microsoft security essentials vs . ???
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
I see no reason to go with anything else if he's running Windows. If he wants Ubuntu, you'll have to replan.
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
I use MSE these days, and have for a couple of years. A lot less hassle than McAfee or Symantec, it works (picked up a few things for me) and my only complaint is that the Scheduled Scan never appears to happen so the "little house" icon goes Yellow instead of Green - but since it's in the hidden system, tray you never see that so you forget to run it manually. :doh:
If you get an email telling you that you can catch Swine Flu from tinned pork then just delete it. It's Spam.
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
I’ve been using MSE for a few years now and have only been hit once by a rogue banner ad. I think the bigger issue would be to educate him. Let him know what scareware or fake antivirus looks like and show him what the MSE dialog boxes look like. Of the computers I get from my Dad or others who are not so computer savvy are the ones who get hit by scareware. I’ve also spent many hours clearing out the “free” software or adware that promises free movies, music and freaking coupons.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
I have been using MSE for around a year and have installed it on relatives' computers too. No matter how many anti-virus/anti-malware apps someone installs they still need to take regular backups - as it's not a case of "if" but more of a case of "when" a drive fails or gets corrupted.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
Disclaimer - I'm one of their beta testers for MSE (Microsoft Connect). Up until VERY recently I'd have said "Yes - use MSE, it's light, simple and effective". But with the recent poor results of it and how little attention they actually spare on it on their beta forums, I'd say it's time to move away from it quickly. I'd suggest Avast - it's simple, efficient and effective. I love the new Comodo 6.0 - but it's definitely orientated/best suited to power users. Very effective but you need to know what you're doing - not suitable for everyone. Mike
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Disclaimer - I'm one of their beta testers for MSE (Microsoft Connect). Up until VERY recently I'd have said "Yes - use MSE, it's light, simple and effective". But with the recent poor results of it and how little attention they actually spare on it on their beta forums, I'd say it's time to move away from it quickly. I'd suggest Avast - it's simple, efficient and effective. I love the new Comodo 6.0 - but it's definitely orientated/best suited to power users. Very effective but you need to know what you're doing - not suitable for everyone. Mike
Mike Diack wrote:
But with the recent poor results of it
What kind of poor results ? do you have a link to the forums ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
MSE seems fairly good but I switched to using (free) AVG a long time ago and haven't had a single problem. In addition, it seems to have a fairly small footprint (including on performance). One feature I like is that you can switch it off for a few minutes. I use this when I am copying huge numbers of (already scanned and trusted) files from one disk to another locally (which somehow I seem to do a lot).
- Life in the fast lane is only fun if you live in a country with no speed limits. - Of all the things I have lost, it is my mind that I miss the most. - I vaguely remember having a good memory...
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Dad wants/needs to upgrade his setup, and he's been quotes from different brick'n'mortar vendors. All of them want to sell him an anti-virus (and other crap). Is MSE good as a gatekeeper for an elderly who might, from time to time, click on the wrong link or email ? Is Avast still free and good ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
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Mike Diack wrote:
But with the recent poor results of it
What kind of poor results ? do you have a link to the forums ? Thanks.
Nihil obstat
It's failed 2 or 3 big name tests recently.... http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/379756/microsoft-security-essentials-flunks-another-antivirus-test
