Recommend Freeware - Internet Protection for a PC with Windows XP Installed

[George]

Someone at work recommmended AVG 9.0, but it is only available free for 30 days.

Can you guys recommend some freeware for internet security on a PC with Windows XP installed?

My free Norton protection ends soon so I need to find an alternative.

Thanks!

[Xenophanes]

There is a basic free version of AVG 9.0.

http://free.avg.com/ww-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free-edition

We used AVG for a while but our internet provider started offering a free virus program.

You might want to also get Lavasoft's free Ad-Aware anti-malware and anti-spyware program.  The latest version won't load on our laptop for some reason though I was able to install it.  But since it would not load, I uninstalled it.

Spybot is supposed to be good, too, but may not be compatible with Norton.

[George]

Thanks!

The Norton will be uninstalled once I find a great alternative.

[Opus106]

Another well-regarded AV program with a free version is Avast.

[George]

Another well-regarded AV program with a free version is Avast.

Thanks, I just got a recommendation for that on another site.

I am going to go with these three for now, (including the protection provided by my wireless router):

AVG Free for your anti-virus
Zone Alarm Free for a firewall
Ad-Aware Free for anti-spyware

[drogulus]

      Panda Cloud Antivirus is free, and it doesn't gunk up your system. Unlike conventional antivirus it only slows your system noticeably when it's scanning. If I used antivirus I'd use Panda. I was using it in Vista but at the time I upgraded it wasn't working in Windows 7. Now it does so I'll probably start using it again.

I am going to go with these three for now, (including the protection provided by my wireless router):

AVG Free for your anti-virus
Zone Alarm Free for a firewall
Ad-Aware Free for anti-spyware

Those are all good choices.

[Szykneij]

Spybot is supposed to be good, too, but may not be compatible with Norton.

I use both Norton and Spybot on my computer with Windows XP without a problem.

[George]

      Those are all good choices.

Good to know, thanks! And they're free! 

[drogulus]

      I've heard lots of good things about Trend Micro HijackThis, a free program that creates a log file of problem areas of the registry. You can use this to clean up your system, but what this program is really good for is posting the log file on support sites where you can get expert help. If you have a problem that your antivirus can't cure this program is the next step you'd take before formatting. I've never used it but I've been at the support sites and seen how it's used.

[Holden]

Hello George

(I now don my flame proof suit).

With AV you get what you pay for. If it's free then expect it to be compromised. AVG, Avast, Trend Micro, etc all have free programs but they also all have a paid for version. When you think about it there must be a reason for this.

Would you pay money for a program when you can buy a free version that does the same thing? No, of course not. You can therefore assume that the paid for program does a lot more than the free one. If it didn't then it wouldn't sell!

I had AVG on my PC for a few years until I decided to download a trial version of a top AV program on a 30 day free trial. I was horrified at what it found on what I thought was a totally protected PC. I then bought that program and have never regretted it. It cost me $60 to download and install it and it's worked seamlessly ever since through its many changes. My yearly renewal fee for it is a paltry $30. At less than 9 cents a day that's very cheap for peace of mind. For someone who downloads a lot of music you need to be sure it's clean.

The AV I use is NOD32 and IMO it's hard to beat. There is also a suite version of it that includes firewall and antispam. This is the one that I use!

George, splurge out a few dollars and get this program. It costs less than three CDs and works really well. You can test it out for 30 days from here.

http://www.eset.com/download/free_trial_download_int.php

If you like it then buy it. Then I can also suggest a few other 'free' products that will support this program.

I hope this is helpful and I await the possible barrage from those who believe that you don't have to pay for protection or possibly even need it.

