A possible 'stickie' guide ...

[Mara]

Do realize that suggestions for 'the best' anti virus, anti malware and firewalls are numerous on the internet and while I'm lucky and have trusted 'advisers' to say 'eek!' or 'good', many of us are perhaps still bewildered as to whom to trust and how easy (or hard) each of the programs are to run.

 

Would it be possible to to have a 'stickie' at our site with:

 

1. A list of a few free Anti Virus programs available online (with a link?) and perhaps mention how many of these programs one should have and how many running at each time, etc.

 

2. The same for a few free Anti Malware programs.

 

3. The same for a few free personal FireWalls...along with a note saying which may be easier for a Novice to undersand (all those windows popping up are impossible to understand if only 'numbers and letters' are shown re what is trying to get in, etc).

 

(I mentioned the woe with above mentioned Fire Walls simply because I thought I was a 'bump above' Novice - yet when using Comodo yesterday, saw it said 'UNsafe" and managed to stop myself from even getting into 'VAIO Support Center' on my own computer - eep!).

 

Anyway, the above is just a thought and regardless of your decision, thanks again for having such a terrific site!

[Guest Wolfeymole]

You make some excellent suggestions Mara and we will discuss these most earnestly and post on it shortly.

 

I'm assuming that you mean FPCH when you mention "our site" yes?

[Mara]

Yes - huge happy smile! And thanks so much!

 

One of the hardest lessons to learn for a Novice is not all information on all websites are dependable - and having a site like ours (here!!! another smile) is terrific.

[Dalo Harkin]

I think this is an excellent idea - we should also post which ones to avoid - paid and free and reasons to why.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

The list of Security tools is nearly complete, please bear with us.

[DSTM]

I also think this is an excellent idea.Say 4 or 5 in each Group,that are top of the line software,then we can trial each one, till we find one that suits us.

Thanks for suggesting. Mara.:)

[maynardvdm]

Good suggestion Mara. This is surely being discussed :)

[Dalo Harkin]

I think that 4 or 5 is too many 2 or maybe 3 of each is more than enough, you would be struggling to find 5 good Malware/spyware solutions 2 will be good and the rest would be to stay away from.

[DSTM]

I think that 4 or 5 is too many 2 or maybe 3 of each is more than enough, you would be struggling to find 5 good Malware/spyware solutions 2 will be good and the rest would be to stay away from.

Granted, It was only a number suggestion, in case other Software was added like Hosting sites,etc etc.The more groups, this Sticky could cover,the less we have to go chasing,elsewhere.Doesn't have to be huge.

We are only giving our thoughts. :)

[maynardvdm]

We appreciate all the input. Thank you :)

[Mara]

It's great having the 'stickie' guide for keeping our computers safe - thank you, thank you! (For instance, hadn't even heard of 'Site Hound' before but it's doing a lovely job!).

 

And I wonder if, for those of us who are a tad bewildered about 'Windows Start Up', could have a site added to our 'stickie' section?

 

I ask because when I rummaged around to find what programs were starting up automatically, some were easy to understand - while others were a bit mind-boggling (and I followed the great advice, "When in doubt, don't!" - gentle smile).

 

I found this below link that shows which processes are which ... and wonder, if you think it's suitable, it could be used as a reference when trying to decide what to have start automatically.

 

Sysinfo.org

 

Thanks once again,

Mara

[Dalo Harkin]

Mara - the best thing to do is open msconfig and then expand the command part of the window, from there it is pretty self explanatory - if you do not understand then as you say leave alone.

if you do then most people disable what they 'feel' they do not need, for example if you use Adobe to view files and there are 3 startup options containing Adobe - then chances are you do not need them, unless you edit and create PDF's.

[Mara]

Okay and thanks, Dalo!

 

(Wouldn't it be lovely if all programs we download were polite and just asked - when being installed - if we wanted them to start auto or not. Gentle grin).

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Sysinfo is a very good site Mara and it's worth perusing at every opportunity.

[Mara]

Thanks, Wolfeymole. (Our daughter was given a laptop that is so, so slow. (Trying to speed it up by stopping all unnecessary processes running and was completely confused before).