Antivirus and firewall Program ?

In your opinions which do you think is the best free downloadable antivirus and firewall program.

(recently re-formatted other pc)

was thinking of zone alarm and avast or AVG

what do you think

 

Avast for AV
I have come to dislike ZA very much. Not becuase it's not a good program but rather because it's an absolute monster to uninstall.
So, I'd say go with Kerio or Outpost.

 

Hi DangerMouse:

Order these free for 1 year anti-virus and firewall programs from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp
They are from Computer Associates (InoculateIt)

In the meantime I'd say get AntiVir http://www.free-av.com/
for anti-virus.
This program just got added to the MaximumPC mag disc. (Thats a good thing)
Keep using it along with the one provided by MS or any other you choose so long as only one of them is left running in background.

As for the firewall, I used Zone Alarm ZoneAlarm http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?lid=pdb_za1 and had no problems using or uninstalling it before installing the one from the MS CD.
There is a free free firewall with XP but is switched off by default.
My Computer >r-click My Network Places >Properties >r-click Local Area Connection >Properties >Advanced >Protect my ... you could use that until the disc arrives. Not a very good one but will do. I switched this off before installing the one from the CD.
Two installed software firewalls are not a good idea.

Happy trails,

 

for the record.. and to clarify. the uninstall of ZA, that is to say, the action of uninstalling and what transpires during the uninstall process works fine.. It's what stays behind aftewards that's the problem. I uninstall ZA from my machine a loooooong time ago. Last week, I went to install FireFox and it wouldn't connect for anything! Figured ok, maybe I'll try SP2 while I'm at it. Made a complete back up of my system, installed SP2.. No firefox, No IE functionality. I couldn't get to the web at all.

Uninstalled SP2. IE worked again, but no FireFox. Did a little research.. reinstalled ZA and set FF to allow and bam.. worked like a charm.. For kicks, I installed SP2 again and still no problem. ZA, for whatever reason, was still "doing something" to my machine and I am not happy about having to have this in there. I don't have the time to figure out what the problem is either. I just know that after reading up on it and hearing problems posted here at Major Geeks about the uninstallation of ZA that I will NEVER recommend Zone Alarm to anyone, ever...

Additionally, the E-Trust software is GREAT software. More specifically, the Anti-virus software. The Firewall that's bundled with it, is actually Zone Alarm. Trust me, had I known this prior to me upgrading my version of EZ, I wouldn't have installed the firewall. Low and behold when I started the FW up, I just about crapped my shorts. So, if you use the MS free offer for EZ, then don't install firewall during the setup.

 

Check Major Geeks first.
We have several free firewalls and anti-virus programs here at MG. links follow.
This will take you to the Firewall page http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads34.html
This will take you to the anti-virus page http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html
Read the spyware FAQ here http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=25834
Most of what you need, you will find here.

 

Kodo, FWIW. I bow to your experience, but I have gone from early ZA to 4.5 to 5.0 to latest version of v5. Uninstalling in between, with no problems. Funny beasts, though these bloody PC's. My requirements of a PC are nowhere near as complicated as power users require of their PC's. I'm happy with ZA based on my experience. You are not, based on your experience. Guess that sums it up. Bazza

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Zone Labs (Free or Pro, your choice) and AVG Anti Virus (Again, your choice Pro or free). Also, Spybot S&D and Adware 6.181 work well in conjunction. Winpatrol (Free or Pro) A.K.A. "Scotty" also has several security features.