Anti-Virus Software?

Avast is the most effective anti-virus software and it's free. I also suggest installing Comodo, an excellent firewall.
 
I have used Norton and McAfee both, in the past. No problems with either.

I have been using AVG Free for about the past 3 years with no problems. I am pleased with it. :thumbup:
 
richard j said:
symantec/norton antivurus is the biggest memory hog i have ever seen when it comes to antivirus. i had it on a clean machine that was fast before installing it. after the install, the pc ran so slow it took forever for any program that required some memory to run or even start up. i rate it right up there with mcafee or avg which both are useless and have let me down. i have been running avast ever since its been out and wont go back to anything else.
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And Jfindon.

The folks probably complained for one reason , their PC had limited resources ( memory - CPU speed ) and yes the older versions of Symantec AV were system hogs , which is why I hated it so much.

Then SEP was released.

It is far leaner and less obtuse than the older versions of Symantec AV. Of course if you are running a Pentium III/256 ram then SEP is not going to work out very well for you.

Otherwise if you have a modern PC SEP should work just fine.

Tostig


edit - A word about AV like Avast , AVG and other free AV's , AVG can detect many harmful viruses and thats about it , I have seen time and time again infected PC's using AVG that found the virus but could not handle it, same goes for Avast.
As far as AV's are concerned , you do get what you pay for.
Now if you are a careful soul that doesnt open attatchments , doesnt go to 'hinky' sites ;) , doesnt do the typical things that will get a PC infected then you may be ok with those lesser Av's , if not then I would suggest something robust and effecient like SEP or Kaspersky.
 
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For a while, the freebies were as good or better than the paid ones. The last two years or so, the paid ones have been doing better in the tests. Norton in particular has redeemed itself after a few years of poor performance.

You can have adequate protection with the free ones. I would only recommend free solutions if you meet one these criteria:

1 You're computer savvy. I don't think you meet this one as you had to ask for recommendations.

2. You surf safely. No porn, no warez, no file sharing/mp3/video downloading from free sites. If you have kids or teenagers, figure that your computer won't be used safely.


Of the free ones, Microsoft Security Essentials is probably the best.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/security_shootout_10_top_antivirus_apps_put_test will give you more real results on which to make your decision.

This is a decision you should revisit yearly as threats and responses change quickly.
 
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I use Comodo internet security. It's free and it has firewall and anti-virus built in together. Detects infected files very fast with active scanning. It should also be available separately if you already have preferred firewall.
 
If you would only load Linux instead of windows version whatever you will find life much more pleasant on the internet.

I run PCLinuxOS but Ubuntu is another very good Linux OS that will run on most hardware.
 
timsclips said:
If you would only load Linux instead of windows version whatever you will find life much more pleasant on the internet.

I run PCLinuxOS but Ubuntu is another very good Linux OS that will run on most hardware.
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It's perfectly pleasant when you know what you're doing.
 
timsclips said:
If you would only load Linux instead of windows version whatever you will find life much more pleasant on the internet.

I run PCLinuxOS but Ubuntu is another very good Linux OS that will run on most hardware.
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I run Debian and RedHat Linux on my servers but it still trails when it comes to multimedia and office productivity apps.
 
Funny I should run across this today as I renewed my 5 computer license with Kaspersky Internet Security earlier today. I did load the 2009 version (9.0.0.736 I believe) instead of KIS 2011 (geared more toward 7 than XP). I had been running KIS 2008 up until today with regular virus database updates as they come out. In over 4 years I've never had a bug. I have had KIS stop me from some sites, and upon inspection, only a few have been false positives. For my money (and my work) there is nothing better. No one else guarantees a 3 hour fix to any new bugs found running around out there.

As Tostig mentioned, the free ones aren't that good at catching everything. I have a friend that repairs computers and the majority of de-bugging he has to do are computers set up with AVG Free and Norton. He also runs KIS on his personal machines. You do get what you pay for.
 
I had been using the old Norton Firewall and CA Anti-virus, an excellent paid program. But due to upgrades, I discovered that they were both slowing down my Internet connections and even blocking some downloads.
I switched to two paid programs, Zone Alarm Pro and Bit Defender Anti-virus. I also run Malware Anti-malware with active checking. The anti-virus checks for new signatures every hour which is something I both like and need!

I download a LOT of material from torrent sites and really need the extended protection these programs provide. For about $50 a year in renewal fees, I've had no problems with anything getting through. They catch 2-3 intrusion attempts every day, quarantining the nasties before they can do any harm. To date, knock wood, I've never had a virus, trojan, or spyware infestation despite daily attempts.

Stitchawl
 
Have a look at Kaspersky Pure, seriously, download the trial version and have a play with it. Does lots of clever things besides anti virus/firewall.

Win 7 64 bit is also a little more secure as well.
 
I'm responsible for my company's IT. IMO PC Tools & Spyware Doctor is the best at cleaning infected PC's and catching new infections...but itsa PIG on system resources. I've resorted to installing it only when I need to clean an infection. Avira Free is good. Microsoft Security Essentials is free and works. For my company I've purchased Eset Nod32 Antivirus for out entire network: it runs on Win2000, WinXP, Vista, Win7, and Win 2000/Win2003 Server...it also runs in a Windows Terminal Server enviornment. It comes in 32 & 64 bit versions. It works.
 
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Whatever you use, you MUST update your virus definitions often. Also, use good sense when surfing the net or opening email attachments. Don't click on everything that pops up, and don't download every cool looking screensaver.
 
kya said:
Microsoft Security Essentials
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I got infected while using McAfee and the only thing that got it off was Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free, it auto updates, does virus and malware protection, and takes very little resources. In the last month it has removed three other threats and I don't surf questionable sites. After using it, I'll never pay for antivirus / malware software again.
 
I have Avast on one pc, Avira on another.

Both have done a fine job for me. Recommended without hesitation.
 
pvicenzi said:
Whatever you use, you MUST update your virus definitions often. Also, use good sense when surfing the net or opening email attachments. Don't click on everything that pops up, and don't download every cool looking screensaver.
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CA Anti-virus auto-updates several times a day, but BitDefender auto-updated (or at least checks for updates) every hour. I really LIKE that sort of protection!

Stitchawl
 
Antivirus software? I run Linux.

jfindon said:
It's perfectly pleasant when you know what you're doing.
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This has been a problem for me. Some days, it felt like it was fighting me at every possible step. And about silly things too, even.

pellmell said:
Avast is the most effective anti-virus software and it's free. I also suggest installing Comodo, an excellent firewall.
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This is what I did when I still ran Windows. No security problems at the time. You know, I think if you stick to the safer corners of the internet and exercise basic caution, you could probably get away with less.
 
It's getting kind of silly, all these programs. I was using AVG and then they "updated" the program and everything slowed down. I switched to Avast and ver 4.8 was great. They "upgraded" their program to 5something. It sucked IMHO. I went back to ver 4.8. I'm sure that won't last forever.
 
I use free Avast. It is very fast to notify me of a potential virus - pops up a big window to get my attention immediately. I am pretty computer savvy and don't open attachments from people I don't know.

Avast is also what the IT folks have installed on our computers and I guess they use it for the gazillion servers we have.
 
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