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
