Whats a good Free antivirus

[quote name='SovietSlayer']I found a better AV then all of those, they call it OS X.[/QUOTE]

Exactly what I was going to say. OS X. It comes free with every purchase of a Mac.
 
[quote name='tholly']Exactly what I was going to say. OS X. It comes free with every purchase of a Mac.[/QUOTE]

Or.. you can not get ripped off with overpriced hardware and use a perfectly capable free OS instead.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Or.. you can not get ripped off with overpriced hardware and use a perfectly capable free OS instead.[/QUOTE]

The amount of money I have saved using my Mac has more than made up for the initial entry cost. I have zero down time, zero problems, and an all-around solid platform on which to do anything on, which is more than I can say for any PC I have ever owned, some of which that have cost as much as, or more than, my Mac.

Initial cost is not everything. When you figure in hidden costs and the invaluable cost of time, Macs cost much less in the long run than running a sub-optimal PC.
 
[quote name='tholly']The amount of money I have saved using my Mac has more than made up for the initial entry cost. I have zero down time, zero problems, and an all-around solid platform on which to do anything on, which is more than I can say for any PC I have ever owned, some of which that have cost as much as, or more than, my Mac.

Initial cost is not everything. When you figure in hidden costs and the invaluable cost of time, Macs cost much less in the long run than running a sub-optimal PC.[/QUOTE]

Um... ok. I think you might be missing something. Sure, Windows is buggy, unstable, and insecure.. but Windows isn't the only PC-based OS. Linux is actually more secure than OSX, and has less vulnerabilities found per year... look it up if you don't believe me. Also, it's free.. unlike Mac and their overpriced hardware/software.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Um... ok. I think you might be missing something. Sure, Windows is buggy, unstable, and insecure.. but Windows isn't the only PC-based OS. Linux is actually more secure than OSX, and has less vulnerabilities found per year... look it up if you don't believe me. Also, it's free.. unlike Mac and their overpriced hardware/software.[/QUOTE]

For me personally, the linux learning curve outweighs any gains in cost / stability, especially considering how userfriendly OSX is.

If you have found something you feel is better than OSX, that's great. But, for people that only consider Windows or OSX as their only options, I'd rather go with no computer at all than with a Windows based insecure, unstable mess.

Out of the box, I can plug basically anything I want into a mac and have zero issues. Even items like one laserjet printer that I have that has no company made drives was easy enough to get working on a mac and only took about 5 minutes of program downloads / installs to get the printer functioning 100%.

The ease of use a Mac provides over Windows is worth its weight in gold.
 
[quote name='tholly']For me personally, the linux learning curve outweighs any gains in cost / stability, especially considering how userfriendly OSX is.

If you have found something you feel is better than OSX, that's great. But, for people that only consider Windows or OSX as their only options, I'd rather go with no computer at all than with a Windows based insecure, unstable mess.

Out of the box, I can plug basically anything I want into a mac and have zero issues. Even items like one laserjet printer that I have that has no company made drives was easy enough to get working on a mac and only took about 5 minutes of program downloads / installs to get the printer functioning 100%.

The ease of use a Mac provides over Windows is worth its weight in gold.[/QUOTE]

Have you actually tried Linux? It's just as easy to use as any other OS. Give either the Ubuntu or Linux Mint LiveCD's a try. You don't even have to install it. It's stable, fast, secure, and free.. so you're not getting ripped off by large corporations
 
[quote name='tholly']The amount of money I have saved using my Mac has more than made up for the initial entry cost. I have zero down time, zero problems, and an all-around solid platform on which to do anything on, which is more than I can say for any PC I have ever owned, some of which that have cost as much as, or more than, my Mac.

Initial cost is not everything. When you figure in hidden costs and the invaluable cost of time, Macs cost much less in the long run than running a sub-optimal PC.[/QUOTE]

Eh, I disagree with this. It's fine if you want to pay a premium for your Mac, but just go ahead and admit that it cost more to use for OSX. I own a Mac and it was nice to use, but ultimately, it pretty much worked the same as a pc, albeit with some software limitations. Hardware was about as unreliable as any other laptop I've ever owned, since they all use the same parts anyway. I gave it to my fiance and she loves it, so to each their own I suppose.

[quote name='PhrostByte']Have you actually tried Linux? It's just as easy to use as any other OS. Give either the Ubuntu or Linux Mint LiveCD's a try. You don't even have to install it. It's stable, fast, secure, and free.. so you're not getting ripped off by large corporations[/QUOTE]

I haven't tried Ubuntu for a little while, but I have to say the last one that I used was somewhat not user-friendly. I'll have to give the new one a shot though, because it would be REALLY nice if it became the norm.
 
