Re: So many choices...whats a novice to do?

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Tena wrote:

I have read through many posts with suggestions to download
particular virus, spyware, malware scans and "fixers!" After having a
ransomeware virus that was so bad I had to buy a new computer


I don't understand that at all. Absolute worst case, if malware screws up
your system badly enough, you would have to do a format and clean
reinstallation of Windows from scratch. You never have to buy a new computer
because of malware, and if a salesaman told you that, he should be shot!


I am
terrified this will happen again. I had Windows ME but now have XP.
so I know I have a better firewall.


The XP firewall monitors incoming traffic, but does nothing to stop spyware
programs trying to call home. It also is much less configurable than other
choices (although it's much improved in SP2).

For those reasons I recommend the free version of ZoneAlarm (or almost any
third-party firewall) instead.


The preset Mcafee has just
expired and seems costly to replace. To those experts out there, what
is a novice to do? Thank you for your time.


McAfee is not a good choice for anything, and fortuinately, you can get
yourself excellent protection by installing several free products. Here are
my recommendations:

1. Firewall: the free version of ZoneAlarm T
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

2. Anti-virus program: the free AVAST at http://www.avast.com/. Or instead,
AVG, at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/1 is another good choice.

3. Anti-spyware: First note what Eric Howes, who has done extensive testing
on Anti-Spyware products, states:

"No single anti-spyware scanner removes everything. Even the best-performing
anti-spyware scanner in these tests missed fully one quarter of the
"critical" files and Registry entries"

See http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm



So I recommend that you run several. Start with these, all free:


Spybot Search and Destroy at http://www.safer-networking.org/


Adaware SE Personal at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/


Spyware Blaster at http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html



--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


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