Asked By
johnibraham
30 points
N/A
Posted on - 07/20/2011
I find in Task Manager that there are over fifty programs are running, and I do not know that the system is slowed down by which program.
Should AdAware or SpyBot be run periodically? And I am confused that which one is better because I find many negative comments about them.
But if these programs are worth money,
I will try.
Any help?
Thanks in advance.
Answered By
yamarove
220 points
N/A
#85769
Should I Buy Anti-Spyware or Antivirus Software
Hi!
There is quite a difference between Anti Spyware and Antivirus software. Antivirus software is responsible for overall system security of the client machine including cleaning Viruses, Trojans and other malware, cleaning anti spyware, firewalls, policies, phishing protection, registry Protection, identity protection, parental controls, anti spam, email protection, system backups, registry backups etc.
Anti Spyware software are responsible for tracking low risk files such as cookies, pop ups, tracking cookies, spies etc. So you can have both software running in a single machine.
However, it is not recommended to run 2 Antivirus Software. Because they will have clashes and conflicts and will lead you in to a mess. Especially ones with Firewalls. You must have an Antivirus suite running. Most of the AV suites are capable of carrying both the functions.
If you would like to use free suites I recommend Avast, Avira, MS Security Essentials, Windows Defender (built in).
You must configure Avast and Avira to get the best out of them. I do not recommend AVG or McAfee as I have a good experience. Panda Cloud is handy as well.
If you would go for a commercial suite I recommend: GData, Bitdefender, Vipre, Kaspersky, Eset, FSecure, CA, Dr. Web (cures even extreme nastiest such as viroot), Webroot and Trend Micro
Regards,
Yamarove.
Should I Buy Anti-Spyware or Antivirus Software
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Antivirus guards against malicious PC threats.
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Antispyware prevents information and identity theft.
There are some computer techno guys who run two or three Antivirus programs, and almost a dozen anti spyware tools. Personally, I think that's too much. In fact, Antivirus programs can end up fighting with each other, and cause system lockups. And running multiple anti-spyware tools at once will slow down your system processing speed too.
There are at least a dozen highly recommended  Antivirus and Antispyware tools, commercial and free both. So I understand your confusion as to which ones are best for you. It's likely to assume that the paid for a variety is of better and reliable quality, but that's not always the case. It depends how much degree of security for your data you can afford and pay a price for that.
Here's my personal arsenal against viruses, spyware and annoying Popups:
Microsoft's FREE Windows AntiSpyware does a great job of scanning your system for spyware, and locks down your PC with real-time prevention measures to make sure you don't get zapped by spyware again.Â
The FREE Google Toolbar is great at blocking annoying Popups. It also adds a handy Google search box to your browser's toolbar, and can automatically fill out web forms. Â
Try Spybot, it Searches whole computer or just a certain file for malicious software commonly missed by anti-virus programs
If you are planning to choose Antispyware Antivirus software, do ensure that you choose only the one that is proven and has genuine ratings. Try not to pay attention to ratings from unknown review websites as these are often designed to mislead costumers into purchasing inferior products.
