PC Tools

[maddave]

Just got a friends PC to have a look at because it's going wrong and after discovering over 6000 junk files, 100+ viruses 15 diallers, 9 keyloggers and 380 malware programs I finally got it something like it was. It had no Antivirus, no firewall and no spyware protection as he said he couldn't afford it. I'm sure there are a few of us who haven't got the reddies to splash out on security software all the time, so I thought I'd compile a short list of decent free security products that should keep your PC in good serviceable condition.
The list is in order of effectiveness top to bottom.

Free Antivirus
Avira : http://www.free-av.com/

Avast: http://www.download.com/Avast-Home-E...dlPid=10888427

AVG:http://free.avg.com/

Free Firewalls

Comodo: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Jetico : http://www.jetico.com/jpfirewall.htm

NetVeda : http://www.netveda.com/downloads/index.htm

Adware/Spyware removal

Superantispyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/

Malware Bytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

Adaware 2008: http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Parental Filters

K9 Web Protect: http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

OpenDNS: https://www.opendns.com/homenetwork/solutions/parental/


Hope some of these applications keep your PC clean and free from errors

Dave

[Chainsaw]

great thread, kudos for collating;

Spybot for adware/spyware removal

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

cheers,

Alan

[BorderReiver]

Useful post Dave.

You have to watch though, that all the stuff running in the background doesn't use up too much of your available memory.

I've just increased mine from 500Meg to 2Gig for that very reason.

[maddave]

Useful post Dave.

You have to watch though, that all the stuff running in the background doesn't use up too much of your available memory.

I've just increased mine from 500Meg to 2Gig for that very reason.

Most of the above aren't that bad and certainly the AV's aren't resource hogs like Norton and McAfee

[RobertRogers]

It is amazing the computer was even able to function enough to gather that much junk!

[Angus Og]

If you are having problems with your computer I have found these guy really helpful, www.majorgeeks.com they also have lots of web links to useful stuff

Anti virus http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html

Firewalls http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads34.html

Anti-Spyware Tools http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

[maddave]

It is amazing the computer was even able to function enough to gather that much junk!

It was an XP machine with a Centrino Duo, 2GB ram and it was running like a dog. 4 hours work and about 7 temper tantrums had it running like a swiss watch

Oh and I did install AV, firewall and malware detection...Don't ever want that job again

[BigShot]

If you are having problems with your computer I have found these guy really helpful, www.majorgeeks.com they also have lots of web links to useful stuff

Anti virus http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html

Firewalls http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads34.html

Anti-Spyware Tools http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

I second the link to majorgeeks. It's a fantastic forum for this kind of stuff.



Dave - is there any particular reason you've not included Zone Alarm in the firewalls part? I use that alongside Avira and find it has minimal impact on my system and does a great job. If there's a good reason not to use it though, I might reconsider.

Good thread.

[bushtuckerman]

Comodo also do a good anti virus program. It's in beta but I'm using it, I've no real idea but I think it could be better than AVG/Avast. Check it out. Comodo firewall is very secure, better than zonealarm etc, but it's secure for a reason, it asks you EVERY time if you want something to happen that might be suspicious. if you turn these notifications off then it's much the same as windows firewall but a bit better maybe. pff, I dunno, it's all so subjective.

[dwardo]

"Spybot search and destroy" along with "malwarebytes" should crack most of them along with some from of AV. Trust me i do this a lot

[alpha_centaur]

"Spybot search and destroy" along with "malwarebytes" should crack most of them along with some from of AV. Trust me i do this a lot

I'd aggree on spybot, but the new version is having a few problems with vista

[spiritofold]

Cyberscrub is excellent for getting rid of junk on your hd, as well as ad-aware for the nasty stuff.... Both work fine with vista ultimate....

[maddave]

I second the link to majorgeeks. It's a fantastic forum for this kind of stuff.



Dave - is there any particular reason you've not included Zone Alarm in the firewalls part? I use that alongside Avira and find it has minimal impact on my system and does a great job. If there's a good reason not to use it though, I might reconsider.

Good thread.

Not really mate. I just put a few that work well for me and the peoples pooters that I fix. I've used Zonealarm, Spybot etc and they're fine options too. Like Majorgeeks, there's lots of good tools there and as the thread progresses more people add more links so those in need of some decent progs benefit from the wealth of knowledge of other members experiences with different applications. Everyone's a winner baby (There's a song in there somewhere)

[reddy]

Thanks for that list!

My Norton Security package is about to expire soon, do you think I'm as well going through the list given and downloading from there, or re-neweing the Norton?

BTW I'm completely and utterly computer illiterate (no matter how hard I try to understand the things ), so anything downloaded would have to cater for this!

Norton's fairly idiot proof (perfect for me then), but it takes up so much memory and costs money too.