Been using Avira for the past year and loved it, other than the pop-ups every once and awhile. After reading enough about Microsoft Security Essentials on another site, I switched over and I am very happy with it. It doesn't even feel like I have a virus program running anymore, its just so well hidden :) Tried AVG several times over the past few years, including about a month ago and thought it was terrible. Not as slick as other free scanners, and a resource hog from what I am used to with Avira.
 
question for you guys. I'm now running microsoft security essentials and have tried may other things on my computer with no positive results and am looking for help. Recently I got hit with some sort of crap that constantly hijacks my browser doesnt matter which one I use. Commonly it happens either when I go to amazon or xbox.com. The website looks like its loaded but with amazon the search field is blocked out and my browser then freaks out telling me that logging in will direct me somewhere else usually pricegrabber. I'm completely lost now and really dont want to wipe this bitch. Anyone got suggestions??

thanks
 
[quote name='tholly']The amount of money I have saved using my Mac has more than made up for the initial entry cost. I have zero down time, zero problems, and an all-around solid platform on which to do anything on, which is more than I can say for any PC I have ever owned, some of which that have cost as much as, or more than, my Mac.

Initial cost is not everything. When you figure in hidden costs and the invaluable cost of time, Macs cost much less in the long run than running a sub-optimal PC.[/QUOTE]

Odd, I've ran PC with *windows* for years, and never had any crazy crashes.. no terrible virus attacks... nothing fucking up... and I didn't pay the extra $500 it would be to get a white case for a machine as powerful as mine.

Oh right, you get the little Apple sticker too, I forgot. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not fucking retarded when it comes to technology that I don't have all of these terrible windows problems that I mainly hear about from mac users.
 
People complaining that Windows is buggy and unstable should upgrade to something better than pirated versions of XP, or using cheap underpowered Vista machines bought at a B&M store.

Oh, and despite the popup when you update it, Avira is pretty good and doesn't really take any resources, I switched from AVG a while back and it seems like a good jump.
 
I think everyone should give Ubuntu 10.04 or Linux Mint 8 (or maybe wait for 9, the creator told me that it should be coming out soon) a try. Free/open source software really is a beautiful thing, look into it if you guys have some time. If you just happen to be that one computer nerd that your relatives ask for help, you really owe it to yourself to discover the stable, secure, and virus-free world of Linux (and BSD).
 
What's a good recommendation for a GUI btw? I'm not a fan of Gnome nor KDE. I like the idea of integrated everything, but I'm not a fan of Vista type widgets either. I remember liking the look of something called LiteBox or something, but last I checked, support and development for it was stopped many years ago.
 
[quote name='Dezuria']People complaining that Windows is buggy and unstable should upgrade to something better than pirated versions of XP, or using cheap underpowered Vista machines bought at a B&M store.[/QUOTE]

Or stop talking about things that happened with Windows 10 years ago. I've had virtually no issues with Windows since XP.
 
[quote name='bill123']question for you guys. I'm now running microsoft security essentials and have tried may other things on my computer with no positive results and am looking for help. Recently I got hit with some sort of crap that constantly hijacks my browser doesnt matter which one I use. Commonly it happens either when I go to amazon or xbox.com. The website looks like its loaded but with amazon the search field is blocked out and my browser then freaks out telling me that logging in will direct me somewhere else usually pricegrabber. I'm completely lost now and really dont want to wipe this bitch. Anyone got suggestions??

thanks[/QUOTE]

Try running your scans in Safe Mode. If that doesn't help, give Avast a shot -- it has an option to run a boot time scan, so it can search for viruses before Windows even boots up. That and Malwarebytes should cure what ails ya.

If you still have trouble after that, Combofix is a bit more extreme, but goddamn effective.
 
[quote name='bill123']question for you guys. I'm now running microsoft security essentials and have tried may other things on my computer with no positive results and am looking for help. Recently I got hit with some sort of crap that constantly hijacks my browser doesnt matter which one I use. Commonly it happens either when I go to amazon or xbox.com. The website looks like its loaded but with amazon the search field is blocked out and my browser then freaks out telling me that logging in will direct me somewhere else usually pricegrabber. I'm completely lost now and really dont want to wipe this bitch. Anyone got suggestions??

thanks[/QUOTE]

Try this http://www.malwarebytes.org/

It's a really good program, you wont be disappointed!!!
 
