What freeware anti-virus for an old PC & laptop /

[gromit]

I have a modern company laptop that I use most of the time.

I also have an old laptop and a PC still running Windows XP
Files etc. are backed up and I'm unlikely to change either computer (before you start....).
Both are used, infrequently, to access the internet.

Is there a half decent freeware anti virus package I can install ? Probably difficult to find something now that will run on XP.


Colin

[incisor]

avast still support xp i think

for what good it is...

[4bee]

avast still support xp i think

for what good it is...


XP you say?[bigrolf]

Three or four three weeks ago some uncaring bugger ripped a Fibre Optic out of the ground here dropping 1,600 users off line at the tower.

Cable was eventually fixed after about 3 days but in the meantime & due to different opinions by the ISP Techs who wanted to check the modem, we wasted over half a day with this & that & still found we could not get back online at home.[bigsad] Modem only taken in to be checked on their say so. No wonder they couldn't find a fault with it.


Eventually was advised the lappy was knackered & was a tad old (I know the feeling [bigsad]) so it was suggested we replace it, so settled on a Lenovo notepad in the interim but still couldn't get XP Pro connected on the old DELL. The Lappy is a DELL 1501.

So now I have two comps one still on XP Pro & the Lenovo is on Win 10 but that is another story for any time. What a ball ache learning that one when one is certainly not Computer literate.
:Rolling::Rolling::Rolling::Rolling::BigCry::wallb ash::wallbash::wallbash:
Diagnosed by a bloke who should have known better & assured me that he knew XP inside & out that had he right clicked on Start & looked at the small Menu that popped up it was set for the incorrect connection, on mine there are 3 connection choices one click & Bob was my uncle again. Lenovo works ok so nowt wrong with the cabling.

I never realised that function even existed.[bigsad]


For AV I have used E-Set AV for about 4 years but it has to be paid for & either it isn't working or I haven't experienced a Virus.

I have had XP since forever & never knew about that right click on Start action.


I guess we made the right decision tossing the Olde Worlde Steam Operated one.


But it had been very reliable. :TakeABow:



Just sayin'.[bighmmm]

[ramblingboy42]

try AVG.....we used it for years....it's free too.

[incisor]

try AVG.....we used it for years....it's free too.

and it is utter crap now it has been bought out by avast...

[gromit]

avast still support xp i think

for what good it is...


try AVG.....we used it for years....it's free too.

Thanks, was running Norton but not worth the expense plus it slowed things down a lot.

I have a lot of old dodgy software on the PC & Laptop and want to access it occasionally. I also hate that with the latest Windows you need an 'account' so they can monitor what you are doing (of course they are doing that anyway probably).



Colin

[BradC]

Free Antivirus for Windows - Open source GPL virus scanner (https://clamwin.com/)

Windows build of ClamAV. Does ok, but nothing spectacular. The price is right.

[incisor]

Thanks, was running Norton but not worth the expense plus it slowed things down a lot.

I have a lot of old dodgy software on the PC & Laptop and want to access it occasionally. I also hate that with the latest Windows you need an 'account' so they can monitor what you are doing (of course they are doing that anyway probably).



Colin

you don't have to have an account

just don't have the net connected when you install

no account needed...

[reefmagnet]

XP is consigned to the annuls of history. Unless you are going to use it for a single specific task, it's junk. You'll battle to get a browser installed on it that will display most modern websites. Pale Moon browser (a fork of Firefox) was about the only one that could do it without grinding the processor to a near halt if you pulled the last XP compatible version from their archive.

If you feel adventurous and perhaps want to learn something new, try a lightweight Linux install. It will virtually install itself, will feel fast and crisp to use, will get onto the internet out of the box and 99.9% of everything on Linux is freeware or opensource. Linux Mint is the most XP like of the various Linux flavours, but there are also versions specifically configured to run on older and low spec hardware. Oh yeah, anti virus is only for the extremely paranoid on Linux.

[gromit]

XP is consigned to the annuls of history. Unless you are going to use it for a single specific task, it's junk. You'll battle to get a browser installed on it that will display most modern websites. Pale Moon browser (a fork of Firefox) was about the only one that could do it without grinding the processor to a near halt if you pulled the last XP compatible version from their archive.

If you feel adventurous and perhaps want to learn something new, try a lightweight Linux install. It will virtually install itself, will feel fast and crisp to use, will get onto the internet out of the box and 99.9% of everything on Linux is freeware or opensource. Linux Mint is the most XP like of the various Linux flavours, but there are also versions specifically configured to run on older and low spec hardware. Oh yeah, anti virus is only for the extremely paranoid on Linux.

Firefox works perfectly OK on both the laptop & PC running XP.
As mentioned above, they are used to run some old software. The company laptop, and another home PC have slightly more up-to-date operating systems.


Colin