Topic: Security Software - The Sensible Alternative

[chorleydave]

Is it just me, or is keeping security software up to date becoming a major faff.  For example:

My current anti-virus, the German AV-FREE, updates the whole program every day, up to a 15MB download, a nightmare on dial-up, which means I can only be bothered once a fortnight.

AdAware, once a weekly (at most) update can now send out three new signature files a day.  Who can be bothered with that?  Not me.

The same can be said for Spywareblaster, Spybot, and the rest.  It's a complete pain in the butt.  In fact, I have got so fed up with it that I am now thinking about using a spare computer to connect to the internet, loading just Windows and Opera and nothing else, and formatting it once a week to remove any nasties I might pick up.  It would be a darn sight quicker.

What is needed is a radical plan to end the activities of hackers, virus writers, spammers, and the other assorted sub-human low lifes who have nothing better to do than make our lives a misery.  I think a virus writer, after apprehension, should have their eye burned out with a poker and caustic soda poured into the hole.  This should be televised live, uncut, and globally, so as to deter the rest of the scumbags.

A totally fed up,

Chorleydave.

[Clive]

I hadn't realised that AdAware sent out so many updates these days.  I wonder how many hours are wasted by each and every one of us in trying to keep ahead of those scumbags?  I sometimes now get as many as 300 spam e-mails every day and at least 10% of them contain attachments which are presumably viruses.

[Simon]

OK, so it isn't free, it costs about £7 per year, but there is an option to upgrade Spyware Blaster to an Auto Update version, which checks for, and applies updates invisibly.  Saves a lot of faffing.  I update and run Ad Aware and Spybot about once every three weeks, and they rarely find anything, because Spyware Blaster catches any nasties first.

[Tony]

Its you Dave  

 

[chorleydave]

Well, I have done it and will stick with it until I go broadband towards the end of next month.

After sitting  almost a hour through a nine megabyte anti virus update on Monday, not to mention AdAware updates etc, I hit the update button this morning and there was another seven megabyte treat for me.  Out came the old PC, Windows 98SE was loaded, Opera was loaded, a modem was inserted, TOTAL FAFF JUST 37 MINUTES and I am now using that for the time being.  Every Sunday morning I will save my e-mails onto a CD RW, format, reload, and save myself at least three hours a week of excruciating boredom.  Of course, once I am in the fast lane I will revert to my main PC as nine megabyte downloads will take minutes, not hours, but no way was I going to continue like that.

[chorleydave]

Oh, I forgot to mention.  I don't send out many e-mails, but if I need to send one to anyone here don't worry - I still have my main PC set up with anti-virus definitions up to the 20th December, so I will plug my phone line into it and send them from that.