Need Recommendation for an Anti-Virus

[Leila]

At the present time, I'm using McAfee anti-virus on my desktop PC, and it's been suggested that I should look into another anti-virus. 

 

In addition to my desktop PC, I've been gifted with a not quite 2-year-old laptop and need to put an anti-virus on that computer.

 

I also have the pro version of Malwarebytes on my desktop.  Do I need to buy another copy of the pro version for the laptop too?

 

Any suggestions as to what anti-virus I should get.

 

 

 

[daledoc1]

Hi, Leila:

Antivirus Recommendations:

Here's some helpful information to answer your question, in this sticky topic: List of well known antivirus products

 

MBAM PRO consumer licensing:

CURRENTLY, with version 1.xx, the answer to your question is YES -- consumer licenses are "lifetime" and single purchase, but are for use on one computer at a time;  the license may be transferred to a different computer (not a different user). 

So, YES, you'll need a separate license for each computer.

However there is a discount for multiple licenses purchased at the same transaction.  There are also some good deals available at 3rd-party etailer web sites.

 

When MBAM 2.00 is released in the next few months, NEW consumer licenses will cover 3 computers, but they will be based on a renewable, subscription model.

More info >>HERE<< and >>HERE<<.

 

So, if you want lifetime consumer licenses for each of your computers, it would be best to buy them now, while they are still available.

(Once 2.00 is released, valid, paid consumer "lifetime" licenses for 1.xx will be migrated to lifetime 2.00 licenses, although they will remain "one-computer" licenses.)

 

Gifted laptop:

I am just a home user, but I think that our resident forum experts and staff will strongly advise that the first step would be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows fresh on the used computer.  This is for both performance and safety/security.  Let us know if you need help with that.

 

Cheers,

 

daledoc1

[Firefox]

Gifted laptop:

I am just a home user, but I think that our resident forum experts and staff will strongly advise that the first step would be to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows fresh on the used computer.  This is for both performance and safety/security.  Let us know if you need help with that.

Agreed, you should format and re-install all software and updates. You do not know what is on this 'gifted' computer, good or bad, so the best thing to do would to be to format it and have a clean slate...

[Leila]

The laptop had belonged to the college age daughter of a neighbor who said his daughter had bought a new computer and had left her old one in the garage and he was cleaning out the garage and getting rid of unwanted clutter.  He asked if I could use that laptop.

 

The laptop computer I was gifted with is an ASUS with an Intel Premium processor, 500 gig hard drive, and Windows 7 installed.  It has a manufacture date of June 2012, so it's less than 2 years old, and probably used about a year.  I've had it since just before Thanksgiving 2013 and didn't want to deal with it over the holidays. 

 

I couldn't get it to boot up and took it to a computer store.  The technician checked it out and said it had nothing on it..........whoever owned it had wiped the hard drive including the Windows 7.  Then, when they opened it up, they found the hard drive damaged.

 

I bought a Seagate 500 gig hard drive for $64.99 and am paying for installing Windows 7 on the laptop and installing the new hard drive.  It comes to less than $200.00.  So, I'm essentially starting out with a clean slate.

 

I could have put that money toward a new laptop, but they all come with Windows 8.0 or 8.1 installed, and I don't want Windows 8.  I figure it will be a year or so before Windows 8 is perfected. 

 

I've never had a laptop computer before.........always have had a desktop.  So I may have a lot of questions.   I started out with an Apple 2e back in the late 1980s and graduated to an IBM clone in the early 1990s.  My current desktop is an almost 3-year-old Lenovo with Windows 7.

[David H. Lipman]

Whenever when receives a used computer, it should be wiped and the OS of choice installed from scratch.

[CWB]

"college aged daughter"

yep ... you are on the right course ; replace HD and fresh loading of an OS .

(why does the word "cooties" come to mind here ?)

 

i am a bit curious about the price you are being charged ... is this the grand total including the hard drive ?

200 bucks for a new OS , hard drive and labor included seems a bit on the shy side .

could you give a breakdown of the exacts of the OS medium and the installation ?

[John L. Galt]

In reading her comments (and I may be wrong) I think the HD price is separate from the labor for (physical) installation as well as installation of Windows.