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    Virus Protection - Please help!

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Suzy, Jul 6, 2006.

  1. Suzy

    Suzy Notebook Consultant

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    Hi everyone,

    I just received my new notebook today after weeks of searching.

    I only have tonight to get it up and ready before my trip Saturday morning.

    What type of antivirus program should I purchase?

    I don't understand virus, firewall, whatever else stuff whatsoever.

    Thanks a bunch!
     
    Suzy, Jul 6, 2006
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  2. nickster87

    nickster87 Notebook Consultant

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    Do a search and you will come up with loads of information.

    Your best bets for free AV are AVG and Avast!
    Your best paid AV is prolly NOD32 or Kaspersky.

    As for firewall, check out Zone Alarm. They have a free and pay version.

    You should have some anti-spyware programs too. I recommend Ad-aware and Spybot: Search and Destroy. They are both free. Just google them.

    Like I said, Search and you will find. :)
     
    nickster87, Jul 6, 2006
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  3. Suzy

    Suzy Notebook Consultant

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    Can I download those programs without having antivirus software on my system first?

    Thanks!
     
    Suzy, Jul 6, 2006
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  4. Silent

    Silent Notebook Consultant

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    Yes, you can download them but do not visit suspicious sites that you are unaware of.

    I would recommend the paid programs as they offer superior protection and security as opposed to the free ones. If you are willing to pay, my recommendations are below:

    Antivirus: Norton Antivirus 2006 (Since you said you don't understand pc security, I'm not recommending NOD32. It has advanced features which may be better interpreted by power users.

    Firewall: ZoneAlarm

    Antispyware: MS Windows Defender

    Alternatively, you could go for an all-in-one Security Suite. These offer the same security features as the standalone programs above under one interface. I have two recommendations here:
    1) Norton Internet Security Suite 2006
    2) ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6
     
    Silent, Jul 6, 2006
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  5. Tiger-Heli

    Tiger-Heli Notebook Evangelist

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    I like AVG free.

    ZoneAlarm is good, but Windows SP2's Internal firewall is not bad.

    If you want to be totally safe, the PC should come with some firewall (or Internet security Suite) and Anti-Virus already installed. Navigate to the AV and firewall pages, download the programs, disconnect from the internet (don't just close the browser), install the new programs, connect to the internet, update the anti-virus definitions, uninstall the original firewall and AV.

    But that's being a bit over paranoid.

    What laptop did you get?

    Anti-Virus Poll: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=42070
     
    Tiger-Heli, Jul 11, 2006
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