Avira Anti-virus

[Leila]

I have an older computer - it's 8 years old this month, and I'm anticipating getting a new computer within the next 6 months. My computer is a Pentium 4; 2.66 ghz; 1.00 GB of RAM; current information is my hard drive is 106 GB; 78.1 GB free.

I've currently got Avira installed as my anti-virus and the paid version of Malarebytes. I use FireFox as my browser. Whenever Avira is running, and I'm online Firefox will frequently stall. Firefox rarely stalls otherwise, so I suspect that my older computer can't handle the two programs running at once. Yesterday, I downloaded and installed Firefox's latest version and it took Avira longer to run today.

I need to update Avira to the newest edition as after June 1st, they won't be providing updates for my version.

My questions:

First of all, is Avira the best or is another anti-virus recommended?

On my desktop is 4 icons for Avira. I think there might be older versions of it on my computer. Should I uninstall Avira and then install the new version?

What happens to the viruses that are in quarantine in Avira if I uninstall Avira - are they gone too?

I've got one question that's off-topic. When I get out there and start looking for a new computer, what should I look for? It's been so long since I've purchased a computer I don't know anything about the new systems. How big of a harddrive, how much ram, etc. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

Hi.

I've had a lot of problems with Firefox 4/4.1 stalling every few seconds. Firefox also has been known to be a resource hog and slow down the computer.

It's best to uninstall the previous version before upgrading. You can also download the registery cleaner tool from Avira to remove entries.

http://www.avira.com/en/support-download-avira-registrycleaner

I'm not positive, but I believe so. They won't cause any damage regardless if they aren't automatically remove.

[Leila]

Thanks Buttons! I've felt that it was Firefox that was slowing things down. Is there any other browser that safe and fast?

I will go ahead and get the new version of Avira installed (older versions uninstalled including the Avira registry tool) in the next few days.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

You're welcome Leila. Well Chromium based browsers are pretty light such as SRware Iron. Opera isn't too bad ether.

Alright let us know if you need help.

[mountaintree16]

I love Opera broswer, and I feel that Avira is a great AV choice

[byte_king]

Personally, I find Opera to be very, very good. It's my favorite of all the browsers.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

Only thing I have with Opera is that it keeps messing up my bookmarks order. Otherwise a good browser.

[Leila]

Thanks for all the information! I haven't gone ahead and un-intalled Avira and installed the latest version yet, but plan to do so this weekend.

Today was the second day of having the new 4.1 version of Firefox, and surprisingly it ran smoothly with my Avira anti-virus running, although it took about 30 minutes longer than normal.

I have a lot of saved pictures, many more than I probably should have. I have my own small website and change the picture at the top of the page every day - usually a seasonal or topical picture, so I try to keep picture files of seasons, holidays, etc. I'm going to do some clean up of my pictures tonight and try to delete a lot of them and probably move some off my computer. I think that will go a long ways to Avira taking so much time to complete a scan.

Then, I'll un-install Avira, use the special program to remove all traces of it, and install the latest Avira version.

I'll also check out Opera as a browser.

Any recommendations on what I should look for when looking for a new computer? How big of a hard drive, how much ram, and specific features that are good to have? I will be looking for a desktop as opposed to a laptop. Any recommendations appreciated. Thanks!