what best free Anti - Virus software?

[jenova_9]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

Why aren't you running SP3? There is a reason Vanilla XP and XP SP1 are not supported by MS anymore.

what's the reason?

well I can't afford to buy XP SP2 now.

[Cryxen]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

I thought you just downloaded the service packs for free?

[Mhurron]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

what's the reason?

More bugfixes you can count and Windows Firewall first shipped with SP2. For instance, two years ago when there was that rash of accounts stolen because of a real player bug in IE? MS had fixed that before the first one happened. You need to run windows update, since if you really aren't running SP3 or at the very at least SP2 by now, you haven't run it in a very long time. Service packs and patches are free, putting AV on any thing less then SP2 is quickly approaching lipstick on a pig territory.

Service Packs are free downloads, if you have a legitimate copy of Windows. MS will later begin to sell new copies of an OS with the Service Pack slipstreamed in for convenience, but you don't buy tht if you already have the OS.

FYI - Support for Vista pre-SP1 was dropped the other day.

Microsoft Windows Update

[cidbahamut]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

well I can't afford to buy XP SP2 now.

This explains so much.

[jenova_9]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

its sounds complicated.

windows XP came with this computer. I dunno, I have avast antivirus as a firewall.

Is SP2 really any safer?


do I have to backup my computer in case SP2 causes problems or previous files/programs to not load? would I have to reinstall stuf like firefox and things? aaaah so much work. >.<

[Mhurron]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

Oh of the love of god, just run windows update and run it regularly. At the very least run it on the second Wednesday of every month.

Yes, SP2 and SP3 are that much 'safer.'

No it is not hard Microsoft Windows Update and follow instructions.

List of fixes that are included in Windows XP Service Pack 3
List of fixes included in Windows XP Service Pack 2
List of fixes in Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 1a

Those three pages detail all the fixes and security updates to XP you don't have.

You will not have to reinstall anything. Unless your programs were written for Windows 98 or earlier you will have no problems. In the unbelievably low chance you did, you can use the Add/Remove programs to uninstall the service pack.

But jesus christ, how can people not know about running windows update now? It was introduced with windows 98.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

/em watches Mhurron take the weight of the world on his shoulders...

lolololololol

[Feba]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

You know what Jenova? You're the only person I'm ever going to recommend this to:

Set up your computer to automatically run, download, and install Windows Updates for you. Make sure you get SP3 installed.

Call Geeksquad if you need to. They can't possibly fuck things up worse than you've.

[Kanmiqote]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

AVG and AdAware are really effective free antivirus/malware programs. I would just like to interject that "a-squared" is a great program for rooting out trojans should you be unlucky enough to get one.

You probably don't need all three running at once, but it's nice to have options ^^

[TheGrandMom]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

Free antivirus - Avira AntiVir

Avira Antivir is better than AVG.

[jenova_9]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

aaah so is a-squared, Avira or avast the better anti-virus, anti-trojan, shield program????? >.<

I dont wanna have them all at once or this thing will be too slow to do anything lol.



and I think windows update happens automatically. I think its called wudateve or something.

Also it seems everytime I boot the computer, it starts with avast not being active, like it says warning you are not protected or
something, like it starts without the shields loaded. I guess there's a trojan that's interfering that causes me to have to manually turn on
the shields every time I turn on the computer. But I always turn it on with the internet cable disconnected until avast is back up, to be safe.


also, I accidentally Removed a ATI display driver thingy on my other computer (win98), it happened when I tried to remove a flashdrive
driver that was not working and I mistakened that driver for the flashdrive driver.

is there anyway to recover that? Now all it displays is stuff in 8bit colors instead of 32 bit... control panel doesnt have the display colors it used to. -.-;

[Mhurron]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

Just take it to someone who knows what they're doing.

[Durahansolo]

Re: what best free Anti - Virus software?

Call Geeksquad if you need to. They can't possibly fuck things up worse than you've.

I almost LOL'd out loud at my desk. Thanks Feba.