Minimal System..Recommendations Appreciated
Hi All
Having read Sticky by Liam858 "Making WinMe Run Well", I still have a few questions. All input is appreciated.
I have a friend who is not computer literate. He is running WinMe and IE 6.1 on an older machine with 64meg of ram, 2Gig HD, cable Internet and until lately..no problems. AV was Norton 2003. He renewed his subscription via Credit Card and received E-Mail confirmation. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that more action to activate the update was required. At any rate NAV shows expired and I am attempting to get a refund and intend to change to a new AV and Firewall for his system.
Primary considerations are:
Any application used must be as EASY to use as possible, ie automatic updates, little or no user interaction, etc.
With this as the PRIMARY concern and with the additional constraint of limited resources which of the following would be best? Obviously, FREE would be desirable.
Firewall....?
AntiVirus..?
I intend downloading and installing newest Ad-Aware for malware detection but comments regarding this category would also be welcome.
I have already scoured the web for ratings, on all these issues but find a divided consensus about which is best. As an aside Norton has kept him going for almost a year with little or no user input. That is the IDEAL solution we are looking for. I will be able to attend his machine maybe once every two weeks. On my minimal setup I have found Agnitum Outpost useful but pay for SRN Microsystems AV.
Thanks to all who respond..
Minimal System Recommendations
TechZ
Thank you for your response. I agree memory upgrade would be desirable. One of the misfortunes of old age is a lack of money when you get there and haven't prepared. This will be a priority when funds available.
Hi Welshjim
After my initial post I went over to his house and did get through to their order/registration desk. To my friends disbelief we found his Credit Card had been clocked for $69.95 for a subscription upgrade, not even new product. He recalls being quoted less than $40 when ordering. He has asked my assistance in recovering the fee and of course divorcing himself with ALL things Norton. I imagine this will be some task but my next visit entails such an attempt.
I would be indebted to you to add your recommendations for Av and Firewall within the given constraints.
As an aside at Windows Update there remains (17) critical Updates as I have only worked through first (6)!
Running old version (1.3SE Pro Ad-Aware) picked up 20 or so tracking cookies, which were deleted.
Unfortunately Housecall would not complete even when I tried Java version from Germany..I will investigate this as I have already identified at least one malicious item in Downloaded Files folder. After cleaning up HijackThis of course, but I believe it would be premature right now.
Regards
Minimal System..Recommendations Apreciated
Hi Welshjim
Quote:
However something is very wrong about the price your friend was charged to "renew" his NAV subscription. I am almost certain it should cost no more than $30 and perhaps closer to $20.
When I return to my bud's house I will attempt to provide you with a screen capture of that portion of the message. It was $69.95 (Canadian funds). That is TOO much.
I will admit that he renewed the service on my recommendation because it had kept him up with no effort on his part for the year. Now I feel quite unhappy that I did so. Anyways that may be OT.
I thanked TechZ for his input and hope he won't Hijack this thread.
I haven't used ZoneAlarm. Is it easy to setup?
I will investigate the Av's recommended, hopefully they have automatic Update features.
Lastly, I am following most of the procedures advocated in the thread you posted. Even among dedicated, reputable Help Forums there seems to be a lack of consensus..
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:g...%2Bauhma&hl=en
Thanks again :)