Norton antivirus

The updates subscription to my Norton antivirus is due for renewal but I have just downloaded an upgrade to Windows internet explorer which promises that all sorts of anti-phising devices, etc., etc., will be in operation when I use the internet. I also get automatic updates at regular intervals.
Do I really need extra protection from Norton or anyone else? :confused:

 

Jack - I don't know. I suspect that Microsoft does more phising than anyone else. I refuse updates because they force on me versions than are not compatible with my windows 98 (but often don't tell you). But you don't have to pay.

Free anti-virus http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5
Free anti-spyware http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5
Free firewall http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/trial_zaFamily/trial_zaFamily.jsp?lid=home_freedownloads righthand column.

I use the anti-virus and anti-spyware and find them very good. I also use other stuff - all free.

 

Jack. A friend recently had his free McAfee antivirus expire and it disabled his e-mail. E-mail was OK when he accessed it through his provider home page. E-mail was restored by disabling the antivirus program (right click on icon at right hand of task bar - bottom right of screen). Permanent solution is to uninstall it, if you are not renewing it.

 

My recent Windows update installed a nifty new Internet Explorer with tabs which I really, really like! Anyone else using them?

But, it also installed a phishing filter which meant that every page I tried to open took ages and ages! I turned it off in the end. You can still have a one-off screening by clicking on the icon but hey, I never worried about it before! I got myself an XoftSpySE for a small payment and it's much better then SpyBot.

 

Thankyou for the links PeterS which I shall investigate.
Michaelmasdaisy, I think I must be using the same update as you. The phising filter certainly hasn't slowed my internet down;everything seems quicker.

 

Jack you still need some sort of anti virus protection as well as what windows is providing .Anti virus and anti phishing are two completely different things

Anti virus - stops your computer from getting infected with virus etc .

Anti phishing - stops fake websites that look like your bank getting your details .
See here on an earlier post for free anti spyware downloads
You need one good Anti virus programme
one good firewall
as many antispyware programmes as you can put up with .
Most important though is - its no good having them if you dont keep them updated and run full scans at least once a week(I personally run mine twice a week .)
If you run Windows I would strongly recomend using Windows update to keep your computer up to date as this fixes any flaws in the operating system that hackers can take advantage of.
At the end of the day its up to you what you run but free programmes have to be paid for someway and if you dont pay then you may find that certain pop up adds get through when they should not .
Most computers now are worth from upwards of �£400 my own is in total about �£1100 so I personally dont mind paying �£30 -40 a year to keep it working.

[ 14. December 2006, 06:51 PM: Message edited by: Beefy ]

 

I am sure what Beefy says is right about the latest Internet Explorer. I don't use it.

May I suggest another approach (which is not incompatable). And that is to organise a backup system, which is so efficient that it doesn't matter if you catch a virus. Viruses are not the only problem as r200 found out, when their machine would not start. The method involves identfying all the data on your disk that you cannot afford to lose. Most of the stuff on your disk you can afford to lose, because it consists of programs, for which you should have the intstallation disks, or stuff that you have got from the internet and is still out there, or stuff got from friends. But some stuff you cannot afford to lose. In particular your own photos, wordprocessor and spreadsheet files etc, and the funnies (ie stuff buried by Microsoft), address book, favorites, e-mail messages etc.

You should have a regular routine of backing this stuff up, I use several CD's. For instance, one for utilities and games - to which you only add infrequently. One for photos, to which you add but the photos themselves never change. And one for data from spreadsheets and wordprocessor that might change on a daily basis, and which you should back up perhaps weekly.

The very act of sorting out your priorities can be as useful as using an antivirus. But get an antivirus as well. Oh! I think I feel the need for a backup coming on. :D

 

mine is up for renewel also, I am suppose to have it with my bt package and my computer guy used a one i had when he tried to do it with my subscription to bt it kept asking for a charge.
dont know what to do maybe call bt or get this guy back.
I tried what you were saying with microsoft and it wouldnt let me do it kept telling me to switch my computer off i did and it came back the same.

