nuboy needs advice on antivirus/malware

I just got a laptop, i am new to computers,anyway it has
Mbam,superantispyware,spyware blaster ,avast!,spybot
and adaware.Most was there on purchase , its 2nd hand
It had agv which i ditched for avast, and boot times seemed to improved
and I added mbam because i have had a couple of nastys that the others didnt do a thing to stop, mbam killed them stone cold.
I dont download music or movies,rarely use email (and only to several people),and just use the net for general surfing. nothing dodgy.no gaming.
My main use is as a music library.Im a musician.
surely I dont need 6 antivirus/malware programmes?,just to download the chords to a beatles or green day song?
Should i get rid of some of these programmes?
Which ones?
I would prefer to have 2 or 3 max
Please help a technofool in his ignorance!

 

This should be in the security forum - I shall ask for it to be moved.

To your question.

It is advised to only use one antvirussoftware actively.

See here for Comparisons - or a link to a comparison:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=364999

Personally - paid - I use Kaspersky.
But on the "free side" Avira scored high.

If you got that laptop off someone it is adviseable to do a clean instal, without the media it may be difficult though...

 

I also use Kaspersky Antivirus 2009. You can go to this link to view the details or even go on their online chat and ask about the program from a person of their team. It is regularly 59.99 but I got it for 29.99 on sale from Futureshop last week! Great deal and I love the program so far! Don't just take my word though, look at the reviews! Good luck!

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&MSCSProfile=3C79F0C7EA3162B2B9AD68C2316B6FA1FDDB875C6DC2F7FEA57CE15F152415C3A6B27050F35A28F4817F99290EC5C8121AA8DF86B74FC78782F07A30CDE8A5DAF024DAEC949585E146F0D80B55CF3F2CF2A33006A0B3886D21E0878E9F7EC4B9B6B621409FFAE7BD4297F1B4AA553C2478B06AC14C8133CC&sku_id=0665000FS10111722&catid=10678

 

I've never used more than one package at a time although I see a lot of people using more; I guess there's no harm.

If you want a free product, Avira is the best I think. I really liked it when I tried it out a little while ago and the new version (9) is greatly improved and handles spyware now too.

For paid options, the competition is much tighter. The February comparatives award Norton, Kaspersky and ESET so you can't go wrong with any of them. I personally use ESET Smart Security and it fits my needs well (I have an older machine and system resources are scant, which is why I like ESS since it's so light) but it's the most expensive out of the bunch too.

 

After much trial, error and research I have settled on Superantispyware and Avast freeware. Also I have a Comodo firewall.

 

With Avast you've got real-time anti-virus/spyware protection.
Spyware Blaster is a program that requires no resources, just install it once and you won't notice it.
The free versions of MBAM and SAS are excellent for weekly scans, they don't use any resources other then when doing a scan.
I'd uninstall AdAware and Spybot.
Just make sure the Windows firewall is active and you're good.
Cheers.

 

If all you need to do is websurfing and music library, why not use a tool called windows steadystate from microsoft. IOt's not an antivirus.. Youc an lock up your system drive. That way you will never get a virus (or at lesat virus will go away after a reboot). It's a much better than antivirus. There's no faulse alarm and it guarentees 100% protection ( literally) against viruses. It's also free if you're concerned about the price.

 

I hadn't heard of MSFT Steadystate before, it's interesting. I wonder how well it works. My father-in-law's computer is a prime candidate for it as he has a bunch of kids using it and downloading stuff all day long on it.

 

Steady state is the same thing as the famous "deep freeze" which most school uses. IT's a pretty cool program and I'm using on my mom's computer.

 

installed only one anti virus software in your computer.
so that it protects from the viruses.
you can installed the free avg software's.

 

I believe Avira did bettr in the recent comparison.

Anyway - can the OP give us an update on what he (I think its he) did?