[Elgarian]

One of the problems in this area is that everyone understandably has their own tried and tested recommendations, but when you put them all together you get an overwhelming list of suggestions, not all of them compatible with each other - so I'm a bit fearful of adding to the confusion. But here are some thoughts (assuming that your Windows installation is up to date with all necessary security patches, and also Java, Flash, and so on):

No one antivirus solution has all the answers. As Holden points out in his post, malware that one scanner misses, another may find. There are several excellent free programs that can offer significantly enhanced protection to your basic security program (AVG, NOD, or whatever you choose):

(a) Superantispyware is free and has an excellent reputation as an on demand scanner. On a couple of occasions I've seen it detect malware (not on my computer, I should add!) and clean it successfully while other programs simply continued to say nothing was wrong (even though it was obvious that something was)! A quick scan takes just a few minutes, and in all the years I've used it, it's never returned a false positive.
http://www.superantispyware.com/

(b) MBAM (MalwareBytes AntiMalware). Again, a useful fast and reliable free scanner that gives a reassuring second or third opinion. Neither it, nor the free SAS offer any real-time protection. They're just for scanning on-demand, so won't interfere in any way with your main AV program (although that's best switched off temporarily when scanning with something else.)
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

[Adaware and Spybot used to be recommended scanners, but seemed to encounter all sorts of developmental problems a year or two ago, and the MVPs (Microsoft Most-Valuable Professionals) stopped recommending them.]

(c) SpywareBlaster works differently, by making a series of registry changes that 'immunise' your system against certain common malware attacks. So this gives a kind of passive 'front-line' defence, independently of any other protection you may have.
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

(d) Hostsman offers a very easy and user-friendly way of protecting yourself using a hosts file - a form of protection that effectively stores a list of known infected websites, and simply prevents your computer from ever going there.
http://www.abelhadigital.com/

Just a tip. Whatever scanner you use, check its configuration to make sure you don't have it set to 'automatically remove' any infection it finds. Make it ask you what to do, first. The point is that all scanners sometimes generate false positives, and any detection needs checking (google the detection, and visit the appropriate software forum) before you remove it. A scanner can trash your system trying to quarantine a false positive just as effectively as any malware can.

[Opus106]

I await the possible barrage from those who believe that you don't have to pay for protection or possibly even need it.

For the time being, you can switch to Linux! Until, of course, the Year of the Linux Desktop -- which is not part of the any traditional calendars -- arrives, and Microsoft and Apple put together will only have 12% of the world-wide market share. That's when you'll see people writing viruses for Linux.

[drogulus]

     

I hope this is helpful and I await the possible barrage from those who believe that you don't have to pay for protection or possibly even need it.

      You don't have to pay for protection or possibly even need it.

      It's cost /benefit and the calculation changes depending on what you use your PC for as well as the habits you develop to deal with the various kinds of risk. Information on the relative merits of different antivirus/malware programs is freely available, so no one is in a position to mislead you if you do a little checking. The verdict is that there's no such thing as total protection, and you would need to use several programs to compensate for the obvious fact that none of them is completely effective, and that applies to the programs you pay for. Are paid programs better? Probably the best of them are better than the best free programs by a small margin.

      Do you know the old joke "Doc, it hurts when I do that.....Then don't do that."?

      Don't do dumb things that an antivirus program that turns your PC to sludge is required to rescue you from.

      Or, live with risk at a much reduced level because you know how to protect yourself. These programs are protecting you from yourself. Viruses and malware are not alien visitors from the Oort Cloud.

      However, if you have kids in the house, do it all....user accounts, firewalls, moats with alligators, whatever.

[Tapio Dmitriyevich]

The correct answer is: You don't need this. Drogolus is right. Don't install bad software. If you really need to install software with doubtful trustworthiness, a) ask http://virusscan.jotti.org before and b) do it inside a Virtual Machine like www.virtualbox.org. I mean if you really need to runs cracks and keygens

Part c) of the coin is Microsoft Security Essentials.

In a corporate environment, I like Nod32, also because of easy central Administration. Good on ressources.
A good thing, but not easy to implement is "Software Restriction Policies". I use them on Guest Accounts. AFAIK you can have SRP only on XP Pro+, Vista Business+ and Win7 Pro+... Win7 also has Applocker, but only in the Ultimate Version.

