Anti virus software

[Roland]

Sounds more like a browser problem to me. Get Firefox (ditch IE - there are IE plugins for Firefox so you can run Windows Update and such from Firefox) and DON'T DOWNLOAD ANYTHING unless you know what it is and trust where it is comming from. This alone should protect the computer from most viruses. While Norton will slow your computer down by about 15-20% (yes, you will notice a difference), it has a better firewall that what comes in Windows, a spam blocker if you use Outlook Express, pop-up blocker, and all sorts of nifty things without much need for customization. Norton is kinda like a no-brainer program; just install it and let it do its job - to protect your computer.

By switching to Firefox browser, not downloading anything unknown (and if he does insist on bad downloads, don't open/click on the file without scanning it first), and getting a good Firewall/Antivirus, he should be good to go. Honestly though, I've heard a lot of good things about AVG from just about everyone. I don't really like Zone Alarm however for firewalls... I prefer Norton or even Windows.

If memory serves she has a hardware firewall, so running a software firewall would be 1) redundant, and 2) conflicting, at least potentially, not to mention more overhead for HER to deal with, since her husband obviously isn't the savvy one when it comes to computers.

I had to spend the better part of a night, and some of a morning cleaning out my parents computer. They had somehow gotten ahold of a trial for Norton, along with one of those spyware "anti-spyware" programs. It took me well into the 3 AM stages to even BEGIN to unhook the claws of Norton from the computer, and by 3:30 I gave up for the night to let it do the rest of its thing. I came back in the morning, and finished it up in about 2 more hours. Then I set them up with Ad-aware, Spybot, and AVG Free, and set them all to run between 2 AM and 3 AM (the computer is always running, just like mine).

I'd recommend going this route, Gris, if you can (or will) let the computer run all the time. If not, it might be wise to just set up the anti-virus software to run a scan upon startup of Windows. I'm 90% certain AVG Free can do this, although I'm sure there are others, as well. Kasperski is a name I recognize, but I am not familiar with it (least, not since the last... 5 years? And even before that, I only knew it in vague passing. I never took a real close look at it). The other one I have never heard of, although that shouldn't be too significant.;)I keep my ear to the ground as best I can when it comes to computers, but I mostly stick to hardware. Software, I find what works well, and stick with it until something better comes along, or it starts to nosedive.

I, like so many others, never used to run any anti-virus, and never had a problem (until my ex-g/f... I still don't know what she did). I still don't, after I managed to unhook Norton from MY computer. I bought it out of desperation, used it until it expired, then shot it.:PI don't even know where the CD is, and I'm fine with that.

ZoneAlarm is an iffy thing. It USED to be great, long ago. Then it started to suffer Norton-like issues: comaptibility problems, resource issues, etc. Not nearly as bad as Norton, but I've heard stories, and it became a common rule of thumb that if you were having trouble with a game, disable ZoneAlarm, and you'd be fine, so I've been leery of them ever since. Personally, I stick with my hardware firewall. The bottom line to security is: you are never secure. Ever. There is ALWAYS a way to get at your data. It's just a matter of how far YOU are willing to go to protect your data, and how far someone else is willing to try to get it. Your average hardware or software firewall, combined with an up-to-date antivirus program are really all you need to keep out 99% of intruders. The rest... well, even your average technically savvy person doesn't possess the knowledge, skill, and resources to truly give them a hard time, so it's not even worth losing sleep over.

If you still have your old hardware firewall, that should be more than sufficient for your needs. Like others have said, use Firefox, Ad-aware, Spybot, and whatever antivirus you choose, and you'll be fine. You can only do so much without your husband contributing, so you may just want to get into the habit of cleaning his computer once a month.

Let us know how it goes.