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Simple AV question

By jardinier ·
The most reliable computer I have ever owned is an IBM running Windows ME. It has not given a hiccup in 10 years.

But the better known AV programs will not run on ME and so I am using ClamWin.

It is rather basic and does not, like the more sophisticated AVs, catch nasties in mid-air before they can enter the computer, so scanning has to be done manually.

The settings include the options of quarantining a virus or deleting the infected file.

Is it OK to leave the infected files in quarantine (it has found a trojan) or should they be deleted totally?

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Typically

by TheChas In reply to Simple AV question

A lot depends on what the infected file is.

If it is a file from your browser cache or a file you know you have a reliable backup of, delete it with no misgivings.

If it is a file that has value to you, you may want to quarantine it and then try and remove the infection.

If it is a required file for Windows or to run a program, I normally delete them and deal with the issue. If I need to reinstall an application, I will.

I would also recommend that you run the newest AV software you have that will run on your Me system. That along with a firewall will provide some protection between scans with ClamWin.

Chas

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Virus on ME

by sojrner In reply to Typically

Normally, you would wipe out the HDD after backing up files. That is the most secure way to get rid of a virus on the old Operating Systems. Also, you can check www.downloads.com to see if there is any free software AV for the ME system. It will be really hard to find tho.

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Thanks, but .....

by jardinier In reply to Check here, jardinier.

I use avast on all my other computers. Alas there has been a major program upgrade and it will no longer work on ME.

I looked at a number of free AVs that will run on ME, and ClamWin seemed to be as good as any.

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I didn't look closely,

by boxfiddler Moderator In reply to Thanks, but .....

but in past I've been able to get older versions of Avast. I have a Win2K machine that I keep it on. Hmmmm. I'll look a little closer.

Five pages of older versions:
http://www.filehorse.com/download-avast-antivirus/185/old-versions/page-1/

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I would imagine

by seanferd In reply to I didn't look closely,

that having a slightly outdated <i>resident</i> AV would be a good addition to an up-to-date AV that offers no real-time resident scanning.

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You have a point

by jardinier In reply to I would imagine

But is it OK to have two AVs on one machine? Will they clash? Actually this is something I have wondered about for some time.

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Real-Time AV

by TheChas In reply to You have a point

True, you only want to have 1 real time AV program running at one time. But, ClamWin does not run real time so you can have a second AV running with ClamWin.

My primary point was that even if you run an out of date AV that is not getting definition updates on your Me system, that is still better than no real-time protection.

While you will not be protected from the newest threats, older software will still block all those old viruses that are still infection systems.

Chas

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Not feasible

by jardinier In reply to Real-Time AV

Hi Chas. I installed avast 4.8 which was about 31 MB. The update was another 35 MB. It took the computer 5 minutes to boot up. So I uninstalled avast and it boots up in 1 minute.

One advantage of my ME computer is that it correctly runs Sidekick 2.0, my diary and notes program, which appears at boot-up. This program which was designed for Windows 3.1 will not run at all on some XP computers, but crashes the computer, and on the XP computers which will open it, it will not load automatically at boot-up.

So I have been forgetting to pay my bills and so forth. The ME computer can just handle AOL lite on Firefox, so I can switch it on each day, check my emails, and see what appointments I have or which bills are due.

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Did you leave all the default features on?

by seanferd In reply to Real-Time AV

You may have a better boot time and performance if you turn off some of the features that you really don't need.

Then again, with 128 MB of RAM... Although I used to do OK with 192 MB.

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