Antivirus- AVG
Firewall- Comodo
Spyware- Adaware/Spybot

All better than the likes of Norton in my opinion!

Paul

Just an update, as time flies and technology changes then options often change.

I have reccomended and installed AVG free and Zonealarm for years on a variety of systems. Your not supposed to use AVG on commercial systems which has always been a little dodgy for small/home businesses.

But recently I have been using Comodo Firewall, which has a very small impact on my system and has been working really well, and getting some great reviews. They released a antivirus which was ok, but not as good as Avg. They have upgraded that now and bundled it with the firewall and its called 'Comodo Internet Security'.

I have been using this and its excellent, its all contained in one programme instead of different ones. Its a very small footprint, i dont know its running which is great as avg and zonealarm both had resource issues occasionally.

Its FREE and it also has a pro version, but unlike some products the pro version offers more added services, rather than more features so all the important features are in the free version.

It does not have an email scanner which puts some people off, but it does point out in its FAQ's that actually you dont need to scan an email, as the AV kicks in as soon as any virus tries to run. If you want more info check out the FAQ's and support forums. It also helps against malware such as keyloggers, rootkits, registry issues.

If your looking for a new system or been getting annoyed with AVG or ZA then take a look at Comodo. http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Other things I reccomend and use (all free and great)
Spybot Search and destroy protect your system and find malware and spyware

Crap Cleaner Keep your system clean and lean

Ad-Aware free I dont use this anymore as the licence is a little restrictive on commercial systems such as my home office business laptop. But a lot of people still like it. Personally with comodo and spybot I dont find I miss this.

Firefox web browser Great web browser safer, faster and customisable through 'extensions'. Use in place of internet explorer

Thunderbird email client Great email client.

Google Chrome Another option to add to your browsers. Very fast and large viewport. Worth a look :)

Google reader not a piece of software that runs on your computer but a web based product which allows you to follow podcasts and rss feeds. Great for keeping all your news and updates in one place.

Thats enough from me. Hope it helps someone :)

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Uk Based Web developer. Search engines, accessibility and usability specialist.

I installed AVG & Comodo on my PC running Win XP and it would not let me connect to the internet and my PC just 'hung' with no action.

I had to uninstall and do a 'recovery & re install' to get the machine running again.

Back on with Norton 30 day free trial.


John

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Growing old is compulsory, growing up is not!

If you had to do an operating system recovery and re-install it sounds like the problem was a little bit more problematic than installing new software.

Although it has happened that if you already have a virus and you install some AV software it can trigger issues, but thats rare.

Did you install the full comodo internet suite or just the firewall? If you installed the full suite along with AVG, then that would cause problems because you have two antivirus software running.

There were a number of issues last year with various antivirus and firewall programmes which had issues with windows updates, which caused problems you mention, mainly no internet connection. A system restore before the windows update fixed most until the software vendors released updates.

What I would suggest is you carry on with your Norton trial, do a full scan of the computer (make sure the software is updated first), a full deep scan. Then when your PC is defo clean, disconnect from the internet and make sure your cable/wireless card is disconnected/switched off. If you dont want to pay for Norton, then uninstall Norton. Then just install comodo internet security and run through the installer. Obviously you will have to download it before going offline.

If you have any issues, you can load windows in safe mode, and use Windows Restore to roll back the changes before you installed comodo. If you do have problems with comodo dont forget to report them to comodo so they can work out why.

The other option is to stick with norton its easier, and if you have a powerfull system it should work fine.

I have stored comodo on a lot of systems in the last month and not had a single problem! But thats computers for you!

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Uk Based Web developer. Search engines, accessibility and usability specialist.

I've went off zonealarm due to it acting oddly on several recent updates, plus it seems to be heading towards bloatware.
Never tried komodo but have heard mixed things, Tried norton Internet security a while back and it was junk, horrid interface, unintuitive and just generally awkward to use.

Though have heard some good things about the latest version - fast, non-bloated (theres an achievement for symantec) and accurate.

hotnuts- I think the word your looking for is "installed" not "stored" </pedant> ;-)

he he, yeah I would have edited that, but not allowed to after its been posted for 30 mins!. instored maybe ?? Not sure where store came from!

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Uk Based Web developer. Search engines, accessibility and usability specialist.

I've had, paid for, Norton installed for 4 years, did a full system scan (no viruses found by Norton) before 'uninstalling' and installing AVG & Comodo.

Will maybe try again next week, and try the internet at each step.


If no good will go back to Norton, no problems over past 4 years, maybe should have stuck with it instead of being a cheapskate

John

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Growing old is compulsory, growing up is not!

Been using McAffee for a few years, only issue was renewing it last year - used my new Mastercard for the first time on their secure site and it got cloned!

My choice of security software:

PCTools Firewall Plus - easy to use and low system resources plus comes with Threatfire an excellent on demand malware shield that scan for rootkits.

Avast Antivirus - excellent for a free product gives priorty updates which as far as I'm aware no other free AV does. I'd normally go for Avira Antivir however this has a nagware screen everytime you update which needs registry edits to get rid of.

Malwarebytes - excellent scumware remover, only on demand though.

SuperAntiSpyware - IMHO the best antispyware around atm again on demand scanner.

Winpatrol - excellent startup manager with the option to delay startup items you want running but dont want to ruin boot time, also comes with a HIBS to prevent unwanted changes to your computer and it barks!

For the ultimate security whilst browsering use Firefox with NoScript installed.

Why use anything you have to pay for???

AVG 8.0.

AVG has a long history, and has been through loads of modifications to provide a better service on its way to the current version, AVG 8.0. The company makes its money by selling virus protection to small businesses, and offers free home-user versions as a means of promoting its professional service. It's protection is reasonably thorough, though it doesn't offer any real tech support. It's quite unintrusive, doesn't use too many resources, and it will regularly auto-update.


Alwil Software's Avast! 4.

Alwil software's Avast! 4 is free for non-commercial users and offers regular updates, as well as proper technical support via e-mail or phone. Protection-wise it's very similar to AVG, covering all the same bases and not hogging system resources, but it has a funkier interface (for those who like a pinch of fashion with their computer security). The only downside is that you have to re-register it after each year of use.


AntiVir.

AntiVir by Alvira actually offers better standard virus detection than both of the above, but lacks in other areas. It won't scan your emails before you open them, uses more resources (less of a problem if you've a more powerful PC), and maintains a perhaps-too-visible presence on your desktop. You'll also have to occasionally re-register it to keep it going.
Whichever of these you choose, there's one important warning...

What is the warning?

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Mike

FORGET ALL THAT go to www.avast.com

This is the best one you will find and its free. bugger paying for antivirus
i have been fixing computers overs 10 years!

I think you'll find out of the three AVG uses the most resources as of version 8. Avira offers the best virus protection and comes above the other two in av tests. Email scanning ain't that important for home users. And I've never had to register with Avira.

I've had several e-mails that contained a virus or similar. Luckily only the first one caught me out, as it mimicked an order to me.

Since I've installed Kaspersky, it has blocked a good few of these e-mails.

Tried AVG 8, but never again

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Dave

www.drlgas.co.uk

NOD32 ... Eset got it right the first time and has kept it right since... altho not free (or maybe it is) There is practically hardly any CPU usage from it and the IE, Mail and Network Service Firewall is pretty good!

Just look it up in google