[squishie]

Looking for you guys opinion on anti-virus and anti-spyware software for 64 bit OS. Seems my old stuff won't be of any use for the new system. Threatfire and pc tools anti-virus are working on a beta one for it. Spybot I haven't looked yet. Thanks?:|

[Flashorn]

Hey squishie !!



You might have a hard time at locating 64 bit security for Vista SP1.

Out of the ones that we usually recommend , which are :

Avast - Antivirus

Avira - Antivirus

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware - AntiSpyware

SUPERAntiSpyware - AntiSpyware

Online Armor - Firewall

PC Tool Firewall Plus - Firewall



Only Avira has the 64 bit compatibility:

http://www.free-av.d...oad_servers.php .



I do know however that Nod32 has a 64bit version of it's

AntiVirus but, this is a Pay For application.

http://www.eset.com/landingpages/landingpage1.php?CMP=KNC-g-ag&gclid=CLL9r87R85gCFSXBDAodbF1X2Q .



I will give you the address of a site that has all sorts of free

applications (security & otherwise) where you might find what

you are looking for.

http://www.techsuppo...rity-tools.html .



Just wait for other posters to respond . Maybe they have other

suggestions .



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[squishie]

Hey Flashhorn

Thank you for the suggestions. It gives me a place to start. My system (HP a6642p) hasn't even arrived yet and I can see I am going to have more "fun" than I thought. I guess in a few years, the 64 bit will be more common. I never had vista (don't even know what it looks like). This system comes with it. And if I don't like it or constantly have to mess with it, I could always wipe the drive and install 32 bit XP.:^0

[Flashorn]

Hey squishie !!



Sorry I couldn't of more help but, as you know 64 bit is not that

common amongst home users. My best guess is, you might

have to buy a suite (which I hate recommending) but, in your

case could be the solution . OR try Avira and buy a Antispyware.

This way you wouldn't have to shell out too much for your security.



As for Vista , I have it on my notebook and really like it. If you have

the hardware to run Vista , it will purr right along.



Post back when you get your PC and we will help with the Trial Clean-up.



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[squishie]

Hey Flashorn !!

No, you have been helpful and I am sure I will be taking you guy's up on your offer to help get the system running when it get's here. The security thing is one issue that didn't occur to me until I noticed that on my old anti-virus program (The "about" page) it said for 32 bit only. oh, ooohhhhh Problem # 1. Anyhoo, Thanks again and will talk to you soon.

[smax013]

You should potentially expect more problems with drivers and programs...not every thing is 64 bit compatible just yet. Some programs will be able to run in "32 bit compatibility mode", but some won't. 64 bit is kind of the cusp of being "mainstream" but is not quite there yet, so you will likely encounter other "bumps in the road".

On the plus side, it is possible that some malware might get "stymied" by the 64 bit OS as well.

[SpiritWind]

Hi :

I am under the impression that most antivirus programs support a 64 bit OS ; and it

appears that Avast does, based on the Info at www.avast.com/eng/x64.html !?

You should check the websites of Malwarebytes.org and superantispyware.com to

see IF their products also support 64 bit OSs !?

[squishie]

Thanks alot guys!! Did a little "shopping" at the sites you recommended. Found some neat stuff. Avast has a one installation program that will install either 32 or 64 bit.. It first reads what kind of system you have and then installs the proper files (32 or 64bit). Malwarebytes has one program for 64 and another for 32. Trouble is, it doesn't tell you which program file is which. Toss a coin. I chose the bigger one. Superantispyware works but the people on their forum says it works great on 64 bit, but has a few bugs since it wasn't designed for it. I guess spybot works on 64 bit because by reading their forum's (superantispyware or malwarebytes, I forget which one.) they mentioned it a few times that they used it before switching. Anyhoo, I got all these program zip files on my flash drive and now have to decide which one to use. (life is difficult.). Hey!! I also got that "Decrapper" program. When my system gets here, should that be the first thing I run?:D

[Flashorn]

Hey squishie !!





OK, my mistake . Avast does support 64bit computing. This is what they say



when I went into System Requirements :

For a computer running Windows XP; 64-bit Edition:
An AMD Athlon64, Opteron or Intel EM64T-enabled Pentium 4 / Xeon
processor, 128MB RAM (256MB recommended) and 100MB of free hard disk
space



For a computer running Windows Vista:
Pentium 4 processor, 512MB RAM and 100MB of free hard disk space



The program itself requires about 60MB of hard disk space; the
remainder of the recommended space is reserved for the virus recovery
database file and its index (VRDB, also known as the "integrity
database" from the previous version).



As you can see , there is no mention of 64bit for Vista , only for XP. But, on the front

page (which I missed , sorry) it says :

Tried and Trusted With over 70 million users of avast!, you can
rest assured that you are using one of the most tried and trusted
products in Windows security. We support more Windows versions (from
Windows 95 to Vista 64bit) than any other anti-malware product. No
matter what system you have, avast! has it covered.



