Antivirus protection... all in one place

[TatumsMom]

Okay, so the same day I was reading about Patti's bad virus problem our computer also got hit (and no, I didn't click on that link). Apparently a malware thing. We took it to a computer repair place in town and had it back within 2 days. He said it had wiped out our hard drive. Not sure what that specifically means because I expected to lose documents, bookmarks and pictures that were on there but it came back fully restored. So they fixed all that and went ahead and installed Spybot on it. That was not one that I had. I only had AVG free version.

So, now I want to get as much (free) protection as I can so I'm asking what works for everyone else? I know that V. mentioned the malware bytes one (which I wasn't aware of). And I have spybot and AVG. Anything else?

Hopefully this will help everyone else and remind everyone to get protection if they don't already have it!

[AllDogBoots]

I currently use Spybot and Avast, which is free. I'm not personally familiar with AVG but I know a lot of people use it successfully.

1. Avast runs continually while your computer is on. You can see the icon spinning in your system tray, so you now you are protected. If something tries to attack your computer, an alarm goes off and it stops your computer from visiting that page (if it is indeed a page). I also use it manually to run through every file on my computer once per week to make sure nothing was missed. It's so very easy to use avast! Free Antivirus - Download Software for Virus Protection


2. Spybot is used manually (I believe). I don't think it's a program that runs continually. It's great for finding spyware, which tracks your web surfing habits and stores cookies on your computer and could possibly create some horrific issues. I think it's a great secondary tool. The home of Spybot-S&D!


3. Get an external hard drive This is a device that you plug into your computer. It goes through all of your files and saves EVERYTHING from your computer onto an outside source. So, if in fact you got a virus and lost everything, you still have everything on the external hard drive which can then be reuploaded onto any computer. There is a cost involved, but it's a great backup if something should happen.

I'm sure you will get lots of great advice, but I think this is a good start.

[TatumsMom]

Thanks! Yes, I have Avast on my list to load on there. I like that it runs continuously. If I understand it right, AVG runs a daily check - sometime in the middle of the night.

And yes, need to get that external hard drive! I wasn't too worried about losing stuff. We save all pictures on Kodak Gallery but our puppy contract (for our Aussie pups) was on there and I really didn't want to have to re-do it. Got lucky.

[AllDogBoots]

AVG is not continual? I'll have to check into that. If you click something that AVAST doesn't like it will stop you immediately.

Also, in terms of getting hotmail or gmail accounts hacked, etc I think it's important to be very careful logging into them from a public computer. When I was traveling last month there was a public computer in the hotel lobby. Everyone was checking their email & facebook accounts. Possibly even bank accounts. You don't know what that computer retains and most people didn't even log out. When there time was up, they walked away. Never log into a bank account from a public computer or from a free wifi account.

[Wylie's Mom]

Whenever I have a techy/comptuer question - I go straight to Admin . I was having a virus problem within this last year - and this was the program recommended to me (free, easy): Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - Reviews and free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware downloads at Download.com

For backup, I use an external hard drive. But then, I also use an online back-up service (myotherdrive.com), so that the files are not only backed up there, but I can also access my files from anywhere - which I love. I have tried quite a few of the online back-up services and My Other Drive is it for me and their customer service is great (whereas at other onlines, it's....nonexistent).

[AllDogBoots]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

For backup, I use an external hard drive. But then, I also use an online back-up service (myotherdrive.com), so that the files are not only backed up there, but I can also access my files from anywhere - which I love. I have tried quite a few of the online back-up services and My Other Drive is it for me and their customer service is great (whereas at other onlines, it's....nonexistent).

I'm not familiar with myotherdrive.com. Is it safe to upload personal files to? You feel ok doing that?

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

AVG is not continual? I'll have to check into that. If you click something that AVAST doesn't like it will stop you immediately.

Also, in terms of getting hotmail or gmail accounts hacked, etc I think it's important to be very careful logging into them from a public computer. When I was traveling last month there was a public computer in the hotel lobby. Everyone was checking their email & facebook accounts. Possibly even bank accounts. You don't know what that computer retains and most people didn't even log out. When there time was up, they walked away. Never log into a bank account from a public computer or from a free wifi account.

I didn't know AVG wasn't continuous protection, either. I have it on my pc at home and that makes me nervous. Maybe I should think about switching to Avast?

