Recent content by gangrel

Just because you or I have never heard of AhnLab really means nothing. Neither of us monitors the field that closely; these guys do. Avira did not get top ratings. That list is alphabetical. (Their security suite listing is by rating, tho.) Finally, they break down their ratings into a lot...

Relying on Defender is problematic, to say the least; it's always been porous as heck in any review I've seen over the last 15 years. I actually think Defender is WORSE than nothing, because it makes you think you have protection, when in fact, it's like a screen with holes.... For a...

I'll trust av-test.org and their ratings over...just about everyone. They, and av-comparatives...and one more, I think, that I can't recall...are also recommended here as the gold standard in AV and malware prevention software testing, IIRC. Been a while...

Definitely a waste of resources, and potentially they'll actually conflict with each other. ESET gets good usability reviews, but BitDefender's not much lower...and it's far better in terms of protection. ESET is a performance HOG, too.

They have a review of full security suites at av-test.org. ESET Internet Security is in there. Is there something particularly stronger with Smart Security? EDIT: no, actually. Smart Security got replaced with ESET Internet Security. Oh, and the ratings are much worse than for BitDefender.

Good ratings at av-test.org av-comparatives.org Independent testing groups that are serious about it.

Is there anything new in the Downloads folder? Extending the thought there, is there any new JS, COM, or EXE file that you don't recognize? Or a new extension in Firefox. Maybe a Firefox configuration setting that changed? I'm thinking here, that maybe you have a back door that's repeatedly...

Keebler elves.

Mine too. It was a 3 martini uninstall. And Norton doesn't rate all that high at the 2 big sites anyway. No reason to use it or recommend it.

Those extras can easily be worth it. Real-time protection covers malware in ad streams, for example, and these can be *anywhere*. On Norton: you bring bad BAD memories from earlier this summer. A prebuilt came with it; removing it was horrible. I don't recall the hassles now, but it was...

For the professional reviews: av-test.org av-comparatives.org I'm a heckuva lot less worried about CPU usage than I am in blocking threats...altho excessive false positives is a problem too. Also, this is a case where spending a bit can help.

Generally real simple. For Ubuntu, the process would be this: a) Download b) Burn to bootable USB...lots of tools for this Then, Ubuntu certainly lets you test-drive, by booting from that USB and running. I would presume Mint does as well. Play with it, if you like it, there should also...

Why take any risk? http://www.amazon.com/Antistatic-Bags-Resealable-4X6-Pack/dp/B000BSHGSU/ref=pd_sim_147_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AS403MM9P253SW17VWD&dpID=31dlRj8hDoL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_ Less than $8...throw in some Avery labels to say what you're stashing, and you're good to go.

What are you running now? And if you don't mind asking, why are you reinstalling?

Hm. I want to say thanks for the links, but that will have to wait to see if I can sleep tonight.....