Currently I have no virus or computer protection. I do use Windows defender and run Windows XP.

Am I OK?

Do I need:
virus protection?
spyware stuff?
A better friewall?

I stopped using virus protection because it seemd usless. It would detect a virus ok but the system would already be infected.

I tried Spyware once but it locked up my PC after doeing a cleaning.

It also seemd like the protection software would slow down my PC.



Any sugestions? Anyone?

Try BitDefender, you can get a free trial and see how it works, and when you're ready to buy, you get full 2 years for the price of 1 through any other AV provider.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0.839 (http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2239_4-10320142&ontId=2239_4&spi=1faffc8df4e431dfd166ddaadf607588&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext&ltype=dl_dlnow&pid=11438779&mfgId=10044820&merId=10044820&pguid=8bA-jwoPjAEAAEVTdroAAADc&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.cnet.com%2F3001-2239_4-10320142.html%3Fspi%3D1faffc8df4e431dfd166ddaadf607588)

Comodo Firewall Pro (free) (http://www.comodo.com/home/download/download.php?prod=firewall)

Spybot Search & Destroy (free) (http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-8022_4-10122137&ontId=8022_4&spi=137a4c5276f141a0fe222355bdb9bac0&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext&ltype=dl_dlnow&pid=11000454&mfgId=104443&merId=104443&pguid=-cmGogoPjAQAAGsYinEAAAQS&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.cnet.com%2F3001-8022_4-10122137.html%3Fspi%3D137a4c5276f141a0fe222355bdb9bac0)

Malwarebytes. It's free, and I've had it catch and fix things that other programs didn't.

download microsoft security essentials. it's free and it works better than any anti virus software i've ever used.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Thanks Everyone.

I guess you all mean that running just Defender is not OK. I loaded the essentials and it seemed to find quit a bit of bad stuff.

Thanks Everyone.

I guess you all mean that running just Defender is not OK. I loaded the essentials and it seemed to find quit a bit of bad stuff.

awesome! glad that worked for you and you're able to clean your computer up.

Ben, I was using a trial version of the Kapersky Antivirus which was about to expire in like 5 days or so. I took your advice, uninstalled it and am now using MSEssentials. It's working ok but I still think Kaspersky is the best antivirus.

http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

Uncheck the run at boot option in settings,or just uninstall it after you're done.

how about privateproxy or go trusted is it worth using them?

I'd go for AVG. I tried malwarebytes but it was a bit too tight with its security measures. Once I had it scan my PC and it removed some Yahoo messenger files. Had to reinstall it all over again.