Windows 7: are these PC protection shareware superfluous?

You have ThreatFire and Avast running at the same time. My understanding is they are both Anti Virus. You should not run two Anti Virus at the same time. One Anti Virus and one firewall at one time. I also use MSE and Windows 7 built in firewall.

I also only use, only recommend and only install MSE which automatically sets up Windows Firewall.

You need nothing more.

Simply removing ALL of your anti stuff and using MSE should solve your problem.

If not, then please:

Install CCleaner:
CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download

list of STARTUP PROGRAMS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Startup button | Windows tab |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
accept Startup.txt as file name | SAVE button

list of SCHEDULED TASKS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Startup button | Scheduled Tasks tab |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
enter Scheduled Tasks as File name | Save button

List of INSTALLED PROGRAMS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Uninstall button |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
accept install.txt as File name | Save button


UPLOAD, as an attachment, the startup.txt file
UPLOAD, as an attachment, the Scheduled Tasks.txt file
UPLOAD, as an attachment, the install.txt file.

HOW TO UPLOAD
Post a File or Screenshot in Seven Forums

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thanks
karl

funnily enough Avast has started pestering me right now while I'm uninstalling ThreatFire (and everything else, ready to install MSE). (looks like a rootkit false positive related to a restart-needed uninstall)

oh, I also have Spybot and "anvir task manager free"

is the latter superfluous since I have CCleaner?

I've used Spybot in the past to get rid of tracking cookies, I don't think I have any other program that seems to get those.

Spybot is old school. Nobody here recommends it any more, except to uninstall.

cool.
hadn't even heard of MSE before today.

are there any 'exclusions' recommended (relatively safe to not scan, worth it for a performance increase)? (or, at least, after scanning the entire PC once, is it pretty safe to ignore some unchanging archives of files like one's music/etc., or is it common for newer definitions to eventually catch something it had missed for a long time?)

Oh man, I remember when I installed Anvir Task Manager Free. It secretly put toolbars on all my browsers and hijacked my home pages. It also installed a silly instant messenger gizmo.

The best practices I've found for reinstalling and maintaining Windows 7 are in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

You can implement them with your current install using Clean Up Factory Bloatware.

It's easy to get behind the curve with the best shareware unless you work every day in the top online forum. I was listening to Kim Kommando on the radio Saturday and she recommended AVG and Avast. No one has recommended AVG here since Windows 7 beta, probably ever. Somebody got to her during commercial because she came back touting MSE and Avast and suddenly didn't mention AVG's crappy bloatware again.

So that we can get your system running smoothly:

Install CCleaner:
CCleaner - PC Optimization and Cleaning - Free Download

list of STARTUP PROGRAMS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Startup button | Windows tab |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
accept Startup.txt as file name | SAVE button

list of SCHEDULED TASKS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Startup button | Scheduled Tasks tab |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
enter Scheduled Tasks as File name | Save button

List of INSTALLED PROGRAMS

CCleaner | Tools icon | Uninstall button |
click on Save to text file button (bottom right side) |
accept install.txt as File name | Save button


UPLOAD, as an attachment, the startup.txt file
UPLOAD, as an attachment, the Scheduled Tasks.txt file
UPLOAD, as an attachment, the install.txt file.

HOW TO UPLOAD
Post a File or Screenshot in Seven Forums