Do I need a virus protection program on my laptop if I am tethering exclusively via my laptop? If so, what version of McAfee - I don't want to overpay. Thank you!
Yes, it is an internet connection so what ever you download to your laptop could be infected. I don't know enough about McAfee, depends what your using the connection for.
I don't use Norton or McAfee anymore. They use too many resources on your computer while its on. There are a couple free ones out there that are pretty good. I've been using PC Tools for the past 2 years and its been great. Go to download dot com and search and check user reviews. The best way is to see what others that have used it have to say about the program.
AVG makes a a free antivirus that works very well and is good with your system resources. I've used it on many machines for several years now and have been entirely satisfied...
Do I need a virus protection program on my laptop if I am tethering exclusively via my laptop? If so, what version of McAfee - I don't want to overpay. Thank you!
Should I take it that you are not presently using Anti Virus protection on your Laptop?
You're a very Brave man. Then again, Ignorance is bliss!
avast is free to home users and has done a good job so far.
I add a + to this one I have used both avg and avast on home machines the current home version's of mcaffee and norton are resource hogs..
The business versions of norton/mcaffee are a ton better but avast is award winning and I have seen it remove some pretty nasty virus'
I personally wouldn't pay for a home antivirus but thats just me. I had norton 360 one time and it made a machine act real slow uninstalled and the machine was speedy again. Avast or avg never caused this much with what I have seen.
The only change from using your normal wired or wireless router is that the BlackBerry does not have a hardware router incorporated so you must make sure that the firewall on the PC is active.
As to anti-virus programs, have a look at these reviews PC Antivirus Reviews | 2008 Antivirus Software. IMO, Norton is a case of the cure being worse than the disease. Likewise McaFee.
I have my own IT and PC repair company. I see infected PCs all day, every day. again, IMO anti spyware is more important today that anti-virus. Here are some reviews. Anti-Spyware Software Review 2008 - TopTenREVIEWS.
Today Spyware is a far worse threat than viruses so make sure that you are well protected from these threats.
My current product of choice is VIPRE from Malware Protection, Spyware Protection & Email Security from Sunbelt Software who are the makers od CounterSpy. VIPRE is a combined ant-virus and anti-spyware product combined that has a particularly low impact on the PC. It comes with a 15 day free trial and you can buy a home site license.
Do not use free ant-virus products such as AVG or BitDefender free Edition. No should you rely on free anti-spyware products such as AdAware or SpyBot. These product simply do not find and eliminate modern spyware.
THE ABSOLUTE WORST thing that can do to your PC is to run two anti-virus programs on the same PC. Why? Windows is bult in layers and the anti-virus tool sides in between two layers and takes the files off to its own external (to the layers) engine. If there are two of these, they compete and slow down the PC a lot and they sometimes upset each other so neither finds the viruses.
Finally you have to run the anti-virus and anti-spyware elimiation tools. I set mine to run at 1AM daily so all you ever have to do to scan your PC is to leave the machine running overnight. Simple.
Whether you agree with what I say here or not, I have given you my experiences of seeing about 3 PCs per week that are infected and I am empoyed to make good. The tools I use offer a certainty of virus and spyware removal long term. I am sure that there are other solutions but I have tried nearly every product on the market and VIPRE works for me. Your mileage may vary.
Whatever virus protection you want, I use ZoneAlarm on one of my laptops, nothing on my desktop. The trick is not to have too much Security, so just one program will do. AVG is a good free one, I've liked that one for years.
The best defense is remove your administrative rights when cruising the web. Viruses only have the same rights that you do. If you need to install something just hold shift key, right click and chose runas.
