Another Reader Question And Friday Fun
My McAfee About To Expire…
Q: “Paul,
I want to thank you for all the good information on your website and I am hoping you can give me some advice. The McAfee on my new computer is due to expire and it is asking me to buy a subscription or I won’t be protected. Should I renew or should I get something else? I will be using this computer a lot and want the best protection. Thank you.
~ TB
A: TB,
In this day and age of Internet Insecurity, it is absolutely vital (IMHO) that any device that connects to the World Wide Web has antivirus: and, an “expired” antivirus is next to no antivirus. I have written much about Internet/PC security (and answered this question before). But the competition between the various vendors means that the answer to “who’s the best?” changes year to year… and I suspect you want my short answer. (And, currently, McAfee is not it.)
So, for Sept/Oct 2011 my General recommendations are:
- Paid Internet Security: Norton Internet Security 2011 (comprehensive. Any user experience level.)
- Free Antivirus: Avast! (Any user experience level.)
- For Netbooks: see, Best Antivirus For Netbooks?
- For Smartphones: Smartphone security is new to me, and I can only (at this time) say that I think that, at the very least, you want Lookout.
- For Infection Removal: MalwareBytes Anti-Malware
[You may be interested to know, PC World magazine also has those first two as their top reco’s: see, Free vs. Fee: Free and Paid Antivirus Programs Compared
“Can free antivirus software protect you? Or is it worth paying for a full-blown A/V app? We look at the benefits–and pitfalls–of free and paid antivirus products.“]
Additionally: (Internet security is much more complex than bullet point answers!)
● I prefer to fine-tune my answers to the User: everybody is different, after all. To get your own “fine-tuned” recommendation, try Gizmo’s Freeware Security Wizard.
“This Wizard has been designed to help you select the best free security software for your PC based on the version of Windows that you use, your technical computer skills and your general level of security risk (Read more…).”
Friday Fun:
Today’s quote: “If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people?” ~ Unknown
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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