I then went to their forum and searched for 64bit compatibility and got quite

a few responces saying that , it was not compatible and that 64bit install was

tricky. If you do have problems with this program and would like to uninstall

try the normal way by going to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.

If you have any problems uninstalling Avast then,

I would suggest to use the Avast Uninstall Utility .




Now, SUPERAntispyware has no mention of 64bit for Vista although , it works

great in 32bit Vista. :




As for MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, they say out right that , their antispyware Is Not Compatible

with 64bit. :

Key Features

* Support for Windows 2000, XP, and Vista (32-bit only).
* Light speed quick scanning.
* Ability to perform full scans for all drives.
* Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Protection Module. (requires registration)
* Database updates released daily.
* Quarantine to hold threats and restore them at your convenience.
* Ignore list for both the scanner and Protection Module.
* Settings to enhance your Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware performance.
* A small list of extra utilities to help remove malware manually.
* Multi-lingual support.
* Works together with other anti-malware utilities.
* Command line support for quick scanning.
* Context menu integration to scan files on demand.


These are the main programs that we recommend. You might have to play around

to see if they give you any problems.



As for the first thing to do when you get your new PC .Start it and choose the language.

Once you are satisfied that everything has booted up properly , I would suggest that

you burn the "recovery disk". This should be on the D:/ drive _ HP Recovery. This should be done

using DVD-R and Not the DVD+R. Do not go Online with out the Antivirus - AntiSpyware - Firewall.



You will probably get the Norton Security Suite as a Trial. WE do not recommend this program but,

this would have to be Your choice. If you are not to use this Suite then, you should Uninstall with

Their uninstall Tool. Get it here : Norton Removal Tool .

Do this Before you install Any other security software otherwise you Will have difficulty installing

the others.


When this is done then, you can go on to use the Decrapifier for the other programs that you will

not use.



If you have any concerns or other questions, plz post back and we will help.




FLASHORN . !http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
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[squishie]

Hey Flashorn !!

Thanks for the tips, I will follow your steps. How long to charge battery? How do you know when full charge?

Oh, by the way. Made mistake in last post, It's Avira that doesn't tell you which program is which. (32 or 64). But they do have both.:|

[Flashorn]

Hey squishie !!



OK, the link I gave you for Avira is for both the 32 & 64bit install.

This is what the Read Me text says :

1 System requirements
*
In order for Avira AntiVir Personal to run properly, the computer
system must fulfill the following requirements:
- Computer: Pentium or higher, at least 266 MHz
- Operating system
- Microsoft Windows Vista SP 1 (32 or 64 bit) or
- Microsoft Windows XP Home or Professional (32 or 64 bit), SP 2
recommended or
- Microsoft Windows 2000, SP 4 recommended
The display of the program interfaces can differ, depending on the
operating system used.
- 30 MB free memory on the hard disk (more if quarantine is used)
- Min. 100 MB temporary memory on the hard disk
- Min. 192 MB RAM (Windows XP or Professional)
- Min. 512 MB RAM (Windows Vista)
- For the installation of Avira AntiVir Personal:
administrator rights

2 Important requirements for an installation

Ensure that the following requirements are fulfilled so that Avira
AntiVir Personal works properly on your computer:
- System requirements fulfilled
- No other on-access scanner (also called Guard) installed
- Installer has administrator rights
- Internet/Intranet connection available
- All running programs on the computer exited



Ok, one thing people are not aware of in Vista , is that ,when you want to

install a Program , you Must have Administrator Rights. This is what the

Read Me text means. Once you have downloaded the .exe for ANY program

not just Avira, you HAVE TO right click on the program's .exe and from the

context menu , choose "Run As Administrator" . this will ensure a good install

of whatever program you want to install.

!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
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As you can see , the installer you will be downloading is for all versions

mentioned in the Read Me text.

It also mentions that you should have a connection to internet available

for updates. The Updates can be done manually for the first time After you

have installed the other security programs (Firewall & Antispyware).



The preferred installation package from the link provided is the .exe which is the :

Download English installation kit

Date: 2008-12-09, Version: 8.2.0.337

Md5: e7211e9ed34513d9c1bbfa3c9b1067fa

Md5: e7211e9ed34513d9c1bbfa3c9b1067fa
21.04 MB

If you got my original post in which I said something about the Battery,

I was thinking of a notebook and yours is a PC, so , ignore that comment.



I have read the specs for the coming PC and I see a : Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100.

You might have problems running the latest games that are really

demanding on your Video Card. If you find that you are not satisfied

with the performance of this Graphics Chip , you probably could install

a Dedicated Video Card in one of the Motherboards PCI-E slots.



