I'm running Windows 7 with AVG (free edition) as my OS and antivirus software...any recommendations for a reasonably effective free Malware / Spyware software application?
On W7 and XP: spybot search and destroy Malwarebytes Spyware Terminator Also use AVG running in the background on both OS. On Vista: Norman (NOT Norton) Avira All free. I've had interferences between a couple that don't play well together, and have corrected that by using them on different machines. Just now, I forget which is what. Norman is very effective, but is LONG winded; I run it only once in a long while, and only on the Vista machine.
+1 Malwarebytes +1 Spybot S&D I have Norton 360 running in the background...Malwarebytes also actively blocking.
Thankyou for your suggestions Thankyou for your suggestions....the blurbs and self serving merchandising propaganda online is quite bewildering....It's nice to get some info from people who have actually run the software on their systems and have practical experience with their malware / spyware applications's vices and virtues. Your collegial help is much appreciated : )
ESET has a nice scanner/removal tool free for use online. Picked up a nice Toughbook for $50 (Normally a 3K laptop) because it had a nasty virus. Took over 2 hours, but with the use of ESET scanner and some data from Symantec on actual files names, it cleaned up nicely. SO, now have a nice laptop. ESET is a great product that the vendor has out there for no charge.
Super Anti Spy-ware, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, IObit, Advanced System Care are all pay and have free versions also.
Malwarebytes and Combofix are the two main ones I use to ensure a system is clean. For a root kit checker, I use Kaspersky TDSS anti-rootkit tool.
I like Avira free, Malwarebytes, and Spybot. They all play well together and are not resource hogs. You get one add to buy Avira only when it is done updating. None of these have extra adds or trackers which seems to be an issue with alot of adware and spyware programs. I also keep Hijack This and Combofix installed just in case. I run a Hijack This scan periodically just to be sure everything is okay.
And now I notice that I'm not the only one using several AV setups. Is there not ONE that does it all? So far, I don't think so ---