-- Posted by AvenueQ at 4:08 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 I have a 2 year old Gateway laptop and recently it's been running a little slower than normal. I currently have no protection except the software it came with, which has long since expired.  What program(s) would you suggest to protect my computer and keep it running smoothly? I'm not too tech savvy, so I hope you all can help :) -- Posted by Tavis at 4:09 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 BitDefender is the one I use, it ROCKS. -- Posted by tearsinheaven at 4:10 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 i use AVGFree -- Posted by Darkane at 4:11 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 AVG Free is a really good anti-virus http://free.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/frt/0?prd=aff Also, try doing Start > Run > type msconfig and hit enter. Go the the startup tab and untick the boxes. It should make the laptop start up quicker. Try defragmenting the harddrive also. Should be under Accessories then System Tools in the All Programs list. -- Posted by berrycuda at 4:11 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Norton 360 -- Posted by danielpenny at 4:13 pm on Feb. 26, 2008 I use: AVG free for viruses AdAware 2007 and Spybot for general malware detection And CCleaner (formerly known as CrapCleaner) for deleting Cookies, Temporary files etc. which lurk about the hard drive ven if you can't find them...