August 1, 2004 - not here anymore, y'all. Sorry 'bout that. No, not really.
August 1, 2004 - not here anymore, y'all. Sorry 'bout that. No, not really.
Member since:16.11.2001
Reviews:122
Members who trust:51
First and foremost, let the record reflect that I have been an avid computer user for at least a decade now. It all started when I was ten years old, and finally got a computer in my home. Well, that was all she wrote - I've been using them ever since, and consider myself to be a "computer geek" if there ever was one! Things such as hardware manuals and software documentations are bedtime reading for me. I de-bug faulty HTML code in my sleep. I often have nightmares in which mouse cords strangle me and infrared keyboards shoot laser beams at my eyes. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit of a nut, but the point is that, by ALL means, I SHOULD know what I'm doing.
Well, here's the problem with that. I forgot to ensure that an antivirus system was set up on Mom's new computer - this happy little system that I'm using as I type this. She got it less than a month ago, is still making payments on it, and is quite in love with it - it's pretty fast, very reliable, and is loaded with Windows 2000 Professional (her favorite operating system to date, though she's bugging me about an upgrade to XP right after the holidays are over).
Then I downloaded MP3 files for a few days. And caught a nasty bugger of a virus. Without even knowing it - that is, until the entire system crashed. I suspected that something was wrong when the executable files on my computer were slowly breaking down
- one at a time...double-click and "Not a valid win32 app..." DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! There went my MP3 player! There goes the CD-R software! Oh CRAP, now Windows won't boot!
After several minutes of cursing - every obscenity this Irishwoman can possibly think of - I called Mom's computer tech and asked him what to do. Well, for thirty-five dollars (very cheap by today's PC fix-it standards) he re-formatted the hard drive, re-loaded Windows, installed an antivirus, and told me to never, EVER make that mistake again.
I had several antivirus programs on CD-ROM before all of this, of course. The problem is that I DID NOT THINK ABOUT USING THEM! The LAST system in this house ran virus scans in the background: You could only tell anything was going on if it just so happened that a virus was detected - otherwise you wouldn't see, hear, or know anything about it. So, out of sight, out of mind, right? Whatever the case, I made a very serious mistake, and it cost me thirty-five dollars and two days without a computer. That, and my brothers are STILL laughing at me. "YOU caught a virus? YOU!? The QUEEEN of Computers?! AHAHAHA!" (Really, charming young men I've got in this house.)
Even so, I was very lucky. I caught PE_WEIRD, which slowly attacks executable files and shuts down Windows operating systems. There are worse strains of viruses out there: Some will attack your hard drive, delete everytyhing they can attach themselves to, forward themselves to other users via your e-mail account, et cetera. It can be quite nasty - and contagious!
So, with all of that said and done, my PC geek installed Norton Antivirus on the system and told me to be VERY, VERY sure that the LiveUpdate is enabled so that I'll have the most comprehensive virus protection on the market.
Now that I've gone and told you how important it is to remember to use virus software, let me tell you exactly why I trust Symantec's program so much. (But, because I did not install it, I cannot tell you if I personally would have had an easy time getting it into the system: However, because I watched him do it, I figured it out very quickly, as all you really do is put the CD-ROM into the drive and click your mouse a few times - simple, really.)
It costs a bit of money, yes, but it catches malicious codes and gives you several options. You can simply delete the file, provided that it is not something you absolutely HAVE to have (for example, an MP3 file that you just downloaded). You can attempt to "clean" the file - remove the malicious code that is embedded in the source and, hopefully, save the "good data." If that doesn't work, you can quarantine the file - isolate it on your hard drive so that it cannot come into contact with other files. This keeps it from spreading any furthern than it already has, and you will be prompted for further action.
Norton has a very thorough and comprehensive virus library - every type of virus and just about all the various specific viruses are noted in the software so that the program can detect just about anything that might try to invade your system. It has a LiveUpdate feature that you can use to either manually or automatically update the library - I recommend at least once a week, as brand-new viruses are released onto the Internet every time we blink.
Remember, you have to configure Norton's settings to meet your specific needs. If you are an Internet user who downloads files, you may wish to configure Norton so that it will automatically scan ALL downloads before letting you open them. (You see, simply downloading a virus won't hurt you - OPENING THE FILE or EXECUTING it WILL.)
You can configure Norton to work hand-in-hand with your Web browser so that downloads are scanned and plug-ins are scrutinized before you make use of them. You can tell this program to perform automatic scans of every drive and directory (including the boot sector) on your computer at certain times. Personally, I have things set up so that this program will scan EVERYTHING at about two in the morning, when everybody is fast asleep and the computer is free to carry out its mission. In fact, you can even tell Norton to automatically connect itself to the Internet, go to the Symantec site, and download/install the LiveUpdate - the newer, bigger virus library, of course.
I really cannot say much about the cost of this software because my tech added it free of charge - I think he felt sorry for me! But, retail price is certainly not a rip-off: I've seen it advertised for as little as twenty dollars during holidays, which to me is a lot cheaper than sitting around trying to either fight the virus without it (yeah, right!) or carry your system in to your computer geek to have the problem taken care of.
Norton Antivirus is the best software that I've ever used to track down, prevent, and kill malicious codes. It has enough user options to make it fully customizable to everybody's individual needs, and is fairly small - it doesn't take up half of your hard drive. It runs quietly in the background, the only clue that it's even up and running being a small icon in the Windows tasktray. However, as with any other product, it is NOT effective UNLESS YOU USE IT! Be sure that it is enabled the entire time that you are online, and don't forget to scan your entire system periodically to ensure that everything is in order. By doing this, along with updating the library frequently, you are virtually guaranteed a clean, virus-free system that will give you many years of enjoyment.
However, there IS one disadvantage to this program. When I tried to run a dual-antivirus regiment (two different antivirus programs so that one could handle full-drive scans while the other was utilized for downloads and other heavy usage), the other software wouldn't install itself because Norton was already on the hard drive. So, either the competition knows good and well that Norton is ALL that any computer user needs, or something is very fishy. Either way, I'm now confident (after reading a LOT of information about this product from the Symantec Web site and talking to other users) that this software is all that I really need to protect my computer from viruses.
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I agree... This is some damn useful and vital software really.
TallTone 22.11.2001 12:26
Great op. I don't think any other virus program is really necessary. I have Norton at home and it seems much less intefering than VirusScan (the CA one). Paid £50 for it but that was bundled with Norton Utilities. I think you can get it for £30 here with no trouble - includes a year's LiveUpdate. TT.
pauljm 22.11.2001 11:46
The two key factors for virus protection - USE IT and KEEP IT UP TO DATE. Paul.
Advantages: Extremely reassuring, very thorough, easy to use, intuitive interface, comprehensive protection, long-term updates are cheap. Disadvantages: Perhaps occupies a little more system resource than necessary.
Advantages: Detects viruses prior to them infecting your computer, Live updates so you always have the latest protection Disadvantages: None expect the initial cost
Advantages: Quaite easy to use, has a database of all the viruses so you can seee what easch one does to the system Disadvantages: Ddint even remove the viruses from my system
Nov 22nd, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
