antivirus for windows 7

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sil2017
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Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:25 am

antivirus for windows 7

Post by sil2017 »

Hope you can help my friend out who has very little knowledge of technology.
He has 2 laptops with windows 7. It has the windows defender. Does he need other anti virus or software to keep it safe?
Preferably the free one would be best.
He does a lot of clicking here and there for free information and I am concern about virus and spyware in his computer.

Is CC cleaner good? I remember using this on my old laptop over 10 years ago.
bloom2708
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by bloom2708 »

Windows Defender should cover the 80%.

I have used ADW Cleaner (free) a few times to remove something Defender cannot find. It does a quick scan and then you can clear malicious items.
Last edited by bloom2708 on Wed Jan 10, 2018 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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HueyLD
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by HueyLD »

Try Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). You can download it from Microsoft website and it is free.
technovelist
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by technovelist »

HueyLD wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:55 am Try Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). You can download it from Microsoft website and it is free.
That's what I use on my Windows 7 machines.
In theory, theory and practice are identical. In practice, they often differ.
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Watty
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by Watty »

They may be able to get free antivirus software from their internet service provider. I get Norton through Comcast, but I am not sure if it would work with Windows 7. When I had ATT Uverse a few years ago they provided Macafee for their users.

They may want to start considering when they want to upgrade to a more current system.
Topic Author
sil2017
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by sil2017 »

I downloaded version of CC cleaner for my friend and it came with the Free Avast anti virus. Is this good to have?
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Toons
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by Toons »

bloom2708 wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2018 10:52 am Windows Defender should cover the 80%.

I have used ADW Cleaner (free) a few times to remove something Defender cannot find. It does a quick scan and then you can clear malicious items.

+1 :happy
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
SS396
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by SS396 »

If your friend wants to significantly reduce the worry about a computer virus, spyware, malware and not need to maintain the operating system on their PC then your friend should consider buying a Chromebook laptop as their next PC purchase. You cannot install traditional programs on a Chromebook, only extensions and apps from the Google Play Store. Therefore, the risk for contamination is near zero. The OS is maintained by Google in the cloud and it updates automatically. If the Chromebook started to act weird, you can reset the device in a few seconds and reboot the device. The Chromebook will confirm the OS on reboot and you are good to go.

If the friend uses a Windows 7 PC make sure they log in via a "limited user account" to surf the web and only use the "administrator account" to add, delete or update software. The "limited user account" will at least help reduce the chance of the installation of unwanted software via the "administrator account."

The free MS AV software may be just fine for your friend, but some AV reviews will recommend alternatives. As for alternative free AV programs, Avast, AVG and Panda are good options. None of the AV programs are perfect though if the PC user does not exercise caution when opening attachments to email or unfamiliar URL's.

Some people may be concerned about the Google operating system tracking their activity and monetizing the results. Regardless of the operating system or device you use (PC and mobile), if you read or clicked on anything online today, some part of Google probably knows about it. So pick your poison, almost no chance of malware etc. or Google tracking your activity which it already does. There are extensions you can add to the Chrome browser to limit Google tracking and/or you can just periodically delete all Google tracked data.
Last edited by SS396 on Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:36 am, edited 5 times in total.
Conch55
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by Conch55 »

I continue to use Windows 7 and have not had any problems with malware or viruses of which I am aware. I use Microsoft Security Essentials, Malwarebytes and run BleachBit to cleanup old files. All versions of the listed software are free.
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5th_Dimension
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by 5th_Dimension »

Malwarebytes Free Version. Run once. If clean, Microsoft Security Essentials. Run Malwarebytes once a month or so. If Malwarebytes is clean every month, stick with MSE.

If Malwarebytes finds something every month, your friend has poor security habits, pay for ESET NOD32.

Just my opinion of course :happy
Pick up a penny and soon you'll have many.
technovelist
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Re: antivirus for windows 7

Post by technovelist »

SS396 wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2018 2:40 pm If your friend wants to significantly reduce the worry about a computer virus, spyware, malware and not need to maintain the operating system on their PC then your friend should consider buying a Chromebook laptop as their next PC purchase. You cannot install traditional programs on a Chromebook, only extensions and apps from the Google Play Store. Therefore, the risk for contamination is near zero. The OS is maintained by Google in the cloud and it updates automatically. If the Chromebook started to act weird, you can reset the device in a few seconds and reboot the device. The Chromebook will confirm the OS on reboot and you are good to go.
Yes, the risk of contamination by anyone other than Google is near zero.

However, the risk of having all of your online activity monetized by Google is 100%.

I'd rather deal with antivirus issues than with that.
In theory, theory and practice are identical. In practice, they often differ.
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