McAfee security centre is dire

you mentioned uninstalling Mcafee and then running AVG [by which i am assuming their anti-VIRUS program].  

when you attempted to reinstall McAfee, did you first remove AVG? --- or are both now active?   if so, keep in mind that running two resident anti-virus programs is certainly a potential cause of slowdowns and conflicts.

also, please clarify:   are you saying that with the re-installed McAfee, you can indeed access the internet, and are having problems only with the McAfee account pages?? or that reinstalling McAfee disabled your internet access totally?

"...free programs that I know work".

no question that familiarity --- an acquired comfort level --- has merit.   Many people here have opted against McAfee... if you wish, it's certainly your choice to proceed that way.

AVG is a good choice for anti-virus, so I won't offer you any alternatives (unless you specifically request them).

ZoneAlarm is no longer the product it used to be.   If you're satisfied with it, by all means continue.   But if you'd like to look for alternatives, consider the free Comodo Firewall Pro 3.x

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

(be advised that the older version 2.4 is not Vista compatible.

Version 3 is relatively new, and a few "kinks" are still being discovered and worked-out.   also, with a new firewall, you'd have to learn about its features:   you'll have to "teach" it about all the programs you want to have internet access.   in other words, be prepared for lots of "popups" requesting permission the first several sessions you use it.  Please read the reviews, and consider this carefully, before changing.)

in terms of free anti-spyware, my suggestions

for Windows Vista:

browser:  I.E.7, being sure the anti-phishing filter is enabled

resident protection:   Vista's UAC (User Account Control) together with Windows Defender 

[Note:  Windows Defender includes a "rudimentary" on-demand scanner]

additional on-demand scanners:  SuperAntiSpyware (SAS) and MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM)

pseudo-protection:   WinPatrol.

If you wish to keep SpyBot under Vista, I would suggest you do so only for on-demand scans, but not for any of its other features (TeaTimer, Immunization, SDHelper BHO)

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Here are the program links:

The other day, I was having a problem with McAfee telling me that my computer wasn't proctected so I contacted McAfee via online chat and their suggestion was to uninstall and re-download and reinstall McAfee.  So, today I uninstalled McAfee security.

I too, am also having trouble connecting to their site in an attempt to go to "My Account" and re-download the software.  I went to my other computer which has McAfee as well and when I select security center update option, it tells me my internet connection is broken when in fact it isn't.  Hopefully they get things sorted out on their end.

since both of you seem to be experiencing the same problem, it may in fact be something with the McAfee site.  time will tell.

have you checked out the McAfee forums, to see if there's a discussion there?

perhaps someone with first-hand knowledge of McAfee, or this specific problem, can offer more help.

Tonight, I was finally able to access my account to download and install McAfee Security Center.  The only odd thing that happened is, once the download finished and it was getting ready to do the install, it told me that incompatable programs needed to be uninstalled and it listed Spybot S&D.  The McAfee install wouldn't continue until I removed S&D.  I've never seen this message when installing McAfee in the past.  Because of having received this message, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to reinstall S&D or not and what conflicts it and McAfee may have.  Any thoughts on this?

It must have been a problem with the McAfee website yesterday as it is downloading updates quite happily this morning... I'll wait and see if I still get the blue screen crashes when I use Google Earth.

Problem sorted! 

I had uninstalled AVG before reloading McAfee.

It's interesting that you say that Zone Alarm isn't the program it used to be... why? I have never had any problems with it. The combination of ZA, AVG and Spybot S&D has always left my system completely trouble free. The only extra feature with McAfee that is useful is the very good Spam Filter... it picks up those emails trying to sell those various ways of making parts of my body bigger that don't get picked out by my mail server.

I was and am willing to try a new security software, although familiar with the freeware I had been using happily in the past. However it is a disappointment when something that is paid for does not work as well as that which is free.

Leinorackham,

over time, zone alarm has become more and more "bloated"... i believe it's surviving nowadays solely on its name/reputation, rather than on its functionality --- that is to say, relative to the newcomer competition.  

note that the ZA paid version is superior to the free version;  but even the paid version is not "up to snuff"

for specific points of condemnation, see message 19 (by Joe53) here:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=sw_other&message.id=64552

if you're happy with ZA... and "familiarity" does offer its advantages... I'm not saying you have to change:   remember, you'll have to "teach" a new firewall about your online surfing habits, so it can best protect you.  but when/if you decide to, comodo is currently a superior choice (as are others, including Online Armor).

i make it a point to only offer recommendations of completely free (non-trial) products.... there's a lot of great free stuff out there

tdur,

i'm not sure what version of McAfee you have... but i will point you to some threads on the matter:

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=24156

is from a person who found out that McAfee virus scan 11.2 refused to allow itself to be installed if it found spybot already present on the system.  

(it even includes a link to the McAfee document, last updated 11/29/07, which "confirms" such "incompatibility":

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?id=107064&lc=1033&partner=10005&type=TS )

in contrast, SpyBot maintains there should be no such incompatibility:   see SpyBotSandra's reply, in message #4, in the first (spyBot) link above... who indicates that, at most, you might (but not necessarily) have to disable spybot's TeaTimer module.

on the 2nd page of that thread:

http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=24156&page=2

MacPeter (I have no idea who this is) asserts that while McAfee won't let users install itself if it finds spybot present, you can nevertheless "work around" this by proceeding in reverse:   install McAfee first (without SpyBot present), and THEN, install spybot afterwards.   He says it can be done without conflict...

