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antivirus protection for vista

zephyrgal pacific nw

9 years ago

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials exclusively for my Vista 32 bit PC and now Microsoft will no longer support MSE. What is the best free or otherwise program to protect my PC? Thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

kudzu9

9 years ago

The Avast Free version does not include a firewall, so I don't think it is necessary to turn off the Windows firewall for the install. I use my free Avast and the Windows firewall together with no problem. I don't recall even having to turn off MSE first to run a trouble-free Avast install, but it seems advisable given what you ran into. And my MSE is definitely turned off in the Windows Security Center. Some people running Avast recommend uninstalling MSE, but I have never bothered to do it. I hope the second time is a charm.

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Comments (8)

azinoh
9 years ago
I have free Avast running on both my computers...Vista/Win 10. The interface takes some getting used to but so far as I know the protection has been adequate.
zephyrgal pacific nw thanked azinoh
kudzu9
9 years ago
I've been using free Avast for 5 years and never once gotten an infection...and I spend a lot of time online at lots of different sites. Avast will periodically throw up an ad every once in a while offering you additional bells and whistles, at a modest price, but the free version has proved adequate for me. The install is quick and easy and I haven't found the interface an issue or that I even need to open it up very much. Here's a link to the software: Avast When the page comes up, just choose "Avast Free Antivirus" from the list, and the program will download to your computer. After that, installation just takes a couple of minutes,
zephyrgal pacific nw thanked kudzu9
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aputernut
9 years ago
Avast Free is a good one
zephyrgal pacific nw
Original Author
9 years ago
I downloaded and installed Avast free last night and went though all the install and diagnostics during installation and when booting up my PC this morning it took forever and all I got was a blank, black screen. After many reboots and not getting further than the blank screen I finally was able to to do a system restore and get things back to normal. Not sure if Avast messed things up or what but since the system restore I don't see Avast in program files or if I'll even attempt to install again. I really don't know the cause or why of the problem but am reluctant to try again. Any thoughts or other recommendations for a good antivirus program?
azinoh
9 years ago
Did you disable MSE before installing Avast? If the answer is no, I submit that Avast deserves another try. Other products you could try include free Avira and free AVG. A free ESET online scan wouldn't hurt either.
zephyrgal pacific nw thanked azinoh
kudzu9
9 years ago
zephyrgal-

Sorry to hear about that. That's a very unusual occurrence. I'm not saying that Avast couldn't have caused your problem, but I have installed it on all of my computers and those of several friends and never had any problem. I agree with azinoh that this issue could have been due to MSE running at the same time. However, I also have to ask: have you ever had any other antivirus installed on this computer, like Norton/Symantec or McAfee? In my experience, both of those antivirus products tend to leave things behind when they are uninstalled and require the use of special uninstallers in order to get them completely removed. I just got a new laptop that came with a free trial of McAfee installed on it. The first thing I did was uninstall it via the Windows Control Panel, and then I went to the McAfee web site and downloaded their Product Removal Tool, and ran that. Once I was sure it was gone, I installed Avast.
zephyrgal pacific nw
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks azinoh and kudzu9 for the responses. No, I did not disable MSE before the Avast download which may have been the culprit. In the past I have used Norton/Symantec but not on this PC. Always used the simple MSE. Perhaps, I would also have to turn of my Windows firewall?

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