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General discussion

Softwares

Feb 15, 2015 12:07AM PST

What kind of software do I need to cure or delete viruses?

Discussion is locked

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Sometimes it's not a software but a procedure.
Feb 15, 2015 12:30AM PST

For example my dad's PC caught the ZeroAccess pest and not one antivirus software could fix it at the time.

So it's clear that no one software can deal with them all.

So if it's some known infection then you research if there is a cure but sometimes the damage is too deep and it's best to start over.

-> The worst of the lot is RansomWare ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware ) where it can lock up the users files. Good thing everyone knows they only lose what they don't backup.
Bob

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you already have some
Feb 17, 2015 4:40AM PST

since you have windows 8, you have windows defender. Microsoft Security Essentials is a part of windows defender in win8. All you really need is a companion utility such as the free version of malwarebytes.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

Do you already have a malware issue? If so you need to be specific about the problems you are having.

All antiviruses will miss things - not one of them is 100 percent perfect. IMO, review sites are worthless since they are not real world testing and very seldom do the different review sites agree with each other.

The best antivirus is the one that works for you. The effectiveness of the antiviruses is based the specific computer setup including hardware, installed software and online habits.

Most free ones are just as good as the paid ones though you may have to put up with ads, may have to manually update, may have to manually do the scans or only allowed one install per household.

IMO, try different ones and see which one you like the best. Most retail ones will give a trial. see the following for some good info about what you need

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f112/pc-safety-and-security-what-do-i-need-525915.html