Free Anti Virus Program!!

[davethefish1]

Avast, Me Hearties!
Fred, I am an independent tech/consultant in Nashville, Tennessee, and am also a newsletter subscriber. On many occasions, I encounter individuals who need antivirus protection.


It is obviously much more efficient to carry a free antivirus software package rather than pre-purchase Norton and resell it to clients. That is why I used to carry a copy of AVG and then register it on premises.


About 2 months ago, I discovered AVAST ( http://www.avast.com ). It has a major advantage...whereas AVG can be programmed manually to check for updates once a day, Avast checks constantly for updates if there is an Internet connection present. It also provides a much more user-friendly, un-DOS like user interface which is great for newbies. Thanks for your great newsletter! ---Alan Reeves

Thanks, Alan. Another factor: AVG is on the fence about whether future versions of their popular AV tool will be free or not. If they decide to withdraw the free version or limit its usefulness, a lot of people will be looking for a free alternative. At least for now, "Avast Home" is free for home/non-commercial use.

[Crockett]

Since it's looking like AVG is going to be going the route of $, I agree that another alternative for people who don't have an AntiVirus protection agent or who simply can't afford one, to try out Avast!
It has an e-mail scanner that will scan incoming and outgoing email messages. It also includes a special screen saver which is able to scan your system while your computer is not in use. Updates are made available for manual or scheduled download. You can download a90-day demo, and if you like to continue free usage beyond that time, all you have to do is register from the home page to obtain a free activation key by email.

Avast! (http://www.avast.com/index.html)

[Claude]

I had AVG on all three of my computers and removed it for AVAST. My opinion Avast is a much better product. Easy to use and does an excellent job. :D

[Seamistrose]

Thanks guys; you talked me into it. no more AVG for ME.

Cindy:)

[Misled]

I wasnt sure about Avast, until I spent 15 minutes with it in Kazaalite.

Maybe it was just the day I was having, but Avast found 4 incoming virus's in that 15 minutes. I have never once had AVG flag anything in Kazaalite.


Misled

[mottsie]

Hi, I would like to try it, but I have Norton ....How can I disable Norton ,to try this program,without having to add/remove... or can I? Will it even work with Norton on the same machine?
Thanks, Mottsie

[Crockett]

Originally posted by mottsie
Hi, I would like to try it, but I have Norton ....How can I disable Norton ,to try this program,without having to add/remove... or can I? Will it even work with Norton on the same machine?
Thanks, Mottsie

Why would you want to do that?...stick with Norton, as it will do a better job of protecting you. Paid versions of security software are always better than freebies. Updates are faster.

[mottsie]

Thanks.............It takes so long to do a full system scan with Norton, on my XP. In fact, alot of things are slower..... I think I have to call Microsoft about the sluggish behavior on my new computer, after I installed the service pack 1 for windows xp. I read somewhere that there was a fix..........So , tomorrow I call.lol
Thanks again....Mottsie

[sepiabutterfly]

Well I have the irrepressible PCillin or however you spell it, oh spawn of satan, so I shall definitely be changing. Thankyou!

[terryo32]

I have the same question as Mottsie..
Right now I have Norton 2002 and AVG with the Resident Shield disabled on the same machine with no conflicts..Will AVAST work with Norton?? I like having 2 antivirus because of past problems with the Klez..Makes me feel better anyway.

[Crockett]

Originally posted by terryo32
I have the same question as Mottsie..
Right now I have Norton 2002 and AVG with the Resident Shield disabled on the same machine with no conflicts..Will AVAST work with Norton?? I like having 2 antivirus because of past problems with the Klez..Makes me feel better anyway.

I don't know the answer to that one, but I think that logic is all for not Terry.
I'll bet the house that the paid version of NAV will dish out updated virus definitions faster than the free versions of Avast and AVG.

[terryo32]

Thanks Crockett..
My Norton subscription is paid until May 2004 and will probably keep AVG until it's not free any more..No use worrying until then..Just curious.

[Crockett]

You're welcome, Terry...just makesure you get the live updates as soon as they are available and practice safe email habits.

[billm65]

Well, folks, I don't know if it's me or my PC, but, I D/L AVAST and removed my McAfee to try it out. It messed up my Email and slowed up my PC so much that I finally had to uninstall it and do a restore back to a date with out Avast. After redoing a few more things to get back to where I was, I'm finally back to normal. I would be VERY careful before setting Avast up on your PC. I am a firm believer in using "Freebies". I use Spy-bot and Ad-Aware all the time. But, in this case I'll stick to my McAfee for now...

