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attuser
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attuser

Anon

WinXP Anti-Virus

I'm getting alerts on my XP that the MS Essentials anti-virus will not longedr be supported.

Any ideas on which other free anti-virus program is recommended for winxp ?

Thanks

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

1 recommendation

maartena

Premium Member

You can try Avast! or AVG, both have free versions of the software.

Keep in mind though that although Anti-Virus will keep your system safe from malware, running Windows XP will make you vulnerable to a variety of other attacks. Security flaws will no longer be patched as of this month.

I would recommend upgrading to Windows 7 if possible. Windows 7 runs perfectly fine on most hardware released since about 2006, as long as it has 2 GB ram. My media center runs Windows 7 on 2GB just fine, of course all it does is play video.
Frodo
join:2006-05-05

Frodo

Member

said by maartena:

Security flaws will no longer be patched as of this month.

Is that true? I thought this month (Apr 8th) XP would get updates, and it would be next month that would be the first month without security updates. I've kinda treated May 13th as the day support went missing (absent circumstances developing that Microsoft would issue an out of cycle patch in April).

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL

1 recommendation

Tursiops_G to maartena

MVM

to maartena
FYI, I have an older ACER Aspire ONE Netbook with only 1.5GB of RAM (Maxed out), and it runs Windows 7 Home Premium just fine.
pensioner
Premium Member
join:2005-02-20
Gulfport, MS

pensioner to attuser

Premium Member

to attuser
the thread over in Security may give you a better understanding of the MSE alert and definition update into July 2015: »Important Update for Microsoft Security Essentials - 4.5.216.0 (KB2949787)

vaxvms
ferroequine fan
Premium Member
join:2005-03-01
Polar Park

1 recommendation

vaxvms to maartena

Premium Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

a variety of other attacks.

please elaborate
Billy Brethr (banned)
join:2005-04-01
San Antonio, TX

1 recommendation

Billy Brethr (banned) to maartena

Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

Keep in mind though that although Anti-Virus will keep your system safe from malware, running Windows XP will make you vulnerable to a variety of other attacks. Security flaws will no longer be patched as of this month.

No anti-virus software keeps you "safe" from malware, in fact the false sense of security that comes from having an anti-virus installed encourages risky behavior that makes infection even more likely. And the slowdown from the "load" of running AV software masks the slowdown indicators of the presence of malware. I haven't run an AV software on my Win7 machine in almost 3 years, after I read a post similar to this one online. If you pay attention to your browsing, downloading and file executing habits and monitor the behavior of the machine, you can avoid most infections and remove those that you do get very quickly.

It also helps to be a computer repair professional, in order to know where to look for the critters and how to remove them.

However, Win7 is a really good O/S and if the hardware will support it, and there are Win7 drivers for the hardware, it should be an adequate substitute for at least the next 5 years.

urbanriot
Premium Member
join:2004-10-18
Canada

1 recommendation

urbanriot to attuser

Premium Member

to attuser
said by attuser :

I'm getting alerts on my XP that the MS Essentials anti-virus will not longedr be supported.

Annoying aren't they?

My advice is to avoid AVG like the plague as it's downright awful software and stick with Security Essentials but revert to version 4.4 rather than the version that seems to be made to advertise Windows 8.

Refer to this thread for more information:
»Important Update for Microsoft Security Essentials - 4.5.216.0 (KB2949787)

Boricua
Premium Member
join:2002-01-26
Sacramuerto

Boricua to Billy Brethr

Premium Member

to Billy Brethr
said by Billy Brethr:

If you pay attention to your browsing, downloading and file executing habits and monitor the behavior of the machine, you can avoid most infections and remove those that you do get very quickly.

You do realize that even if you do go to legitimate sites, they may still be infected .

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

ZZZZZZZ to attuser

Premium Member

to attuser
Avast is a good AVP for XP...................AVG is garbage and should be avoided at all costs.

Here is another that I've installed on customer's machines..........it makes for a good layered defense.

