Best AV software for a noob? Win7 64-bit.

[VirtualLarry]

Anyone have any suggestions?

I was thinking of MSSE, but the only problem is, installing that sets your auto-update to automatic, and this person is thinking of going with dial-up (Ugh!). Therefore, I want to keep auto-update set as "never", which is basically the manual setting.

 

[go_gordon]

That is a bit of a problem. If you have anti-virus, but never update it, I don't think you really are getting any benefits from it. But if you really want to go down that road, you can disable MSE updates by completely disabling the Windows Update Service. I highly recommend against doing this because a computer without the latest Windows updates and out-of-date AV is going to be compromised very quickly if it is used to surf the internet.

 

[lxskllr]

It switches the update, even after you set it back? If so, that would be enough to disqualify MSE for me. My mother gets along with Avira fine, and she can barely turn the computer on :^D

 

[VirtualLarry]

It switches the update, even after you set it back? If so, that would be enough to disqualify MSE for me. My mother gets along with Avira fine, and she can barely turn the computer on :^D

Every time I've ever installed MSSE, when I have set my Windows auto-update to "never", it changes it to "automatic", so that it can download virus definitions.

Part of the problem is, it commingles windows auto-updates, with virus definition auto-updates.

I have no issues with the virus definitions happening automatically, but I do have issues with Windows doing that.

(I guess my thinking is, that on dialup, if this person was browsing the internet, they would get rudely interrupted by the auto-update service taking all of the bandwidth, for a long time (on dialup it would).)

 

[w0nker]

Bad idea to not patch your system, there are tools out there that can exploit an unpatched system easily. If you stay on top of the patches it won't be that painful.

Also I have had pretty good experience with AVG free edition.

 

[NetGuySC]

I'd recommend, setting up your system as you like it, update the antivirus and then set up a limited user acount and a software restriction policy.

 

[xgsound]

When I install MSE it re-enables auto update. Then I disable auto update (on xp or Win7) and the security alert. It does update MSE and auto update remains off. They are not commingled. Once I had to repeat this after MSE updated for the first time. MSE will show an alert if no update or no scan for a week.

Auto update with dialup becomes unworkable for many reasons. Updates can still be accomplished from other sources, on a schedule, or both.

Jim

 

[Lemon law]

As someone who had to put up with dial up for too many years, I can only state automatic updates are not necessarily deal killers. As long as your surfing habits don't rely on constantly downloading large files, most people will not even notice automatic updating. Even on dial up. And there is a reason for it, your computer CPU will time share
when you are downloading many files at once, so it not like your computer will be paralyzed while downloading security updates. And right now, as I read this thread and compose an answer, my computer is basically doing nothing which gives even dial up a chance to catch up.

As for me, the AV I now recommend is the avast free one. I used to recommend Avira until its auto updates became rather flaky.

But still, I feel only fools rely on just an AV for a security system, which gives you even more security programs to keep updated.

The last thing to say, is its super important to find the right dial up modem. Even new expensive dial up modems can be very slow, and the best preforming dial up modems I have ever found tend to be super cheap no longer made agere win modems with the scorpio chip sets. With those I could get 40-45 kbits a second down, while most other modems delivered 10-15 kbits a second down.

The last last thing to say as an edit in, even if you your only internet option where you live is dial up, there are still some survival techniques you can use. Because public libraries often have broadband options, so you or a coworker can download needed large downloads, burn them to a cd, or put them on a usb pen drive, and freely share them. And if you have a lap top, one can often find WIFI hotspots and use that to download large files in a tiny fraction of the time it would take on dial up. When it could often take an hour on dial up to down load a 20mb file.