 

Rosa. In principle there is no reason why you shouldn't uninstall your antivirus and reinstall the free one in the link higher up. This is what I have done. Beefy is quite right to be suspicious of freebies, but in this case it is one that I have used for over two years and have found to be very good. It automatically updates almost every day, and runs every day in the background scanning your hard disk. It is free for personal users, but the corporate version has a charge. And it certainly works. I have two hard disks. One is the serious disk, where I do responsible things like banking, Gardeners corner etc, and never download anything. I have never had a virus on my serious disk. My second disk is the fun disk. I have nothing of value on it, so I feel free to download everything and anything from the internet. I have had several viruses that way, which the program has picked up.

The program is probably not entirely free. After 2 years, my first version said my free period had finished and wanted to charge me. But I just uninstalled the old program, removed all my cookies and then reinstalled the above version. As for as they are concerned I am a new customer. In two years time they will probably want to charge me again.

I would suggest you wait till your period has expired. Then try and get someone who knows about computers to help with uninstalling the old and installing the above program. If it really does not work you can uninstall the new program and sign up for a paying one again without losing anything.

Incidentally the reason your provider want you to have an antivirus program is to protect them - not you. A virus in your machine could send out lots of e-mails (with the virus attached) and these clog up the providers computer.

 

peters I did that this afternoon had a few problems and eventually was uploaded with norton security through yahoo microsoft security, hopefully this has worked, nothing has come up again reminding me that i need to register norton security so maybe i did it right, lets hope, will let you know. rosa. and sorry jack by the hedge for intruding on your post just i was worried

 

Jack - having just had the same update from microsoft - the security is not enough to do without Norton Internet Security - or the like.

However Norton Internet security has more things than just the anti phishing on the ms update. Anti-virus, which is critically important to my way of thinking, even with a full backup (cos you don't know if you have infected the backup), anti-spam, anti ad, firewall, and intrusion protection. Whilst I know Norton has its problems - but I wouldn't be without it.

I like the new update to Internet Explorer - though I seem to have lost the top menu bar I used to have. Like File, Edit etc. Anyone know how I can put it back in place - as you were, found the bit that put it back. I like this upgrade - much clearer

 

Fran. Glad you found your top menu bar. Windows can be extremely irritating when it moves or hides things without you being aware,

As I understand it, a virus or a trojan has to execute. That means it is usually a .EXE, .COM or a .DLL (dynamic linked library) file type, rather than a data file type. If you are just backing up data you are unlikely to have an embeded virus. You normally never need to back up executable files, as you should have the original disks. But I agree belt and braces are worth having.

Another protection route is via Internet Explorer/ Tools/ Internet Options/ Security/ Custom Level. You can set your security level to high, or better still manually disable Active X, Scripts, Java and File Downloads (doesn't effect pictures). The first three execute under instructions from the internet, and the last one could download an executable file. You may get a message saying that some elements will not display properly - but you don't lose much. This is the equivalent of wearing full armour. I quite often use this. If I want to download a particular file, I manually drop the shields for a short while, then raise them again. About the only way you could then get a virus is via an attachment of a dodgy e-mail. But it still requires you to open the attachment - and the rule is NEVER open an attachment on an e-mail unless you know what it is.

 

Hi Peter
To be honest windows is sometimes it`s own worst enemy.

Opting not to hide file extensions (in folder options) can be quite useful sometimes as files can have double extensions in a feeble attempt to fool the unwary.
For instance, "isthisapicture.jpg.exe" with default settings you won`t see the .exe extension ie: "isthisapicture.jpg"
It would be quite easy to inadvertantly run it

 

I do agree Hex, the first thing I do after formatting a disk is show the extensions, and also show all hidden system files. I like to know what's on my disk.

Another thing you can do if you suspect trouble is from Windows Explorer/Tools do a Find all *.exe and *.DLL (etc - or even all files) created today. Its easy in Windows 98 but I couldn't see how to do it on Windows XP. Normally there should be none created unless you have installed new software. Anything not expected is usually a virus, and you can often delete it at that point. In fact when I have been to a known infected site, I have actually watched the viruses as they have landed! That way picks them up quicker than my anti-virus program. Sometimes several all come together. Its quite fun then Googling the file names to see exactly what they do and where they come from. But I only ever do this on my fun disk, which has nothing of value on it.