»www.immunet.com/free/index.html

urbanriot
Premium Member
join:2004-10-18
Canada

urbanriot

Premium Member

I've found in scanning PC's with rescue discs that Kaspersky and Bitdefender usually find more than Avira, Symantec Endpoint, Microsoft Security Essentials, etc.

Haven't tried Avast yet though... wonder if they have a bootable rescue disc...

ZZZZZZZ
Premium Member
join:2001-05-27
PARADISE

ZZZZZZZ

Premium Member

»www.avast.com/en-us/faq/ ··· eContent

yup.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena to Frodo

Premium Member

to Frodo
said by Frodo:

said by maartena:

Security flaws will no longer be patched as of this month.

Is that true? I thought this month (Apr 8th) XP would get updates, and it would be next month that would be the first month without security updates. I've kinda treated May 13th as the day support went missing (absent circumstances developing that Microsoft would issue an out of cycle patch in April).

If a security flaw is found on April 9th, it will no longer be patched by Microsoft.

There is also the theory that hacker groups have found new leaks in Windows XP, but are specifically holding on to their knowledge until after April 8th, when they know Microsoft will no longer issue an emergency patch, but that of course is pure speculation.
maartena

1 recommendation

maartena to vaxvms

Premium Member

to vaxvms
said by vaxvms:

said by maartena:

a variety of other attacks.

please elaborate

Attacks by malicious website code, most likely found in spam-emails. Anti-virus does NOT always detect these, and remote-access to your computer CAN be granted, and any personal information can be stolen - in the past, hacker websites have abused known OS bugs to do this, but Microsoft has usually been relatively quick in patching serious holes and issues a "critical" security update as soon as these flaws are found, and patches them. This ends this month, as those holes will no longer be patched.

Some experts say hackers have already found security flaws, but won't use them until after April 8th, as they know Microsoft won't issue a patch anymore.

And yes, stealing personal information by use of malicious website code can happen in seconds, and before you even realize you might have clicked a "spam" link and it is too late. Of course, this requires a user that clicks on something, but even the most intelligent computer people get caught unaware sometimes.
maartena

maartena to Tursiops_G

Premium Member

to Tursiops_G
said by Tursiops_G:

FYI, I have an older ACER Aspire ONE Netbook with only 1.5GB of RAM (Maxed out), and it runs Windows 7 Home Premium just fine.

Windows 8.1 Update 1 (which will also be released on April 8) will actually allow Windows 8.1 to be installed on a machine with 1 GB of RAM, significantly lowering the current system requirements.
Frodo
join:2006-05-05

Frodo to maartena

Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

If a security flaw is found on April 9th, it will no longer be patched by Microsoft.

Well, my thinking is kinda of, May 13th. I found an article that pretty much says the same thing, for the same reasons.

My primary is Win 7 at home now. At work, I'm still on XP. I asked my boss what they were going to do, and I guess I'm going to 7 one way or another. They have these virtual workstations but they won't run my applications. So the thinking is to upgrade to 7 on our real workstations. I think work is also looking at May 13th as the date this matter needs to be concluded by.
Billy Brethr (banned)
join:2005-04-01
San Antonio, TX

1 recommendation

Billy Brethr (banned) to Boricua

Member

to Boricua
Meh.
said by Boricua:

You do realize that even if you do go to legitimate sites, they may still be infected .

Define "infection". The fact that the "legitimate" site may be infected does not necessarily mean that there is a vector from site to browser. Also, which version of which browser and with what configuration settings and which operating system and did the (human) browser click on any windows served-up by the purportedly infected website.

And just because a website is infected at one point in time does not necessarily mean that it is a universal threat worth mentioning. If Hostgator detects malware activity and shuts-down the site after 30 seconds of operation, 5 minutes of operation, 4 hours of operation, does that "threat" necessitate a significant change in browser behavior, computer configuration, software (such as anti-virus) installation, etc...?

