Antivirus

[Pufferpunk]

I'm having a heck of a time with McAvee. It came with my Dell computer but I guess there is no warrantee. Some of the components seem to be missing & they want me to reload McAvee. I don't see why i should pay for something again, I haven't even had for a year yet.

[Dadof4]

Is this a new machine? If it is and it's under a year old you should be able to call Dell and have them help you with the re-install so you don't have to pay for it. If it is over a year old I suggest un-installing it and and going to Avast! for AV.

[Hilly]

Agreed gernerally you get a year subscription to McAfee with a new machine, its not uncommon for that not to work correctly though and expire before it should, i'vehad new ones out the box that havent worked properly at work, but I was removing it anyway so it doesnt matter to me.If it is over a year since purchase then they do want you to renew, so you either have to pay or remove it.

[pufferpuggirl]

Personally I know we need antivirus and firewall protection, but I find some of those programs a pain in the backside. Some have worked excellently, until they ask me to "upgrade" and that's usually when things go horribly wrong.
I've just got the Internet Security Suite by AVG, but it's one I paid for, after using a freebie one for a couple of months I liked how it worked and thought I'd keep it.

[Lil' Swimz$]

Hahah I like Avast. I got the free one, after our stupid Norton ran out, if you get the free, you can register, all I believe it is is email and stuff, and then you get it for a year, otherwise you only get it for a month. I like how it has the thingy in the corner pop up whenever something is blocked, and will tell you what. Lately I've been getting malware attacks...

[RTR]

After we got heavily infected with bugs after Macafee and Norton, we went with Kapersky (sp?). Sometimes it slows things down, but we have not gotten any bugs since we've had it (~2 years now). I get the main on-line computer run through Geek Squad or comparable every year and I do not mind at all the tab to confirm a clean bill of health.

[jmiller]

I use to run AVG & Avast on my Dell desktop and after having to do a complete dumping and reinstall for the second time because of viruses I had enough and switched to Mac. Takes a little while to get use to but I've had zero problems in the last six months.

[Pufferpunk]

This comp isn't a year old yet but they still insist there is no warantee on McAvee.

[jmiller]

Then I would just load one of the free ones (AVG or Avast) for now. Some protection is better than none.

[JoseDepacos]

Unfortunately as some of you already know one program is not enough to battle the hazards of the internet. A friend and I have found a combo of them do a great job of keeping our machines bug free and have been using them for about a year now. They have regular updates and are completely free. Antivirus program- AVG, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, Advanced System Care-An overall machine cleaner and maintainer and finally, CrapCleaner- Great for cleaning up old files, history and restoring system registries. If you are currently happy with your antivirus program just run the others in addition to it. If you decide to try any I highly recommend them all but always be sure to run the Malwarebyte's AFTER you run your antivirus program. You'll be suprised what its capable of finding. I had a virus that was programmed to hide from antiviruses and Malwarebytes kicked its arse.

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/update ... 200&l=1033
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
http://www.iobit.com/systemcare.html

[purplecandle]

I have had to reinstall mcafee before, it is no big deal.

I go to the mcafee website, sign in and go to my page that tells me about my account and so on and from their I can uninstall and reinstall.

Maybe you need to register at mcafee?

[Pufferpunk]

I found that the McVee I purchased with the comp should be good until 10/2012.

[Flutter]

I've only ever used AVG and have yet to have a virus.

[bosshogg]

I spend most of my week cleaning virus, spyware and malware off other people’s computers.

The single biggest problem is that updates are not regularly done.

As a new virus is created there is always going to a period of time when it can cause damage before the anti-virus companies are made aware and can take action to stop it.

My main machine is an Apple and I have a spare machine running LinuxMint these don’t get problems.

On my windows box that boots to either XP, Vista and Windows 7, I use Avast free and don’t get any problems.

Clue to it all is if you are going to surf the net or open unknown files make sure you have updated your system and anti-virus software first.

[SnailSnacks]

The only difference I found between paid for/ and free versions of antivirus software is the paid for version gets updated more quickly.Pufferpunk have U gone to the mcafee website and tryed downloading all available updates? Perhaps your pc missed one? I am cautious of using registry cleaners, because it can easily mess up ur computer if U don't know what to delete at the end of the scan. For me I scan all files first then send everything I want to keep onto an external hard drive, then every 8-12 months I reformat my hard drive in my tower, then completely reinstall my OS(windows7). So much less hassle IMO, and nothing keeps my pc running better than the original factory settings. My pc's 6 or 7 yrs. old, but runs as good as it did when I first purchased it. I do use an antivirus(avg free). Under user interface I set it to scan every night while i'm sleeping,that way it doesn't hog the pc resources while I'm trying to use it during the day. I also use Zonealarm fyrewall free-least annoying one I have found. If your Mcafee has just started acting up,perhaps try using one of the system restore points from say a month ago. When U restart your pc, mcafee should automatically update, and hopefully fix the issue-especially since the license for ur antivirus is good till 2012.
Hope this helps-good luck