ForumGarden

Anyone have this form of "protection" for their computer? Bullet went and paid $50 for it, and we seem to have more pop-ups now than when we just had the free downloadable AdAware and Spybot and such. Plus it takes 3 times as long to run a scan.

Did we get ripped off? Has anyone had any success with this stuff?

Go in to tools-internet options-privacy -advanced and you will see you have options to set the cookies i.e. whether you accept them or not.

Also tools-internet options-general you will see tabs so you can remove all cookies and temporary internet files, delete all offline content.

cookies are how websites recognise you but also track browsing activity and allow pop-ups and links to other sites-if bullet seems to be looking at a lot of porn sites don't assume he meant to. Even the most innocuous search on google can take you strange places. If you use passwords for any sites don't use the facility to remember them in IE.

Also have a look at

http://www.mozilla.org/

Mozilla firefox is an open source browser alternative to IE and the security features pop up blockers etc are a lot easier to understand.

You can also download various free trials on firewalls and anti virus software that you can suss out before purchasing such as

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp

Look for the links for the free basic firewall and also the trial version of the full suite.

http://www.grisoft.com/doc/avgplusfw/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

AVG is a virus checker that also offers free trials and a free basic version

I use both but had a good try of several before settling on these two.

It's staggering just how often somebody tries to hack in to your computer, or how many sites track what you are browsing. I rely on my computer for work and having lost one to a virus and all the data on it I'm now very careful about backing up crucial data.

Wow, GMC. Thank you very much for all that information. I will have to pass it along to Bullet as I am hopeless with this hunk of baffling, frustrating machinery. What you said is pure Greek to me.... :yh_rotfl

I do appreciate the info, though, and I'll let you know how it works for us. :yh_bigsmi



Edit to add: we had the free version of AVG and I was quite happy with it. Scans were quick, and seemed to work just fine for us.

BR - May I join gmc in recommending Mozilla firefox and AVG !!! I've also tried pretty much the full range.

Have used Avast for a couple of years. Never had any problems. It is always up-to-date, automatically entering the new stuff every day. Just put it on and forget it.

ArnoldLayne wrote: And me also !


Damn - if it's getting so widespread I'd better move to something less likely to attract the hackers!

Firefox, AVG7, Zone Alarm and Adaware - certainly does the job for me.

Diuretic wrote: Definitely agree on that one, Avast is excellent. I also have the free version of Sygate personal firewall (sadly not free any longer), Avorax Shield, Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Guard, Spyware Blaster, Spydefense (beta), Phish Guard and Opera as a browser (I also have MS Explorer 7 in beta and it's very stable). Waddyamean "paranoid"? (btw, all freeware).
Cripes - does your own computer let you in?! I have to agree - "paranoid" might be the word!

Thanks so much for all the info, guys. I'll have Bullet take a look at the thread and decide what to do, since he's the "computer guy" in our house. Most of the stuff here is Greek to me. :yh_blush

BabyRider wrote: Thanks so much for all the info, guys. I'll have Bullet take a look at the thread and decide what to do, since he's the "computer guy" in our house. Most of the stuff here is Greek to me. :yh_blush


Have you checked WinAntiVirus Pro support page?

http://www.winantivirus.com/support/

It might just be a simple set up problem.



On the other hand, I can't find any reviews on this software in PCPro.



Be wary of Firefox. As it becomes more popular, hackers will turn their attention to it, just as they are now starting to hit Linux. This is Firefox's only strength at the moment, no interest from the hackers.

I recently took on a trojan, my firewall blocked it but it didn't clear a code that stored an icon in the system tray warning me of a virus and suggesting that I purchase a suitable antivirus program. Naturally, I didn't click on it. A simple restore took care of that problem. It's important to have an antivirus program that looks out for rootkits in the directory. Most do now.

Only run one firewall per computer. More than one can cause a conflict that defeats the object as they stop each other from working (unless you're really cool on computer code). It's bad enough trying to get firewalls to recognise a network connection sometimes.