Leaderboard

According to HDACFG.INI your 'CODEC Index=$1', but this is the internal soft-modem.Can you switch it off? The HDA-codec is at 'CODEC Index=$0' according to HDAICOUT.TXT. This will be Realtek HDA-codec ALC883. During troubleshooting add following line in SYSTEM.INI to [386Enh] (.....) MinTimeSlice=80 Please report, and upload again if anything changes in HDACFG.INI

UPLOAD again: HDACFG.INI

Your AUTOEXEC.BAT and SYSTEM.INI looks good, although SMARTDRV /X is more safe. But HDACFG.INI is not populated, only Busmaster values. This file is written by HDA2.DLL, always in your Windows directory. Only HDA2.DLL is in the System directory! Please delete ALL instances of HDACFG.INI, reboot and upload this file again. Do NOT edit anything for now.

Would the result of fixing Chrome be much different than Supermium, which has already been fixed? There is not much difference between vairous Chrome-variants.

Supermium seems to work well and stable. It will complement New Moon for me. I wish the author can implement a normal Settings window with checkboxes because scrolling through those flags on a white hospital wall is overwhelming. There is a lot of stuff to disable, all the security crap and bypassing of my DNS. Can we customize the interface to get rid useless toolbar buttons like Enable Experiments and You? How do you get certificates into Supermium? There is no import button like in old browsers. Do you need to reinstall a new version? It seems I can disable most of the Secure Preferences to share a profile between two Windows "Disable machine ID". So far I have noticed settings disappearing like in Opera when not in portable mode. How do you prevent the Translation prompt from popping up all the time when the page is in English already? I want to have the option to translate when I click a button, but not the floating toolbar pestering me about it. The Ungoogled mode is not useful because then I can't access search from anywhere on the UI, nor add Google myself in the UI.

Avast Internet Security and Avast Premier All features of Avast Free Antivirus which are listed in the post are of course included in Avast Internet Security and Avast Premier. Both versions are commercial. Additional features are: Firewall, Anti-spam, Real Site, Ransomware Shield, Sandbox, Data Shredder (only in Premier) and Webcam Shield (only in Premier). Comparison of Avast Security programs in form of a table: Homepage of Avast Internet Security: https://web.archive.org/web/20181120211012/https://www.avast.com/internet-security Homepage of Avast Premier: https://web.archive.org/web/20181120211119/https://www.avast.com/premier Version number: 18.8.4084.0 Date of release: 15.11.2018 System Requirements: A PC with 256 MB+ RAM and 1.5 GB of hard disk space. Avast Antivirus is compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP SP3. Download links: Online installers: https://install.avcdn.net/av/avast/iavs9x/avast_internet_security_setup_online.exe https://install.avcdn.net/av/avast/iavs9x/avast_premier_antivirus_setup_online.exe Offline installers: https://install.avcdn.net/iavs9x-xp/avast_internet_security_setup_offline.exe https://install.avcdn.net/iavs9x-xp/avast_premier_antivirus_setup_offline.exe Avast Uninstall Utility (Avast Clear) in the correct version of 18.8.4084.0: https://web.archive.org/web/20181116091922if_/http://iavs9x.avg.u.avcdn.net/iavs9x/avastclear.exe How to uninstall Avast using Avast Clear: Sometimes it's not possible to uninstall Avast the standard way using the Add/Remove Programs in control panel. In this case, you can use the uninstallation utility Avast Clear: Download avastclear.exe on your desktop. Start Windows in Safe Mode. Execute the avastclear.exe. If you installed Avast in a different folder than the default, browse for it. (Note: Be careful! The content of any folder you choose will be deleted!). Click REMOVE. Restart your computer. Screenshots: All I wrote in my article about Avast Free Antivirus also applies to Avast Internet Security and Avast Premier. Very good protection but very bloated. They are definitely options for Windows XP, but I personally can't and won't recommend them here due to my reservations and experiences from the past as I already wrote in the post about Avast Free Antivirus. Kind regards, AstroSkipper

