Dumb questions I'm sure, but I'm an Apple guy. What anti-virus, spyware, etc software

[spincrazy]

to download from the web if my girlfriend insists on getting a new or continuing to use her PC? (I've almost gotten her to flop btw). Anyway. She just reformatted again (3rd time at least in less than a year) and has no anti-viral programs nor spyware stuff. What can we get/should we download?

thanks.

(MacBook is high on my list for an early bday present for her)

[LordOpie]

well, if you want her to convert, do nothing.

[spincrazy]

but in the meantime...

[Transcend]

AVG free is a good AV program, and well, free.

[SkaredShtles]

AVG has anti-virus as mentioned, as well as a spyware app. I also use AdAware (for spyware) and ZoneAlarm for a software firewall.

All free.

[binary visions]

Microsoft's Windows Defender seems to be pretty effective for spyware/adware and it's extremely unobtrusive.

AVG is a great, free A/V program and so is Avast - do a search, n00b ;)

If she's needing to format every four months, though, then she's got some really bad habits and anti-virus/adware software isn't the only thing that needs to change. The days of Windows being completely unstable and trouble prone were gone with Windows 98 and ME. 2000 and XP are plenty stable, and having to reformat that frequently is indicative of a problem with her habits, not the system or lack of A/V software.

[spincrazy]

thanks.

bv, i know what the problem is (she still uses IE) and since the last couple of reformats hasn't put back any of her antivirus, etc. she cannot even do MS updates as it will mess with her dlink card. mostly she needs a new computer. I think it's the macbook right now although she wishes it was lighter...
Not like she is surfing porn and opening unknown attachments.

[sanjuro]

Did you know there is version of Norton Internet Security for Macs? Then you can configure both your systems with the most popular security program available....

[spincrazy]

..............lol

[Silver]

Don't let her use IE. The first thing I do when I work on someone's computer (especially if it's a favor) is switch them to Firefox. If they don't want to, I point their IE icons to Firefox. That way I don't get a whiny phone call a week later from them with the same goddamn problem.

[stevew]

(she still uses IE)

Threaten to break her fingers....you might miss the hand jobs but...

[Silver]

Threaten to break her fingers....you might miss the hand jobs but...

That would be worth it. Handjobs are inherently lame, you can handle those yourself.

[H8R]

she cannot even do MS updates as it will mess with her dlink card. mostly she needs a new computer..

Go to the Dlink site and download and install the correct driver and MS Update shouldn't touch it after that.

[ALEXIS_DH]

today its the first day am using ubuntu.
they are testing ubuntu at a few pcs at work... so far i love it!!!!!!
ill give it a week, and i might seriously consider running ubuntu at home.

[binary visions]

today its the first day am using ubuntu.
they are testing ubuntu at a few pcs at work... so far i love it!!!!!!
ill give it a week, and i might seriously consider running ubuntu at home.

Ubuntu is fine. It's about the best linux distro I've used as far as user-friendliness goes, but it still has the major inherent linux stumbling block, the massive and non-intuitive configurations needed for every single little niggling thing that's not supported out-of-the-box.

[ALEXIS_DH]

Ubuntu is fine. It's about the best linux distro I've used as far as user-friendliness goes, but it still has the major inherent linux stumbling block, the massive and non-intuitive configurations needed for every single little niggling thing that's not supported out-of-the-box.

are you talking about major configurations like ?
or even for small things like audio/video cards codecs? hard drive/usb swaps and everyday things?
my spanish keyboard gave me some problems with the ñ, ´ and a few characters.. didnt try to fix it, as it was minor, buts thats the only nuissance i´ve come across so far.

i dont play many games anymore... and i appreciate a lot the unbloatedness and speed of ubuntu. i might be willing to sacrifice qualities associated with gaming for better web navigation and speed.

[binary visions]

I didn't find Ubuntu to be that much faster than a decent Windows installation. Slower in some respects. Slower boot time, for instance, and a little slower processing some tasks - and since my Windows installs never crash, there was no compelling reason for me to switch.

It can be both major and minor configurations. If your sound card or video card isn't natively supported, for instance, it can be a major hassle to get it to work. Little tweaks are a pain, too, like getting all of your mouse buttons or the scroll wheel to function. I have a Logitech MX510, an enormously popular mouse, and I never could get all the buttons to work right even after much toying and posting in forums.

Not that it's not doable, just that in many types system configurations, not everything works and that which doesn't isn't typically easy to get working quickly.