Anti Virus

[j_martin]

Need personal security for a friend's 2 machines. Just reformatted the HP workstation and reloaded the HP virus.... er system. It was very badly infected with about a dozen trojans and downloaders. I suspect his laptop will be in similar shape.

KAV sees HP software as a virus. I tend to agree, but it won't work with a neophyte.

CA, AVG, or what.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jordeez98]

Re: Anti Virus

I've always had AVG the free version, and has always been great for me. My 6yr old Dell has only seen a couple virus's in its life time and AVG has caught them. I have AVG set up on the laptop and pc.

But there are always those 'users' that no matter what security measures are taken, they still seem to just royally screw up a perfectly good machine..lol

 

[j_martin]

Re: Anti Virus

I've always had AVG the free version, and has always been great for me. My 6yr old Dell has only seen a couple virus's in its life time and AVG has caught them. I have AVG set up on the laptop and pc.

But there are always those 'users' that no matter what security measures are taken, they still seem to just royally screw up a perfectly good machine..lol

Where has your browser been today?

Another thing I have a hard time teaching is "There ain't no free lunch." If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Browser toolbars are the worst.

 

[chuckz]

Re: Anti Virus

I prefer Avira over AVG. I also use Zonealarm, IOBit PC Care and Spybots search and destroy. The last two programs inocculate the machine against viruses and spyware.

 

[SeanT]

Re: Anti Virus

My preferences:

AVG Free (always good)

Microsoft Security Essentials (http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/)
- Free for home use. I particularly like this one for Windows Vista and Windows 7 machines because it makes use of Windows Defender, which is already installed. 3rd party packages either disable Windows Defender or run along side it, which is a bit of a waste of resources. Updates come down through Windows Update as well, so there's no extra over head for that either. Works great on XP as well, though not so well on older machines in my experience.

Also, when you need a second opinion to clear out an infect, use MalwareBytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php)
- They have free and pay versions. The free version is fully functional for manual system scans, but there's no real time component or scheduling ability unless you buy it. However, the free version is THE second opinion software if something gets by your existing AV.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Anti Virus

I at one time used McAfee. After a while I was not impressed with the protection, the bog on the older machines, and the yearly price. I switched my machines over to Bit Defender, and have been pretty happy. It was 29 bucks for a 3 PC anti-virus package. Runs pretty seamlessly, seems to catch allot more than McAfee, and has good reviews.

I have also used both AVG free, and Microsoft security essentials (free as well). Those both seem to work pretty well. Not quite as many tweaks can be made to them as the Bit Defender, but still good software.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Anti Virus

For free, I use Avast.

The best non-free one is Nod32.

There is a good online Nod32 scan you can run on your machine. Its very thorough.

 

[roncoop75]

Re: Anti Virus

AVG for an active scanner and an open source one I found that I use to scan individual files that are suspect called ClamWin.

If you go and read AV software reviews you'll find out that no one single product will catch EVERY virus. Your best bet is to run two. An active scanner and one that you can just scan the drives with. I've had things that ClamWin saw that AVG didn't and vice versa.

 

[Isaacm1986]

Re: Anti Virus

I have Avast as well, and I love it. I have used AVG, PC tools, macafe, norton, trend micro, and a few others. Out of all of them, Avast is my favorite and by far the best (in my opinion). Has the most features, and capabilities for any free virus program i have used.

For free, I use Avast.

The best non-free one is Nod32.

There is a good online Nod32 scan you can run on your machine. Its very thorough.

 

[SteveRoss]

Re: Anti Virus

Hi All....

I only saw one post mentioning Avira... I installed it for my wife's comp and she loves it. It finds something new almost every day. Of course she is always going to....well, I won't say, and downloading games. So, Avira catches the crap that comes down with the games.


For my machine, I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It works well, as long as you have a copy of XP or whatever that will pass the test for genuine software.

When all else fails or at least once a week, go to Trend Micro's website and do the Housecall virus scan !!

Regards,

Steve

 

[642mx]

Re: Anti Virus

AVG seems like it slows down the computer too much. I really like MicroTrend, but its not cheap.

 

[skargo]

Re: Anti Virus

I used AVG Free for years. Started using Avast and it's much better.

 

[TahoeQ4Pilot]

Re: Anti Virus

Also an Avast user who turned his back on AVG, you cant go wrong with Avast.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: Anti Virus

For free, I use Avast.

The best non-free one is Nod32.

There is a good online Nod32 scan you can run on your machine. Its very thorough.

+1

It's not free but so far it's bulletproof.
ESET NOD32 ANTI VIRUS 4

 

[Jordeez98]

Re: Anti Virus

I will agree AVG does slow the computer a bit...I may try this Avast you all speak of

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Anti Virus

Hi All....

I only saw one post mentioning Avira... I installed it for my wife's comp and she loves it. It finds something new almost every day. Of course she is always going to....well, I won't say, and downloading games. So, Avira catches the crap that comes down with the games.
Steve

It's nice that it catches what it's suppose to catch.
But I remember dealing with many client computers a few years ago with AVG.

At that time AVG was creating false positives that would keep coming back. (They were never really there) The only way to get rid of them by avg was to upgrade to the paid professional version.

As for what I use and put on my client computers?
Symantic Antivirus. (Not the Norton 360) that's too bloated. This is just the antivirus client. Very fast and efficient. I buy multiple licenses at bulk and sell them with upgrade on computers I do. Soon I will be upgrading to Symantic EndPoint.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Anti Virus

+1

It's not free but so far it's bulletproof.
ESET NOD32 ANTI VIRUS 4

I LOVED NOD32. It was the best detection and the least performance hit to the machine. Unfortunately it was just too darn expensive. The annual renewal was particularly high. I ended up switching to Microsoft Live OneCare which has now become Security Essentials.

 

[dan4081]

Re: Anti Virus

SeanT in post number 5 nailed it.

Microsoft Security Essentials for everyday use and Malwarebytes for emergencies.

Cant go wrong.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Anti Virus

Another vote for avast here. Switched over from avg and avast is light years ahead of avg. Will never go back! It's avast from here on out.

 

[skargo]

Re: Anti Virus

Another vote for avast here. Switched over from avg and avast is light years ahead of avg. Will never go back! It's avast from here on out.

Yep, I even ran them side by side to see how they performed, Avast picked up stuff AVG missed. AVG jumped the shark!