McAfee

[riwiho]

My dell computer (1.5 years old) has started to making loud pinging noises and when these occur there is a message from McAfee saying that I need to renew my subscription.

What implication does this have to my system? Am I now not protected? Do I really have to fork out 40/60/80 quid depending on which subscription I choose to proceed with?

Are there are really good virus scanners/protectors out there that cost nothing which I can download to replace or supersede McAfee as my primary service as I am not keen on forking out for this.

[The Griffalo]

Just use the free Grissoft one and ditch McAfee altogether

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/ln...

If you also need a firewall the ZoneAlarm free version will do the job just fine in most circumstances.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/pro...

[riwiho]

The Griffalo said:

Just use the free Grissoft one and ditch McAfee altogether

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/ln...

If you also need a firewall the ZoneAlarm free version will do the job just fine in most circumstances.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/pro...

Thanks very much for this.

Is Grissoft reliabe?

[ricardinho]

riwiho said:

The Griffalo said:

Just use the free Grissoft one and ditch McAfee altogether

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/ln...

If you also need a firewall the ZoneAlarm free version will do the job just fine in most circumstances.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/pro...

Thanks very much for this.

Is Grissoft reliabe?

It is in my opinion. Light on system resources, free (user scheduled) updates, quick scanning... As is their Anti-Spyware app (also free, but after 30 days you'll have to manually update). But really security is all about the user behaviour. Ideally you want to avoid infection at all costs and so how you surf and what you download and where from should be your concerns. Granted you can get infection from anywhere, but I know plenty of people who run pcs from home without antivirus and antispyware programs. If you're savvy enough, you know when something untoward is going on and a quick online scan from one of the major companies (McAfee included) is all they require. But in theory most home users are not like this, so...

If you've got children, then I suspect your chances of infection have gone through the roof In which case good security software is always a help to both prevent as much as possible and then swiftly and easily remove anything that does get in.

HTH

Oh btw, once you've downloaded the installation executables, disconnect from the internet then remove all traces of McAfee before installing. Also maybe download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com  and run the "issues" to cleanup McAfee entries in the registry IF you have any conflict issues when installing the new software - it's a common occurance with security software. CCleaner is a great tool to have as it can clear all your internet history and temp files one one fell swoop. See how much disk space you can regain!

Edited by ricardinho on Tuesday 5th June 11:31

Edited by ricardinho on Tuesday 5th June 11:34

[_Deano]

The Griffalo said:

Just use the free Grissoft one and ditch McAfee altogether

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/ln...

If you also need a firewall the ZoneAlarm free version will do the job just fine in most circumstances.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/pro...

I agree

[dougc]

Just FYI, the latest release from McAfee has completely spannered ActiveSync on my Smartphone - don't think theres a fix for it either so be careful if you are using both.