AVG is also still free, but there have been many updates & I wouldn't be surprised if old versions no longer run.
If you are running ZoneAlarm then you will probably need AVG as ZA has known conflicts with other Antivirus programs such as Avast.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff

True.
Had to uninstall old version and start
from scratch this time round.
(Refused to update the old one)
mac

anybody got any comments on sp3 for xp and sp1 for vista?

Try Windows XP SP3 Review

execline , Ta , thats the sort of thing i was looking for. No reason to do anything at the mo

I've been running XP SP3 and Vista SP1 since before Xmas.

No problems at all with XP it just carries on working although some reports say that SP3 makes it faster.

SP1 improved the speed and stability of Vista significantly. Since I installed it, it seems like Microsoft have been tweaking Vista almost continually. The OS has become far more stable over the last 3 months.

Optimist , seem to be getting different information - saw flash somewhere last week that sp1 for vista had failed in b testing and microsoft were going for windows 7 instead???

I've read the Windows 7 rumour as well. The story is that it is a complete re-write and will be a smaller OS which shold appear in beta in about a year. But it is little more than a rumor.

When Windows is re-written from the bottom up, it will lose loads of backwards compatibility. IMO the time to do that is when we ALL change to 64 bit computing. That will come soon but not next year. Also, it does not make sense to rush out a major new release because the last one is perceived to have not been done properly.

As regards Vista SP1, I think a lot of the press are upset that it contains little or no new functionality. On my system, it seemed to speed things up and the system became far more stable. I haven't updated my SP1 since December, so I assume that Microsoft are continually tweaking things via the updates, because there has been a continuous improvement since then.

When I first got Vista, it was very nice but unstable and needed rebooting often but now I have not rebooted for a week.

Optimist , thanks for comments. The reason i keep asking questions re Vista on this thread is because sometime this year i want to replace my powerful trading computer but all this confusion over Vista etc is delaying me acting.

I'd gathered that Win7 was more fact than rumour - and the small kernel re-write has been dubbed 'MinWin'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

As far as backward compatibility was concerned, I'd read that Microsoft was kicking around the idea of using virtualisation to run legacy Windows applications fairly seamlessly within Win7 which would allow Win7 to be a complete re-write without the inherent need to run legacy apps per se, and therefore compromise itself through supporting all the legacy security holes with it. In the linked article the MS guy mentions embedding hypervisors in Win7 - possibly for this purpose.

Grief, not rebooting for a week ( by which I presume the computer crashed).

Vista was intended to be the OS that allowed folk to have media centres as well as business computing etc etc. unfortunately these applications are mutually exclusive - particularly as domestic-apps require quiet. This cannot be done with the current thinking, where PC have grown ever-more power hungry. The alternative hardware has yet to be developed - it needs a radically new outlook.
I see further development where Google is going - to make available smart applications which users can "borrow" On-Line, so there is no need to buy ever-expensive software. By interfacing through the internet the computing-power is in the server. This may reduce the power needed by computers. Hopfully PC cards will be developed to take streamed data and create a "cinema-experience" visually and in sound perhaps with interaction over their broadband connection.

Furthermore any domestic OS needs to stop being PC-like and far simpler than (say) a Video-recorder/VCR - which are notoriously poor at user-interface.

Vista confused the Market by having too many versions and this looks set to continue.
- If XP does what you require, it's far better to leave well alone and wait until the next OS is started. Being "first" with an OS is plain foolhardy - it is impossible to test all combinations of hardware/software, so conflicts are bound to happen. With computers as powerful as they are now, it is "probably" better to improve your periperals, rather than upgrading the core of the process. If the computing power shifts on-line, then what we have now will meet future needs, although better screens and speakers are likely to enhance our enjoyment.

Just been pointed to this site.

Already installed a couple of the gizmos that will save me quite a bit of time/effort.

Worth a look for the less computerate of us mob - like 'moi'.

TP

Hangon wrote - "Grief, not rebooting for a week ( by which I presume the computer crashed)."

No, I have only ever crashed Vista once. What used to happen is that after a couple of days, the system seemed to run out of resources and some programs could become unstable, particularily IE7 which would hang or possibly disapear without warning. The easiest way to sort that was a reboot.

As I mentioned above, that problem now seems to have been fixed.

Any advice on getting rid of AVENGE virus (which I gather is tied up with Norton
somehow.)? A friend has it on his PC and can't get shot of it. Online advice on the
subject doesn't really help at all....

I've noticed recently that when my computer and laptop are both off my modem 100 mtr light has been blinking a fair bit (not as much as when online though). I'm sure it didn't used to, or only very occasionally.
Anything to be concerned about, and what might be causing it? Thanks

hawick is it a wi-fi modem and someone getting a free ride or have you got it encrypted ???

Don't really know what sort of modem it is, wouldn't imagine it is wi-fi; had it about five years. Don't think it is encrypted. If my computer is turned off how could they access it?

It is callisto 821 Iskratel if that means anything

How do you connect to the internet with your laptop do you use a cable or wi-fi ???

Sorry had modem about two years. I connect laptop through router and modem, main computer just through modem. Sorry my technical knowledge and computer lingo is zilch! :o

Would they have to be within 100 metres to get 'free ride'?

If you dont have a wi-fi point they wont be able to connect to you so that idea went out the window,it was only a thought :-) prehaps someone else could suggest something !!