Alienware mx14 advice needed!

-Not sure if this in the right section-

Hello, im new here and just purchased an alienware last night and im trying to sort everything out before it gets delivered.

My question is, What type of anti virus/spyware software etc do you guys use?

Is the mcafee 2012 virus protection in the customisation menus when you sort out what you want on your pc any good?

Because these laptops are not the cheapest i would like decent protection against viruses etc..So can you guys tell me if the mcafee is worth using or should i use another brand, and if so what.

Any info is very much appreciated

 

a virus cant really "damage" your computer. only your data on your harddrive, which is fixable by re-installing the OS or recovering a back up.

after you get your OS the way you like it (and before you start opening emails & browsing web sites) use some back up software. the one that windows comes with is actually pretty useful IMO.

control panel > Back up & restore > *click* "Create a system image" (top left corner). you will need a external harddrive for this (which you should already own IMO)

you can run what ever AV software you want, but Win7 comes with "Defender". a lot of ppl i know use it cuz its free and works OK without hogging your system down. an other common free one is AVG. to be honest i dont use any cuz i have backed up images and i use safe practices surfing the web etc.

hope that helps?

 

I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free and less overhead than the McAfee 2012.

 

McAfee was the only preinstalled item on my M14x that I removed. I use Kaspersky Internet Security instead.

But as some guy said, a virus doesn't really damage your computer and usually only does ridiculous damage to your software, but there are viruses that can actually exploit vulnerabilities in such a way as to overload your battery or force the CPU to run 100% and practically fry. There was a Macbook exploit discovered that could cause the battery to explode.
JUST SAYING. Don't worry too much. This sort of thing is very, very rare.

 

I second this. MSE is great if you want really lightweight, free and out-of-sight protection. Just make sure you're not a complete retard with what you download and MSE should suffice

Also McAfee has a few reported issues with Alienware drivers (such as those for the Killer Wireless card). I would get rid of it ASAP

 

I recommend Kaspersky as well. Good protection but most importantly, doesn't slow down your system like Mcaffee or Norton. It also goes on sale quite often for $20 or less.

 

Best one is Nod 25 something like that but it's expensive. 2nd Best would be Kaspersky. Excellent protection and does not slow down your computer like Norton (my sister uses norton and it's unpleasant to use !!!!!!!!)

I have been using K. for years and never got a virus again. Highly recommend it. Don't save $ on internet security unless you like to reformat all the time.

 

I don't see any reason to spend any money on virus protection...MSE has done well for me and I'd consider myself high risk when it comes to the sites I visit and things I download.

 

I don't think it's at all necessary to spend money on virus protection. I've never paid for AV software (using MSE since it was released and nothing before that) and my computer has only been infected once and that was because i was silly enough to let my gf use it

I'm not exactly a safe internet user either - I've been constantly downloading torrents for the last 8 years or so - sometimes from very suspicious sites but im vigilant and not a moron (i.e. I never download a .exe file, I always read the comments etc.) and so have personally never downloaded a virus

Another point to consider is that usually the higher security u get the greater the impact on your system. Back when i had my m11x, my mate had the exact same computer but because he was all OMG VIRUSES R GOING 2 GET INTO MY FILEZ he ended up running the most OTT virus security and firewall which took a massive toll on the performance of his alienware; so much so that when my computer got infected, it still managed to outperform his

Take home point: Education is more important, useful and cost effective than AV software. I rest my case

 

I used avast once. It did a boot-scan at some point and killed an important Windows file. Fabulous.

I don't like using MSE because it tends to be overparanoid at times, and plus it has no warning system at all - it just deletes any offending file without asking in advance. It's too light on the control side of things.

 

When was the last time you tried MSE? I barely ever get it popping up with a threat when opening non-threatening programs (except keygens understandably) and it always gives me the option to remove, quarantine or allow it

 

Well, yeah...About two or three years ago.

But I assume it's improved by now, but nontheless I like to use Kaspersky more. Plus as a commercially-paid piece of software from a company that is focused on internet security, I would feel I can trust their technical support to be more helpful than Microsoft. Not that I've had to contact them for anything beyond needing a replacement license key.