Anti-virus And Firewall For Win98se

[doctormann]

OK, it's a dinosaur of a system but it's not mine. It belongs to a friend in the UK and they are having USB issues that will necessitate upgrading the system from WIN98 to WIN98SE. The hardware will not take XP so upgrading to something sensible is not really an option.

I have foolishly agreed to do a system rebuild when I am in the UK next month so I have asked that all data etc. gets backed up in advance. Currently the system has no antivirus software installed and has no firewall (don't think that WIN98 has one built in). Does anyone have a recommendation for an antivirus prog. and a firewall that will work under WIN98SE? Would need to be freeware and not resource-hungry.

I'm expecting to have problems getting updated printer / scanner drivers as well. Not a happy time in prospect, I think.

Thanks

DM

[cdnvic]

Best you can still get for AV for Windows98 is Avast:

http://avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

For firewall, I'd recommend a router but if it's dialup go to Oldversion.com and get one of the earlier ZoneAlarm versions.

http://oldversion.com/program.php?n=zalarm

You may also want to consider loading linux on the machine as it runs well on older hardware and there are more likely to be up to date drivers for Ubuntu than Windows 98.

There are some serious unpatched holes in Windows 98.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

[doctormann]

Best you can still get for AV for Windows98 is Avast:

http://avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

For firewall, I'd recommend a router but if it's dialup go to Oldversion.com and get one of the earlier ZoneAlarm versions.

http://oldversion.com/program.php?n=zalarm

You may also want to consider loading linux on the machine as it runs well on older hardware and there are more likely to be up to date drivers for Ubuntu than Windows 98.

There are some serious unpatched holes in Windows 98.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Thanks for that.

System is on dial-up and will remain so.

User is a complete technophobe and would probably have problems coming to terms with linux.

I think really that the whole PC should be binned but the person concerned is broke and has no inclination to replace it. If I can get it to run 98SE they will be happy enough so I will take your recommendations for a/v and firewall.

Thanks

DM

[cdnvic]

Keep an eye out for a Windows 2000 Pro disk in a used computer shop. Very stable, still supported with security patches and driver updates, and runs pretty much anything XP will but uses fewer resources. Probably find one for $20 these days.

[higgy88]

I'm still running 98SE on my old computer. I'm using the current version of Avast 4.7 home for antivirus with no problems, so go with that. Use Zone Alarm version 5.5.94.0, which you can still get from oldversion.com. Version 6 will give you nothing but grief and version 7 no longer supports win98. Make sure you turn off to check for newer versions. I also suggest using Ad-Aware from Lavasoft. I am using SE Personal, build 1.06 r1. They have come out with a new version but I'm not sure if it still supports 98 as my hardware just can't handle the minimum requirements. They are still suporting this version with updates, but who knows for how much longer. I run a scan about every week or so. I looked for it on oldversion.com but am not sure if the one they call version 1.06 is the same one or not. If you need, I can send you the installation file which I have saved. Also, as cdnvic has said, 98 has some serious holes so don't even think about using Internet Explorer for surfing the net. Firefox 2 still supports Windows 98 and works well. My guess is that you will have about one more year left before no one will be supporting this operating system anymore. Good luck.

[RKASA]

I was running an old98 with 98se on it up to a few weeks ago. I had found the updates in an MSN archive and it was running great. I did have to run Opera and a firefox browser as I could not get an update for IE5 something I had got off an old AOL trial disk, but was better then what it had. Updates for IE just would not download or install if they did? Then My wife hit a hot blackjack hand in a casino game and the power supply smoked. I do mean real smoke. Stick a fork in it, its done. Thats it pictured in my avatar. The old compaq will be no more. Nothing worth putting any money into. I do think you should bring them a live linux cd they can run on it without any hassle, then they can get their feet wet. You can download them most are 50 to 200mb. The live cd's don't install or use the HD and are fully functional with desktop GUI. It takes 2 minutes to boot it, your off and surfing. If it crashs just restart and you get whole new system installed. Puppy live, Dam small linux, NimbleX all have worked well for me. Good luck with the project. Old PC's and Linux fit like a good pair of shoes. edit: forgot to mention changed settings and mods are saved on the fly to any usb device like a memstick or USB drive. and anything downloaded goes there as well. If you format them FAT32 then anything on the drive can be used in 98se as well. It's kind of bullet proof.

Edited August 24, 2007 by RKASA

[BritTim]

User is a complete technophobe and would probably have problems coming to terms with linux.

While a technophobe who has struggled with Windows for several years is not a good candidate for Linux, for total newbies, Linux (Gnome) is actually easier than Windows. There is data to prove it, including a study done here in Thailand three years ago when Linux was not even as friendly as it is today.

[doctormann]

Thanks one and all for your advice and suggestions.

It seems that I have a number of options to consider so I'm sure that I'll be able to get the dinosaur resurrected somehow.

DM