Being the cheapskate that I am if I could pick up something similar and easy to use for free I would be completly chuffed

[BigShot]

Hmm - don't think I've ever heard a song about free PC security software - no doubt someone has made one though.

Haha

Was just asking in case there was something iffy about Zone Alarm that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for that reply though. I'll stick with what I've got now - I've not had any issues with my computer since I started using them...
...well, other than Internet Explorer crashing every time I use it - which isn't so bad as I almost never use it, but that's an aside.

[BigShot]

Reddy - I can't see any reason to use Norton - ever.

The alternatives are free and MUCH friendlier to your computer's memory and processor. Once you've managed to get Norton off the computer (you might need some help with that - try the MajorkGeeks forum - someone will be able to help you on there) a free antivirus and a free firewall are all the essentials. Some other anti-spyware or parental controls can complement them.

I use Avira AntiVir for virus protection and ZoneAlarm firewall.

Both easy to use, easy to set up and once they are working, you don't really need to do anything except for an occasional update that needs your attention - and they aren't common, or difficult.

[rik_uk3]

Good post Dave

I running an AMD X2 6000 with Vista Business Edition, hate to admit it, but Vista is now running very stable.

I use AVG free, Spybot and Windows firewall, and its working very well, I've used AVG for years and its saved my bacon many a time.

I've been given an old Toshiba Sat pro 4000 in return for putting a system together for a mate, and installed the free Open Office,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, what a great office programme

[sam_acw]

Most people I know run Avast as it comes in many languages. Just wish it wouldn't shout at me!

[Shambling Shaman]

Thanks Dave good post,

I do however run Linux, so not so much trouble..

[the interceptor boy]

hi guys,
take a look here,
al for free, make sure you download the right sotfware for eg, Xp, Xp pro, Operational Systems Download Xp software, Window Vista Operatinal sys download compatible Window vista, otherwise you can kiss goodbye to your hardwork and computer, Beware.
All for free for life!
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/downloads/
Enjoy.
Regards
hans.

[Chris G]

Another vote for AVG.

A new one for the pot though - CCleaner - I like it as "it does what it says on the tin"

(http://www.download.com/CCleaner/300...dlPid=10898240


Chris

[maddave]

Good post Dave

I running an AMD X2 6000 with Vista Business Edition, hate to admit it, but Vista is now running very stable.

I use AVG free, Spybot and Windows firewall, and its working very well, I've used AVG for years and its saved my bacon many a time.

I've been given an old Toshiba Sat pro 4000 in return for putting a system together for a mate, and installed the free Open Office,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, what a great office programme

Good call Rik ! I never thought of including some useful office applications and the like.

Office Suite

Open Office (like MS Office but free)
http://www.openoffice.org/

Graphics/Photo editing

The GIMP (like photoshop but free) http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

Paint.Net http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

Stargazing

Stellarium: http://www.stellarium.org/

Web Browsing

Mozilla Firefox: http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/

Opera: http://www.opera.com/

Email

Thunderbird: http://www.download.com/Mozilla-Thun...-10213643.html

FTP client

Filezilla: http://filezilla-project.org/

Linux Operating systems

Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download

PCLinuxOS http://www.pclinuxos.com/

OpenSuse: http://software.opensuse.org/

Dream Linux: http://www.dreamlinux.com.br/download.html

[Toadflax]

It won't apply to many of you, but if you have a .ac.uk email address (i.e. work at an academic institution or are on a course - worth knowing if your children are off to University) then Microsoft are doing The Ultimate Steal, Office Ultimate (seems very close to Office Pro) for £38.95 and will shortly be releasing a Vista upgrade for a similar price. (I have no connection with Microsoft!).

Software4Students also do fairly good deals on Office and other software.

I believe that if you have an NHS email address, there is a similar deal available to you.


Geoff

[bushtuckerman]

Opera is a very good browser (once you get to know all the shortcuts etc, and it's also quite fast)...just an aside, does anyone using it on these forums have to 'fit-to-width' in order to see the forum?

[spiritofold]

Opera is a very good browser (once you get to know all the shortcuts etc, and it's also quite fast)...just an aside, does anyone using it on these forums have to 'fit-to-width' in order to see the forum?

Yep..........

[rik_uk3]

It won't apply to many of you, but if you have a .ac.uk email address (i.e. work at an academic institution or are on a course - worth knowing if your children are off to University) then Microsoft are doing The Ultimate Steal, Office Ultimate (seems very close to Office Pro) for £38.95 and will shortly be releasing a Vista upgrade for a similar price. (I have no connection with Microsoft!).

Software4Students also do fairly good deals on Office and other software.

I believe that if you have an NHS email address, there is a similar deal available to you.


Geoff

Cardiff uni charge £25 for Vista Business or XP Pro
As a Nurse, microsoft let us have Office 2007 (full package) for £15