Minimal System..Recommendations Appreciated

[smitee]

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..

[TechZ]

Firewall:

ZoneAlarm Free Edition is quite good, Pro is amazing though

AntiVirus:

Avast AV I use the Free edition on 1 PC at home, whereas the rest run NortonAV2005
AntiVir A very good free AV solution.

Malware:

Counterspy (Its worth the money)
Spybot - Excellent Immunize feature, blocks automatically.
Adaware
Host File (free)

Spybot/Adaware/Host file I always have installed, for Malware, there rarely is a 1 stop solution, so having all three is a good idea.

Mostly all AV/Firewall software needs a basic initial setting up, and firewall takes more, as you need to get it setup properly the first time. Once they are setup though, its mostly all automatic updates.

If he's on cable internet, and if his modem is the all-in-one kind, then it has a firewall built-in he can utilise. 64MB of RAM is just barely enough IMO, he can easily top that to 128MB for not much money and have noticeable performance difference.

[Welshjim]

smitee--Has your friend tried Registration from the NAV "control panel"? Click on Help and Support. One option is Product Registration.

[smitee]

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

[Welshjim]

smitee--TechZ has given you a couple of good, free AV programs. In addition there is
http://home.ca.com/dr/v2/ec_main.ent...715&CID=185351

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. Here is a year ago article
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,118541,00.asp
The price you quote is more like a brand new CD version of a Norton product (AV, NIS or NSW). If so, perhaps it was shipped and not yet arrived or installed, so the old version would, of course, show expired.
Sadder yet is that stores like Staples, Office Max, etc, often have sales on new Norton products, which, with update rebates, come close to zero cost.
And if you suspect your friend has spyware/malware on the PC, you might follow the procedure here
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...d.php?t=167915
P.S. Get the latest versions of AdAware, HiJackThis, etc.

[Welshjim]

TechZ--

modem is the all-in-one kind, then it has a firewall built-in

I am not sure what the all-in-one kind is, but I was not aware that any modem functioned as a firewall. Perhaps you meant "router"?

[smitee]

Hi Welshjim

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

[Welshjim]

smitee--Ah, Canadian$. I cannot offer any advice what is a realistic price in Canada.

I haven't used ZoneAlarm. Is it easy to setup?

I have used it for years without much (any) problems. However, ZA is a firewall, not an antivirus program, so one is not a substitute for the other.

[smitee]

Canadian prices probably higher and with exchange who knows...

Yes, Av programs are not the same as Firewalls..LOL

We are thankful for the help and will certainly post back.

Regards

PS. I really didn't notice NAV in your sig till now. Your restraint to my ignorance of this fact has been terrific.

[Welshjim]

smitee--Your friend should definitely have a firewall installed and running on the PC. So if there is no other Firewall running now, do get/install one. ZoneAlarm (free) is an excellent choice. However, if whatever Norton product has been purchased has a Firewall, recognize that only one firewall should be active at any time on the PC.

[smitee]

Hi Welshjim and TechZ

Follow-Up

All steps re: Making Me run well...completed..21 Critical Updates (M$)
On-line scans (Trend would.not complete..Activescan caught 1 virus (repaired) and (2) malware problems.
New Ad-Aware (25) tracking cookies
Hijackthis..(2) possible nasties..scan and repair.. Reran Hijackthis..clean
Download and install Sygate It allowed setting rules for apps ca;lling out and some in..Denying some if not from trusted sources...(Nice program)

No luck trying to get NAV to work...Credit card charged $ 37.01 (Canadian) for 2003 renewal..Original Card charge $69.99 for Nav 2006 complete.
Will try once more to get NAV working if not successful will try and uninstall, my bud will EAT the $37.01 just to get peace of mind.

New AV will be one of those suggested...

Thanks again