TheDriver

Thanks for your reply mate. Some sound advice there, which I followed. Basically the same thing Gareth from Tech. Support said to do. Common misconception that there are a ton of bugs just waiting until you connect to the internet to pounce into your machine and ruin your life, whereas in truth, it seems you have to initiate the attack yourself really, either by clicking through to some kind of dodgy link, fishy emails, dodgy download sites, etc, so I was fine just doing it how you said. Thank you for your assistance. I think i'll just go with the Malwarebytes free edition, as you say, the real-time scanning could pose problems and if ESET is as good as everyone says then it should catch the majority of nasty's and maybe scan once a week with MWB just to make sure nothing has gotten through.. Happy with ESET and its interface/functionality at the moment, no doubt when the trial is up I will be subscribing. Thanks for your help!

Hi folks, hope you're well! I have just purchased a Dell Latitude E6540 running Windows 7 and wanted to get the best AV protection before I start using it, which has led me to this site I was hoping someone could help enlighten me so I don't get myself in a muddle. I'm reading a few posts about conflicts, hard-drives locking up, etc and didn't want to make a hash of this new machine, so thought I'd ask the experts. So basically, from today's research I have decided to go with ESET Smart Security. I haven't purchased it yet as I am guessing I will need to buy/install on the new laptop (currently typing on my old HP dv6). First question, is it safe to uninstall McAfee which is pre-installed on the Dell, then connect to internet and go to ESET and pay for/download ESET? Would this not leave my system open to infestation? Reason I ask is just that I remember many years ago I connected a new computer to the internet without any protection and literally within the first 5 minutes I had pop-ups, malware, viruses, and all sorts of guff opening up on the screen right before my eyes, I was only connected to the net for a couple of minutes! From reading through this website I see that it is paramount that any existing AV is fully removed before installing ESET, but that simply going to Control Panel --> Add/remove Programs --> Uninstall - is not sufficient enough? Could anyone offer any more info on the correct method of uninstallation please? Secondly, is anyone familiar with the factory set-up of this particular laptop? It mentioned in the blurb that it has all sorts of security features built-in: encryption, Dell Control Vault, Dell Protected Workspace and others. I was wondering if any of this extra security software will conflict with the installation/operation of ESET? Finally, I was looking to purchase MalewareBytes aswell on top of ESET. Is this advisable, and are there any reasons why I should or shouldn't do this? It would be great to hear your answers/opinions if anyone is able to help get me on my way. Thanks in advance! Max. EDIT: From the Dell website... Stop advanced malware in its tracks with Dell Protected Workspace, a proactive approach to malware protection that automatically detects and blocks all malicious behavior in real time — even zero-day attacks. It is easy to deploy and completely unobtrusive to users so employee workflow is uninterrupted. Will this affect ESET doing its thing?