. Would work. Then the next or a couple of weeks later an update would hit and problem all over. Often I had to totally cut off Zone Alarm to get TP to work. It was not just TP site either. The same for my State's sites visited for business reason. Funny thing, Zone Alarm allowed more access to web sites on a desk top with the best we could tell the exact same setting.

Quick update on bitdefender, it has not caused any problem for me at TP's site, but did not leave computer set for it to scan last night. Zone Alarm was close to 2 hours, bitdefender this morning finally came to it would take about 3 hours. Well it is paused at this time. ....

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greg_g
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2007-01-30          139346

KT -

My experience with Norton and McAfee products goes way back, and it's all bad. I'd never infect any of my machines with any of their bloatware ever again.

That said, ZoneAlarm is pretty good - but is not terribly user friendly if/when you want to tailor your protection outside it's "automatic" mode. I used to swear by AVG, but I'm disturbed by it's falling performance ratings. When my AVG subscriptions expire, I'm going to strongly consider dropping them in favor of either NOD32 or AVIRA.

Kapersky is said to be good, I don't know anything about BitDefender or StopZilla. But SpySweeper is not an anti-virus application. It's in the anti-malware category, which should be used in conjunction WITH an anti-virus application.

The site below may be of interest to you:

//greg// ....


Link:   compare AV software

 
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kthompson
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2007-01-30          139347

grewg, the bitfender shows it has spyware in it. I finally was able to turn computer over for it to do full scan. Took about an hour or so. It seems to be working properly. In other words, I don't notice it.

As to Zone Alarm, it seemed to do it's job also other than it was a real pain on some web sites for me. If I did not point it out it was not so on one computer but it did not hit the same web sites either. ....

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wr5evk8jj
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2007-01-30          139351

Once again, the PC-neophyte at the helm. Any recommendation on a third party app to remove Norton? ....

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greg_g
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2007-01-30          139358

Removal techniques vary with which version you want to clean up after. Might be a good idea to start with the link below:

//greg// ....


Link:   ideas to remove NAV

 
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cutter
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2007-01-30          139359

Windows Installer Cleanup can be downloaded for free. That is what StopZilla recommended to me to completely remove the old version of their program. They told me that it cleans up the pieces often left by the Windows Add/Remove or the program's Remove button. ....

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greg_g
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2007-01-30          139372

They told you wrong Cutter. That's their MSICUU tool, be careful. It only works on software that was installed with MSI (Windows Installer), but it's a shotgun approach. While attempting to fix one stalled MSI installation or removal, it may damage another MSI-installed application. Second, there are different versions of MSICUU for different operating systems. The wrong tool for the job can screw things up too.

If Norton software was not installed by MSI, I don't recommend fooling with MSICUU

//greg// ....

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Billy
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2007-01-31          139374

This should get rid of Norton. ....


Link:   Norton Removal Tool

 
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greg_g
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2007-01-31          139379

Be careful with that one as well, as it too takes the shotgun approach. If removes not only NAV, but any and all Symantec software from your computer. Plus, it only removes what Symantec WANTS removed. It does NOT completely eradicate all traces of NAV from your PC.

The best way to do it is to go into your Windows registry and manually remove every single NAV item in there. For those that are uncomfortable working in the registry, you can pay to have it done by anyone with a Microsoft Certification ticket. Less expensive - but less efficient - would be a competent registry cleaning utility. The selection of which one to use pretty much depends upon the depth of experience of the person using it.

//greg//
....

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cutter
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2007-01-31          139380

Greg,

They sent me the link to the correct tool and it did the job, fortunately. I have since installed Registry Mechanic and also checked the registry since I found some FireFox extensions contained spy-ware. One in particular contained an overseas dial-up connection that I needed to get in and delete.

....

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greg_g
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2007-01-31          139382

I may have tried RM over the years, can't remember. But if I have, I was apparently not impressed - or I'd still have it. Most of the registry utilities are little more than brooms, sweeping out broken/abandoned links. If an unwanted registry entry has a valid link to something elsewhere in/on the computer, most general purpose cleaning utilities will ignore them.

If unwanted registry items are linked to a remnant in the Windows directory, basic registry cleaners can be viable tools. In those cases, use the Windows search engine (or Windows Explorer) to weed out files/folders you know you don't want anymore. THEN run the registry cleaner to detect/remove any registry links that were broken by your directory deletions.

But persistent software like most of the Symantec stuff often intentionally create links to OTHER registry items. In this case manually cleaning the Windows directory can't help, AND a general purpose registry cleaner will pass right over them as "valid" links. In these cases, there's little choice but to dive into the registry yourself and pull the weeds by hand - or hire it done by a professional.

Last resort, reformat the hard drive. That's the ultimate registry cleaning technique.

//greg// ....

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DennisCTB
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2007-01-31          139395

Billy,

Thanks for that Norton Removal link. I was pretty sure I had gotten rid of the Norton stuff, but its nice to have a double check.

I am going to continue using the NOD32 until the trial expires then I think I'll try BitDefender.

So far the NOD32 is working nicely, it caught a virus in an email I received and notifed via a dialog box and also right in the subject line in Thunderbird. NOD32 also gets updates during the day and marks all my emails with a footer that tells me it has scanned them, nice.

Dennis

....

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kthompson
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2007-02-05          139555

Buying BitDefender for second computer. Notice there is a second BitDefender for about twice the price. (Did not see it when I bought first time.) It has anti spam software in it. My IP just added Barracuda and it really has helped on the spam issue. ....

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