I know -- what does that have to do with survival? But my E-Z antivirus program didn't stop one this week and I had one heck of a time getting back to functionality. It's kind of survival related, since I couldn't get past the Windows flag screen on boot-up. Couldn't even get to the survival forum if I would have had to. And I kept that antivirus program updated daily. Now looking for a better option.

I use AVG (grisoft.com) Free but we have registered option at work. I also use spybot and adaware (free spyware) to check once a week.

I use AVG (grisoft.com) Free but we have registered option at work. I also use spybot and adaware (free spyware) to check once a week.

I use all the above with good success. I also use crap cleaner (ccleaner) to "clean" the hard drive -- similar to scan disk but much faster and more thorough.

All the above can be downloaded free at filehippo.

And since were discussing it, I also use registry mechanic. It costs $30/yr. but after using it, and all the above, my machine went from a slow pig to a screaming fast machine.

YMMV

If you want to use Ad-Aware, be sure to load ONLY the one with the hyphen in it, NOT the one without, which is major trouble.

Sue

I use Norton AV, Zone alarm firewall, Ad-aware, Pestpatrol, Spybot & Winpatrol. I have not had any virus or malware problems since. Also, you should have a switch handy to turn off the internet instantly. If I see anything lke "Preparing to Install" or anything like that, I hit the button to shut off the cable modem. Then I shut down IE. After a while, I will go on again, but not to the website that I had the problem with.

I think spyware seems to be a bigger problem than viruses these days. You may want to look at something that integrates virus protection, firewall and spyware monitoring. I've been using AOL Safety and Security (McAfee based) and it seems to be okay. I like it because it updates automatically and can be scheduled to do quick scans or full scans as often as you like. I just got a new laptop which included a subscription to McAfee Security Center, which is similar, although I'm not sure it scans for spyware, which is a must! IT person at work likes Norton Internet Security, Antispyware Edition, but thinks McAfee is good too. Microsoft has a free antispyware program available for download. I don't think it's ever caught anything though. Spyware Doctor has a trial version, and it seems to catch all kinds of things, although it can take up a lot of CPU when it wants to. I agree with those who have touted Ad-Aware...nice little program.

Be VIGILANT with your computer's security. I'm obsessive about scans and such, but my old laptop picked up something that messed up all my Office apps, and I had to wipe the hard drive to get rid of it. I think my desktop here may have something too. Lots of freeze ups and such. Need to wipe this hard drive anyway...PITA hard drive partitions!

I work as a network administrator for a large company, so I see it all. For protection on my personal PC, I use Trend Micro PC-cillan, Microsoft AntiSpyware and the Windows XP SP2 firewall behind a D-Link hardware firewall. One reason to use the Windows XP firewall over other products, is that it is working even if you log off, and it is on as soon as the pc boots. Products like Black Ice and Zone Alarm only load after logging on. I have not had anything get to my computer so far. I see the results of an infection all the time and it is a lot of work to get rid of a virus or worm once it is on the network!
Also, keep all the security patches updated on Windows! Very important. Cheers!

For free, try AVG, Avast! or AntiVir. Among the paid programs, I would specifically recommend against Norton Antivirus, or at least the Home-oriented edition. NOD32 is an excellent paid program and is also light on system resources.

Crap Cleaner and Scan Disk are two very different thing.

Crap Cleaner simply removes a bunch of files that you most likely don't need. It saves space on your hard drive.

Scan Disk actually verifies the integrity of the file structure. It makes sure that all of the files are the length that they are supposed to be, checks for cross-linked files, and frees up clusters marked as allocated, but not in use by any file.

Both are good programs, and neither one can replace the other.

You might want to seriously consider dumping IE in favor of something more secure. That one step alone will fix a LOT of problems.

I use Firefox (and Thunderbird for e-mail). Both are 100% free at http://www.mozilla.com/

A lot of people love the Opera browser (which also includes e-mail). Also completely free from http://www.opera.com/