Best free anti malware (virus, spyware, trojan, etc) program?

October 15, 2009

I use:
Ad Adware SE Personal
avast!
Spybot Search and Destroy
SUPERAntiSpyware
Spyware Blaster

And to clean my registries:
CCLeaner
Abexo

What do you use and what do you think are the best?

In the past I have tried AntiVir, MacAffe and Norton and did not like too much also AVG which is crap

Who else agrees that PC virus protection software is a total scam?

October 14, 2009

I have had computers for the last 10 years and never used virus protection software. I do use a firewall, but I prefer hardware ones, as stuff like zonealarm just doesn’t work. And as of yet, I have never had a virus/worm/trojan which threatened the data on my PC.

PC World makes out that without McAffee or Norton, you WILL get a virus as SOON as you switch your modem on.

How can I prevent the hal.dll error?

October 10, 2009

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file."

This is a common error and I see all kinds of troubleshooting online. This message has come on my computer many times. The error has probably happened at least 5 times and I had to reformat my hard drive each time. None of the online solutions helped besides reformatting. I maintain my computer with recent updates and Norton. I also noticed that when I install some LEGIT programs, my computer tends bring this error.

My computer is around 8 years old that uses XP SP2 but I can’t afford a new one. Is there a way to prevent this hal.dll error? Should I buy a new hard drive? I replaced my original hard drive around maybe 4 years ago with a Seagate Barracuda (currently using). One weird thing to note is that the hard drive has worked when under a hard drive enclosure. Not sure about now. Any suggestions?

how do I get rid of errorsafe and winfixer?

September 28, 2009

My computer runs slow and after a scan by Norton found these two that the anti-virus can’t get rid of. How do I get rid of them. Is there a special download that will do it?

Computer hangs going into Sleep or Hibernate mode after removing Norton, What can I do?

September 25, 2009

I have a Compaq Presario notebook running Windows XP Prof. I removed Norton using Revo Uninstaller which scrubbed the registry clean too. I also ran a registry cleaner to check for unwanted entries. But the system hangs going into sleep or hibernate. And I don’t dare using HP/Compaq’s system restore because it will just put Norton and a host of other unwanted programs back on my system. Did try using a legit copy of Windows XP Pro to try and do a repair but the screen keeps coming back that there’s an administrative password when there is none. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Turning off hibernate and sleep modes on a laptop is not really an option. Maintaining a windows session to move a laptop takes less time than shutting it down, rebooting, and finding all of the necessary files once more to show to someone. Sleep and Hibernate worked just fine while Norton was on the system.