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Desire to be a vessel of honor unto the Lord Jesus Christ?
Join Hidden in Him and For His Glory for discussions on how
https://christianforums.net/threads/become-a-vessel-of-honor-part-2.112306/
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One of the reasons I don't like Avast
- Thread starter Kathi
- Start date
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
Virus protection can be goofy, and it's a program in itself so it's also subject to malware and corruption. Some virus protection can act like malware itself. That's why I don't have any. I figure it's the next guy's responsibility to keep their computers under control. Keeps the computer running faster by downloading less resource hogs. I have mine under control so I don't use it for the same reason I don't get a flu shot to protect the next guy if I don't get the flu. Same concept.
- Thread starter
- #4
I want to switch over to BitDefender because I heard they were really good.My subscription for Avast does not expire till this summer.But how do I switch from one to another.Do I wait until Avast is totally expired?Then I would not have coverage.Do I overlap them a day or two.I heard that you can not have two running at the same time.
- Thread starter
- #5
Well,I get a flu shot because I do not take risks.Just like I don't take risks without an anti-virus on my computer.
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
Quite right. Your computer needs virus protection. As long as one uses MS, then virus protection is a necessary evil, and one should expect those kinds of shenanigans from the virus programs and just keep a stiff upper lip about it. Or to put it another way, no matter what you try or what one recommends it's going to give you some form of grief. Sometimes I found it's just best to live with what one has because nothing else is better. That's why I got away from needing virus protection as the only way out.
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
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One other thing.... if you want to switch virus programs, you can just disable the one you have, when you are ready to install the other one (Bit Defender). You don't have to wait for any subscriptions to run out. Once the new one is installed, you can then uninstall the Avast so you'll have no lapse in coverage.
- Thread starter
- #8
Ok..thanks tim.I install BitDefender then a minute later I uninstall Avast?
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
Yes, but turn off the Avast while installing the Bit Defender if you want to scan with it before uninstalling the Avast -- this is in case there's something you don't like about Bit Defender or whatever, then you can just reverse the process and go back to the Avast by turning it back on. You were concerned about running both virus programs. This is why you turn off the Avast so that does not happen, but it's still on your computer should you decide to go back to it. If you like the Bit Defender, then you can then uninstall the Avast.
- Thread starter
- #10
How do I turn off Avast?
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
It's been so long since I used it I don't know if I remember, but basically you should be able to bring up some sort of Avast's control panel which gives you that option, and then it will warn you. If you can't find it, then go on the Internet and google how to turn it off (for your addition of avast). Now with any program, there's usually an "about" thingy to click on and it will give you the version number.
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
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Sandboxing is a type of trial run of a program to see what its ramifications are (such as being a virus or causing some sort of problem) without actually doing damage to your computer. It somehow isolates the program to run without affecting anything else. It does not always work because if I understand correctly it has to go through many possible combinations and the damage is not always apparent, but it's one more step toward computer safety.
I think the name got started with the idea of kids playing in a sandbox as a type of pretend play and is not real, but I may be wrong on the origin.
I think the name got started with the idea of kids playing in a sandbox as a type of pretend play and is not real, but I may be wrong on the origin.
- Thread starter
- #14
I have googled a few things and have an idea how to turn temporarily turn Avast off.Perhaps it would be better to download Bitdefender, which I have read about a number of occasions and it has gotten top reviews,and then a moment later uninstall Avast.They would only be running together for a couple of minutes.That could not do much damage.
Thanks that was really my concern.
- Dec 11, 2010
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I personally think the anti-malware companies have done a good job of spreading fear. The truth is, the absolute best virus protection we have is us. Taking care about what kind of websites we visit, not blindly opening everything that comes in to our inboxes, and using a little defensive surfing is our best action.
Banks and credit card companies or other major companies including Microsoft will not email a client asking for personal information....EVER! Even if you think they did, look up their service number yourself and contact them by phone to respond live. Here is an example of a scam email I received just the other day via my Hotmail account. Microsoft will never, never, never do this....ever! My guess is if I clicked that blue button I would have created a lot of trouble for myself.
