spuzi14 wrote:Well if I download all this anti virus/spyware stuff...am I really making any forward progress with memory? I mean I might be able to protect my computer from a virus and all that but if it's not really usable then it's pointless.
I recommended those programs because they use very little memory and don't impact system performance as much as say McAfee or Norton would. Avast runs in the background but uses only about 12mb of ram. AdAware does not run in the background, it runs only on demand, and therefore uses no ram in that context.
As to your comment, is a really fast system useful if it's highly vulnerable to viruses, either? No. There's a balance half way in between.
I personally run a dedicated hardware firewall (I use a Linux box, but most people could use a nice Linksys router and it'd work excellently) so that I don't have to run firewall software on my PC.
I also don't use antivirus but I don't recommend that for most people.
There's a great 600kb tool called cpuz that will tell you everything you want to know about your machine's hardware - here it is:
http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-139.zip You don't have to install anything, it runs right from the zip file, just open cpuz.exe .
@COD_FILLETS,
Not to be argumentative or anything, but just FYI, ActiveScan and HouseCall aren't very, uh, in-depth. They miss a lot of "details". Plus, both of them actually DO install software onto your PC, they just use the browser's interface instead. Avast, AVG, etc.... require barley any more work or HDD space, and do a much better job.
I'm writing a book on PC Maintenance & Security for the home computer user. It's a very non-technical, layman's-terms explanation of things. I'm tempted to post chunks of it here for you guys to review and use, but I'm afraid of it getting pirated and posted on P2P services before I publish.
Of course, now when the book comes out, you'll all know who Pete Zaria is...
Peace,
Pete Zaria.