My previous post is a transcendent truth that makes most responses to it irrelevant. I am also aware that internet forums are rife with marginally informed people infused with FUD that spread that FUD as a vehicle for replicating their half-baked ideas on Computer Security to an equally uninformed audience and you have an hysteric population that believes in falsehood in order to shield themselves from an imagined threat while the real threat does it's work unimpeded due to the false sense of safety of the infected population.

Sort of like Homeland Security and the NSA, and their false assurances of fake security against an imaginary threat. It's the natural result when the fears of stupid people are elevated to doctrine, and those that tell the truth about these things become heretics requiring ostracization and worse. If you can't or won't understand the truth, you can always get rid of those that tell it.

The "up-side" to spreading stupidity is that other stupid people think you are special and useful, however better-informed people think the exact opposite, so to a great extent it really depends upon who you are. Myself, I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond rather than a big fish in a pond populated by retards.

I'm a bit intense today due to the 2nd Fort Hood shooting this evening. I have some connection to someone that was actually in the room during the 1st one, and on my way home there were unmarked security vehicles speeding down the freeway with lights & sirens on, heading toward what I assume is Ft. Hood, which is about 75 miles away. That level of reaction to a relatively small incident that couldn't have been prevented had Martial Law been declared after the 1st incident. There is no way that your government can protect you from one person with one gun that decides to use it with no regard to possible consequences to themselves.

But they will use this incident in order to increase taxes, further bloat the government, increase it's power, reduce people's individual rights and make yet another argument in favor of gun control. THAT is the real threat (the government) and while it is gaining more & more power, people are increasingly believing in the increase in their false security.

They're not secure. They'll never be secure. As long as they are stupid, and blindly following and obeying other stupid people, they will always be in danger. However, they can be oppressed, subjugated and enslaved. Taking this metaphor back to the computer, a User can install 15 different anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, anti-adware softwares, and perform strange and meaningless rituals such as manually deleting cookies, running registry cleaners, wiping freespace, etc... and reduce the operational effectiveness of their computer to 10% of what it was before it became "safe", and the only reason why their computer can't get infected is because it can't do anything else, either. Might as well put the use the computer for a door stop and break-out a pen and paper. Can't get infected with that. It's safe. Guaranteed safe. And healthier too. No chloro-fluoro-hydrocarbons, no trans-fats, no hemoglobin and it's also EXERCISE! You can lose weight. Pen & paper will make you slimmer, sexier and more attractive to members of the opposite sex. It will make your ding-dong bigger or your va-jay-jay smaller, or even both, if you happen to have one of each. But best of all, it's safe. You can sleep easy each night knowing for a fact that your pen & paper are not, and will never be, infected.
Billy Brethr

1 edit

Billy Brethr (banned) to maartena

Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

Attacks by malicious website code, most likely found in spam-emails.

»firstlook.org/theinterce ··· malware/

Maybe someone should create anti-NSA software.

attuser
@rr.com

attuser to attuser

Anon

to attuser
thanks all, for your comments. there are some interesting reads here.

vaxvms
ferroequine fan
Premium Member
join:2005-03-01
Polar Park

1 edit

vaxvms to maartena

Premium Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

And yes, stealing personal information by use of malicious website code can happen in seconds, and before you even realize you might have clicked a "spam" link and it is too late. Of course, this requires a user that clicks on something, but even the most intelligent computer people get caught unaware sometimes.

This happens all too often in supported versions of Windows.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

1 recommendation

maartena to attuser

Premium Member

to attuser
The reality is that if you just pay attention, you can probably still get around the web on a Windows 95 machine with Firefox 5 or something.

But if something does go wrong you are a hell of a lot easier hacked on a Windows XP machine, then you are on a supported version of Windows.

16% of Machine still run Windows XP according to data released today, but a good percentage of those are corporate machines, and perhaps a good many of those corporate machines are not internet-facing and/or accessible with corporate firewalls protecting them.
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned) to attuser

Member

to attuser
Go with Avast!