Which Antivirus-Registry Cleaner Program ?

gdb

Is a good one for a person who knows very little about such things ? I have free Norton from Comcast but, I don't think it's effective at getting all the gremlins out. I foolishly trusted a "certified Microsoft partner", PC Cleaner Pro. Big effin' mistake ! :eek: I'm not sure that I'll ever get all of their crap uninstalled and out of my PCs ! Another poster on another forum highly touts Kapersky as a great alternative to Norton, at this point I am understandably, a little apprehensive about all of em. I just wondered if there is a consensus among the members here about a clear "winner"??? (preferably user friendly for non-techies):cheesygrin:

seeclear

I use microsoft security essentials for antivirus and Wise registry cleaner. Both FREE!, so you can't beat the price.


www.windows.microsoft.com/MSE

www.wisecleaner.com/wiseregistrycleanerfree.html

Serendipity

I would recommend the following:

Kaspersky

ESET NOD32

Bitdefender

Amherst

The anti-virus products mentioned are all just fine.
Registry cleaners are another story, have yet to use one that left the operating system in a permanent and useable condition. Have had experience with most "registry cleaners" out there. The registry of a windows system is close to impossible to fix.

Syndil

MSE is hard to beat. It's a full-featured internet security suite, and it's 100% free. They're not trying to sell you anything when you use it either. I don't use it for my clients (no centralized management/reporting) but for a home user I can't see any reason to recommend something else that would cost money.

Registry cleaners are unnecessary.

EndersShadow

I use Avast for my Anti Virus and CC Cleaner to clean up the registry. Haven't had an issue yet with either :biggrin:

rebuy

Advanced System Care offers 2 registry fix programs. One is free and the other is not. The free one works pretty good as it offers a quick scan and repair or a deep scan and fix. I have been using it for a few years and it works good for a free program. It's made by IObit. It's free and worth a try.

goofyGAguy

EndersShadow wrote: »

I use Avast for my Anti Virus and CC Cleaner to clean up the registry. Haven't had an issue yet with either :biggrin:

This.

gdb

Anybody have any thoughts on Revo Group as a source for a forced uninstall of PC Cleaner Pro (scam-virus-Microsoft Partner) ?

Syndil

I have not tried the Revo software but from their website it does not appear to be for removing malware, but rather normal programs that don't uninstall properly on their own.

I would instead try Hitman Pro. If you have not used it before it comes with a 30-day free trial. It is the most reliable anti-malware tool I have come across so far.

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/

gdb

I'm not sure just what category PC Cleaner Pro would fall into, I did pay for and agree to load their Bu_l_hit program into my computers, now, I find numerous full pages of links on google detailing how hard it can be to eradicate it from a PC ! :sad:

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&sclient=psy-ab&q=pc+cleaner+pro+removal&oq=pc+cleaner+pro&gs_l=hp.1.3.0l4.0.0.1.1075.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1c.myW9NaESSjY&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=5413da6e2a50865c&biw=1239&bih=600

gdb

Many thanks to everyone that has offered helpful advice !!

corrinthians

+1 for MS Security Essentials. I usually install it on machines of family members who have me fix their computers (me working in IT = free tech support in their minds). It's pretty simple to install and use and doesn't consume too many system resources.

gudnoyez

another +1 for microsoft security essentials, a friend that works on computers recomended it. Like stated in above post it does not
use up too many system resources, and its free!!!

gdb

Does MS S. Essentials play well with Norton or, does Norton need to be uninstalled ? I really am lost where it comes to this stuff !

gudnoyez

You will want to get rid of Norton, Good luck uninstalling it completley. Norton is a stubborn one to totaly get off of your computer, so is Mcaffe

pdxfj

I'll toss my vote in for Microsoft Security Essentials. I'm an I.T. geek as well and the company I work for is moving away from our Symantec product for Microsoft Forefront (Enterprise product).

Symantec products have a lot of overhead and thus consume a lot of system resources. You'll still want to supplement MSE with one of the other anti-mal/spyware products mentioned above since no one program can detect and/or remove everything.

dorokusai

I've been loving Webroot for years.

Syndil

pdxfj wrote: »

You'll still want to supplement MSE with one of the other anti-mal/spyware products mentioned above since no one program can detect and/or remove everything.

Eh, that's something I'd recommend avoiding unless you are just really paranoid about catching something. Two scanners working concurrently can bog down a machine. While it's certainly true that no one product will catch everything, I prefer to stick to one resident scanner that handles both viruses and spyware (MSE) and supplement it with a quick and easy way of cleaning whatever does manage to get through. I rarely encounter something I can't get rid of myself with HijackThis, and when I do, Hitman Pro usually takes up the slack.

Symantec's home products are indeed bloated, but for enterprise all of my clients run Symantec Endpoint Protection. Very lightweight with centralized management and reporting.

gdb

Wouldn't they be two different scanners with two different agendas/tasks? I can live with slower speeds, those are the speeds I move at anyway !

treitz3

http://www.support.com/

They will take care of any issues you have, short of a power outage. Highly recommended but not free.

Tom

pitdogg2

dorokusai wrote: »

I've been loving Webroot for years.

same here along with malwarebytes

samfraser

Here is what I use:

AV: Avast Free
SPY: Spybot S&D, Malware Bytes, Windows Defender (Comes with Windows 7)
Maintenance: CCleaner

This is a good, safe combo, and best of all, its free! Stay well away from Norton, or McAfee, all they care about is $$

rromeo923

samfraser wrote: »

Here is what I use:

AV: Avast Free
SPY: Spybot S&D, Malware Bytes, Windows Defender (Comes with Windows 7)
Maintenance: CCleaner

This is a good, safe combo, and best of all, its free! Stay well away from Norton, or McAfee, all they care about is $$

Same

markwillium

Here is what I use:

Anti-virus: Avast Free
Registry Cleaner Program: CCleaner & Stellar Phoenix Registry Manager

pitdogg2

gudnoyez wrote: »

You will want to get rid of Norton, Good luck uninstalling it completley. Norton is a stubborn one to totaly get off of your computer, so is Mcaffe

can you say ghost files? I've never had a problem with Mcaffe,but that Norton is one PITA

Syndil

Google "Norton removal tool" if you're having problems with that.

Polkie2009

My WEBROOT Internet Essentials is about to expire and I'm thinking of trying another brand of anti-virus malware,spyware etc.Anybody here use BITDEFENDER Total Security or one of the top line Kaspersky products? These two had great ratings whereas the Webroot was rather lackluster. I used to use Trend Micro but they lost their edge about 4 years ago. Definitely not interested in any Norton or McAffee software.

dee1949

...as said before...save your money and use MSE. Then put that cash towards Registry First Aid and malwarebytes . Using this combo for years without a hick up . Use Registry First Aid every 2 weeks for clean start ups. Never a problem.

Hobbyguy

MSE and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
This is what I think of Registry Cleaners.
1) If you need to use them, then you don't have enough knowledge to be able to use them safely.
2) If you have enough knowledge to use them safely, you don't need to use them.
Save your data on a different drive than your boot drive. keep all of your drivers and programs in a handy location...if problems occur then do a clean install.