Hi all. I am new to Geeks to Go! and this is my first post.
Welcome aboard! Just registered here myself a few days ago. 8-)
In the last 4 months my machine has been horribly infected twice with a virus and this second time I'm calling it good and replacing the machine instead of putting any more money into a 7 year old machine. My user profile has been lost and I can't log onto the machine. Unfortunately there are some files I'd like to retrieve. Any advice anyone has in this area is appreciated.
Once you get your new system setup, (and protected), attach the hard drive from the old computer and then drag your personal files across to the new drive.
My real question though is that I'd like some advice on security software. I was running AVG, Malewarebytes and A-squared on my old machine. I see from your free antivirus thread that AVG is not one of your favorites. I've recently received the recommendation of an AV program called "Avira". Any opinion on this program.
Avira and Avast are ok, but lately I've been installing Microsoft's new, and free "Microsoft Security Essentials". Works great.
http://www.microsoft...ity_Essentials/
Also I've been told the the AV software that's provided by my ISP is typically not very good. Do you agree with this?
Depends on which anti-virus they provide.
Finally, I've received the advice that running two AV programs is not a good idea (i.e. AVG and a-squared). That frustrated me because it was my local computer shop that set me up that way.
AVG is a live, (running in the background and constantly watching), anti-virus solution. A-Squared Free is simply a scanner. If you use more than one 'live' anti-virus or anti-spyware program at the same time, your computer may experience decreased performance, become unstable, or restart unexpectedly.
Last question, I've been running the firewall that is installed in Windows XP. What is your reaction to that.
IMO, Windows XP's firewall is okay ... as long as you're also behind a hardware firewall.