Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

Windows Vista does NOT come with built-in virus protection.

Both Avast and AVG have Vista compatible anti-virus programs free for home
users.


I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!


"William F. Welner" wrote in message
...
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I purchase
an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

The shop may have confused MS Windows Defender (which comes standard with Vista) as being an anti-virus. It's not.
IF & only if the shop added MS OneCare (which it does not appear so), then antivirus is in there.

If money is an issue (and it truly is self-defeating to scrimp money for AV), a strong recommendation is Avira AntiVir PE Classic (only for personal use) at http://www.free-av.com/ as a free AV
May I personnaly suggest you NOT get AVG antivirus (the free edition). Other AV products are much better.

You also truly need an anti-malware (though some products are now including both anti-malware & AV into 1 suite).
My personal favorite is CounterSpy from Sunbelt Software. The AVG Anti-Spyware is also good.

iirc, companies like Panda & TrendMicro are offering packages that include AV & anti-malware.
--
Maurice N
MS-MVP (Windows Client) , Aumha.net VSOP , DTS-L
-----

"William F. Welner" wrote in message ...
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:32:42 -0400, "William F. Welner"
wrote:

Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.


You got bad information from the computer shop. No version of Windows
has ever come with Virus protection.

Unfortunately, getting misinformation from clerks in stores selling
computers is common, especially if the stores are of the big chain
variety--BestBuy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc. Most of these places
choose the people they hire based on their willingness to accept
something close to minimum wage, not based on their skills. If these
people knew anything, almost certainly they could get a better
job.

However, you can download and install excellent freeware antivirus
software. I recommend Avast! at http://www.avast.com/

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

William F. Welner wrote:
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?



One needn't necessarily "purchase" an anti-virus application, as there
are some free (for personal use) products that will more than meet your
needs. But you most definitely do *need* to have a 3rd party anti-virus
solution installed, as Vista has *no* built-in anti-virus protection,
whatsoever. Two of the better and most popular a

Free antivirus - avast! 4 Home Edition
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security - AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/download-.../crp/6#details


The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection
is provided as part of Windows Vista.



They either deliberately lied or are woefully ignorant of all things
computer-related. Either way, and for either reason, I'd strongly
recommend that you never do any business with them again. If, for some
reason, you simply must patronize this shop, be sure to do your homework
ahead of time and don't ever take any of their advice on technical issues.


Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.


Correct. That's the Security Center warning you that you have a very
serious security vulnerability. However, you need not "purchase" an
anti-virus application, just install one.


I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.



Disconnect the computer from the Internet until you have a good
anti-virus solution in place.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

I think the staff in the Computer shop where you purchased your PC need
re-educating. Vista doesn't contain any anti virus software and neither has
any other version of Windows, for that matter. It contains a firewall and
anti spyware software, but that is all.

I suggest you download the 'free' versions of either AVG anti virus
(http://free.grisoft.com) or Avast anti virus (http://www.avast.com)

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

"William F. Welner" wrote in message
...
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

William F. Welner wrote:
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection
is provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

Is it possible that what they meant was that an AV program has been
installed to the hard drive from the OEM, but the OP must buy a license?
My machine came with Norton, but it was only good for a couple of months
and then they wanted money. I dumped it for Avast.

--
Dave T.

Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:33:34 GMT, "Dave T." wrote:

William F. Welner wrote:
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection
is provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

Is it possible that what they meant was that an AV program has been
installed to the hard drive from the OEM, but the OP must buy a license?
My machine came with Norton, but it was only good for a couple of months
and then they wanted money. I dumped it for Avast.


It is often true that software (of various types) is bundled with a
computer when it is sold. It doesn't have to be a trial version, as it
was in your case. For example, some computers come with Microsoft
Office, some with Microsoft Works, and some with Corel WordPerfect.

However, software's coming with the *computer* is very different from
such software coming with Windows. The OP was told that it came with
Windows, and that is simply false. He was either lied to or sold a
computer by an ignorant salesperson.


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

Vista does not contain an antivirus program but the computer manufacturer
may have included a trial version of some AV as part of their software
package.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)


"William F. Welner" wrote in message
...
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

Bill Welner

On Sep 29, 11:43 am, "Ken Blake, MVP"
wrote:
On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:32:42 -0400, "William F. Welner"

wrote:
Does one have to purchase a separate anti Virus program for Windows Vista?

The Computer Shop that sold me my new PC told me that Virus protection is
provided as part of Windows Vista.

Immediately turned the PC on I received a message recommending that I
purchase an anti Virus program.

I am confused. Please provided me advice on the Anti Virus issue.

You got bad information from the computer shop. No version of Windows
has ever come with Virus protection.

Unfortunately, getting misinformation from clerks in stores selling
computers is common, especially if the stores are of the big chain
variety--BestBuy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc. Most of these places
choose the people they hire based on their willingness to accept
something close to minimum wage, not based on their skills. If these
people knew anything, almost certainly they could get a better
job.

However, you can download and install excellent freeware antivirus
software. I recommend Avast! athttp://www.avast.com/

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

As someone who works at one of those "big computer shops", I'd like to
say that some of us do the job because we genuinely like talking-to
and education people. That said, no, Windows does not come with any
built-in antivirus software--though Microsoft does sell their own
which I whole-heartily would NOT recommend.

From what I've seen, some of your best choices for antivirus software
include Kaspersky, Nod32, and Trend Micro. If you're looking for some
additional antispyware protection then definitely checkout Webroot
Spysweeper and PC Tool's Spyware Doctor (not to be confused with the
malicious Spyware Dr.)

You can run many antispyware programs if you desire, but stay away
from running multiple antivirus programs. They'll eat eachother
alive!

-- Munchie