Freeware Virus Protection

[blindNsect]

Know any good ones?

[Anarasha]

Yes, the personal use version of www.avast.com
If you register it on your e-mail, you get a free liscence key for 14 months or so, and when it runs out, you just register it again =) 'tis the one I use, and I never had problems with vira or malware.

[FlowerGirl]

Just get a macbook.

[Anarasha]

That's kinda... not free :p What kind of virus protection software does the new Macbooks run with?

[Random Havoc]

It's a mac, you don't need virus protection on something that freezes and crashes every ten seconds.

[FlowerGirl]

That's the whole point of osx macbook - you don't need any antivirus protection b/c a firewall is already built in : )
...pretty crazy right. i found it ridiculous when i used to be a long term windows user.

[Anarasha]

If you get a proper Mac it is actually really good at work related stuff. Don't try to play on it though, it won't agree with that.
Flowergirl - Who told you that you don't need virus protection if you have a firewall built in?

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Random Havoc

It's a mac, you don't need virus protection on something that freezes and crashes every ten seconds.

Once you go mac, you never go back

[Ben Lahnger]

I've heard good things about avast

I use AVG Antivirus Free from Grisoft
http://www.avg.com/us-en/download?prd=afg

Also, I've had strong recommendations from people whose expertise I respect for Clamwin Antivirus
http://www.clamwin.com/

To have a reasonably secure computer, you should have 1 firewall program, 1 antivirus program (more than 1 antivirus prog can cause conflicts) and several anti-spyware programs (which do not conflict with each other).

For anti-spyware I can recommend:

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Malaware Bytes Anti-malware
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebyte...=dl&tag=button

Ad-Aware
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Finally, Hitman Pro 3 - Second Opinion Malware Scanner is available on a trial basis. It's free as long as it doesn't detect a problem, then it will clean up your PC and give you a 30 day trial period before you have to pay for it. The reason I mention it is because there is a certain kind of problem that is rootkit based, and the other antivirus and spyware scanners won't catch or stop it ... but this program does. It scans at a DOS type level, then forces the computer to reboot and scans again before any infected processes can get started. So in some situations, this thing might be a life saver!

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro

Why it's special: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?not...1909586&ref=nf

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Anarasha

Flowergirl - Who told you that you don't need virus protection if you have a firewall built in?

The guy at the Apple store.

[Random Havoc]

*snickers* I'm sorry, I've used macs, they're junk.. The typical fix for a mac is to install Linux on it.

[Anarasha]

NEVER believe the guy at the store.
When there are so much awesome free virus protection software out there to protect your arse, you have no responsible reason not to use some of it.
Sure, not a lot of vira are written for Mac compared to Windows, but some of them might just mess you up completely.

And to get back on topic, I am a long term user of Avast myself. I have NEVER had anything enter my system as long as I kept it updated.
I even managed to click one of those hellish MSN virus links one day when I was tired, Avast caught it before it infected my system.

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Random Havoc

*snickers* I'm sorry, I've used macs, they're junk.. The typical fix for a mac is to install Linux on it.

Then you probably havn't mastered the macbook...and you think Vista is that good?

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Anarasha

When there are so much awesome free virus protection software out there to protect your arse, you have no responsible reason not to use some of it.
Sure, not a lot of vira are written for Mac compared to Windows, but some of them might just mess you up completely.

A lot of my friends have been using iAntiVirus on the Mac (those having recently switched from Windows) but they all found it perfectly alright without the anti-virus software - if you're interested you can read more about it here: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/swi...ewall-faq.html

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by FlowerGirl

Once you go mac, you never go back

Not true. I've used Mac's at work and assisted customers with troubleshooting their Macs. I will never trade in my PC for a Mac.

Also, a firewall is not the same thing as an anti-virus program. A firewall alone is not sufficient to keep viruses out of your computer. That's why they make anti-virus programs for Mac like Avast Mac Edition and anti-spyware programs for the Mac like MacScan.

The truth of the matter is you are less likely to be targeted by a virus just because there are a lot less Mac's than PC's in the world. But a very good reason to run security software on your Mac above and beyond your firewall is so you don't pass a virus or spyware program on to your PC using friends.

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Also, a firewall is not the same thing as an anti-virus program. A firewall alone is not sufficient to keep viruses out of your computer.

The firewall is already built in, so you don't need a third-party software unless you're super paranoid.

[Ben Lahnger]

Windows has a built-in Firewall.

[Random Havoc]

You're talking to yourself, Ben.. For some people computer security requires cartoons and crayons to be understandable..

Flowergirl, I never said anything that would lead any sane person to assume I use Vista.

[FlowerGirl]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

Windows has a built-in Firewall.

All I know is that windows users need to frequenrtly have an up-to-date anti-virus program.

[Ben Lahnger]

Well, I wouldn't be super paranoid if there were no people in the world like her. And if she sends emails to anyone with a PC she should go back and re-read that last paragraph of mine about how she and her fire-walled but un-virus protected MAC could be spreading Windows viruses.

By the way, I DO use Vista. I waited till it was on the market almost 2 years before I bought a new laptop with it on it. I knew what I was shopping for, made sure I got the 32 bit edition and not the 64 bit (which has a slew of compatibility issues.) With all the updates that were in place, it has been as stable for me as XP was, and I've enjoyed some of the enhancements.

But I wouldn't advise anyone to upgrade from XP to Vista OR Windows 7 unless they have a compelling reason. It's like buying a new car when the old one is running great.

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by FlowerGirl

All I know is that windows users need to frequenrtly have an up-to-date anti-virus program.

Bingo! You need both to have complete security. They do different jobs!

[Methadrine]

Some serious misconceptions in this thread.. that I won't bother to fix or comment on.

Anyway, for Windows you should get Avast or AVG (Avast is slightly better at updating their virus database) since they're both free. Avoid Nortons products at all costs. They're clunky and too invasive. Also get spybot S&D for adware etc.

For the mac: get Little Snitch (costs money but worth every dime) as the firewall Apple provides is rather crappy (ofcourse, you could always install the great and venerable PF but that needs manual configuration that most people don't grasp) If you run a virtualization product and/or recieve a lot of Windows-aimed things in your email that you pass on to others, get clamAV (also used by Apple themselves in their server edition of OS X) so you can atleast scan them and not propagate any virii they may contain to your friends and co-workers.

And for Ben: Get Windows 7 if your computer can run it. It's fathomably better than Vista and is actually the first Windows I bought myself since it was actually worth the cost and is pretty much rock-stable. Vista 64 got better though, run it on a workstation at work and everything we threw at it works.

As for myself, I went mac and will never return to Windows. For me, my Mac Pro is the dream machine and it serves my needs well.

[Delkaetre]

... and every time I see a Windows v Mac thread, I get one step closer to Kubuntu. This is mostly because I've never seen a smugly superior ad for any OS other than windows and mac systems smirking at me on the Tube and telling me how awesome they are. I like things that don't spend all their time telling me how awesome they are and how stupid I am for not having them. (This attitude leads to me actively avoiding almost everything until the advertising around it dies down)

Till then, I have Avast, Spybot S&D, and a great deal of patience with this hunk of junk so long as it still runs Word, Arcanum, Firefox and Winamp 3.95.

[SiouxsiePernova]

I recommend Avira Antivirus, which is free for non-commercial use.

http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php

[Methadrine]

Originally Posted by Delkaetre

Till then, I have Avast, Spybot S&D, and a great deal of patience with this hunk of junk so long as it still runs Word, Arcanum, Firefox and Winamp 3.95.

You could always run Arcanum under WINE... *click me*