I did a search but couldn't find the right answer & I am a noobie when it comes to anti-virus & cleaning computers.
My gf mother have 3 computers (2 pc & 1 laptop) at home that she use.
They run on Windows XP.
She said that lately her computers have been slowing down & one of them sometimes crash/reboots by itself.
What programs can I buy (or freeware) to send her so she can "clean" her computers?
She also need a good anti-virus program (for 3 pc - maybe more). I was thinking about Trend or McAfee. What would you recommend?
She also need a good anti-virus software.
I have Microsoft Security Essentials & Avast(free)on my computer at home.
I am about 900 miles away & cannot be there to help her - so I have to buy & send to her.
Essentially, she can run Avast! as a real-time protection system, then if there is an infection, she can run MalwareBytes as a secondary scan to ensure that the PC is clean.
If she needs futher help, she can post here or edited by ddp
No need to buy security software there's plenty of free versions any i list you have not heard of try checking cnet or pcworld etc.You need to confirm if the slowdown is infection related or just a non maintained computer,all progs below are free
antivirus clamwin-light on resources
avira-light on resources
AVG Avast-i found it slows comp down too much
2 Way Firewalls
comodo-considering the things it can do it's not even noticible as just a firewall performance wise
zonealarm
Antispyware realtime scanners
Spywareterminater make sure HIPS enabled if your prone to infection
SUPERAntiSpyware
for ultimate protection sandboxes,with one of these no infection is possible unless your stupid,....really stupid
Returnil
sanboxie
virtual box by sun java
Maintenenance
Ultradefrag-can be set to run at startup & before all programs are loaded so will defrag pagefile
ccleaner-registry & cache cleaner
Lastly
macrium reflect free
or commercial imaging software,if you buy get a package deal for multiple computers so it includes youra as well & split the cost
norton ghost or
acronis true image
Get her to to use f8 key on reboot on the crashing comp she can then select "disable reboot" this should stop the comp from restarting & will hopefully give the error message if there is one,it may just be a hardware issue or driver or software
As for the other computers i personally wouldn't waste my time,save contacts & anything else & reformat if comps are indeed infected it will be faster in the long run & it's a good place to start making images at varying stages of install,this way if infection is often you have no need to be concerned it can be fixed in minutes,not hours or days if you attempt infect removal,you could even say run puppy linux to retrieve data,actually that's a good way to determine if the crashing comp is hardware related,if puppy works then it could be the hdd side of the channel or an infection or xp is just stuffed up
go here for live linux iso's
distrowatch.com
If in the end it's all too much just get her to take it to a local comp shop,however any linux live cd can be used as an os without install yep everything xp does linux can do with or without installing,so in essence you could just get her to use one of those until you get there,most linux distro's are free & can be installed in dual boot that means you can run linux off the hdd while xp is still there unaffected,well in a manner of speaking..lol..
CNova, edit out that link in your sig to conforum to forum specs ASAP.
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posts edited.
