Need low demand Anti Virus software

  • Thread starter Thread starter JIP
  • Start date Start date
J

JIP

Hi

I need to install free anti-virus software on sister-in-law's very old
computer, running Win 98. So it needs something that is very easy on
resources. She has dial-up connection. Needs to sit in background ready to
scan whatever she does, and preferably auto updating, or easy updating for
idiots!

Would appreciate recommendations.

Cheers
 
Hi

I need to install free anti-virus software on sister-in-law's very old
computer, running Win 98. So it needs something that is very easy on
resources. She has dial-up connection. Needs to sit in background ready to
scan whatever she does, and preferably auto updating, or easy updating for
idiots!

Would appreciate recommendations.
Click to expand...

for very old pc I recommend either F-Prot or NOD32. Both are light on
resources and do a good job in general.

www.nod32.com
www.f-prot.com
 
JIP said:
I need to install free anti-virus software
running Win 98
Click to expand...

If you have access, or can bum a CD from someone, get your hands on
Norton Anti-Virus 2001 or 2002 (possibly also 2000). This is also
known as (or confused as) Symantec anti-virus. Look also for Norton
System Works 2001 or 2002.

If you get your hands on any of the above-mentioned CD's, then you can
install them and you will have modern, up-to-date anti-virus
protection on that PC (make sure to perform a virus def'n update after
you install it). If the computer in question has already had one of
the above-mentioned programs installed on it in the past, then you
need to delete the directories that contain that software before you
perform the installation.

I would install AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy on that
computer. I don't know if AdAware or Spybot can be configured for
automatic updates or not, but their effectiveness, and also that of
any AV software you install, will be dependent on how often their
automatic updates are allowed to happen, or how often the owner of the
computer is competent enough (or motivated enough) to perform a manual
update.

At the very least, either you (when you are in front of the computer)
or the owner of the computer should follow this link:

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

or this link:

windowsupdate.microsoft.com

and update the computer with all recomended patches and security
updates.

If you have any spare memory lying around, do the owner of the
computer a favor and bring the memory of the computer up to 128 or 256
mb of ram, and make sure that DMA is enabled on the hard drive. There
are a few basic things (like this) that you can do with an old
computer running Windows 98 to make it run faster.
 
Neither are free, which is what the OP wanted.
How about AntiVir or Avast!
Click to expand...

Agreed. But I have great difficulty in recommending the free ones.
F-Prot cost me 22e for a year. Thats excellent protection for a little
over 6cent a day.
 
Ian said:
for very old pc I recommend either F-Prot or NOD32. Both are light on
resources and do a good job in general.

www.nod32.com
www.f-prot.com
Click to expand...
=====================
Neighbor's Norton Anti Virus expired this week and they finally(had it
3 years) aren't going to renew it. Win 98, not a ton of memory and
dial-up so I'll probably have them go with F-Prot. I'll let them
try it for the 30 day? free trial first and make sure it doesn't call
problems.

FWIW the friggen Norton didn't do a successfull auto update for the
last two years. I would burn a CD for them with the latest sigs and
manually update it for them. NAV said the auto updates were
successful - little did they realize they were once 6 months behind in
the sigs before I discovered that the so called successfull updates
weren't successfull.
 
Duh_OZ said:
Neighbor's Norton Anti Virus expired this week and they finally
(had it 3 years) aren't going to renew it.
Click to expand...

Delete it completely from the hard drive and then re-install it.

They'll get another year's worth of updates.
 
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