I just bought a Laptop and was wondering how long i could go with just the free Avast and Doctor Spyware?

4 responses so far ↓

• 1 Lindsay G // Aug 30, 2008

  You can go as long as you like. I have been using AVG and spybot, both free programs for a little over a year now. Much better then using Norton.

• 2 lthtsds4u // Aug 30, 2008

  NEVER BUY THAT KIND OF SOFTWARE…NEVER!!!

  1) Keep your windows update turned on and auto install updates
  2) Keep your firewall ON
  3) AVG Free Anti-Virus Software (Keep Update Automatically)
  4) Spybot (Download and run on a regular)
  5) AD-Ware (oldversion.com Ver. 1.06, download and run)

  I’VE DONE THIS FOR ALL MY SYSTEMS AND CLIENTS FOR YEARS.
  NO PROBLEMS.

  NEVER PAY THE MAN
  NEVER GIVE MONEY TO THE MAN.

• 3 cotojo // Aug 30, 2008

  Avast IS a virus protector, and one of the better ones which I recommend to others as it is free and gives good all round protection. It remains free for as long as you want, just re-register each year.
  Spyware Doctor will give you moderate protection, also use the following, all free:

  Comodo BO Clean:
  http://www.comodo.com/boclean/CBO_download.html
  Simply download and install, follow instructions on screen.
  Go here to see what it protects you against:
  http://www.comodo.com/boclean/trolist.html

  SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition - Manual anti-malware scanner;
  http://www.download.com/SUPERAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html
  Download, install, check for updates, then select Scan your Computer, select your drive and select Perform Complete Scan

  I have never used ‘paid for protection’ and successfully blog about free protection, I don’t get spyware or viruses, although I do import them to find the right removal tools, but I do this in a sandboxed environment, and I have been using computers for over 20 years.

• 4 smiladon // Aug 30, 2008

  PC Magazine has a great story about Avast AntiVirus Home Edition - the one most likely to have come installed on your laptop. It’s free and only requires that it be re-registered every year - one year from the time it was originally registered. The program runs continually in the background providing a more than adequate anti-virus solution for most users. I use it on all my systems - here is the link to the story: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2304350,00.asp

  Spyware Doctor also works in the background and provides periodic inventory and analysis of potentially risky software, cookies and websites. My install of it runs and does an effective and efficient job of performing scans. It is a little bit weak on recommending an action to take (such as deleting cookies) but all in all, it does give you a good picture of potential risks and threats to your system.

  There is no reason to purchase a commercial product to replace these free tools as they are as effective, if not moreso, than many commercial products. I’d also strongly recommend that you investigate and research Anti-RootKit tools, which seem to be the largest potential threat to most users. The first task in getting that done right, is to avoid infection - e.g. avoid suspicious websites, don’t open attachments in e-mails from people you don’t know and so forth. Panda Anti-RootKit is the Editor’s Choice at PC Magazine and they provide a very thorough review:
  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2119252,00.asp

  With these three utilities, there is no need to invest a significant amount of money in commercial products that do the same thing

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