Avg Total Internet Security (Latest Version)

[alison43331]

Hi

My 2 year licence for2 years (4 computers) is due to run out very soon and the minimum AVG have quoted for renewal is £70!!!

That is way over my budget!!!

I only paid £20 initially and was looking for something similar (2 PCS for 2 years would be great!!!)

Does anyone know of an special deals at the moment?. Any help would be most appreciated

[Buenchico]

A decent security suite normally consists of three elements, all of which you can get for free anyway, so there's little point paying for anything.

Firstly, you need a firewall. Windows has its own built in, so many people are happy to use that. However some people regard it as less secure than the free offerings from either Zone Alarm
http://www.zonealarm.co.uk/security/en-us/zonealarm-pc-security-free-firewall.htm
or Comodo
http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Then you need anti-virus software. The free version of AVG is exactly the same as the version as you're paying for, so that would seem to be an obvious option for you:
http://free.avg.com/gb-en/homepage

However I've found that AVG can slow my (elderly) computer, so my own preference is for Avast:
http://www.avast.com/index

Comodo's free antivirus software is also highly rated
http://antivirus.comodo.com/

(Note that you should only ever have ONE firewall, and ONE antivirus program, running on your computer. Using multiple products can lead to system conflicts)

Lastly, you need an anti-malware program. While there's no free product that I know of that 'runs in the background' (as many commercial products do, but often slowing your computer in the process), the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware serves most people's needs (by simply running a scan perhaps once per week):
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/
(When installing it,. take care to deselect the option to take a free trial of the 'Premium' version).

With those three elements in place, there's no point whatsoever in paying for a security suite.

[HansUrbancka]

Follow the advice from Buenchico and it'll Not cost you a penny. Furthermore it is good solid sound advice.

Hans.

[kloofnek]

while we are speaking of internet security,I am with Virgin and know they do a free one but I have never felt it is complete and have always stuck with Norton...what do you think about it Buenchico?

[berniecuddles]

if you bank with Barclays you get kaspersky free (just renewed for the 3rd year)

[HansUrbancka]

@kloofnek.....It will be interesting to see how Buenchico replies. My opinion is that there are free items which are as good as costly Norton; which is often overrated.

Hans.

[Buenchico]

Norton used to be absolutely terrible (because it caused many people's computers to run extremely slowly) but the more recent versions have a much better reputation. However I still see no point paying for it when you can get the same protection for free.

Computer magazines frequently publish test results for the effectiveness of various antivirus programs (or entire security suites). It can be hard to make any real sense of the results because one magazine will recommend program A and mark down program B, while another magazine will have exactly the opposite results (and the next time they both publish test details, they'll probably have reversed their opinions anyway!). However, if you insist upon paying for security software, Kaspersky often comes out top in reports (and hardly ever gets a poor result), so that's what I'd suggest (especially if you can get it free from your bank!).

However it's worth remembering that Brian Dye declared antivirus software to be 'dead' earlier this year as (according to his figures) it blocks only 45% of threats. Given that he's Head of Information Security at Symantec (which makes Norton), his comments can't easily be dismissed! A great deal of security comes down to following a few simple rules, e.g:

1. If you use an email client (such as Outlook Express) rather than webmail, ensure that the 'Preview' pane is disabled ;

2. Never open any email unless you're sure where it comes from and you know that you can trust the sender. (If there's an email that you feel compelled to open, simply because it might actually be important, log into your webmail, instead of opening it in your email client; it's safer that way) ;

3. Even if an email appears to be genuine, wherever possible avoid clicking links within it. (e.g. if it appears to be from your bank or ISP, go to the website of that organisation and seek a link from there, instead of using clicking a link within an email) ;

4. Learn how to show the detailed headers on an email and to examine its path using them ;

5. Ask yourself some basic questions about any suspicious email you receive. For example, if you get an email telling you that a courier couldn't deliver a parcel, ask yourself whether such a courier would even know your email address in the first place ;

6. If you get a pop-up telling you that you need to update Java, Adobe Flash Player, or whatever, DON'T click on the link within that pop-up but DO check with the website of Java, Adobe, or whoever, to check that your software is up-to-date AND run a scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to see if it's actually something nasty generating the pop-ups.

7. If downloading and installing free software, take care to download from the website of the firm that produces that software (rather than from a third party site) AND take great care to deselect the unwanted stuff that is likely to come bundled with it.

8. Do use software (such as that included with the free versions of AVG and Avast) that warns you about any links which are suspect.

Following those rules is AT LEAST AS IMPORTANT as having decent security software AND POSSIBLY MORE SO!!!

[TTG]

Some good tips here. Also unless specifically needed for some websites you use, I'd uninstall Java completely. My browser (Firefox) allows you to only activate Flash when required (or have it active just for specific websites).