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An Post: The postman had a parcel for me yesterday but couldn't get me at the door, so he returned it to I dunno where

Mon Oct 27 2008 - 00:00

An Post:The postman had a parcel for me yesterday but couldn't get me at the door, so he returned it to I dunno where. Without leaving a docket! In the local parcel office they wouldn't give me my parcel without the docket. - Sig

Petrol prices

Is the tax on petrol a percentage of the overall price or is it all a certain amount applied on top of the price of petrol as with the 8c a litre applied recently? If it was X per cent on top of the price, this would be coming down as crude oil reduces. It may be a combination of both, which still gives the Government little incentive to force a reduction in the price that garages charge as they will want to maximise tax returns. I heard Conor Faughnan mention recently that the price hike didn't reduce demand for petrol at the pump so I wouldn't be surprised to see further increases in the taxes on this when we have our next emergency budget.

- Donal

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Anti-virus software

€107 for anti-virus software is a bit steep - especially as it's only for one year. I'd recommend the AVG anti-virus (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) - they give it away free (although they do try and get you to upgrade to the pay version before you download it). There are only so many ways to write a computer virus, so AVG is just as effective as McAfee (same way as generic aspirin is just as good at stopping a headache).

- Paul

AVG Free is as good as any commercial anti-virus solution. In fact, when repairing PCs I routinely uninstall software such as Norton and McAfee.

- Anthony McG

There are plenty of free and effective alternatives to commercial anti-virus software (and indeed most security software). Personally, I use Avast (http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html) which is also free for home/personal use; they just charge for commercial customers. You need to re-register each year, but it's very straightforward. The only (possibly) irritating thing is that it likes to loudly announce every time it auto-updates its virus database or when there is a programme upgrade available. Then again, many people might find that reassuring.

- Tessa B