Less is more when it comes to AV (as long as it's not zero). There is very little that's harder on a system than AV, and the big ones like the junk form McAfee and Norton are a quadruple sink on system resources.
If it were me, I'd do the following:
1) Remove all 3rd party AV crap - then install security essentials
2) never ever ever ever ever use IE or Outlook, use Firefox/Chrome and Thunderbird
3) always do updates as soon as they come out, especially Windows, Flash, and Java.
B.
That's obviously coming from a Linux/Unix Admin LOL well as a Windows Server Administrator I agree with the first statement...
Remove all 3rd party AV crap - then install security essentials
, they are definitely not going to do anything good for you at all, they are there as part of a software development affiliation, they are absolutely not necessary and take load of CPU power and Memory spaces... where Windows itself eat pretty much half of your resources you don't need more mouth to feed.
Try to skim a little all resources hungry special effects... do you really need your after dark to play music? I know that the Aero effect in Windows 7 is very nice, but it's also super duper resources hungry... you'll end up restarting your PC more than expected.
I agree with GB here, IE suck eggs, whatever new version Microsoft is coming with, it sucks, compatibility issue, xml crap not reading the website properly, it's a very much calender for viruses and malwares etc etc... IE no matter what version it's crap... IE was frankly made for internal browsing... as an IT Implementation Engineer I use IE because I use Sharepoint Server but beside that IE is a very smelly piece of Gates :rofl::rofl::rofl:... so as it was suggested; browser software such as Firefox and Chrome are the best to my knowledge for both Windows & Linux... however try to avoid using Safari browser on a Windows Platform... for some reasons it really really doesn't work that good... keeps crashing all the time. I swear in 4 different languages with that one LOL, but I know Safari to be a Mozilla based technology so it does work fine... but I believed they used the same technology used in IE to developed the Safari browser for windows,hence the crashing waltz.
Unless you really really need to use Outlook, as GB suggested I'd stay away from it... I use Outlook in a Server/Client environment where I get to tell Outlook what to do and how to do it... but when using Outlook to manage POP3 accounts - public accounts that is such as:hotmail, gmail, grandma mail etc., you are just asking for trouble no matter if you have that Office 2010... if it's HOME edition, it's CRAP edition and that is true for every products of Microsoft. So try with Thunderbird or the forever old but standing the wave just fine; Lotus Notes. Yes I also runs Domino servers so I am well proficient with Lotus Notes... actually a domino server is much more powerful and faster and secure than an Exchange server... I'm sure GB would agree with that since Domino was first developed in Unix mode. Designed to run on those old but still working fine AS/400 IBM servers.
Now for all those cute software AVG, AVAX anti-spyware and viruses just pay very good attention to them and don't install too many of them at once. Malwarebytes are a very good one to have and perhaps to register for and AVG is only good when registered because you'll find out soon enough if you know how to read LOGS that sometimes those who claims to fix issues are the issue themselves... an old UK company that GB must know called Webroot, creators of the old Windows Washer (the evidences clearer) were the very same company writing malware code before turning to the good side of the railroad track... do a little research before using free AntiSpyware software as many are often the very one whom let those undesirable in when you do not have a registered account with them. But I can't agree more with GB regarding the big Anti spyware name such as Norton and McAffee... I run the centralize version of them where one big server is the central point for all the machine to get their updated definitions and anti spyware... but trust me I also have a Registered Malwarebytes Server that distribute all other PC with centralized malware protection.
Also a good tweaking of your Firewall router would be a good things to do... learning how to use the DNSBL (Domain Name Service Black List or Block List) is a list of IP addresses published through the Internet Domain Name Service (DNS) either as a zone file that can be used by DNS server software, or as a live DNS zone that can be queried in real-time. DNSBLs are most often used to publish the addresses of computers or networks linked to spamming; most mail server software can be configured to reject or flag messages which have been sent from a site listed on one or more such lists. Why am I saying this? Well dude how do you thing you get spammed or targeted for malware... malware are often little applications that gets installed in your PC without you acknowledging it when you often visit a website... they are little tracking devices sent to servers world wide and sent to asswipes companies so they can scam and or use your PC as a gateway ... DNSBL track down those assholes and list them up and block them... so far my Cisco Firewall has more than 4000 entries of those ass and I have been slightly off virus for quite sometime.
I understand why you are mad at them with your last statement... I'd go rambling even worst because you're a home user doing home stuff, I run a network doing business stuff... it's even more annoying when a database server have been hijacked by those asswipes... they can get everything they want and harass not only you but your clients as well. :angry:
