Hey,

My Mom recently got a Windows 95 Computer. I'm going to try and hook it up to the internet, through an ethernet port into a router.

I was wondering, do I need anti-virus software for a Windows 95 Computer?
If so, can anyone recommend a good, free one. It's a 300MHz system, with 32megs of RAM, so anything low on resources would be great.

Thanks.

Any computer connected to the internet (and even those that aren't) should have anti-virus software, irregardless of the OS. (and BTW: Win98 might better suited for that machine)

Might try one of these, but verify Win95 support before downloading:

http://www.filedudes.com/files/free...

In contrast, I would recommend NO anti-virus software. As long as you are careful with what you download, then you shouldn't have many problems. I have found that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for Anti-virus software, such as the great loss of speed and terrible sluggishness gained. If you do ever get a virus, it is best to clean install windows anyway, as Anit-virus software does not always remove it 100%. BTW i would recommend Windows NT4.0 or Windows 98 instead of 95 for the machine you are talking about

http://www.josephn.net

Yes you need anti virus software. Windows 95 was and still is (as a stand alone) a good OS.

The problem with Win 95 now is software, no one is writing software for it anymore. It's hard to find an AV for 95 now. I tried last year and I think there was one or two that were compatible.

If you want the 95 pc just for DOS games then it's perfect otherwise I recommend installing PC-BSD. That OS works fast on my old PII 300MHz, 192 Mb ram pc and the install was easier then installing XP. Also PC-BSD is unix based so no AV is needed.

Good Luck!

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?

~Jean Kerr~

Sorry, just re-read your post as to how much ram you have. With 32 Mb ram PC-BSD will be too slow unless you upgrade.

Try Puppy Linux instead, if you burn the OS to a cd then you can run the OS from the cd. With 32 Mb of ram it should run quick as 95 and be more secure in the internet.

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?

~Jean Kerr~

Will Puppy Linux be able to do things like 95?
Surf the web, good word programs, etc.

Also, could it hook up to a network? The 95 comp right now can use my XP's printer. Could Puppy Linux connect to my network?

Thanks.

>>>Will Puppy Linux be able to do things like 95?
Surf the web, good word programs, etc.<<<

Yes, and you could always try and see (without commitment) to any version that's a live distro...

http://www.frozentech.com/content/l...

They're usually available cheaply if you don't have broadband access or are unfamiliar with creating discs from ISO's.

On Puppy Linux you can do most of what Win 95 can do and more like usb support.

http://rhinoweb.us/

Do you know how helpless you feel if you have a full cup of coffee in your hand and you start to sneeze?

~Jean Kerr~

I agree that Win95 should need not have a firewall or antivirus. The fact you are willing to risk indicates that on your machine none of the protection will work, except --may be--linux.

If you use Win95, you could install older version of Spybot Searcha& Destroy and Proximodo to get some protection from ads. Both of which have very low memory usage.

But you won't be protected in Win95, and anyone can simply take control over your system without any hassle.

If I were you, I would not use win95 for any purpose that involves internet (including transfering data to and from internet connected computers)

If you want to run windows 95, then take a look here.
http://oldfiles.org.uk/lightspeed/l...

And yes, they do make a AntiVirus and a firewall for Win95..

For free AV software that runs on DOS / Win 3.x / 9x, you can always run the DOS version of F-PROT. One advantage of using this is that it only runs when you manually run it, freeing up resources the rest of the time. Another advantage is that you can run it from pure DOS, in case Windows gets corrupted somehow.

As for Puppy Linux, you can boot it from a Live CD without the need to actually install it, thereby preserving your ability to boot into Windows 95. You will want more RAM, though, as I have had limited success with Puppy on a PC with 64 MB of RAM (but much greater success on PCs with more.) Some versions of Puppy would boot with just 64 MB; others wouldn't. Needless to say, it would be very slow on 32 MB, assuming you're lucky enough to get it to completely boot. With enough RAM, you can get it to load the whole OS completely to a RAMdisk, but with only 32 - 64 MB, it will frequently need to access the CD.