Computer antivirus

[Keeping Up]

Most of the "paid for" home PC solutions offer you a really good deal (often half price, or bogoff, and maybe some extra bundled goodies too) if you agree to sign up for automatic subscription renewal. I am very happy with my anti-virus software (it's Trend) but I don't like the company to whom they subcontract the sales and marketing side of things. So every year I renew my subscription including automatic renewal - and then immediately cancel the automatic renewal; I've been doing it for years with no problems; every year they send me a selection of offfers to tempt me to renew - which usually get better if I ignore their first 2 or 3 attempts.

[grahoom]

I am not championing any particular alternative - there are many very good ones. But I hope in time people will begin to realise the con that is MS Windows.

 

Yup that's the great thing, there are alternatives, and there are plenty out there that adhere to the Free Software / Open Source ethos.

 

This is a good bit of publicity that the GNU Project have got - Freedom Fry :: Happy birthday to GNU

[kerching]

Open an online account with barclays, keep a pound in it and get free Kaspersky AV for 3 computers. I,m just about to renew for my 3rd free year.

[Robbo]

Here's me 2p worth, coming from a OS/X, BSD and Linux user...

 

Most viruses/malware effect your machine due to you running insecure services and out of date software. They get to your machine via social means such as Email/Surfing, pirated software, via the Network and USB/FW drives.

 

Use a firewall, if you are going via a router you have a firewall, if using 3G use the OS one, you don't need to pay for a firewall (easier with later versions of Windows).

 

Use a virus scanner, I use recommend Microsoft Security Essentials for my Window friends, ClamAV, chkrootkit/Rootkit Hunter for *nix.

 

Keep your machine upto date.

 

 

 

No OS is secure or free from Malware (Windows 7 is technically more secure than OS/X), but Windows is targeted alot more (and I mean alot more!). OS/X mainly has Trojan type malware. Linux/BSD mainly has Rootkit type malware.

 

Running a virus scanner vs not....

 

a. you should have a virus scanner and run every so often no matter what OS you are using or what for.

 

b. If you don't know what your doing,

Windows: run one all the time,

OS/X: always scan downloaded software, 50/50 on running one all the time, at the mo you should be safe but this may change as OS/X increases with popularity.

Linux/BSD: Guessing someone else set the machine up for ya!

Edited March 19, 2010 by Robbo

[DHutch]

Ive run AVG free on all our computers (about 8 in total, all online, used by the whole family) for the last 6-7years or so with no issues.

- Combine that with an old copy of sygate PFW and a few tweaks to the routers settings when we changed that and we have had no issues at all.

 

 

Daniel