Posted: 3/22/2006 3:31:47 PM EDT
| Can anyone recommend a good one besides Norton? |
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There are a couple of good ones that are free. One is AVG, go to www.free.grisoft.com, the other is Avast, www.avast.com. You should couple it with a good anti-spyware program, the Microsoft one is good and also free, go to www.microsoft.com and look for it under Windows Defender Beta. Other free anti-spyware programs are Ad-Aware and Spybot. To complete the trifecta you might want to have a firewall better than the one in Windows XP - like Zone alarm personal which is also free. Make sure that you uinistall any anti-virus and spyware programs that you already have before loading the new ones. With Windows XP you just disable the firewall, not uninstall it. Ad Aware, Spybot and Zone alarm can all be gotten at www.download.com Hope this helps. |
These days, you're better off getting an integrated security suite that includes an antivirus, firewall and spyware/adware/trojan protection programs with frequent automatic updates, at least weekly. The brand is a personal decision. Like anything else, what I prefer may not be the "best" for your needs, budget, computer system, computing skills and need for product support. In other words, there is no "best" software. Research what's currently available and choose based on your findings. If you're still in doubt, choose among the major players like Symantec, McAfee, etc. Remember, regardless of which brand(s) you end up with, there is no substitute for frequent full-system backups. I'm currently using Norton SystemWorks 2006, Norton Personal Firewall 2006, Microsoft Defender (beta) and Retrospect Backup Professional, for what it's worth. Next year, I'll take another look at the next crop of secruity and backup programs and maybe go in another direction entirely. |
