Anti-Virus

[rumeo]

Hey guys,

Norton anti virus on my desktop has run out. I downloaded that free avg anti virus and it slows down the shit out of it (old school desktop). What do you guys suggest for free anti virus that wont slow down the comp? Reason I want free anti virus is that it's not used enough to invest in, and I heard the free stuff is just as good?


Thanks

[rumeo]

P.S. What else can I do to speed up the computer?
I've done the disk clean up,de-frag, and the error-check.

[xLostx]

what? AVG makes your computer run slow but Norton didn't? lol it's usually the other way round. ahhhh there's a few other free ones that use little ram, avast might be one...

edit - what are your pc's specs? if it was running good for you before hand and if it's running shitty now, I'd recommend backing up your data and reinstall Windows for a clean start, it's zee best bet.

[Speedy]

Anti-virus isn't really something you use enough to invest in or not...either you use it or you don't.

The free programs work well enough but there is like, you said a big performance hit on your machine. I personally don't have anti-virus software installed and just use common sense instead.

But maybe give Spybot S&D a try I have used it a bit before. As for speeding up your system nothing beats a complete reload of your operating system.

[Kloubek]

If your computer is running slower than expected and you've done all the obvious stuff, it might be time for a rebuild of the operating system. I just re-did mine last week, and the computer is 1000X better.

As far as decent antivirus goes: I've been VERY VERY VERY happy with ESET NOD32 Antivirus. Weird name, but so far it has protected my system well, uses minimal resources in the background, is easy to use, is not intrusive with daily computer functions, and has a very quick system scan. I highly recommend it.

[rumeo]

its my parents and little bro that use the comp the most, so how smart they are with the comp i dont know. i know completely doing a system re-install would piss them off even with a back up. i might try that nod32 or just completely uninstall the anti virus and hope for the best

[rumeo]

sorry is nod32 free?

[SpireTECH]

Originally posted by rumeo
Hey guys,

Norton anti virus on my desktop has run out. I downloaded that free avg anti virus and it slows down the shit out of it (old school desktop). What do you guys suggest for free anti virus that wont slow down the comp? Reason I want free anti virus is that it's not used enough to invest in, and I heard the free stuff is just as good?


Thanks

Make sure Norton is deactivated now. Even if your subscription ran out it will continue to look for old viruses. It's just the updates that you won't get anymore. If they're both running at the same time, then the slow down would be huge.

As far as speed goes, all anti-viruses are gonna be a huge hit on system performance. Lots of people do run their machines without any anti-virus, but I don't recommend it. Even with up-to-date anti-virus, the average user still picks up the odd e-mail/msn worm every now and then. With three people using the machine, it's almost a certainty that you will get something.

If your system is slow, the bottle neck may be elsewhere. There might be lots of spyware and adware running, as Speedy already suggested. Another cause can be bad fragmentation on drives >80% utilization. Doing a defrag might help you. You might have to do an offline defrag for best results.

There are literally hundreds of possible causes for a slowdown, which is why it's usually faster (and cheaper) to just reformat the drive and start fresh. We do this as a retail service by the way (including backup/restore).

[Tarrantula]

How do you do an offline defrag?

[GQBalla]

Originally posted by rumeo
sorry is nod32 free?

no you have to purchase it...but im sure you can find ways -

but yeah i dont run any anti virus programs.

common sense is all you need, but if its your mom and little brother using the computer - try adjusting the settings in AVG to not do a real time scan and just scan periodically

[em2ab]

www.ubuntuforums.org

[01RedDX]

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[SpireTECH]

Originally posted by Tarrantula
How do you do an offline defrag?

"Offline defrag" simply means to defrag it while the drive is not in use. I guess people usually refer to offline defrag when talking about databases. Anyway, an offline defrag lets you move system files that are normally in-use.

You can do this by booting a utility disk that has a defrag tool. You can also connect the drive to another computer and run the defrag from it. Or use Page Defrag from Microsoft (although there are some limitations to this method).

[rumeo]

do i go to add/remove programs and just check theres nothing left of symantec/norton? or is there anything else i need to do?


thanks for the help guys, appreciate it

[SpireTECH]

Yes, it will show up as Symantec or Norton. Although if the anti-virus came with a bundle, like Norton System Works, then it might be called that.

[Toms-SC]

Originally posted by rumeo
Hey guys,

Norton anti virus on my desktop has run out. I downloaded that free avg anti virus and it slows down the shit out of it (old school desktop). What do you guys suggest for free anti virus that wont slow down the comp? Reason I want free anti virus is that it's not used enough to invest in, and I heard the free stuff is just as good?


Thanks

It is slow because it is scanning when you start up your PC. Turn off the scheduled scan.