[quote name='elessar123']What's a good recommendation for a GUI btw? I'm not a fan of Gnome nor KDE. I like the idea of integrated everything, but I'm not a fan of Vista type widgets either. I remember liking the look of something called LiteBox or something, but last I checked, support and development for it was stopped many years ago.[/QUOTE]

Yea.. there's Openbox and variations like Blackbox. If you like Openbox, I recommend trying out the latest version of Crunchbang. The code name is Statler. It's real simple and streamlined... however... my personal favorite is Linux Mint, which comes in GNOME flavor by default (I too, am not a fan of KDE, but I'll take just about anything over Windows) with community versions released with KDE, LXDE, XFCE, and *Box brandings... my homeboy Clem just released a preview of version 9 today. I really think you should check it out.

www.linuxmint.com

I think everyone should check it out. It comes with MP3 codecs, Flash, a free Office suite, a free PDF viewer, all that stuff... so you basically don't have to download any plugins, and obviously you'll never need an antivirus, since Linux users don't get viruses. This is all coming from someone who works in the IT field. I have to fix people's Windows fuck-ups on a daily basis.. and if I was allowed to install Linux Mint on their machines, many of them wouldn't come back with problems.. since they wouldn't have any. They'd be able to use their facebook and e-mail in peace...
 
[quote name='georox']Odd, I've ran PC with *windows* for years, and never had any crazy crashes.. no terrible virus attacks... nothing fucking up... and I didn't pay the extra $500 it would be to get a white case for a machine as powerful as mine.

Oh right, you get the little Apple sticker too, I forgot. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not fucking retarded when it comes to technology that I don't have all of these terrible windows problems that I mainly hear about from mac users.[/QUOTE]

Very, very true. I've had to fix just as many people's fucked up macs as pc's, and the mac issues are usually more obscure and a pain in the ass to figure out compared to the windows issues anyway.
 
[quote name='PhrostByte']Yea.. there's Openbox and variations like Blackbox. If you like Openbox, I recommend trying out the latest version of Crunchbang. The code name is Statler. It's real simple and streamlined... however... my personal favorite is Linux Mint, which comes in GNOME flavor by default (I too, am not a fan of KDE, but I'll take just about anything over Windows) with community versions released with KDE, LXDE, XFCE, and *Box brandings... my homeboy Clem just released a preview of version 9 today. I really think you should check it out.

www.linuxmint.com

I think everyone should check it out. It comes with MP3 codecs, Flash, a free Office suite, a free PDF viewer, all that stuff... so you basically don't have to download any plugins, and obviously you'll never need an antivirus, since Linux users don't get viruses. This is all coming from someone who works in the IT field. I have to fix people's Windows fuck-ups on a daily basis.. and if I was allowed to install Linux Mint on their machines, many of them wouldn't come back with problems.. since they wouldn't have any. They'd be able to use their facebook and e-mail in peace...[/QUOTE]

Awesome, I'll check those out.
 
As an IT Professional.. there is one, and only one, universal truth: Someone who doesn't know what they are doing will have problems with anything you give them.

There is no 'best' OS. Different OSes have different purposes, and the goal should be choosing the best one for the job. None of the big boys are 'buggy pieces of crap' - they all do what they are designed to do, and they do a pretty good job of it.
 
[quote name='BattleChicken']As an IT Professional.. there is one, and only one, universal truth: Someone who doesn't know what they are doing will have problems with anything you give them.

There is no 'best' OS. Different OSes have different purposes, and the goal should be choosing the best one for the job. None of the big boys are 'buggy pieces of crap' - they all do what they are designed to do, and they do a pretty good job of it.[/QUOTE]

Yeah maybe.. or maybe not. I think there is a 'best' OS. I think an OS built on a free and open foundation is automatically the best, just based on that very principle. I think if Linux were as popular as Windows and Mac (obviously it would have to have the same corporate marketing muscle), it would outperform them in every area. The only reason Linux falls shy in some areas, such as gaming, is due to lack of popularity...

All I know is this: I have become fed up with people coming to me to fix their Windows fubars (for free, heh). Clearly.. these people don't know what they're doing with a computer. These are the types of people who need a strong firewall and antivirus... or... instead of bogging down their computer with crappy buggy propriety software, I just install the latest version of Linux Mint (GNOME edition) and rarely get any complaints. You'd be surprised... when you replace Windows with an OS where everything works out of the box, your clients are a lot happier. For business reasons, I obviously don't do this. There's money to be made fixing Windows fuck-ups.
 
