Which AV for my old and deing computer?

[xxchronic2007xx]

Hi,
I have symantec anti virus and it doesn't seem to be doing a good job of keeping my computer clean. Im going to remove it and install Avast! AV. What do you guys think? Will Avast! use up less recourses than symantec AV? Also what can i do to get this computer running faster? Mozilla firefox takes literally like 30 seconds to a minute to open up and startup is a pain!

Thanks for all the help,
XxChronic2007xX

[tashi]

Hello,

Hi,
I have symantec anti virus and it doesn't seem to be doing a good job of keeping my computer clean. Im going to remove it and install Avast! AV. What do you guys think? Will Avast! use up less recourses than symantec AV?

These links may help in making a decision.

Anti Virus Programs

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=7683

Also what can i do to get this computer running faster? Mozilla firefox takes literally like 30 seconds to a minute to open up and startup is a pain!

Knowing which Operating System you have would be useful in order for someone to advise.

[xxchronic2007xx]

Sorry for posting a little late, i have windows XP.
Thanks,
XxChronic2007xX

[drragostea]

As in the link described above, there was this issue in the past where Symantec's Norton reported a false positive about SaferNetworking's Spybot-SD. In conclusion, Norton posted an update which resolved the conflict .

Firefox should be a jiffy. It should start up much faster than IE (in my perspective). Unless you have some dozen themes and add-ons bogging down Firefox. The latest version should do.

The recommended amount of RAM for Windows XP is 512 MB. Say like you have 256MB, that might take some programs longer to open up (maybe by some seconds :P).

Have you cleaned the cache, temp. files, and cookies in your browser?
Also, have you defragmented your drive lately? It should speed things up.

[xxchronic2007xx]

I have not defragmented my hard drive, how do i do that anyways? I don't think i have a defragmenter... my computer has 512mb of ram, its just a really old computer. After reading that thread about symantec.... they are EVIL!

Thanks,
XxChronic2007xX

Edit: I don't have a lot of add-ons at all on firefox, i have also cleared all that stuff (cookies etc.)

[tashi]

As in the link described above, there was this issue in the past where Symantec's Norton reported a false positive about SaferNetworking's Spybot-SD. In conclusion, Norton posted an update which resolved the conflict .

Also 24 pages of users expressing their personal experiences with Norton on their machines.

[xxchronic2007xx]

Thank you tashi and drragostea, i have everything sorted out

~XxChronic2007xX

[drragostea]

24 pages. *whistle Wow. O.O

I don't have to time to start flaming at Symantec Norton. Lols, I would if I had the time.

Download.com user's gave Norton a 1/5 rating. I was one of them. I started blabbering all the negatives I could think of.

Personally, I don't believe those "maintenance" tools are necessary for your computer to "survive". :P It's just like a simple registry cleanup and some junk file cleanup. Sad part is that they do not specify what registry keys and "junk" (so-called) files. I tried one of them... found out that the program was about to delete my Restore Points in just an attempt to save 500MB of space.

I wouldn't recommend registry cleaners, but compacters will do fine. The registry does not take up a significant amount of space. It doesn't even compare to Adobe's Photoshop. Although I gotta admit that's a gargantuan program, lols.

xxchronic, have you taken an analysis of your drive? You should find it under ACCESSORIES.

[xxchronic2007xx]

AH GOD!!! HOW COULD I LET THIS HAPPEN?! So i couldn't remove symantec (needed password) so i told my dad to get it for me since he had it and well he told me to call at&t for help?? I just played along to not get him mad so i called maybe they could help me.. lets skip forward... so i get it removed and then the person helping me downloads "Perfect uninstaller". I go are you sure you know what you're doing because your looking for random stuff on google i see... you sure this program is safe to use?? She says yes but when she started using it (Oh btw she was using remote control), so when she started using it, it performed a scan for left over registry files from symantec and when she hit remove it said you have to register before removing all the stuff... i shut the phone and computer, quickly install avg and now im doing the boot-up scan and see if avast finds it as a virus.

Never call at&t support plus team.... they don't know what they are doing.

Edit: I don't think that program did anything to my registry because spybot wasn't flashing with any warnings..

[drragostea]

Never call at&t support plus team.... they don't know what they are doing.

Well Spybot's TeaTimer would flash a warning say like when a start-up entry is removed. Okay this is my long explanation and response to your entry:

First off, I would strongly suggest you DEFRAGMENT your drive! I'm not saying it's critical... but it WILL affect your OS's overall performance. I was helping out an elder with their computer the other week. They said it was sluggish and horribly slow. Everything will take minutes to open.

Found out the it was a horribly fragmented drive with lots of red bars .

I'm telling you... defragment your drive. It'll make your computer run faster.

Now that's done... you should not have more than one AV (anti-virus) installed. It's not good. It WILL conflict. Do you have more than two AV's installed?

You requested help for a AT&T representative , lols. A good uninstaller, I personally use would be REVO UNINSTALLER. It gives a variety of uninstallation (Safe removal, moderate, or advanced removal). The... Perfect Uninstaller sounds a bit fishy. I'm skeptical. Have you removed it? Did that program successfully remove Norton?

Norton IS or AV should remove with no problems at all . Can you REVO?

What is your current AV?