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Which Anti-Virus for Comcast E-Mail
I have a Dell OptiPlex 3020 with Windows 7 Pro and recently changed my internet provider to Comcast cable. With Comcast cable being my internet provider, I am using their own Comcast E-Mail as my E-Mail program. I am using the regular version of Vipre as my antivirus. I was wondering if the Vipre antivirus was checking my E-Mails so I contacted Vipre support to see if the Vipre AV was in fact checking my E-Mails. I was told it was not by the Vipre support agent. Then I called Comcast tech support to ask if Comcast was checking my E-Mails and was told I would have to get their "Constant Guard" program to be able to have my E-Mails checked. Do any of you have Comcast cable or any cable internet provider and how are you having your E-Mails monitored for virus content. Which antivirus programs will work with Comcast cable to monitor the Comcast E-Mails. I would appreciate hearing back from any of you with suggestions as to what to do and what would work for me. I would like to know what antivirus, malware, or any other safeguards you are using with cable internet providers. I do like the format and layout of the Comcast E-Mail more than Windows Live E-Mail and would rather keep using the Comcast E-Mail instead of downloading the Windows Live E-Mail. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Pete
joe53
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March 8th, 2015 15:00
Hi Pete, and welcome to the forum.
Email scanning (as a separate feature) is a redundent layer in AVs these days. It's a bit of a scareware gimmick used to market AVs.
Infections from email occur when attachments or links to malware are opened, and written to your hard drive, not when the email is downloaded. If your real-time AV can't detect malware at this point, its email scanner won't detect it during the download, since both employ the same signature database.
I have never activated email scanning in the many AVs I've used over the years, and have never been infected via that vector.
I don't use Comcast, but doubt their email would need to be treated any differently. Currently the free AVs from avast and Panda Cloud come recommended by regulars here. Their real-time protection will protect you from email infections, even if they don't use a separate email scanner.
More info:
Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
thundercloud.net/.../index.htm
Should I scan my Email for viruses?
linetap.com/.../scan-my-Email.htm
Does MSE Scan E-Mail?
answers.microsoft.com/.../2b9dd412-1116-4d28-84bb-ebeab5d28ced
joe53
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March 9th, 2015 10:00
Yes, I use all those programs. All but WinPatrol Plus and MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) Premium are freeware, and free versions of WP and MBAM are available. All seem to play well together without any conflicts.
The only programs that load at startup and run in real-time are my firewall, my Panda AV, Zemana and WinPatrol. The rest either provide passive protection, or are on-demand scanners. Secunia PSI scans your programs to ensure you have the latest security patches.
I always recommend one download freeware from the vendors' website directly, and do a "Custom" install, rather than "Quick" or "Automatic", to avoid installing unwanted bundled software (browser extensions, other browsers, new default homepages, etc). During a Custom install, just uncheck any additional pre-checked software you do not want.
p4445
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March 8th, 2015 21:00
Hi Joe,
Thank you for responding to my questions.
At the bottom of your reply you list a number of programs and titles. Are these programs you have installed to safeguard your computer?
Pete
p4445
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March 9th, 2015 14:00
Thanks Joe for all your help.
Pete