(admittedly, the follow-up user, GreyFox, "rejects" using such a "solution", so... you'll have to decide for yourself.)

hope this helps you.

by the way, i don't believe you indicated what operating system you're using.   in my post above, to Leinorackham, i noted that under vista, i would suggest use of SpyBot only for its on-demand scanner, not its other features/modules.

If you have XP, that's another story, in which case I like/use ALL of SpyBot's modules  (TeaTimer, Immunization, SDHelper BHO, on-demand scanner).   Then again, I don't have McAfee... and if you encounter any problems/slowdowns/conflicts, you can separately disable [or enable] any combination of these modules (without having to use them all).   As SpyBot Sandra noted, the most likely source of conflict, if any, might be Teatimer.   You'll have to experiment for yourself.   I personally run TeaTimer, along with Windows Defender, under windows XP.

Ky331,

That is interesting, thank-you. Zone Alarm free has always seemed to work well for me (for the last 8 years) but obviously things change. On your advice I will try Comodo. My wireless router has a built in firewall too which shoud block any unwanted traffic through any personal firewall (I would hope).

Do you know how well the Windows Vista Firewall performs?

I managed to download the updates and re-register my copy of McAfee this morning - As others had mentioned, their website must have had difficulties yesterday. I was just replying to your post on this discussion board and I had another blue screen crash. It is definitley a problem with McAfee as I don't get them without it installed. Looking at other discussion groups, I am not the only one who has these problems. McAfee is being taken off this laptop this afternoon.

I had my previous laptop replaced by Dell because of Blue Screen crashes that persisted after they initially changed the motherboard and RAM. I now suspect that those problems were McAfee related. I wonder if they know that there may be a problem with McAfee.

Isn't Dell support fantastic! By far the best I have enountered to date.

The one thing I was impressed with about McAfee was the Spam Filter ... it seems to be very accurate. I have a filter on my web server, but some rubbish slips through but The McAfee filter picks that.

I am just a bit disappointed that software with a 2-year contract, which came as part of the bundle when I bought this Vostro laptop from Dell, doesn't work. Although it was supposedly free, the cost of it was no-doubt built into my package.

yes, a router/hardware firewall (probably NAT - Network Address Translation) adds good protection over-and-above use of a software firewall.   so much so, in fact, that some people are of the belief that even the rudimentary windows XP firewall, when supplemented by a hardware NAT firewall, may in fact offer "decent" (albeit not perfect) protection.

let's start with XP (even though i realize you asked about vista): 

the problem with the XP firewall is that it only works in one direction --- it blocks unsolicited incoming traffic.   however, it does not block outgoing traffic.   meaning that, if a virus/trojan/spyware/&etc manages to get through your defenses, it will be in a position to "phone home" --- make an "outgoing call" --- without the windows firewall stopping it.   and any incoming response will then be viewed as "solicited".

i really don't know that much about the vista firewall... it's supposed to be an improvement over that of XP's... it's supposed to offer (some) outgoing-traffic protection... but if so, I don't know whether this has explicitly activated, or whether it's on by default.

that's where "third party" firewalls, like comodo, come-in:   they offer complete bi-directional (incoming and outgoing) traffic monitoring.   that's why you have to "teach" it about all the particular programs that you wish to allow to have internet access.  some major programs --- like internet explorer --- should be known to it.   but most others, like your particular choice of anti-virus, anti-spyware... perhaps your e-mail clients... and literally everything else you allow to access the internet (real-player & quickTime player for example) will have to get your explicit approval.   you'll note a box that says "remember this choice"... if you click it, that will expedite matters in the future --- until the program is updated (that changes its "cryptographic signature" ), and you will be alerted to that effect:  for you to confirm it was updated intentionally, with your knowledge, rather than the result of being tampered-with by a virus).   it's a great security feature.

comodo 3 (the vista compatible version) also offers something calls HIPS protection (Host Intrusion Prevention System).   it's supposed to be state-of-the-art anti-malware protection.   but it can be complicated to get used to, and first-time users may feel  intimidated by it.   Joe53 has a lot of experience with this, and hopefully can offer you some help/suggestions.

i had offered you my full anti-malware listing, for vista, in an above message.   hopefully, over time, you can try them all out, and see what you think for yourself.   of course, if you're going for comodo 3, i would focus on that alone for the time being, till you get a good feel for it, before tinkering with everything else.

good luck.

ky331,

Thanks for all the information.  My laptop which is where I was having the issues, is running Win XP SP2.  My desktop computer is Windows Vista Home Premium.  I have the McAfee 3-user license which includes SecurityCenter ver 8.1 / VirusScan ver 12.1 / Personal Firewall ver 9.1 / SiteAdvisor ver 2.5 / EasyNetwork ver 2.1 on both machines.  Spybot is on the desktop along with McAfee, but it was installed after McAfee.  Next, I will attempt to reinstall Spybot back on the laptop and hopefully all will go well.  Again, thanks for your help.

always glad to be of help.

let me direct you to a good informational post, from Joe53; he may have more current posts, but i feel this one still merits reading:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_virus&message.id=65319

since you don't have an older version of comodo, you certainly can skip the step on uninstalling it first (CPF3 file & registry cleaner).   he gives clear installation suggestions.  

and i will also quote one point, which i've stressed already:  " it has not been an entirely easy experience.  Compared to the simpler previous firewalls I have used (earlier versions of ZoneAlarm Free, and Comodo 2.x) this is a sophisticated program with a somewhat steep learning curve for anyone (like me) not well-versed in firewall rules. I must admit I needed to refer to the Comodo FW forums many times to sort things out. It was well worth the effort."