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Whenever I have a techy/comptuer question - I go straight to Admin . I was having a virus problem within this last year - and this was the program recommended to me (free, easy): Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - Reviews and free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware downloads at Download.com

For backup, I use an external hard drive. But then, I also use an online back-up service (myotherdrive.com), so that the files are not only backed up there, but I can also access my files from anywhere - which I love. I have tried quite a few of the online back-up services and My Other Drive is it for me and their customer service is great (whereas at other onlines, it's....nonexistent).

Yep, malwarebytes is on my list too!

Very interesting about the "MyOtherDrive". I see they offer a free 2GB storage option. Keeping in mind that I'm pretty computer-illiterate (I rely on my IT guy at work and luckily don't have issues at home - well, didn't until now), how do I tell how much I have on our computer to know if the 2GB offer is enough for us? I'm sure there's some place you can look at to see what you've got stored. I just don't know where it is. I was pretty proud of myself when I learned how to defrag and do a cleanup!!

[AllDogBoots]

Originally Posted by BonBon

I didn't know AVG wasn't continuous protection, either. I have it on my pc at home and that makes me nervous. Maybe I should think about switching to Avast?

No, no it might be. I don't use it so I don't really know.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by BonBon

I didn't know AVG wasn't continuous protection, either. I have it on my pc at home and that makes me nervous. Maybe I should think about switching to Avast?

Oh, please don't quote me on that!! All I know is that I have it by recommendation of my computer-geek cousin. But when someone said that Avast is "continual", I just wondered out-loud if AVG is too. I certainly do not know for sure!

[Ellie May]

We had AVG. It's okay, but more was getting through than we wanted. So we went to Avast. Spybot and Ad-Aware are also good (with anti-virus used too).

[TatumsMom]

Someone at work mentioned being careful about having protection stuff that conflicts with each other. Never even thought about that.

I have AVG and Spybot on it now and want to add Avast and Malwarebytes. Any problem with all of those being on the computer??

Or maybe I don't really need AVG if I have Avast?? I just remember the computer tech telling me that no single virus protection site will protect you from everything out there. So should you double up??

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by AllDogBoots

No, no it might be. I don't use it so I don't really know.

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Oh, please don't quote me on that!! All I know is that I have it by recommendation of my computer-geek cousin. But when someone said that Avast is "continual", I just wondered out-loud if AVG is too. I certainly do not know for sure!

Ok. I'll wait and do a little research before I make any changes. Or maybe you guys might have the answer before me.

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by BonBon

Ok. I'll wait and do a little research before I make any changes. Or maybe you guys might have the answer before me.

haha! I figured someone would be on here eventually who knew what they were talking about and straighten us out. Just gonna wait this one out.....

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by TatumsMom

Okay, so the same day I was reading about Patti's bad virus problem our computer also got hit (and no, I didn't click on that link). Apparently a malware thing. We took it to a computer repair place in town and had it back within 2 days. He said it had wiped out our hard drive. Not sure what that specifically means because I expected to lose documents, bookmarks and pictures that were on there but it came back fully restored. So they fixed all that and went ahead and installed Spybot on it. That was not one that I had. I only had AVG free version.

So, now I want to get as much (free) protection as I can so I'm asking what works for everyone else? I know that V. mentioned the malware bytes one (which I wasn't aware of). And I have spybot and AVG. Anything else?

Hopefully this will help everyone else and remind everyone to get protection if they don't already have it!

I've had to take my computer place to the local computer repair guys twice now, this last time, I had Norton installed at their recommendation. Since then (over a year) I have not had any more serious problems, and it does notifiy when an attempt is made to hijack my computer. I agree some times its better to take your problem to the experts. Spybot is not a virus protector but a spyware program that removes all tracking programs, so many websites have tracking programs, some as many as 20 different programs, and they want to know where you go on the computer and where you shop. The problems with these tracking programs is that they use your computer's memory to keep track of you and can slow your computer down significantly. So run the spybot program every few days to get rid of all the extraneous programs. When I had it I had to run it manually, I don't know if you can set it up to automatically run now. Norton's new security system has both virus protector and spyware and does it automatically, it's the only thing I have found that protects me in the places I go. By the way, some of the worse places for catching viruses are the sites where you get graphics to post on profile pages, and I love my graphics. Glad your computer is healthy now!