windows vista antivirus programs !!

C

cameccas

Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why? doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

Install a good, comprehensive, security program,
such as Windows OneCare, and you'll not have to
worry about those issues. You can try it FREE
for ninety (90) days. This is a brand new version
and is very robust! Uses very little system resources!
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why? doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
 
N

Nonny

Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why? doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
Click to expand...

Dump ALL Norton and McAfee programs. Completely uninstall them. They
definitely slow things down. Have done so for years.

Download AVG antivirus or Avast antivirus. Both are free.
 
M

Mick Murphy

Norton uses at least a 1/3 of your computer's resources; that's the reason
for slowness!
Use Products listed below.

And Live One Care is just a another money-grabbing program from microsoft,
which does NOT work for complete protection.

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Avast Anti-Virus is Vista compatible (32bit and 64bit Versions), FREE,
auto-updating, and a low resources user of your computer.
And, only have 1(one) Anti-Virus installed / running on your computer at any
one time..
Conflicts may occur if you have more than 1(one).

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

Spybot Search & Destroy 1.6 is a very good, FREE Anti-Spyware Program.
Download, install, update, and immunize your System with it.
Then SCAN with it.
Update it, and scan your System once a fortnight.

-
Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

With the excellent Windows OneCare package, there is
no need to install a multitude of different security software.

OneCare includes:

-- An excellent antivirus application
-- An excellent firewall application
-- An excellent antispyware application
-- Automatic system tune-ups
-- Automatic hard drive defrag
-- Checks for updates to be sure they are installed
-- Schedules automatic backups of important files
-- New version 2.5 just released - designed to work
exceptionally well with Windows Vista & XP.
-- All-in-one convenient, easy to install application


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

Norton uses at least a 1/3 of your computer's resources; that's the reason
for slowness!
Use Products listed below.

And Live One Care is just a another money-grabbing program from microsoft,
which does NOT work for complete protection.

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Avast Anti-Virus is Vista compatible (32bit and 64bit Versions), FREE,
auto-updating, and a low resources user of your computer.
And, only have 1(one) Anti-Virus installed / running on your computer at any
one time..
Conflicts may occur if you have more than 1(one).

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

Spybot Search & Destroy 1.6 is a very good, FREE Anti-Spyware Program.
Download, install, update, and immunize your System with it.
Then SCAN with it.
Update it, and scan your System once a fortnight.

-
Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia
 
K

Kayman

Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why? doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
Click to expand...

A number of experts agree that the retail AV version of McAfee, Norton and
Trend Micro has become cumbersome and bloated for the average user.

The major criticisms are related to stability and footprint, the most
common problem being slow-downs because of the massive system resources
hogs. There are products on the market with equal or better test results
than Symantec's products, consuming less resources at a lower price (even
free ones).

The retail version of these apps can play havoc with your pc. Uninstall it
using propriety uninstall tools:

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool and try to get a refund:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
The Norton Removal Tool uninstalls all Norton 2008/2007/2006/2005/2004/2003
products and Norton 360 from your computer.

Removal tools for recent Mcafee products:-
Request assistance from here:
http://forums.mcafeehelp.com/
or download and run:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/McAfee_Consumer_Product_Removal_Tool_d5420.html
or
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=107083&lc=1033&partner=10005&type=TS
or
Download and run the McAfee Removal tool:
https://us.mcafee.com/root/MCPR2.exe
If you receive a security alert, click Yes.
Click Save to download the file to a location on your computer.
Navigate to the location where the file was saved.
Ensure all McAfee application windows are closed.
Double-click MCPR2.exe to run the removal tool.
Note: Windows Vista users must right-click and select Run as Administrator.
Restart your computer when prompted. Your McAfee products will not be fully
removed until you restart.
All McAfee products are now removed from your computer.'
or
Remove all remnants of McAfee...
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Uninstallers/McAfee-Consumer-Product-Removal-Tool.shtml

How to uninstall or reinstall supported McAfee consumer products using the
McAfee Consumer Products Removal tool (MCPR.exe)
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=107083&lc=4105&partner=McAfee&type=TS&ia=1

IMPORTANT: If your McAfee products were preinstalled by the manufacturer of
your computer, please make sure to activate your McAfee subscription before
uninstalling. Reinstalling from a CD or download will only install your
McAfee consumer applications, but may not recover your paid subscription
term information.

