# Time for Me to Get a Paid Anti-Virus Program?



## officerripley (Oct 10, 2022)

Okay, so, I think my laptop has another virus, sigh; get freezes or shut-downs, reliability reports say "Intel Dynamic Tuner" or "dptf_helper" (whatever the heck that is???) problems, but the free Avira antivirus says no viruses detected; last time I had Avast free AV and it didn't detect any viruses either but my tech guy found a virus and got it off the computer and it was fine 'till yesterday (tech guy is out of town, back tomorrow I hope). 

I'll ask my tech guy too but am wondering what you all think? Are the free anti-virus programs just as good as the paid or is it time for me to spring for a paid program? (I heard TotalAV is good and they've got a sale going on right now.)


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## hawkdon (Oct 10, 2022)

I went for years with free anti programs...but about 2 yrs
ago decided to go with paid Malwarebytes...it has done
me welll...Also use free Ccleaner (cookies) and then
a microsoft program.....so far so good.....


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## Pinky (Oct 10, 2022)

We use Bitdefender, and, so far it has done its job well.


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## Nathan (Oct 10, 2022)

officerripley said:


> Okay, so, I think my laptop has another virus, sigh; get freezes or shut-downs, reliability reports say "Intel Dynamic Tuner" or "dptf_helper" (whatever the heck that is???)


Intel Dynamic Tuner is system software drivers configured by the system manufacturer (also known as OEM) to dynamically optimize the system for performance, battery life, and thermals.

dptf_helper seems to be related to Intel Dynamic Tuner in dealing with thermal issues.  

This is a laptop, yes?    Laptops are vulnerable to heating due to the compact construction.    Perhaps the laptop is clogged with dust, I've certainly seen that on a few occasions.   A friend was complaining about her laptop being loud, turns out the heat sink just inside the air intake was so full of dust, it looked like a piece of felt.
Maybe some compressed air in the right places with help your laptop breath.  Google the make/model of the laptop and add "cleaning" in a Youtube search, in order to see exactly how to clean it.


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## officerripley (Oct 11, 2022)

Nathan said:


> Intel Dynamic Tuner is system software drivers configured by the system manufacturer (also known as OEM) to dynamically optimize the system for performance, battery life, and thermals.
> 
> dptf_helper seems to be related to Intel Dynamic Tuner in dealing with thermal issues.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Nathan; yes it's a laptop. When my tech guy fixed it last time, he said it wasn't dirty or dusty at all--and I had cleaned it using a YouTube method--but that it did have a virus (which Avast hadn't found). He got the virus off and it was fine until a couple of days ago. Hopefully, he can get to it this week. (I keep thinking if it is another virus, that I probably got it off YouTube. Or maybe Amazon. Or maybe solitaireparadise.com. Or maybe eBay. Or maybe...sigh. I'm online a lot.)


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## palides2021 (Oct 11, 2022)

Ever since I switched to AVG (free) I haven't had any issues, knock on wood. It's been about 7 years. Before, we would have to buy a new computer every few years because the Norton software wasn't doing its job.


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## officerripley (Oct 11, 2022)

palides2021 said:


> Ever since I switched to AVG (free) I haven't had any issues, knock on wood. It's been about 7 years. Before, we would have to buy a new computer every few years because the Norton software wasn't doing its job.


Good to know, palides, thanks; I've heard both good and bad about Norton so your info. is helpful.  Anybody here use TotalAV? They're rated pretty good.


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## Paladin1950 (Oct 12, 2022)

hawkdon said:


> I went for years with free anti programs...but about 2 yrs
> ago decided to go with paid Malwarebytes...it has done
> me welll...Also use free Ccleaner (cookies) and then
> a microsoft program.....so far so good.....


I had the free version of Bit Defender Anti-Virus, but it was discontinued last December, so I switched from the free version of Malwarebytes, to the paid version. I like it better than the free antivirus. I also use Ccleaner. I have used it for years. I have used other similar programs, but never fully trusted them as much as Ccleaner.  I also use the free version of Super AntiSpyware.


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## Lawrence00 (Oct 12, 2022)

I like Norton and the subscription let's you put it on multiple computers.


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