Internet security?

I installed a mcafee disc onto my pc 12 months ago which has now expired. I installed the same disc onto my laptop in august and the expiry date is aug 2008. So, i reinstalled it onto my pc but it still has the expired date on it. How is this and what can i do to sort it out? Or are there any more free ones like the agv free there used to be?

Internet security?noton

If you backup your data and reinstall XP on the desktop, then reinstall McAfee, it should run for 12 months from the date of the new install. Alternatively, you could try to find where in the registry the date info is stored, but that could take longer than a rebuild.

Alternatively, here are some recommendations from available freeware:

firewall:

Comodo (http://www.comodo.com), or

PC Tools (http://www.pctools.com/firewall)

Comodo recently released version 3.0 of its firewall, which adds an intrusion prevention component that's very effective, though it does take time for it to learn your system, and requires some ongoing attention by the user to make sure programs don't get improperly block. Comodo is one of the strongest firewalls available, freeware or commercial, according to the independent testing site matousec.com.

antivirus: (listed in order of preference)

Avira (http://www.free-av.com)

AVAST! Home (http://www.avast.com)