Anti Virus / Security advice sought

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RunningMan

1332 posts

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Topic # 111996 22-Nov-2012 10:59
An elderly relative of mine has asked for advice, and I'm now seeking yours! They have a several year old PC used almost exclusively for email and light web browsing. OS is Windows XP Home, and has a subscription to McAfee Security Centre. McAfee subscription is about to expire. What are people's thoughts on a free alternative? Microsoft Security Essentials? AVG? Something else? Thanks in advance.

xpd

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Reply # 721216 22-Nov-2012 11:15
MSE or AVG is fine, use both myself, but everyone has their own opinions etc :) XPD / @DemiseNZ / Gavin Website CPU : Intel E5300 GFX: Geforce 9800GTX/+ RAM: 3GB DDR2 A+ - MCDST - MCTS CCNA Arriving soon.

l43a2

804 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 721218 22-Nov-2012 11:16
Microsoft Security Essentials is a lot lighter on resources then AVG, also should consider changing away from IE if not already and ensure JAVA/FLASH and any PDF readers are up to date.

NonprayingMantis

3626 posts

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Reply # 721220 22-Nov-2012 11:25
Not trying to stereotype too much but old people are quite often with Telecom. If that is the case, they may not be aware that Telecom goives free licences to McAfee antivirus. so they can keep their McAfee service which they are familiar with for free if that is the case. If they aren't with Telecom then the free alternatives mentioned already are probably just as good, but obviously will require a bit of learning to use.

RunningMan

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Reply # 721224 22-Nov-2012 11:34
NonprayingMantis: If that is the case, they may not be aware that Telecom goives free licences to McAfee antivirus. so they can keep their McAfee service which they are familiar with for free if that is the case. You learn something every day - didn't know that! They're not with Telecom though.

freitasm

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Reply # 721226 22-Nov-2012 11:37
Telecom Premium Services for broadband and dial-up users. If not that (as you noted above), then Microsoft Security Essentials will do a good job. Mauricio Freitas (Geekzone Admin, Devil's Advocate, my blog, technology disclosure, my tweets, Web Performance Optimization) Geekzone Price comparison \| Amazon Kindle order page \| How to get the best out of Geekzone \| New Zealand IT Jobs \| Geekzone News \| Jinglebugs

l43a2

804 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 721230 22-Nov-2012 11:42
didnt telecom tell people to remove this due to an issue it had a few month's back?

NonprayingMantis

3626 posts

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Reply # 721234 22-Nov-2012 11:48
l43a2: didnt telecom tell people to remove this due to an issue it had a few month's back? no. there was a problem accross all McAfee with an update that caused some people's internet to stop working. Uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee fixed the problem.

CYaBro

1793 posts

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Reply # 721239 22-Nov-2012 11:59
The best free AV is Microsoft Security Essentials. We've found the others (AVG, Avast, Avira) have just got too bloated and aren't as good as they used to be. For paid AV I would only use Eset. Computer Repairs Whangarei Remote Support

bmoff

46 posts

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Reply # 721252 22-Nov-2012 12:29
As well as Security Essentials, Microsoft also have for free, MS Safety Scanner, the Malicious Software Removal Tool and MS System Sweeper. There is no need for the average user to pay for Anti-virus software.

Technofreak

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Reply # 721539 22-Nov-2012 21:38
I too would recommend MSE. I've used Norton, Avria and MacAfee as well. Went from Norton to Avira and was quite happy for awhile then went to MSE. I was very happy with MSE compared to the others. When I bought a new Ultrabook it came with MacAfee preinstalled with a 15 month subscription. I had the issue of not being able to connect to the internet which caused me a lot of grief, then I had another issue So I ditched MacAfee for MSE. I'm a happy camper again. HTC One Nokia N9 Nokia E7 HP Touchpad Dell Inspiron 14z i5

RunningMan

1332 posts

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Reply # 721695 23-Nov-2012 09:39
Thank you all for your advice.