[Glider929]

Maybe it wasn't Avast that caused the problem. I had McAfee on my puter once & when I uninstalled it, I had all kinds of problems. Took me quite a while to get things "cleaned' up & under control. Seems that McAfee does not like to be uninstalled.:rolleyes:

[Dizzy313]

Hi Bill,

Glider is right, McSucky doesn't want to be uninstalled. I don't know which version of Windows you are using, or which version of McSucky, but here is a link that can help you Chunk McSuck (http://www.mcafeehelp.com/faq.asp?docid=262&CategoryId=60&chat=) if you want to.

Dizzy

[billm65]

Thanks Dizzy, it looks like a long read. I'm running XP, so I'll have to look it over carefully. :D :D

[Dizzy313]

You are very welcome, Bill. Since you are running XP, you might try this instead (these instructions are for McSucky Virus Scan 6):

Manually Removing McAfee VirusScan

IMPORTANT: Before beginning to remove McAfee VirusScan manually from your computer be sure to backup the Registry. This will safeguard your Windows installation. You can recover your Windows configuration by restoring the backup if something goes wrong.

The instructions in this document will guide you through deleting specific items from your computer. If you are instructed to delete an item that you cannot find, skip that step and continue with the next step. Some steps may not be applicable to your installation of VirusScan.

Backup the Registry
Click on the Start button.
Click on Run.
Type in REGEDIT then click the OK button. The Registry Editor will then appear.
Click on the File pull-down menu then click on Export Registry File.
The Export Registry File dialog box will then appear. The top of this dialog box contains an option entitled Save In. Make sure 'Desktop' is selected for the Save In option. If it is not, click the pull-down arrow and select 'Desktop' from the list.
In the File Name field type 'Backup' (without the quotation marks).
In the Export Range group box make sure 'All' is selected.
Click on the Save button.

NOTE: If you need to restore the Registry you can double-click on the 'backup' file you created and it will be restored. However, once you have finished these instructions and are certain everything is working properly it is important to delete the 'backup' file you created. Do this by right-clicking on the Backup file on the desktop then left-clicking on Delete from the pop-up menu that appears. This will ensure that the old registry is not accidentally restored once this process is complete.

Delete the Registry Keys

NOTE: The following steps may be more easily followed if you close and reopen the Registry Editor between each step. To close the Registry Editor click the X in the top right corner of the Registry Editor window. To reopen the Registry Editor follow steps 1 - 3 in the 'Backup the Registry' section above.

1. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-System-ControlSet001-Services and remove the McAfee related entries:
Double click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Double click on System.
Double click on ControlSet001.
Double click on Services.
Single click on AvSynMgr to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on McShield to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on NaiFiltr to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on NaiFsRec to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Double click on VxD.
Single click on VSHINIT so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

2. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-System-CurrentControlSet-Services and remove the McAfee related entries:
Click the minus (-) next to ControlSet001.
Double click on CurrentControlSet.
Double click on Services.
Single click on AvSynMgr to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on McShield to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on NaiFiltr to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Single click on NaiFsRec to highlight it then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
Double click on VxD.
Single click on VSHINIT so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

3. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-Software-McAfee and remove the VirusScan entry:
Scroll back up on the left side of the screen and click the minus next to SYSTEM.
Double click on Software.
If VirusScan is the only McAfee product on your machine, delete the McAfee entry and skip to step #4.
Double click on McAfee.
Single click on VirusScan so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

4. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-Software-Network Associates and remove ePolicy Orchestrator
Double click on Network Associates. (If VirusScan is the only McAfee product on your machine, delete this folder and skip to step #6)
Single click on ePolicy Orchestrator so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

5. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-Software-Network AssociatesTVD and remove VirusScan
Double click on TVD.
Single click on VirusScan so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

6. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-Software-Microsoft-Windows-CurrentVersion-Run and remove the related entries:
Single click on the Run folder so it is highlighted.
On the right side of the screen single click on AlogServEXE (or AlogServ if either exist) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
On the right side of the screen single click on AvconsoleEXE (if it exists) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
On the right side of the screen single click on McAfeeWebScanX (if it exists) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
On the right side of the screen single click on Vshwin32EXE (if it exists) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.
On the right side of the screen single click on McAfee.InstantUpdater.Monitor (if it exists) so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

7. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE-Software-Microsoft-Windows-CurrentVersion-Uninstall and remove {87AEFD84-BC0D-11D4-B885-00508B022A51}:
Double click on Uninstall.
Single click on {87AEFD84-BC0D-11D4-B885-00508B022A51} so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

8. If you computer is running on a network with a Microsoft Exchange Server do the following, otherwise skip this step:
Scroll back to top on the left side of the screen.
Double click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
Double click on Software.
Double click on Microsoft.
Double click on Exchange.
Double click on Client.
Single click on Extensions so it is highlighted.
On the right side of the screen single-click on Exchange Scan so it is highlighted then press the Delete key on the keyboard to remove this entry.

9. Search the registry and remove all occurrences of 48DFEA78D0CB4D118B580005B820A215:
On the left side of the screen, single click on My Computer (located at the very top) so it is highlighted.
Click on the Edit pull-down menu then click on Find. The Find dialog box will then appear.
IMPORTANT: This set of characters is case sensitive. Be sure to type capital letters.
Type the following into the Find What field: 48DFEA78D0CB4D118B580005B820A215 (NOTE: The 0's are the number zero)
Click the Find Next button.
The computer will then search the registry. When an occurrence of 48DFEA78D0CB4D118B580005B820A215 is found delete it, then press the F3 key on the keyboard to search again. Do this until you get a 'Finished Searching through the Registry' message.

NOTE: You may find as many as 120 occurrences of 48DFEA78D0CB4D118B580005B820A215 in the registry. They all need to be removed.

10. Close the Registry Editor by clicking the X in the top right corner.

Remove the McAfee VirusScan Shortcuts
Click on the Start button.
Click on All Programs.
Locate the McAfee folder and double click on it so it is highlighted. (If VirusScan is the only McAfee program installed, delete this folder)
Right click on McAfee VirusScan and choose delete.
Close the Start Menu

Delete the McAfee VirusScan Files
Double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.
Double click on the C: drive.
Double click on the Program Files folder.
Double click on the McAfee folder.
NOTE: If you do not have any other McAfee products installed, you may delete the entire McAfee folder.
Single click on the McAfee VirusScan folder.
Press the Delete key on the keyboard to delete this folder. Answer Yes to any prompts about deleting files or programs.
Close all open windows until you are back on the desktop.
Double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop.
Double click on the C: drive.
Double click on the Program Files folder.
Double click on the Common Files folder.
Single click on the Network Associates folder.
Press the Delete key on the keyboard to delete this folder. Answer Yes to any prompts about deleting files or programs.

Delete the Misc. McAfee Files
Click on the Start button.
Highlight Search then click on For Files or Folders. The Search dialog box will then appear.
In the Named field type in Avsmcpa.cpl then click the Find Now button.
The computer will then search for the file. When the file is found it will be displayed at the bottom of the dialog box.
Once the file is found right-click on the small icon to the left of the file's name. A pop-up menu will appear.
Left-click on Delete to delete the file. Answer Yes to any prompts about deleting the file.
Repeat steps 3 - 6 for the following files: Avsmcpa.cpl, Avsmcpa.cpl.manifest, Avsmcpa.dll, naifsrec.sys, VSHINIT.VXD.
Once all of these files have been deleted close the Find Files dialog box by clicking the X in the top right corner.

Reboot your computer. McAfee VirusScan 6 is now removed from your computer.

Printing that up might be a good idea. :D

Diz

[Crockett]

After reading that, I could tell that McCrappy doesn't like to leave. :D

[billm65]

Way too much for this old feable mind. I'll just stay with what I've got. Thanks any way guys...

[Crockett]

Please don't give in to McAfee...I would take the free versions of AVG and Avast over that product anyday.
It may look like alot of work, but it's all nibbles and no bites. :D

[Dizzy313]

And if anyone knows how to nibble and bite, it's Crockett.

Seriously, we can help you. McSucky earned it's name, I'd give AVAST a shot over it anyday.

Diz

[billm65]

OK guys, I printed out all those instructions and some day when I feel courageous and adventuresome. I'll sit myself down and give it a shot. I already have a REG. back up, just in case I screw something up.

