I’ve gotten questions lately from several clients, family and friends about their Antivirus programs and what to do about them. So much so that I decided that I’d take the time to write out my thoughts here, and direct you here. If you are here because I directed you to come read my thoughts on the topic, then let me say “Welcome, FILL IN YOUR NAME HERE.”
There are several applications you can purchase off from the Internet to protect your computer from nefarious programs written by evil people. Those programs include: Norton System Security, Antivirus and several other options, Mcafee, TrendMicro and several others.
Those companies are in the business of writing security specific software to address threats as they are discovered. They are alerted either through the media due to an outbreak of a virus, or through their own programmers finding the weaknesses of a computer’s programs. Once the vulnerability is discovered, the antivirus companies go about writing the “virus footprint” to allow their antivirus application to catch an attempted install of a virus on your system.
For Your Business Network
I like Norton’s virus system for a network, their corporate edition is second to none as far as I am concerned. If you own or run a network, and have over 10 nodes, then Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition is the only way to go. Their system will alert you to virus’, attempted virus’ and the like, on the network and your nodes that are roaming, ie: laptops. There are many vendors that sell this version of the antivirus, we at Phoenix Geeks prefer to use Dell. If you would like a free, no obligation price quote on this antivirus software, as well as a quote to install and configure it for you, please contact me. I can be reached at 602-999-9404 or via email by using the “Ask Me” section of this website.
For Your Personal Computer
I like Microsoft Security Essentials. Their current version is 1.06, I believe. This application is put out by Microsoft, and runs on their Operating System, ie: Microsoft Windows. There are a few reasons why I like this solution more than others. The first being the application was written by the company that puts out the operating system. They should know how the OS works. I find that running Microsoft Security Essentials does not cause the large overhead issue (system resources being sucked down) that Mcafee or Norton personal antivirus solutions.
Microsoft Security Essentials doesn’t seem to take up the ram (memory) or cpu (processing time) that the other solutions do, make your computer run faster during a deep scan of your computer.
The best part of installing Microsoft Security Essentials, it’s FREE, as long as you are running a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows.
Where Can I Find Microsoft Security Essentials
I download Micorosoft Security Essentials from www.FileHippo.com. You can follow that link to download the application.
How Do I Configure Microsoft Security Essentials
The first thing you will need to do is completely remove any antivirus you have currently. Make sure you remove it all. Norton typically has 2 different applications that you have to uninstall, and do a reboot in between.
After you have completely removed the whole antivirus software, install Microsoft Security Essentials by opening their install program and following their instructions. Once done, make sure you tell it to update the virus definations, then do a full scan.
After you have done a full scan, then ensure that the program is set to run a full system scan at least once a week. I typically set mine to 2AM Saturday morning. That way the scan is performed while I wouldn’t be using the computer, so the slow down will have no impact on my performance. However, this is a personal preference, so do as you will.
If you have done the steps and encountered an error, or would rather these steps were done for you, please contact me. I can use the Phoenix Geeks remote technical support application to help you do the installation via the internet, and can help you over the phone. I can be reached at 602-999-9404.
I hope this was helpful, and let me know more of your questions. I’ll post answers to them, as they are asked.
If I have directed you to come here and read my views on Antivirus, then “Have a great day INSERT NAME HERE.”