Do I need a virus scanner???

SwaleSmith · #1 05-10-08, 04:18 PM

Just wondering I've always used them, such as Norton/Mcafee and recently Avast wich I liked better as i didn't seem to bog my PC down as much.

My question is do I really need it, don't go any sites I shouldn't be on LOL:banng:

Habe heard there a load of rubbish, any input???

Allargando · #2 05-10-08, 06:26 PM

Glad to hear you gave norton the boot (it's an overpriced, useless piece of junk in my experience)

virus protection, along with a firewall and anti-spyware software, is always a good idea.

The only way to be 100% safe on the internet is to not go on it at all.

In the normal course of browsing you will pick up some form of malware, and you don't need to be on a site to get a virus.

Having a good set of protection programs will save you headaches which you would eventually face otherwise.

inconspicuousj · #3 05-10-08, 06:34 PM

it's always worth using an antivirus. try nod32, i've heard good things but unfortunately haven't used it myself, my Norton subscription still has a few weeks left.

°TheMadDutchDude° · #4 05-10-08, 06:45 PM

I have always used one, you never know what can come through the net and it could be on your computer and you wouldn't even know about it.

I currently use AVG Free 8.0 and haven't had a problem with it, I have actually been using AVG for the last 3 and a bit years and it has always picked up viruses as soon as they come in, and gets rid of them as well as it being free, it's always updated for free.

Glad to see you gave Norton a kick, it is one of the worst programs, they became more and more power hungry each year they brought out a new one!

SwaleSmith · #5 05-10-08, 07:52 PM

installing avast as I type

nunzio · #6 05-10-08, 09:21 PM

Can never go wrong with Avast

Pseudonym · #7 06-10-08, 01:39 PM

I've got avast on this laptop and i used to have AVG on my old one. I rarely scan though. It's just set up to autoscan downloads and P2P stuff.

Firefox with noscript and a hardware firewall have always kept me clean enough.

Saying that, my old Pc had no protection for maybe 3 years, i ran a scan before i got rid of it and found nothing but a few tracking cookies.