[Misled]

terryo

If you need to run 2 antivirus programs to stay safe, then its safe to say that NIETHER of the programs you use are any good.

Running 2 antivirus programs makes about as much sense as driving 2 cars to work. If either one of those cars was in good enough shape to get you there safely, then you dont need 2.

Follow the logic?

Use the one you like the best, has the most frequent updates, and is user friendly should disaster strike. Lose the other one.
I would bet that haveing 2 of them is probably causing problems you may not be aware of YET.


Misled

[Dizzy313]

Actually, since TerryO is running AVG with the Resident Shield disabled, she isn't doing her computer any harm at all. She's got it configured the right way. There would be numerous problems if she was trying to let both be the resident scanner. There is no harm in having more than one AV installed, so long as you only have one doing the resident scan.

Disclaimer: I don't normally advise people to do this. If you don't have your AV's configured correctly they will fight to the death and take your computer with it.

Dizzy

[Crockett]

Originally posted by Dizzy313
Disclaimer: I don't normally advise people to do this. If you don't have your AV's configured correctly they will fight to the death and take your computer with it.
Dizzy

LOL :D

[terryo32]

I have used BOTH AVG and Norton for over 2 years and I know I would have seen a problem by now. I did this on the advice from two people I fully put my trust. These were taken from posts from Sept. 2002:

Originally posted by fernan82:
I think you can have as many AV's as you want and they shouldn't conflict unless you got more than one real time scanner running in your system at the same time.

Originally posted by Harley:
This is the point that everyone always seems to miss in forums when this topic comes up........

There's nothing wrong with running more than 1 AVP [I run 3],as long as you don't have more than 1 doing a resident scan!

[terryo32]

I also check on updates for both twice a week, scan my computer with Norton on Fridays, scan at Housecall and Panda often, and scan with Swatit..
Guess I'm just paranoid..

[Misled]

The issue here isnt trust. Both those people know exactly what they are talking about, and they arent wrong.

However, even if its not giving you problems, let me ask you.

Has one EVER found a virus the other one missed? If so, why?

People post here all the time about how they are limited with hard drive space, and ask how to clean things up. First advice, uninstall unnecessary programs.

There is nothing necessary about having 2 antivirus programs installed.

But, if Norton was half of what it claimed to be, you would be able to rest easier.

Oh well, enjoy.

Misled

[billm65]

Well Dizzy, and Crockett, and all the rest of you great people. I got rid of McAfee and loaded AVG. I'm keeping my back-up registry until I see how things work out. Seems that AVG is a rather simple program to set up. I noticed, while going through these threads, that a lot of members use AVG. Thanks again for all your past and future assistance...Bill

[Crockett]

Woohoo!!!! McACrap is all gone :D

[Mark]

Dang Dizzy,,,,,,,, Was that the "Short" version of removing McAfee?? I am glad I didn't look at the long version!! :D I am glad I have Nortons. How did we end up on nibbles and bites?? LOL!! Oh me, you got Crockett saying WooHoo!!! LOL:D Have a great night, Mark

[Dizzy313]

>> People post here all the time about how they are limited with hard drive space, and ask how to clean things up. First advice, uninstall unnecessary programs.

There is nothing necessary about having 2 antivirus programs installed. <<

Terry didn't mention having limited HD space and there is reason for having two AV's on one machine. It is part of a layerd defense and she knows what she is doing. Calling a security program an unnecessary program is asinine, I would never remove an AV in order to recover HD space.

>> Was that the "Short" version of removing McAfee?? <<

Yes it was....and that is spelled McSucky. Just ask Woody, she can spell.

>> How did we end up on nibbles and bites?? LOL!! Oh me, you got Crockett saying WooHoo!!! <<

I resisted posting something to Crockett's remark for TEN WHOLE MINUTES! A person can only be so strong!

>> I got rid of McAfee and loaded AVG. <<

I knew you could do it! :D If AVG goes to a paid version, you might look into AVAST. If you have the money, I highly recommend Norton. ;)

Dizzy

[Crockett]

Originally posted by Dizzy313
>> How did we end up on nibbles and bites?? LOL!! Oh me, you got Crockett saying WooHoo!!! <<
I resisted posting something to Crockett's remark for TEN WHOLE MINUTES! A person can only be so strong!

So you finally nibbled and took the bait...LOL :p