My PC is totally infected and I probably won't be able to work at all. I am contemplating of buying a new PC just make things better faster.
What are your virus protection options/ password protecting/ etc. What do viruses do anyways? Is there a virus that takes your paypal password and sends it to someone else (I bet there is but how common is that)?

mint

get a mac?

(if it is mac - that is so rare)

1) Don't go on questionable sites.
2) Never click ads - or only do ones you are sure you can trust.
3) Get McAfee (or similar antivirus) - mine cost around $50 - 60 USD per year and I have not had a virus problem since (over 5 years) occasionally one will sneak in but but gets smacked right away.

BusinessBuilders wrote:

get a mac? (if it is mac - that is so rare)

Trueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Get a mac re!

I have been using Norton Internet Security for 7 years without any problems. Never click suspicious links come with e-mails and open a file you've not requested, etc.

I regularly format my hard drive, schedule disk defrag (that doesnt protect against viruses but does help to keep it running fast), and I use ESET NOD32 antivirus, and windows firewall.

I will recommend trend micro antivirus.

For now you can clean you comp with trend micro house call - its free !! you can also try Dr cureit its free too

btw yes spywares/ trojans do steal credit card details so beware

i have noticed that less you have antivirus softwares less you get viruses, sometimes antivirus soft randomly makesviruses so you can see them working. but best way to avoid viruses is to turn of your machine :)

BusinessBuilders wrote:

get a mac? (if it is mac - that is so rare)

even if you buy a mac... also buy an antivirus/firewall... :)

I have avast that works pretty well. THough it freaks out sometimes also for safe pages and so ... but it's definitely a good antivirus to me. And it's free.

Lots of fluids and plenty of rest. ;)

+1 better buy a mac. :) You gonna love it.

Did some manual rededit removals, combined with some crappy antivirus and all is clear from the bad viruses for now.

woot woot

p.s. another day lost in problem-solving instead of pleasure working

Anti virus chews resources more than anything... I follow this guide and it keeps things smooth
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

Edit you start up processes with this tool
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

I just bought an imac i7 8g ram, now I'm running osx, xp and win7 simultaneously! The new iMacs are saweet ;)

I have had AVG for 2 years now and it's worked perfectly. I was a computer repair tech for 3 years and the computers that were most infected had Norton antivirus, Trend Micro, and Mcafee. those were the top three that caused the most damage. A very high recommended one is Kaspersky. Hope this helps

Quick Heal is the best option

I recommend Avira AntiVir. It is free for personal use and one of the best that is out there today.

getamac

Get kaspersky or eset nod32

no matter what antivirus you choose.....its better that you check the option to create a bootable scan facility with the antivirus.....suppose your pc got infected then generally you cant even install new antivirus without cleaning and You have to format your hard disk....bootable scan disk will help you to remove the viruses and you dont have to format your hard disk......

I am using Esset Smart Security.....and its very good also when it come to eating your RAM usage!

I've never had a virus on any of my macs (for the last 14 years). My wife has a PC - she uses McAfee and it's been virus-free since installing it.

Hi Mint,

There are some viruses, like infostealers that could steal your private informations (passwords and such). It is not necessary to have one of those because if you catch, let's say, a trojan or a worm it opens doors for other viruses to invade your pc.

My advice for you is to format the Windows partition, buy/download/install Symantec Antivirus and follow the first 2 advices given to you by Ivan in a previous post. Whenever Symantec catches a virus, slide in Safe Mode (tap F8 before the Windows loading screen appears) and do a full scan.

If your system is severely damaged by viruses, or Symantec can't get rid of them I suggest making an accout at www.techsupportforum.com and ask for a free, specialized assistance there.

Be careful and act quick as your PayPal account might get stolen and your e-mail address closed (most of the viruses create SMTP servers and send spam e-mails through your e-mail).

I've been using the PC for some time (over 10 years) and I deal myself with the viruses (with help from CCleaner and Symantec of course).

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Andrei

I have been using eset nod32 for my whole life. ITS GREAT !

Plenty of vitamin c... preferably powdered form.

Kaspersky IS 10 + Deepfreeze 6 for my C:\ Drive.

