What is the best antispyware and virus protection for your computer?

[retired77]

I upgraded my hi-speed with Qwest. they have me a package with McAfee, Spyware and Fireball. But I keep reading on the web about others that sound so good. Am I fully protected with what I have? Will this protect me from Adware. I have the highest speed but my computer seems so slow at times. Sites have indicated that I may not be cleaning my computer to get everything? I have followed all the advice given to me but it seems like it should be faster. Sometimes it is fast, other times it's not. I have only my virus program of McAfee and Spyware and my sound and clock running on my start up.

Also, if I have a lot of icons on my desktop (some with shortcuts to a program) would that slow down my computer. Also lots of photos and large screensaver running.

Thank you, the more I read, the more confused I get.

[Mattster M]

Actually the best is Trend Micro thats the best it finds everything even if it is pretending to be good

[jibbarjabar]

Qwest has a decent protection, it should serve you well. But I hope that you completely un-installed any Anti-virus that you had previously (before your current McAfee / Quest.)
Having 2 anti-virus apps running at the same time can cause major conflicts and major computer slowdowns as the 2 programs "fight" to scan every file you read, write or execute.

Is it your computer that is slow in general or is it just the internet that is slow? Huge difference.

IMHO, if it is the internet that is showing erratic, irregular speeds then it is likely a problem on Qwest's end. You should test your ACTUAL internet connection speed here:
http://www.speedtest.net/
Use the server that is closest to you. You should be getting a speed (both upload and download) that is about 15% of the speed tier that you are paying Qwest for. Test several times, both when your computer seems "fast" and when it appears "slow".

BTW, I assume you mean that you have an ANTI-spyware and a fireWALL!

If you should decide to replace McAfee (not needed, IMHO), avoid the anti-virus called AVG. It has very poor virus detection rates.

Good luck.

[waltzme2heaven]

You are good with what you have.

Alternatives are AVG and Windows Defender. Don't add ANY virus or spyware protection without first uninstalling the old virus protection.

Your PC will slow down when these programs are doing a full scan. You can change the schedule of these so that it only does the scans when the PC is not in use, or during the evening when you aren't using it.

[kingstonsean]

Ashutosh Mishra has given you some good answers above.

I would add:

1) DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER. Sorry to shout, but IE is full of holes. Use Firefox from Mozilla as your browser.
2) Symantec has a free security check. See link below.