BitDefender 1.0.21.1109 can't be verified here to be working in Windows XP. The online installers for this version don't work anymore. BitDefender must have removed the online sources which these installers need to download. An offline installer would therefore be necessary. @bluebolt You made the following statement in March of this year: Since then, no further information from you! At this point, I would ask you to share your knowledge with us. Any detailed information about this offline installer would be helpful such as name, size, date and version. Even better would be a working download link or, if there is no longer one, an upload link. Thanks in advance! Kind regards, AstroSkipper PS: Due to the lack of a working installer, I added BitDefender 1.0.21.1109 to the list in the third post.

Avast Free Antivius 2015 (last version for SSE only CPUs): This version is the last compatible version of Avast Free Antivirus for Windows XP running on a computer with a CPU that does not have more than the SSE instruction set. It still receives definition updates on a regular base. Features: Datasheet: http://files.avast.com/files/marketing/materials/datasheets/en/v2015/avast_free_2015_en.pdf Homepage: https://web.archive.org/web/20151004232841/https://www.avast.com/index Version number: 10.4.2233.1299 Date of release: 17.09.2015 System requirements: Windows XP (with at least SP2), Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 in both the 32- and 64-bit variant. Pentium 3 processor or higher with 128 MB RAM and 2 GB of hard-drive space. Test: https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/october-2015/avast-free-antivirus-2015-153713/ Review: https://tecoreviews.com/reviews/avast-free-antivirus-2015-review/ Download links: Offline installer: https://www.afterdawn.com/software/security/antivirus/avast_free.cfm/2015__10_4_2233_ or https://www.filepuma.com/download/avast_free_antivirus_10.4.2233-9698/ Avast VPS update for versions 9 to 11: https://install.avcdn.net/ivps9x/vpsupd.exe Screenshots: I listed here Avast Free Antivius 2015 only for all owners of a very old computer whose CPU lacks of SSE2 and up. The program itself is very old, but Avast still rolls out regularly definition updates online and offline for this version. Kind regards, AstroSkipper

Malware Hunter Malware Hunter is an antimalware program from Glarysoft and is still XP-compatible. It comes in two versions, the free version Malware Hunter and the commercial version Malware Hunter Pro. It detects and removes stubborn malware that can cause potential danger. Its malware database is constantly updated either automatically or manually depending on the installed version. Additionally, it is supposed to clean disks and speed up your PC. It is even equipped with the Avira scan engine. Features: Malware Scan - Scan your computer quickly and thoroughly. Detect and remove stubborn malware to prevent potential danger. Support scheduled scan to save your time Speed Up - Help you optimize your system to speed up and boost your computer performance. Disk Cleaner - Clean up temporary & unnecessary files. Remove unneeded documents to save computer storage space. Process Protection - Protect your PC from malware, such as Trojan, worms, spyware, and other online threats. 3 Scan modes Avira engine Hyper scan for a faster scanning speed Malware removal Real-time protection and automatic updates (only in Malware Hunter Pro) Homepage: https://www.glarysoft.com/malware-hunter/ Version number: 1.185.0.807 Date of release: 17.06.2024 System requirements: Runs on Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, XP and Vista. Including both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Version history and release notes: Reviews: https://onlinecloudsecurity.com/malware-hunter-review-is-it-safe-to-download/ https://tweaklibrary.com/glarysoft-malware-hunter-pro-review/ Download page: https://www.glarysoft.com/downloads/?p=mh-page Direct download link: https://download.glarysoft.com/mhsetup.exe Screenshots: Although I personally don't prefer features like cleanup or optimization inside an antimalware program, the fact that this program is still compatible with Windows XP and has an Avira scan engine does not make it uninteresting. In any case, it can be used as an offline scanner in the free version and can also be set up as a portable version. You have full control over Malware Hunter via its systray icon. It is definitely an option for Windows XP. Cheers, AstroSkipper

And one thing is crystal clear, no one has to follow my recommendations. We are all different and have to form our own opinion. Greetings to all, AstroSkipper I linked this clarification to my initial post of this thread. All programs that need updates in some way, but unfortunately are no longer updated and are thus obsolete, should also no longer be mentioned here. This thread is about programs that can still be classified as up-to-date and safe in one way or another. There are also timeless programs that do not necessarily need updates, though, such as Windows 10 Firewall Control XP 7.5. Those programs will be listed here in any case.

