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Captain_Fil
Joined: 06 Jan 2011 Posts: 604 Location: California - the land of fruits and nuts
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:15 am Post subject: Any free but good anti-virus software? |
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I'm planning on buying a brand-new laptop soon.
But I'm on a really tight budget. I don't want to spend more than I need to.
So the question is...
Are there any free but good anti-virus or anti-malware software programs available for download?
After all...
Free operating systems are available (Linux, etc.). And so are free productivity software (OpenOffice, etc.). Free encryption is also easy to access (TrueCrypt, etc.).
So why not free anti-virus software that fully protects from any and all malware threats?
The best things in life are free...
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Shonai Ben
Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 617
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:34 am Post subject: |
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i use Ad-Aware Free........it works well. |
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7969
Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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Try AVG for anti-virus.
Malwarebytes or Spybot for malware. |
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Captain_Fil
Joined: 06 Jan 2011 Posts: 604 Location: California - the land of fruits and nuts
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the helpful info, Shonai and 79.
I really appreciate it!
And so does my wallet...
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jdroege
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Karachi, Pakistan
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:58 am Post subject: Good, free antivirus |
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I agree AVG is good. I also use Microsoft Security Essentials. Use BOTH and you will be happier.
Get SpyBot and CCleaner, too.
I haven't use paid virus protection for years. About 50-75% of the USB's my students bring in have viruses. That is the largest source of potential infection for me.
Jim Droege
Karachi, Pakstan |
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_smaug
Joined: 08 Sep 2010 Posts: 92
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alpha65
Joined: 21 Nov 2011 Posts: 3
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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I've got AVG for my anti-virus and Malwarebytes and CCleaner for malware/adware....works a treat to keep the nasties away. |
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Phil_K
Joined: 25 Jan 2007 Posts: 2041 Location: A World of my Own
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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I use Avast! and it seems to catch everything. |
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BizLiz
Joined: 20 May 2013 Posts: 30 Location: China
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 4:13 pm Post subject: I tried all the freebies... |
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Avast is by far the best free antivirus and for the malware I run both malwarebytes and superantispyware. Once a month I will run McAfee Stinger and that always picks ups something the others miss. |
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coledavis
Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838
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Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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I use Avast which is pretty good, although as stated previously, an occasional go with an anti-malware program isn't a bad idea. |
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Sashadroogie
Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 11061 Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise
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KarlaMontelibano
Joined: 11 Sep 2013 Posts: 17
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JoeKing
Joined: 30 Apr 2008 Posts: 519
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Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:54 am Post subject: |
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I use Avast and Spybot. |
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Trina Marlow
Joined: 28 Apr 2014 Posts: 50
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 11:00 am Post subject: |
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I'm using Avast for so many years now. I find it very effective. Download it for free here: https://www.avast.com/index |
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winston.smith
Joined: 11 Nov 2015 Posts: 5
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 3:57 pm Post subject: Third party installs with 'freeware' |
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One of the ways companies manage to give their software away for "free" is by promoting some other software during the install process. In other words while installing the software you want a message during the install process appears that has a tick box somewhere (sometimes these are quite prominent and sometimes they are not very prominent at all) and next to the tick box there will be a question or a statement that allows the installation of some other piece of software as well as the software you were installing in the first place.
One must take great care here ! The extra software may change your browser or the browser settings. It may install toolbars within your current browser or the new browser. The point is, the third party software may not be so trustworthy. They may send you to other websites to which they receive revenue for but these could be dodgy sites that have malware on them. Or the third party software may have malware characteristics themselves, such as adware or worse actual viruses and trojans.
The point is when installing freeware it can end up there's even more malware than you started with if you are not careful.
The solution to this is to be extremely viligent during the install procedure and be sure you read what it says next to any tick boxes and also the title of the page or window you are viewing. If there is any reference to software other than the one you intend installing be very careful. If you are not sure get advice from someone more technical. |
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