OK squishie , if you think of anything else , just post back and will try to help

as much as I can. I'm sure others will also have comments as they already

stated.



FLASHORN. !http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
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[squishie]

Hey Flashorn !!

Thank you for the information. I know the graphics chips that come with the system are cheapo's. I read that a nice card to get is a "Sapphire 100258L" Radeon HD 3650 512 MB 128 bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8XHDCP ready video card. (Whatever that all means). But that's another day. I downloaded the Avira from the link you sent me. It was the opposite one that I downloaded earlier (figures). The link you sent me was 21.0 MB, and the one I downloaded earlier was 23.1MB. Wonder what the difference is? The first one I downloaded was a zipped file and could be explored, and the other was not and could not be explored. The one that could had folders for vista 64, XP64, XP, NT. Anyhoo, I think they are the same thing only in different packages. Why one is 2.1 MB bigger is beyond me. (evil spy's). Thanks for the tip on "Run as Administrator". Never even heard of that. Is vista full of these "little surprises"?

Have a great day or night, whatever the case may be.:^0

[Flashorn]

Hey squishie !!



When you get the new PC we can then explore in more details , the

new features and where everything is in Vista. If you want, we could

also Customize the look of Vista with skins from Alienware. All of the

customizing apps are free so, you could have a little bit of fun with it.



As for the graphix card, GDDR2 is on it's way out. You will want to check

out cards with GDDR3 or GDDR4 but , first we have to verify if the Motherboard

will support them . Also , a concern would be the PSU (power supply unit).

Cards like these would make a demand on the PSU. If too small say , 450 to

500 watts , this might be a problem. A PSU of 600 watts would be ideal.

The space inside the PC would have to be considered. If too close to CPU

and fans then, they will Overheat and cause BSoD or lock ups of PC.

Here are two examples of what I mean :



http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102719 .



http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102803 .



To verify what the PC is composed of , we generally install and run :

Belarc Advisor . This is also a free application.



Ok squishie , this is about as much info. you need to get started. If you

have anymore questions , we will all be here to help.



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[squishie]

Hey Flashorn!

I think I found a good anti-virus program for 64-bit and it's free. "Comodo internet security" It also comes with a firewall. You can install one or the other or both. It seems to work pretty good. At first it kept giving me little tray messages saying, "Learning" and tells me what it's learning. This popped up less and less as time went by and now only pops up every once in a while. It has all kinds of features and you can fine tune it the way you like. They have it for 32 and 64-bit. Check it out and see what you think.:)

[SpiritWind]

Hi :

I would not have anything from Comodo on my computer, probably an opinion "left-over"

from their Adware Past; their antiVIRUS has been subpar for quite a long time . There is

quite a Thread about "C.I.S." on the Avast Support Forums, currently 213 Posts ! Would

recommend you read through at least some of it at

forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=41708.0 .

[squishie]

Hi Spiritwind

Thank you for the warning about cis. I read a few pages of comments from the link you sent me. To tell you the truth, I really don't know what they are talking about. I just want a system that gives me a reasonable line of defense. I can't go thru life worrying about evil viruses and his brother, Mr. Menacing Malware. The worst that can happen is to have to wipe drive and reinstall OS. I realize that I would lose all my stuff and would have to reinstall it (most of it anyway). My important stuff is copied on another drive in a different computer anyway. I would look at it as "spring cleaning". I bet that half the programs I got I never or seldom use anyway. Now this is just me I am talking about. I am not making light of the seriousness of these problems, as I know that other people's systems contain their life blood and the means to make a living. I just what something that works. I tried "Avira" 64-bit. False alerts left and right. There was not a single article I could click on in the PC World web site that didn't send up flares. Apparently, it don't like PC World script. Anyhoo, my choices are limited at this time for the 64-bit AV.:)

[dqpublic]

hi squishie, I don't recommend using AVAST! at all ... I was using it for my clients, and one day I got a call that all of them are infected with a virus, and I'm pretty sure that all of them are set to auto update.

I don't know of any other 64bit free AV outthere ... but for the paid ones, I'm using BitDefender Internet Security 2009 now. I like it much that I signed up as their reseller :)

Happy hunting ...

[GoneFishing]

Personally if you can afford a new 64 bit OS, if it came with the computer then even more so, and want a free AV that is really good, is not thinking with all the lights on, 300 for a OS and 30 for a good AV, don't be so cheap get NOD32

[SnyperTodd]

+1 for Nod32- IMO it's the best AV out there. But I don't like to pay for anything, I use Avast on everything, never had a single problem. I didn't like Avira because of the popups that would be up every morning after the overnight scan, and I saw more false positives with Avira than any other AV I've tried other than AVG. The free Avast does not have a scheduler, so you have to initiate nightly scans manually(if you want), or be a little creative... I'm using Vista x64, Avast works just fine with it, no tricky install or anything.