How much protection do you have on your PC?

[Sweetpea94]

My PC was recently invaded by some weird virus I guess you could call it. I subscribed to the Software that came with the computer and also purchased the monthly spyware from the company I have internet with. I thought I was pretty well covered, but I guess not.  My kids played some on line games and said that something kept popping up asking them for a response they ignored it not knowing what it was.  I went online to make a puchase and the pop up said I needed to responded quickly because my PC contained a virus and it was at high risk & said click here to activate your PC spyware and start scan.  So I did and BIG mistake!  This "spyware company" popped up and took over my computer. I could only access the internet for a few minutes at a time, it turned off windows and blocked the company I purchased my spyware from. It kept interfering with anything I tried to do to fix the problem saying that a possible identity theft was detected and that it found all these viruses.  Then its logo came on the tool bar and eventually made its way to the settings menu. I was able to use a friends PC to get info on how to deal with the problem. How much protection is enough?  What Software company is the best?      

[Falconer02]

I have 0 protection besides a basic firewall. But then again I'm very good at avoiding threats and have taken care of some of the worst viruses manually (well with the help with a few custom programs I hunted down...). I've had the same virus you had and it took a week for me to figure out. It would suck up 95% of the processing power and disguise itself as iexplorer.exe in the processes. It wouldn't allow me to install anything at all to counter it until I finally figured out how to temporarily subdue it. What a professional virus! Gah it was AWFUL!

But as far as reliability in anti-virus and malware progs go, I'd suggest-
Avast
MalwareBytes
AdAware

I've had a ton of success rates with them. Norton and McAffee not so much. They eat away processing power and act like malware themselves. HYPOCRACY!

[southernhorizons]

Now that I have a Linux operating system, I don't have any anti-virus running on my computer. when I had Windows I used AVG, the free version, but I still got a virus (from Gamevance, but I don't know how I got it because I didn't install Gamevance) that wiped out my OS when I tried to uninstall Gamevance.

[jesurich413]

I use Avast free edition, and it does really well. Oh Yeah I'm on windows 7.

[darklable]

I got the same exact thing as the OP a while back. Totally sucks.  I removed the virus (along with a bunch of others) with Spyware Doctor.  I'm currently running it as my virus scanner and my virus protecton software on both my laptop (main computer, running Windows Vista Home Premium) and my secondary computer (running Windows XP). As it stands it has stopped a number of viruses and detected/removed quite a few others. I've had it for 2 years and it works great so far.

Good luck with whatever virus protection you select 

[oldbuddy]

I got the same thing, but now I use Linux to surf the net and no more problems. Did you know you can get a Ubuntu Linux 10.4 CD for free and run it without even installing right from the CD?

[Graeth]

malwarebytes and comodo firewall.
Computers(5) have never succumb to a virus in over eight years.

[lightispro]

i only use MalwareBytes and spy doctor

[Graeth]

A firewall and malwarebytes; haven't ever succumb to a virus.

[oldbuddy]

A firewall and malwarebytes; haven't ever succumb to a virus.

I used to say that too, until about a month ago and that's when I lost 4 months of work because I was so cocky.

[girlswin2]

Yep you got scammed!!  Hope you did a system restore to before that point otherwise they will get any info you have on computer.  You better start changing passes fast.  This happened to my sister and she got her account wiped out due to having info on her computer that led them to that.  That came up on my computer once and I couldn't get rid of it. I later found out it was avirus that was attached to a toolbar that had some sort of rebate program once that program was removed it didn't come back up.  I also got Vipre and I have had no problems its the best internet/antispyware/malware out there and its cheaper got 2years for under $80.00.
They give daily of problems that are out there.  I love this company they really watch out for you.  Plus the program doesn't take up alot of your systems memory either to run.  Meaning you computer doesn't slow down when its scanning.   

[klkwid]

Even with an antivirus installed, I still get that pop up you talked about where it tells you to run a scan.  Those guys are so sneaky sometimes.  I never will understand why people feel the need to mess other people's computers up!  What the heck is the point, anyway???

[Falconer02]

Even with an antivirus installed, I still get that pop up you talked about where it tells you to run a scan.

I'd highly suggest you get that taken care of immediatly. Those types can do a lot of damage to the speed of your pc. If there's any way I can help, reply!

What the heck is the point, anyway???

Money.

[AmyTrivitt]

We use the free PANDA anti virus on our family computer, but on our laptop we use this awesome system called FIX-IT Utilities. We spent $80.00 but when we purchased our new comp with windows 7 this came highly recommended. Its rather neat for someone like me who knows nothing about this sort of stuff. The system has a one click pc maintenance which really works. I know I use it often! Virus and spyware protection, registry repair and maintenance, cleans out hard drive clutter to speed up system, Internet speed optimizer, windows rescue cd and has built in recovery features. Lost data recover, file shredder and has multiple repair tools to eliminate slowdowns and freezes. So far we have been really happy with this system and if your like me and really not into this stuff the box also comes with a handbook that shows you step by step procedures to show you how to do all of this. Its pretty simple when you have a book.

[dell9031]

Hey folks...I wouldn't post what you are using as protection on this site.......