Very good article, read it! The basic idea is in the picture: http://www.mechbgon.com/srp/
Techy: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457006.aspx

Edit: And sorry Elgarian, but defending Malware with another layer of software of at least doubtful trustworthiness (the term "Superantispyware" makes me puke, honestly) is possibly unrewarding.

[George]

I had AVG on my PC for a few years until I decided to download a trial version of a top AV program on a 30 day free trial. I was horrified at what it found on what I thought was a totally protected PC. I then bought that program and have never regretted it. It cost me $60 to download and install it and it's worked seamlessly ever since through its many changes. My yearly renewal fee for it is a paltry $30. At less than 9 cents a day that's very cheap for peace of mind. For someone who downloads a lot of music you need to be sure it's clean.

The AV I use is NOD32 and IMO it's hard to beat. There is also a suite version of it that includes firewall and antispam. This is the one that I use!

George, splurge out a few dollars and get this program. It costs less than three CDs and works really well. You can test it out for 30 days from here.

http://www.eset.com/download/free_trial_download_int.php

If you like it then buy it. Then I can also suggest a few other 'free' products that will support this program.

Thanks, I will consider this.

Thanks, Elgarian! I need to study your post when I have more time.

[Elgarian]

And sorry Elgarian, but defending Malware with another layer of software of at least doubtful trustworthiness (the term "Superantispyware" makes me puke, honestly) is possibly unrewarding.

Your criticism of the program is based on your response to its name? I'm not persuaded that this is an area where an aesthetic opinion is helpful. It's necessary either to use the program, preferably over a long period of time, and to see it in operation; and/or to consider the experience of those who have used it. The programs in my list have acquired solid reputations over a long period of time, among people who actually use them in a wide variety of situations. They aren't just random names pulled out of a hat.

If your AVG or Norton Internet Security scans your computer and tells you that it's clean, yet you're getting unwanted popups or other symptoms of infection (I have some experience of this on other people's computers), you need a fallback position. That's what SAS offers, and very reliably, too. My own computer has never been infected by malware because (a) I'm careful, in the drogulus sense of the word; and (b) because I've gradually put together a layered system of protection; but in the real world of real home computer use, many people do get infected for all kinds of reasons, and they need something to help them deal with that (eg SAS, MBAM), or to steer them away from trouble before it happens (hosts file, linkscanner etc).

[Benji]

Thanks, I just got a recommendation for that on another site.

I am going to go with these three for now, (including the protection provided by my wireless router):

AVG Free for your anti-virus
Zone Alarm Free for a firewall
Ad-Aware Free for anti-spyware

That's exactly my set up, with the basic free versions of each. Not had a single issue in years and years. I especially like that AVG can install a little thing for your browser that scans your Google results and puts a little tick or cross at the end of each link depending on how safe the linked site is.

Ooooh 600th post.

[George]

That's exactly my set up, with the basic free versions of each. Not had a single issue in years and years. I especially like that AVG can install a little thing for your browser that scans your Google results and puts a little tick or cross at the end of each link depending on how safe the linked site is.

Great news!!!

Thanks so much!

Do you keep getting those pop-ups from Zone Alarm? I get them frequently.

[Elgarian]

The AVG linkscanner that Benji mentions is worth having and I use it myself as part of the AVG Internet Security suite I use (paid for), but it's not infallible by any means. I've experimented with several linkscanners (AVG, Finjan, Web-of-Trust, McAfee SiteAdvisor) and they don't always agree (not surprising because they operate differently). Even so, you push the odds a little more in your favour by avoiding any sites that the scanner flags as dodgy.

You can push the odds even more in your favour by making sure you have all the Windows high priority security updates installed, and by checking that things like Java and Flash are updated too. In fact, that's the very first layer of protection, and it costs nothing.

[George]

You can push the odds even more in your favour by making sure you have all the Windows high priority security updates installed, and by checking that things like Java and Flash are updated too. In fact, that's the very first layer of protection, and it costs nothing.

Can you tell me how to install those updates, please?