Johnny Swallow said:
Hey people, I just got a new Dell desktop (3.2ghz, 2G ram, Dual 160G HDs, 20" widescreen monitor) 
, it is my first machine of my own after years of using university computers that I know nothing about.
I wanted to get off to a good start taking care of it and I wanted to know a couple of things:
1)Is there software (or anything) that comes preloaded on my computer (Windows XP) that would a good idea to uninstall?
2)What is the best (and cost effective) way to protect it online? Such as do I need anti virus and a firewall?
Are the freeware security programs effective or are Norton or McAfee the only ways to go?
Thanks for any help that you can offer. I'm on the long road of relearning all about the current technology.
P.S.
Why did I post this in here? Sorry about that.
Hi there, I'm a computer technician and do this kind of stuff on a daily basis.
1) YES, Dell desktops come loaded with so much shit. I've even had ones come to me that were automatically banned from our network for virus/spyware activity the first time they were turned on! In the Control Panel > Add/Remove programs, remove everything that's a free trial. I know Dell puts on a lot of AOL stuff and image editing things like Paint Shop or something like that. Get it all off. All you need is Microsoft Office, Windows Media Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and a few other small things that the OS uses. If you could post or send me a print screen or list of what's installed, I can tell you exactly what to leave and what to remove.
2) First, if you don't have XP Service Pack 2, download SP2 from the Windows Update site. Then, you'll have the Windows Security Center installed (comes free w/ SP2). Turn ON the firewall and turn ON automatic updates. The security patches from SP2 alone will protect you from the majority of shit that's out there, but get that on FAST because ironically new computers are the MOST vulnerable since most have been boxed for months and don't have updates installed.
You need an antivirus program. Buy Norton. You don't need the whole Internet Security package, just the antivirus program if that's available. ONLY INSTALL ONE antivirus program or you will have big problems. So make sure to remove any free trial AV programs before you purchase and install Norton. I prefer Norton over McAfee, but I recommend either of those two and nothing else. They are large, well known companies and it's always best to go with a product like that rather than some cheaper thing that might disappear within a year, or a free thing that actually installs spyware on the machine. You can't get good AV protection for free, you'll have to buy it.
Aside from your questions, we also recommend that personal computer users use Mozilla FireFox rather than Internet Explorer. Get it free from
www.getfirefox.com . If you're concerned about spyware, you can get effective versions of Adaware and Spybot Search and Destroy for free. On campus we use Webroot Spysweeper, but I'm not sure if they have a free version.
Remember, any computer is only as secure as its latest definition files, so you have to be responsible about running Windows Updates and installing new def files for your antivirus and antispyware programs, if they're not setup to do this automatically.
