Of the choices you give, I would pick PC Cillen:

http://www.thepcspy.com/articles/other/what_really_slows_windows_down/5

 

For reasons not just confined to system slowdown, I would never allow anything from either Norton or McAfee on my computer.

 

 

thanks man!

I agree. McAfee totally ruined my computer and Norton just slowed it down a lot.

which notebook comes with pc cillen? i cant find it...

I could be wrong, but if you asking about Dell notebooks I don't see any that are offering PC Cillin these days. McAfee or Norton seem the flavors of the month.

 

I believe the Vostro Notebooks offer a "no pre-installed security" option, but this line is basically business oriented. I wouldn't pick a notebook in any event based on the AV that came pre-installed. You can always delete it and opt for one of several good free AVs out there.

I agree with Joe. Don't let the pre-installed computer protection deter you from buying a certain computer. My laptop came with McAfee, which I didn't like much because I had so with much trouble with it and it seemed like I always was  trying to fix the many problems that came with it. I decided to let it go, even though it had issues leaving. Currently, I run AVG Free Anti-Virus instead.

Am running AVG free now, also but am getting so tired of the pop up ad in my face every day (yes, I do understand why...lol) that I'm looking to purchase software and just wanted to say I appreciate the comments here...have McAfee on my laptop and while it's all right, I do find it a bit annoying and intrusive. Seems to do a good job and all, but also seems to do a bit TOO much! 

 

Will check out PCillan (SP?) so again, thanks for the heads up on that!

jeni wrote:  " Am running AVG free now, also but am getting so tired of the pop up ad in my face every day..."

 

Are you talking about the AVG "splash screen", which appears momentarily when you boot up your PC and AVG starts to run??  Or are you talking about the screens that appear while it downloads and updates its definition files?

 

The former flashes by so quickly on my systems that I barely notice it...

and the latter, while noticeable, is giving me the security that's needed.

To what Dave said, I agree that the flash screen comes by so fast that I too, barely notice it. As for other pop-ups when it needs to update, they do get a little annoying, but if it is protecting my system, I could care less.

And jeni59, the way you worded your post, it seems as if you have 2 Anti-Viruses. Never a good idea to run two. Unless you're running McAfee on your laptop and AVG Free on the other?

it sounds to me like the update screen... which advises you that it's updating... or has successfully completed its update.   is THAT what you're talking about???

 

if so, it should be going through a 30-second countdown, after which it will automatically "go away"... or you can, as indicated, click on OK before the 30 seconds are over, if you want to get rid of it faster.

 

I don't know that there's a way to eliminate this completely... and if you could, you'd never know that your system has been updated.   As mentioned before, I find daily anti-virus updating to be reassuring.

 

If that's your concern... the updating screens... I don't know which, if any, of the other anti-virus programs don't "interact" with you, at least to this extent.

It's more than a pop up for me ... it won't leave my computer until I click "OK", forcing me to look at it. Sometimes if I am away from the computer for a bit, I come back and there it is, sitting over everything else -- sometimes it pops up in my face when I'm working on something and again, I can't do anything until I acknowledge it by clicking the "OK".  Maybe it's just me and what I do, but it irritates me and always seems to happen when I'm coding or doing something else I'm concentrating on on... :smileytongue:

Ah well, pop-ups are a slight disturbance, but otherwise they cause no problems or cause for alarm. The updates are reassuring, sometimes a pain because they randomly pop up at different intervals, but I like to know I'm being protected.

 

here's another thought...

 

assuming it's the update screen, and the annoyance is that it's popping up at a bad time for you... when you're in the middle of your work...

 

you can, within reason, set the time of day when you want AVG to look for its daily updates... or you can disable the automatic updates [which i would NOT recommend, unless you're diligent enough to manually check for updates, on a daily basis, at a time when you're willing to permit AVG to do its job]

 

 double-click on the AVG icon in your system tray, to open the control center

highlight the Scheduler, and click on Scheduled Tasks

highlight Update Plan in Basic Mode, and click on Edit Schedule

If you want to DISable AUTOMATIC updates, then UNcheck the box in front of: 

                Periodically check for Internet Updates

               (Again, I do NOT recommend this... but it will offer you complete manual control)

If you want to change the AUTOMATIC time, then CHECK the boxes in front of:

                Periodically check for Internet Updates

                Check for Internet updates daily

     and use the drop-down menu to select the time-range you want it to work in.

     OPTIONALLY, check the box in front of

                if internet connection is not available, check when it goes online

      click OK

now, carefully look at the Update Plan in Basic mode line, under the tab NEXT START,

it will confirm the time-range you've just chosen... and immediately after the range, in parentheses, it will tell you the exact time at which it will first try to update.   [You cannot change this exact time, only the time-range... at least not in the free edition]

 

 

No, that little update screen doesn't bother me at all, it's the big pop up ad that comes right after the update is completed and sits in front of everything I'm doing and stops me from continuing what I'm doing that irritates me. 

 

I don't blame them, since it is free, don't get me wrong, it's just annoying me to the point I'm considering making a change with it. 

 

As far as an anti-virus software, I think it works great.