Windows 7 ....ooops !

Hi Forum,
Two days into my new OS, which I was delighted with, I have suddenly failed to clear a hurdle on the course. Performance has slowed considerably..took for ages to get on the internet to-day.... and when testing it's speed last night, in Speedtest, the upload speed reported an error. It does seem to have rectified itself to-day however.
The only change to the system has been downloading around 83 upgrades and putting SP1 amongst them. Upgrade also has a Internet Explorer 9 awaiting download but I have declined this because, in the main, I use Firefox 5. My technician has recommended Google Chrome instead of this and he feels MSE and Malwarebytes are ineffective. You have to pay for Anti Virus he says. I ran a FULL scan to-day and an Adware item was found. Anything to worry about ? I hope my "honeymoon" period is not over yet with this OS.

It could have bogged down for any number of reasons, and now that it's resolved itself (even if temporarily), it's difficult to make a diagnosis. However, if it happens again, post back with more details about your internet setup, including if you use wireless, router, etc.

As far as AV, most here recommend MSE and MWBytes. Lately, I've come to appreciate the thoroughness of SuperAntiSpyware as well.

BluePeter said:

Hi Forum,
My technician feels MSE and Malwarebytes are ineffective. You have to pay for Anti Virus he says. I ran a FULL scan to-day and an Adware item was found. Anything to worry about ? I hope my "honeymoon" period is not over yet with this OS.

Get a new technician!!

I install MSE on all new builds now and also advise customers who are coming to the end of yearly subscription to switch. I do this for free for them if they bring the PC to me.

BluePeter said:

My technician has recommended Google Chrome instead of this and he feels MSE and Malwarebytes are ineffective. You have to pay for Anti Virus he says.

I think your technician is wrong. MSE and Malwarebytes are quite effective, as objective tests have shown. There's also the free Standalone System Sweeper from MS. You do not have to pay for AV software.

As far as Chrome vs. Firefox, that's just a matter of personal preference. I prefer FF, but I do try Chrome from time to time. I don't think your issues have anything to do with browser choice.

I suspect your slow Internet, which rectified itself, was a hiccup with your ISP. It happens.

sgage said:

BluePeter said:

My technician has recommended Google Chrome instead of this and he feels MSE and Malwarebytes are ineffective. You have to pay for Anti Virus he says.

I think your technician is wrong. MSE and Malwarebytes are quite effective, as objective tests have shown. There's also the free Standalone System Sweeper from MS. You do not have to pay for AV software.

As far as Chrome vs. Firefox, that's just a matter of personal preference. I prefer FF, but I do try Chrome from time to time. I don't think your issues have anything to do with browser choice.

I suspect your slow Internet, which rectified itself, was a hiccup with your ISP. It happens.

Dear sgage,
You are correct. It must have been an issue with my ISP as my system is now back to all it's glory. Thanks.

richc46 said:

Peter,
The technican is mistaken, MSE and Malwarebytes are among the best protection that you can have. As far as the system slowing down, that can be from any number of things and not a matter of concern if it has stopped. If it happens again, perform a clean boot to determine the cause.
How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

Hi Rich,
It was an issue with my ISP I feel and the system is now back in full swing. Peter.

You should try IE9 which is comparable to the others and safer. I use Firefox only because it allows me to drag bookmarks into these posts while the others strangely haven't gotten there yet. But I like them all.

Look over these basic troubleshooting steps for Win7 and how to Clean up factory bloatware to get best performance.

essenbe said:

Many people think if it's free it is no good. That is not always the case. I have used MSE and Malwarebytes for quite some time and have never been infected. Who knows the vulnarabilities of an OS better than the ones who made it?

Not only that, of great benefit (to me, anyway...) is the fact that the free versions are mostly unbloated...they don't have to keep adding useless feature on top of useless, bloated feature to try to retain their market. Fast, light and effective.

To the O.P.: There's a reason why these free versions are so popular. They work.