@Cixert Here is a link to the homepage of WiseVector StopX via archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20230208110858/https://www.wisevector.com/en/ There you find more information. The homepage wisevector.com has been cleaned almost completely. No information there anymore except the manual (for the version 2.70). The admins there seem to have overlooked deleting this document as well. Here is the link to the last manual: https://www.wisevector.com/wisevector_stopx_user_guide_en.pdf The developers of WiseVector StopX had not really disclosed in-depth information on how this program works in detail. It is somehow a mix of artificial intelligence (machine learning), cloud support and local database. And here is a review: https://malwaretips.com/threads/wisevector-stopx-anti-malware-v3-07.115443/ But I'm not quite sure what you want to do with such a program. Unfortunately, it has been completely abandoned, no more program or database updates, no cloud support. Therefore, no entry in my alphabetical list of working antimalware, firewall, and other security programs for Windows XP but in my list of programs that have recently been abandoned. BTW, what about my recommendation in terms of Malwarebytes Free? You didn't say anything about it. So what do you think?

Read my previous post, and you will see I could install Malwarebytes without removing Avast, too. But ... And this compatibility issue does not necessarily occur with every Avast version. I am only referring to version 18.8. BTW, my "instruction" was rather meant as a recommendation not to get in trouble. Therefore, I already corrected my wording in the according post not to be mistaken. Thanks for pointing to that!

When avast! Premier was installed in my system, I could also install Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1 but I could never enable real-time protection. With Malwarebytes Premium 2.2.1, there was no problem to do that. But AFAIK, there also have been users who didn't noticed any compatibility problems with avast!. So it may be that this issue only occur if the avast! installation has become faulty which unfortunately happens all the time in version 18.8. Some weeks ago, when I installed Malwarebytes 3.5.1, I could have used the free version if I didn't activate my license. So, it shouldn't actually be a problem. And you're right, my lifetime license worked with all versions from 1 to 3 and will do so for the version 4 and up.

Just for clarification! I do not advertise any programs here. And I do not recommend programs which were not tested by me. All recommendations are based on my own experience. The programs which I already listed or am going to list are first of all only options that are available to the user. I have been using some of them myself for years and can of course recommend these programs with a clear conscience. Here is a quotation from my first post: And one thing is crystal clear, no one has to follow my recommendations. We are all different and have to form our own opinion. Greetings to all, AstroSkipper

Unfortunately, yes! At least, according to my experience. Same here! I used avast! Premier 18.8 together with Malwarebytes Premium 2.2.1 for many years. I wasn't able to properly install Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1 in my Windows XP system. Malwarebytes' support was not able to help me although they did what they could. Some weeks ago, I found the cause of the issue: avast!. Now, it works as it should. BTW, if Malwarebytes' real-time protection is always disabled, the compatibility issue does not occur. No advertisement here! As you know, I had a longer discussion with Porthos & Co, too. And I was not amused at all which leads to the fact that I won't post there anymore. Have a look here: https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/296406-windows-xp-does-not-have-lifetime-support/ But I am objective. Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1 works now like a charme in my Windows XP system, and apart from that I am still in possession of a lifetime licence. PS: avast! (Premier) 18.8 won't be any longer a program to recommend by me in the first place due to bad experiences I made in the past. Have a look into my corresponding post: More about that when I write the post regarding the last avast! versions compatible with Windows XP.