[quote name='skiizim']Try this http://www.malwarebytes.org/

It's a really good program, you wont be disappointed!!![/QUOTE]


First, thanks for all the info in this thread.
I read and reread it this morning after my computer went into Viagra/porn mode yesterday (pissed to no end as I am very careful) ...
Just before downloading the above (malawarebytes), I downloaded the free version of PCTools Registry Mechanic, this program located 200+ issues and then repaired/deleted a small percentage in free mode. I then downloaded and did a complete cleanse with mala... when rebooting, PCTools Registry Mechanic scanned again and alas, the 200 remaining issues were not deleted with malaware...
I do not wish to buy PCTools Registry Mechanic if I do not have to...
I am running XP on an older Dell.
Any advice on another freeware software to run?
Thank you in advance.
 
[quote name='AvidWriter']Panda Cloud. Google it.[/QUOTE]

Thanks but after reading Panda's description, I do not think this performs the same functions as PCTools Registry Mechanic -

Registry Mechanic® 9 for Windows®

Award-winning registry cleaner to fix Windows® errors and optimize software performance.

Registry Mechanic is an advanced registry cleaner for Windows® that can safely clean and repair problems with your registry in a few simple mouse clicks! Easily fix problems with the Windows® registry that are a common cause of crashes and error messages.
 
[quote name='Lonedragon87']using avg now i like it so far[/QUOTE]
AVG is pretty good, though with the latest revision of it they gimped a few of the normally free add-ons to not work after I had it a while.
 
All my internet security:

Spybot Search and Destory
Avast! Antivirus
Comodo Personal Firewall

All work together just fine and I don't have virus/malware problems... =)
 
I use AVG and have for a few years now, I have been good with long enough to purchase the Internet Security program they offer.

- Jason
 
[quote name='donut']First, thanks for all the info in this thread.
I read and reread it this morning after my computer went into Viagra/porn mode yesterday (pissed to no end as I am very careful) ...
Just before downloading the above (malawarebytes), I downloaded the free version of PCTools Registry Mechanic, this program located 200+ issues and then repaired/deleted a small percentage in free mode. I then downloaded and did a complete cleanse with mala... when rebooting, PCTools Registry Mechanic scanned again and alas, the 200 remaining issues were not deleted with malaware...
I do not wish to buy PCTools Registry Mechanic if I do not have to...
I am running XP on an older Dell.
Any advice on another freeware software to run?
Thank you in advance.[/QUOTE]

Did you run Malwarebytes in Safe Mode? If not, try it. If that doesn't help, try installing Avast and running a boot time scan. It's rare that I work on a PC that still has issues after that.
 
[quote name='donut']First, thanks for all the info in this thread.
I read and reread it this morning after my computer went into Viagra/porn mode yesterday (pissed to no end as I am very careful) ...
Just before downloading the above (malawarebytes), I downloaded the free version of PCTools Registry Mechanic, this program located 200+ issues and then repaired/deleted a small percentage in free mode. I then downloaded and did a complete cleanse with mala... when rebooting, PCTools Registry Mechanic scanned again and alas, the 200 remaining issues were not deleted with malaware...
I do not wish to buy PCTools Registry Mechanic if I do not have to...
I am running XP on an older Dell.
Any advice on another freeware software to run?
Thank you in advance.[/QUOTE]

www.linuxmint.com
 
[quote name='PR Mega X']Did you run Malwarebytes in Safe Mode? If not, try it. If that doesn't help, try installing Avast and running a boot time scan. It's rare that I work on a PC that still has issues after that.[/QUOTE]


I'm not proud of how ignorant I am about this ...
But I clicked on every tab available in the Malawarebytes line-up and do not find a "safe" mode ... is this on my pc somewhere...
I know, I know ... I'm just too old ...
Thank you very much for your patience.
 
[quote name='donut']I'm not proud of how ignorant I am about this ...
But I clicked on every tab available in the Malawarebytes line-up and do not find a "safe" mode ... is this on my pc somewhere...
I know, I know ... I'm just too old ...
Thank you very much for your patience.[/QUOTE]

Heh no worries. When you first boot up your PC, keep tapping the F8 key -- it should pop up a text menu. Just use your arrow keys to select "Safe Mode", and it'll boot to a version of Windows that loads the minimal amount of applications. Once you're in, run Malwarebytes just like normal, and then reboot to get back to regular Windows. Let us know if you're still having trouble :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top