View attachment 5585
Banks and credit card companies or other major companies including Microsoft will not email a client asking for personal information....EVER! Even if you think they did, look up their service number yourself and contact them by phone to respond live. Here is an example of a scam email I received just the other day via my Hotmail account. Microsoft will never, never, never do this....ever! My guess is if I clicked that blue button I would have created a lot of trouble for myself.
View attachment 5585
- Sep 11, 2012
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BitDefender has a built in tool when it installs to check for similar software that exists on your computer. It will ask you if you would like to replace the other software. From there it will uninstall what you have and install BitDefender.I want to switch over to BitDefender because I heard they were really good.My subscription for Avast does not expire till this summer.But how do I switch from one to another.Do I wait until Avast is totally expired?Then I would not have coverage.Do I overlap them a day or two.I heard that you can not have two running at the same time.
tim-from-pa
Member
- Aug 4, 2005
- 4,716
- 435
As for spreading fear, that's true to a degree. And I will address that shortly, but in all fairness, there are people out there who may be less informed or socially engineered enough to download something they should not thus getting a disproportionate amount of malware, thus feeling guilty, but they should not! There's still easy ways to get viruses (I should say malware) without being tricked --- very easy. There was nobody more paranoid and informed than I was, and yet I will cite 5 easy ways to get viruses that actually happened to me:
1) Reading an email. That's it!!! So I disabled my preview pane helped, but then thereafter I read ALL unknown emails in the source code while walking on eggshells. Now tell me, is that normal? What's email for?
2) Looking at picture on the Internet. We had rats at work, so I wanted to get informed about them and looked up a picture and went to a legit sounding website. Nothing weird sounding that gives them away. Just normal sounding --- got a virus.
3) In my Microsofting days, I got a virus from this forum, fortunately not severe. Another poster warned the site was infected, so I just HOVERED (not clicked) my cursor over the link to type that into my Android tablet and go there. STILL got a virus on the Microsoft machine without clicking. The Android managed just fine, but I could see that there were lots of pop-ups that would render Microsoft useless. (Malware ads in flash can also do something like this, so it may have been a coincidence)
4) Mistyping in the address bar. Like goggle instead of google dot com. Malware writers capitalize on mistyping names close to popular web sites. So I had to walk again on eggshells and watch everything I type. And to top it off, Microsoft seems to have so much junk running in the background that it seems to reverse or delete letters if you type too fast. That's why you see people spelling "the" as "teh" all the time whereas I don't have this issue on other operating systems -- at least not to the same degree. So if the operating system does not keep your typing in line, then this mistyping is a common incident.
5) Browser jumping. How many times have you thought it was loaded, and then try to click on a link only to have the browser jump and you accidentally click on another malware link below it? Oh, my Linux jumps too, but I won't get Malware if I click on a malware link. But with MS, heaven forbid if you type on "Mickey's girl fun place" or to that effect --- you'll be spending hours cleaning it out. With the other operating systems, I'd just be entertained, and then repent later.
Now as you can see, the 5 ways above are drive-by's where the user did not consent to installing any software. It just happens and I dare any other operating system get malware like this except for Microsoft. The others you have to consciously consent to installing malware (e.g. by social engineering) and technically that is not a virus, but a Trojan.
So, tell me what my transgression was in the above examples, or where I was careless?
As for spreading fear, my biggest gripes aren't against warning people about the virus effects with Microsoft, but lame-brained reporters that are quick with glee to report Apple, Android or Linux malware. Even though Microsoft gets viruses something like 1,000,000 to one of theirs, they scare the people into thinking they need malware protection on their tablets, phones or whatever just because Microsoft gets malware at a drop of a hat. I tell people don't bother. There is where you simply watch what you download (Trojans) but the solution if it is a Trojan is to simply delete it. Back to normal then. I never personally known anyone who got Linux, Apple or Android malware, just as I never personally known anyone who died in an airplane crash. That's how rare it is. But with Microsoft, I've never known a single person who did not get malware on their machines, usually several times a year. And then we wonder why I constantly rail against them?
- Thread starter
- #20
I have heard that BitDefender is more thorough.It gets it all.Avast is good but it really frustrates me when they are always alerting me of the several harmful things on my computer.Then they say "would you like us to delete these things for your?" When I click on yes it says "A discounted price of.....". It cost.