There are many good free AV applications available, and almost everyone has
his favorite. Most of the users are emotionally attached to their av
application and will have excellent reasons for not recommending any other
brand.
The most important thing here is that all of the available choices listed
here are better in some respects than in others, and which choice is better
for *you* depends on what you do, how you work, and which features you use.
The way you use your PC is different from others.
Have a look at this:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
and be guided accordingly.
Good info can be obtained here:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20
and here:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

If the above is too deluging consider this:-
Real-time AV applications - for viral malware.
Do not utilize more than one (1) real-time anti-virus scanning engine!
Disable the e-mail scanning function during installation (Custom
Installation on some AV apps.) as it provides no additional protection.

Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Viral Irony: The Most Common Cause of Corruption.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/IE/community/columns/filecorruption.mspx

Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
You may wish to consider removing the 'AntiVir Nagscreen'
http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disable_antivir_nag.htm
or
Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
It includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs
Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class
GMER technology.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)
or
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.grisoft.com/
(Choose custom install and untick the email scanner plugin.)
or
ESET NOD32 Antivirus - Not Free
http://www.eset.com/
or
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 7.0 - Not Free
http://www.kaspersky.com/homeuser

and (optional but highly recommendable)

On-demand AV applications.
(add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner).
David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV Tool
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with-multiple-anti-virus-for-free/
Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm
and/or
http://downloads5.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/AVPTool/
There's no updating involved since the scanning engine is updated
several times a day and you simply download the updated scanner whenever
you want to do a scan.

Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE
http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/

Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe
Note: It is Free for private use. Just download (do NOT buy) and install.

A-S applications - for non-viral malware.
The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss, (grab'em all).

SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
and
Ad-Aware 2007 - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
and
Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and
Windows Defender - Free (build-in in Vista)
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

A clarification on the terminology: the word "malware" is short for
"malicious software." Most Anti-Virus applications detect many types of
malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, etc.
What AV applications usually don't detect is "non-viral" malware, and the
term "non-viral malware" is normally used to refer to things like spyware
and adware.

Many experts suggest that Windows Live One Care is on the bottom of the
list as far as finding virus\malware\trojan.

You are not going to find anything better than the Vista FW and Vista in
itself due to the advanced features the FW and Vista are using.

Managing the Windows Vista Firewall
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc510323.aspx

Vista Firewall Control (Free versions available).
Protects your applications from undesirable network incoming and outgoing
activity, controls applications internet access.
http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/
The free version may be all you need, check the comparisons under
the "Download and Buy" link.

Good luck :)
 
C

Charlie42

Carey Frisch said:
With the excellent Windows OneCare package, there is
no need to install a multitude of different security software.
Click to expand...

Ok, mr. Frisch. You have been ardently advocating OneCare in the Vista
newsgroups for quite some time now, why is that? I am not trolling here, I
just want to hear your reasons for picking this suite over more seasoned
software on the market.
-- An excellent antivirus application
-- An excellent firewall application
-- An excellent antispyware application
Click to expand...

Afaik, OneCare's performance is inferior to that of programs like Kaspersky,
AVG, Avast, NOD32 or even the dreaded Norton. I base this statement on test
results from renowned sites like AV-Comparatives and Virus Bulletin.
-- Automatic system tune-ups
Click to expand...

The registry cleaning part of OneCare has been heavily critisised, both
because many experts mean automated registry cleaning in general is
unnecessary and potentially harmful and because OneCare does not back up the
registry before executing changes (has this changed lately, btw?)
-- Automatic hard drive defrag
Click to expand...

This is included in the Vista OS. Why a third party tool?
-- Checks for updates to be sure they are installed
-- Schedules automatic backups of important files
-- New version 2.5 just released - designed to work
exceptionally well with Windows Vista & XP.
-- All-in-one convenient, easy to install application
Click to expand...

The same can be said for a number of security softwares. Scheduling and
updating is part of any decent suite or AV program.

Charlie42
 
B

Bruce Chambers

cameccas said:
Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why?
Click to expand...


It's slowing down precisely because you are trying to use the bloated,
resource hogging applications from Norton or McAfee. There are far
bettwer choices available, today.

doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
Click to expand...


You're assuming that there was "bad stuff" present to clean out in the
first place, when there might not have been, and forgetting that any
application you install is going to take an additional toll on system
performance. Norton and McAfee offer two of the better known security
suites, but their products are also best known for having a very
noticable negative impact upon performance.

I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
Click to expand...


You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.

I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a
good choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining
stand-alone products.

I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton
Internet Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP,
all without any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that.
But it's been several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee
products. Their quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were
acquired by Network Associates.

However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton
Internet Security came up for renewal (at a cost substantially higher
than the preceding year's subscription), I decided to try less expensive
solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of GriSoft's AVG
(http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved to be easily
installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable improvement in
my PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec product. Another
free (for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! 4 Home Edition
(http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what I'd been
using without problems on Vista Business, until recently. I'm currently
testing ESET's NOD32, which isn't free, but has a small footprint that
doesn't bog the system down.

For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:

Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
K

Ken Blake, MVP

Hi why does everytime i download an antivirus program like MC AFEE or NORTON
my computer starts running more slowly ? it even freezes,why? doesn't it has
to run better because it's cleaning all the bad stuff??
I even baught the NORTON 360 ALL-IN-ONE SECURITY and it made my computer run
very ,very slow !!! what program can I get that would make my PC run better
and safe ??
Click to expand...


Norton is probably the worst security software on the market, and
McAfee isn't much better. Both of these are notorious for adversely
affecting your computer's performance.

For an anti-virus product, I recommend NOD32 if you want to spend a
little money, or Avast, if you want a free product.

For anti-spyware, I would run at least two from the following list:

Spyware Blaster
Spybot Search and Destroy
Adaware
Super Antispyware.
 
X

Xenomorph

McAfee and Norton are some of the worst programs to put on any system, and
many people recommend you don't use them.

AVG or Avast! would be the best choice.
 
F

FromTheRafters

More software running will always make your "other" programs
seem slower. Your computer still runs at the same speed, but
it is doing more than is manifested by the "other" programs you
run.

Norton does alot of stuff in the background (actually, too much
IMO). You may be the type of user that would benefit from the
Norton 360 approach, so I won't try to dissuade you from using
it.

My advice is to avail yourself of the "support" Symantec (Norton)
owes you due to your purchasing their product.

Others will no doubt recommend alternative programs (many are
free). Don't interpret my post as being against this option, as I
use Avast! antivirusfree version myself.
 
A

Aardvark

I installed Windows Onecare and it works for me. I ran it against Gibson
research

http://www.grc.com/

and it passed with flying colors. I use a cable connection and have
Weather Display software communicating every minute with somewhere and
McAfee and Norton was not compaitible with my software. So.. I had to find
something that worked. This works for me, it is a good anti-virus and
firewall.

I don't care for its lack of cleaning cookies ( so I use CCLeaner) and not
sure if it does have a registry cleaner or not associated with it ( I had
to get a 64 bit compatible cleaner which found 709 errors on a new machine ).
But other than that..

My opinion... I'd say try what works for you and your needs and go with
it.
 
N

Nonny

I installed Windows Onecare and it works for me. I ran it against Gibson
research

http://www.grc.com/

and it passed with flying colors.
Click to expand...

That is only a firewall check. Windows' native firewal - the free one
that comes with Vista - l would pass too. So would any of the free
third-party firewalls.

I passed several tests with NO software firewall installed (I have a
router between my computer and my cable modem).
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

AV-Comparatives and Virus Bulletin have not tested OneCare v.2.5
When they do, you'll be quite surprised how OneCare has progressed
from v.2.0

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows System & Performance
 
K

Kayman

On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:21:12 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:

Norton is probably the worst security software on the market, and
McAfee isn't much better. Both of these are notorious for adversely
affecting your computer's performance.
Click to expand...

In all fairness, it's their *retail* version which can play havoc with
pc's. AFAIK the *corporate* isues are pretty good :)
 
K

Kayman

I installed Windows Onecare and it works for me. I ran it against Gibson
research

http://www.grc.com/

and it passed with flying colors.
Click to expand...

<snip>

Firewall LeakTesting.
Excerpts:
Leo Laporte: "So the leaktest is kind of pointless."
Steve Gibson: "Well,yes,...
Leo: "So are you saying that there's no point in doing a leaktest

anymore?"
Steve: "Well, it's why I have not taken the trouble to update mine,
because you..."
Leo: "You can't test enough".
Steve: "Well, yeah.
Leo: "Right. Very interesting stuff. I guess that - my sense is, if you
can't test for leaks, a software-based firewall is kind of essentially
worthless."

Read and/or listen to the entire conversation here:
http://www.grc.com/sn/SN-105.htm
 

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