1 - Kaspersky has an application filter, which means i can look at the entire list of every program that's in my computer, and shut down those i dont want to be able to run. Well, you know a lot of programs that get in are aggressive, and usually you cant shut them down. They want to stay even after you uninstall, like malware you cant get rid of.
Well Kaspersky lets me shut that stuff down.
Heck I even shut off 20 Windows services, when i found they were only there to monitor me, and send out secret reports of what I do with my PC (oh yea, like for example "Pipeline Protection", which is a sub-program of Windows Media Player. All it does is list everything you ever watched or listened to and send out reports to cops & corporations). Well, when I got rid of all that stuff from running, my PC was 1/3 faster, and had an equal amount less usage & memory being taken up. So Kaspersky's application filter is a gem, to me.
2 - I also know that Kasperksy is one of the very few AV's you can get that doesn't identify cracks as trojans. Now, of course, I cant recommend file-sharing and how to use cracked pirated software,
but I can tell you when you do PAY for an anti-virus program, it's obnoxious to then find they've secretly charged me to put cops in my computer essentially, using up memory, and lying to me to do it, etc.
Screw that. It's fine if corporations don't want their copyrighted stuff pirated, yes,
but McAfee is NOT Warner Brothers (or NBC or whoever), so why is McAfee, for example, playing cop for them?
Well..I don't like it.
Because that they do it secretly.
And use your space to do it.
And trick you into paying them to do it.
Well it doesn't do anything for me.
And they are not the cops!
I mean how dare a mere business assume and assign itself cop status, and secretly charge us to do it?
That isn't how legal authorities are made in a democracy. That's corporate bullying.
Its in the same league of behavior as when we found Microsoft was deliberately sabotaging the product we buy from them in ways that will FORCE US to be unable to use any competitor's product.
(For example, try using Windows Movie Maker to burn a dvd as divx (so it will play on your TV's dvd player); you can't. Microsoft purposely makes it as hard as possible, to discourage you from it). Why? Is there something wrong with making a dvd of your home movies for example, and watching them on your TV? No, of course not. But Bill Gates had in mind that he could FORCE us to start using windows as what we now watch television on. So hopefully he'd get to start controlling TV along with computers. Is this progress that does good things for us? No, it's monopolistic, it hurts the quality of products and services (by eliminating competition, so choice). So we have anti-trust laws to prevent that kind of destructive corporate over-control. But they try to get away with it anyway.
So when we see a mere business assigning itself as a legal authority,
it isn't legal or ok for them to do that, or for us to passively let them.
but mostly the problem with it is... look, a certain amount of things that are right & wrong,
and needing laws to prevent undesirable behaviors is normal,
but these are legal control methods installed by bullies,
not for the purpose of preventing bad behavior,
but for actually getting to commit bad behaviors.
Now, this may sound like idea-ish detail to some, which doesn't interest them,
but I assure you, its not;
it's actually huge sweeping change happening
And it's bad change.
And it's happening because we passively let it!
So -> screw that!
I'll never use McAfee again. Or Norton.
(And yes they're very very good AV's, other than their being part of the neo-con nightmare.)
But hey,as long as there is open source freeware to use,
why should we support a system that makes rules only to disable any competition? Isn't that what the US fought the cold war against? (yep, it is) Well...this is why I use Kaspersky. (No, Kaspersky isnt actually freeware, but it is outside of The United States invasive right wing behaviors being built into a product you pay money for).
So freeware would be my first choice.
It's also referred to as "open source" (GUI-licensed software).
and those are lovely words to read. "Open source" means that there are nerds among us, voluntarily looking inside the program all the time, and reporting of it on forums; and they'd tell us instantly if they found any spyware or tricks whatsoever, hidden inside. (So because the program is "open" for viewing (the code its made of) it means no tricks are possible. None could be hidden in there and played on us.
So I love freeware. Its made to make us happy.
Its made to screw the people who normally would charge us for a version of the same thing that would screw us! Its beautiful.
So freeware would be my first choice..usually, but because one's AV is one's safety and security, I like to pay for as best I can get. I mean sometimes if there's a free version, and a payed upgrade version...that's not the same beautiful thing as true "freeware". It may be free, but it may not be open source (so tricks are hidden in there) Plus its made to be just ever so slightly not good enough, to try and encourage you to upgrade to the payed version.
So my second choice, if I feel I need to pay to make sure I get the best, because my security depends on it, is it needs to not be full of little pixel cops and corporations who feel they have the right to secretly use my PC as a their remote controlled vending machine in my home, and have me pay for them to get to do it, and have it run real slow and yucky as my part of the unwitting bargain.
....................
3 - Is Kaspersky a good anti-virus program in general (other than it not being behooved to the interests of U.S. Corporations)?
Yes. Very much so.
It offers you a lot of control.
It comes with every conceivable extra to let you keep your computer secure.
The 2009 version was good. In 2010, they changed it and several things i used it for were missing suddenly.
But if you get 2011 Internet Security, you should be safe and quite happy. It's perfect now.
(They're charging a bit too much for it though. 90 dollars US is steep, for a year, I think. But I pay it because it has what I need.
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