So I've gotta ask...

As a newbie, with all this time I've been paying for things like Norton Internet Security, Ad-Aware with Ad-Watch, etc., I still got nailed with malware that took me two days to fix and that was only after I contacted MajorGeeks. I'm wondering if I should dump all of the subscription stuff and use the freeware MG recommends. Could use some input on what works out there. And by the way, if you think you have a malware problem, follow the instructions given here to the letter. It worked for me. Thanks!

Captain Jazz

 

It also depends on your surfing and e-mail habits. Ya know, when there's a popup saying you need their player to have access(I'm not talking about WinAmp or QuickTime here) or opening e-mails from somebody that you don't know, especially attachments. Just say NO by X'ng it out. I had Nortons 2002 way back when and wasn't impressed at all and caught a few things. I can't comment on current Norton products.

Ever since then, I've always used the free stuff and have only had a couple of mild infections which were easily gotten rid of by a non-expert like me. Follow the guide posted by TimW and choose your armour, you can't go wrong. Don't forget, nothing is %100 effective and a lot of it falls on what you do and even then it might not be enough. It's always a good thing to backup one's important stuff, just in case. Keep safe.

 

The freebies have always worked for me - together with being careful about what sites I visit, what software I download and what email attachments I open.
My teenage son is not always so careful (downloads lots of games), but anything he has picked up has been dealt with by scanning with freebies and following advice from MajorGeeks.