Yea get a mac I have been using my mac 15 years never have a virus I would jump off a roof before I design on a PC once turn down a job because they only use PCs ,once you go Mac you never go back :)

Mac is the answer my friend

Macs rule! Or get Kaspersky for your PC.

don't have internet on a production system that simple...which is why i have 2 systems

Been using a MAC for about 16 years now never had virus software never had a virus.

mac....mac....mac.....:)

I have never had a virus problem on any of my personal computers, I don't use antivirus, never have, never will.

Its pretty easy to just monitor what you dl/open... I format my pc every year or so and wipe my OS drive clean.

Getting rid of viruses is a pretty simple process if its a mainstream worm, theres solutions online that tell you exactly what to do.

Antivirus programs just do the searching and the physical work for you... a middleman if you will..

Buying a mac isn't a solution to viruses.

Its a temporary solution to hackers in general wanting to stay away from the minority OS and code worms for the majority of the populace (pc users)

Its not security by design, its security by OBSCURITY.

I feel like smashing my head against a wall every time somebody goes and switches to MAC for some reason that's not even legitimate and should have no bearing on your computer purchase.

75% of the time people switch to mac, its not because mac's are better, its to be *different* and they feel like a *mac* is what they need because they are so 'cool'.

Or the infamous 'mac's dont get virsuses!' statement should be phrased like this...

'Nobody wants to spend time coding a virus for a mac, they feel sorry for you already!'

There is nothing unique that a mac can do that a PC can't, bottom line.

The world revolves around PC users.

Yea you can make your mac run/work like a PC, run regular PC apps just like a PC!!

Why not just get a PC then?

There are MILLIONS of applications and programs that are not even compatible with mac, and most of the time separate 'mac' versions of stuff are just re-coded crap based off the original modded just so that it works.

It wasn't designed for it.

bens0n I felt the same way before I bought a mac.

I have used a pc for 10+ years and never installed anti virus, I will manually clean my system every 3-4 months and it keeps running smooth. Anti virus just slows things down too much.

I have been using a mac for 3 months now and my work flow and productivity have probably gone up 20-40%, the reality is if your a designer or web designer that takes your job seriously then a mac is highly recommended, macs being the backbone of the these 2 industries is no coincidence. A pc will not allow me test my website in a mac environment, a mac allows me to test it on most environments easily and quickly.

I do not look forward to the day when mac own enough of the market share to attract 17 year old snotty nose kids that like to mess up other people systems.

I used to frown when I saw "Once you go mac, you never go back" but now I carry a permanent marker in my pocket in case I find a door or wall where I can convey this important message ;)

I have a 3 monitor setup so idk how much more productivity I would get, I use hotkeys for everything.

When I'm developing php/mysql stuff I always do it on a separate sandbox anyways so I don't have to recreate entire database structure all over again.

Even when I'm just designing sites I code them in notepad++ and get the base layout from photoshop via slices.

What kind of problems do you have testing websites out?

You can run any kind of client side scripting like javascript/dhtml locally on your machine.. likewise with anything thats just statically coded.

I have just yet to come across any unique benefit a mac has over any other kind of computer whether its linux or windows, its nothing but disadvantages and workarounds or different approaches to the same stuff.

I play computer games sometimes so I would never buy a mac, but there are tons of other reasons I won't even get into outside of the fact that you CAN'T upgrade the hardware in a mac like a PC.

Yep I too run three monitors, my only issue with the imac is the extra mini dv out put is not so great :(

No problems testing sites out... but the browser across different operating systems will give different results. I have 11 browsers that I test a website on, across three operating systems, you would be surprised at the differences that occur.

If your doing php/mysql and playing games then a windows machine is all you need. If your developing sites that have to be identical across all systems then there's only one sensible option. Like I said earlier it's no coincidence that in any serious web design / design agency the systems used will be macs and its not to look good.

Macs and Pcs essentially have the same hardware, the difference is that mac build a system around the hardware which makes them more stable. Pcs are made to work with so many different manufactures which makes them cheaper but less stable.

I have used and loved pcs for 10 years... but after owning a mac for 3months I realize the systems are worlds apart in performance reliability and intuitiveness.

The reasons that Unix is a more secure platform are many, just google it.

Finally, I wouldn't be able to have an informed opinion on this if I hadn't used both systems... I would just be speculating.

Edit: Reality is I would swap my imac with a pc and be a happy chappy if I could write php and create databases... I just cant resist a good old online debate/berate! ;)