Sorry if this is posted on the wrong thread (or the wrong forum even!) but I know there are a lot of informed techie people who read it, so I will take advantage! I have just got rid of Norton 2006 anti virus as it slowed down my pc so much. I've now got AVG free, but want to know if that, together with Registry Mechanic, Spybot and Ad aware SE will fully protect my laptop and if there is an in built firewall with XP or do I need to get one of those too?
Thanks for any advice.
PC protection
Good question Susan. XP does come with a firewall, but when I installed Norton, it "advised" me to switch off Windows firewall and use the Norton one. This may have happened to you.
To switch on Windows firewall, go to Start/Control Panel and you then you will see an icon for Windows Firewall. Its a simple click to turn it on if it isn't already on.
Caveat: I do not know what the interrelationship with AVG will be, but I suspect the above suggestion is quite safe.
To switch on Windows firewall, go to Start/Control Panel and you then you will see an icon for Windows Firewall. Its a simple click to turn it on if it isn't already on.
Caveat: I do not know what the interrelationship with AVG will be, but I suspect the above suggestion is quite safe.
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Susan,
I too have binned Norton.
I have used AVG for years and am very happy with it. I use Webroot Spy Sweeper and the XP firewall. Both AVG and Spy Sweeper download updates in background mode and are very quick. Also, I have a wireless network, Netgear, which includes its own quite sophisticated firewall. I’m quite sure you will be well protected with your setup.
From a practical point of view, although I protect myself against such things I haven’t received one single virus for over a year, the only spy software I have had to deal with in that period came with new applications I installed and my firewall reports no attempted invasions.
Of course we should all have protection but I think this whole thing is grossly overstated. As someone once said “Reports of my demise are grossly exaggerated�.
Alan
I too have binned Norton.
I have used AVG for years and am very happy with it. I use Webroot Spy Sweeper and the XP firewall. Both AVG and Spy Sweeper download updates in background mode and are very quick. Also, I have a wireless network, Netgear, which includes its own quite sophisticated firewall. I’m quite sure you will be well protected with your setup.
From a practical point of view, although I protect myself against such things I haven’t received one single virus for over a year, the only spy software I have had to deal with in that period came with new applications I installed and my firewall reports no attempted invasions.
Of course we should all have protection but I think this whole thing is grossly overstated. As someone once said “Reports of my demise are grossly exaggerated�.
Alan
I've found Spyware Blaster a good way to keep the system clear of adware. You never have to do anything with it apart from up-date. Once it's installed onto the computer it runs automatically in the background and blocks the adware. I used to run Ad-Aware on a daily basis, and was constantly adding new sites to IE's block list, but since installing Spyware Blaster it rarely finds anything.
Thanks everyone for your advice!
Just another quick one, has anyone used Picasa? Someone recommended it to me (thanks Lisa!). I've been having a go at altering colour/light on my website photos and it is really easy to use, you just export them to picasa and then export them back to the file for the website. I think my photos look a lot better (but then I haven't ever used photoshop!) the software is free from
http://www.picasa.google.co.uk/
Just another quick one, has anyone used Picasa? Someone recommended it to me (thanks Lisa!). I've been having a go at altering colour/light on my website photos and it is really easy to use, you just export them to picasa and then export them back to the file for the website. I think my photos look a lot better (but then I haven't ever used photoshop!) the software is free from
http://www.picasa.google.co.uk/
