Recommended anti-virus software for Dell Inspiron 1520?

We are volunteers on this forum, and are not employed by Dell. I will be glad to give you some tips, though.

There is no AV software that will catch everything. Your best security is the person sitting behind the computer. That means that it is where you surf to and how you surf.

Most anti-virus programs are not effective enough to keep you from becoming infected if  you have dangerous habits.

* It takes a combination of products. Most of the regular helpers here run several anti-malware products, the majority of which are FREE. (that includes ONE resident AV).

On this forum, you will probably receive many opinions on products. In addition, please see these pages for

FREE SECURITY SOFTWARE  

FREE SECURITY SOFTWARE

If you need help cleaning the current  infection I can suggest the following:

Try scans with these two programs in the following order:

Please disable other security software that may cause conflicts with the scans. (Don't forget to enable it afterward.)

Instructions on how to do that are HERE.

Please download to your desktop Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Here or Here 

Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.

• Make sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
• If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
• Once the program has loaded, select "Perform Quick Scan", then click Scan.
• The scan may take some time to finish,so please be patient.
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
• Make sure that everything is checked
  Click Remove Selected.
• When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart.(See Extra Note)
• The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.

Extra Notes:
If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove,you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts,click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process,if asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.
* If you are unable to download or install MBAM on your computer, see if you can use a friend's or family member's computer to download MBAM. Use this update link here to manually download the update. Once downloaded, rename the program installer "mbam-setup.exe" file to something else like "catchjunk.exe". Copy the installer file and the update file to a CD or flash drive. Transfer the file to the infected computer. Install the "catchjunk.exe" file, then run the update so that you will have the current definitions. After that, run a full system scan and select to have the program REMOVE whatever it finds.

**If you need to re-install MBAM but encounter issue in re-installing, try using the MBAM Cleanup Utility by downloading it from http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-clean.exe

Download and scan with Super Anti-Spyware Free for Home Users. It is available HERE:
*Double-click SUPERAntiSypware.exe and use the default settings for installation.
* An icon will be created on your desktop. Double-click that icon to launch the program.
* If asked to update the program definitions, click "Yes". If not, update the definitions before scanning by selecting "Check for Updates". (If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download and unzip them from here.)
* Under "Configuration and Preferences", click the Preferences button.
* Click the Scanning Control tab.
* Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):

Close browsers before scanning.
Scan for tracking cookies.
Terminate memory threats before quarantining.

* Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen.
* Back on the main screen, under "Scan for Harmful Software" click Scan your computer.
* On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
* On the right, under "Complete Scan", choose Perform Complete Scan.
* Click "Next" to start the scan. Please be patient while it scans your computer.
* After the scan is complete, a Scan Summary box will appear with potentially harmful items that were detected. Click "OK".
* Make sure everything has a checkmark next to it and click "Next".
* A notification will appear that "Quarantine and Removal is Complete". Click "OK" and then click the "Finish" button to return to the main menu.
* If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes".

If that does not fix the problem, it might be good to post a log for review on the Malware Removal Forum.

Be sure to read instructions at the top of the forum.

thank you kindly.  I'll give it a try.  but it won't let me  get past the first three seconds on the internet, it is trying to force me to by their product...i appreciate your help.

WOW, I can't beleive it.  I followed your instructions, exactly.  I'm an intermediate computer user, with low skill levels on the IT side....you helped me to fix my duaghters laptop.  I am so appreciative.  where else can/should i post my satisfaction with your assistance and guidance?  I'm so happy.  thankyou for making my day.  I have been toying with this for 3 long days....gratefully yours,

Hoodster.

I use Kaspersky Internet Security.  It is very complete (defends against viruses, rootkits, spam, malicious web sites, port scans... you name it); it updates itself daily; it is fast and does not put any noticeable load on the computer; it performs real-time scanning and also has scheduling options for regular full-disk or sub-folder scans.  Very nice and easy to use interface.  On the whole, I'd say it's THE best anti-virus/anti-malware product I have ever seen or used.  (And it really doesn't matter what computer you're running it on...)

You're most welcome. If you had visited us sooner, we may have been able to save you some time -- and stress.  :emotion-2:

This is a good site to learn more about anti-virus programs: http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Their last review was a month ago.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report22.pdf