Best antivirus

First off im sorry if this is in the wrong place, as it is just a general security question.

for years i have used free antivirus programs. such as malwear bytes and haven't worried to much about things.

That has now changed with major problem ive just had.

My question is this. what is the best antivirus currently available? *either free OR a paid version* or at least some of the top rated ones * ive seen the list of free ones offered by the site but am curious to know about the paid versions and such*

Thank you for any help given.

 

Im not sure where i got this thought form but i recall having multiple antivirus programs was bad? i may be mistaken. I was considering bit defender from what ive heard is not bad, and use in coordination with say avast and or MSE or something?

 

What you see in my signature is all I use on all my PC's. Nothing more and nothing less. I have several grandkids who get on all my PC's and I have never had a problem with one that I couldn't get rid of in a few minutes.

Of course since I don't know what version of windows you have, it is hard to say. Some of these programs won't work on Windows 98 or some of the older versions of Windows.

You should go to User CP near the top left and fill out your system specs. And be sure to save them when you are finished.

 

I'd agree with Evan, except to add that I've been trialling Comodo Internet Security on this machine for a couple of months now and I've found it quite good. I like that its a complete security solution like MSE. This is where (IMHO) it beats the likes of AVG for example as AVG (Free) is a standalone AV product like many others which act as a bait to get you to purchase the full suite. Comodo firewall has been noted as very good for years but, to be fair, their AV product is more of an unknown quantity - certainly from my own point of view. Also included with Comodo is Dragon - which is a Google Chrome clone with added security features. There is an advanced install option where you can choose to opt out of installing any component. I'd recommend not installing the Geek Buddy component as its not necessary - especially if you are a bit Tech savvy in the first place

One other feature I do like is the sandbox which curtails the activities of any unrecognized program until you approve it.

 

No you aren't mistaken. You should only have ONE AV product installed. The reason being, that the way AV programs work, the best way to understand it is that an AV program running sees another AV program running and they both think the other is a virus and they start fighting each other and your computer grinds to a halt...

 

I thank you all for your help on this. I have had no problems until recently with a key-logger on my computer, and that is why the change. no idea how it managed to get on and a hold of my info. but again thanks.

 

Arie: I would imagine you are using a hardware firewall (i.e. router). Do you use a software firewall as well and if so, which?

 

I am not Arie, but I have a router and used to use ZA as well. Dumped it years ago and have not had a problem with anything. My routers Hardware firewall and Windows XP or Win 7 firewall is turned on. Of course I don't frequent Dating and **** sites and the likes of them. Most people that I know that have a router don't use one of those 2 ways like ZA.

 

I can recommend to you the Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast.

 

I go along with virtually everything said above. I just use MSE on my 64 bit computer & MSE plus SUPERAntiSpyware & SpywareBlaster (freeware editions) on my 32 bit computer. Everything else is browser end.

I used to run BullGuard which is an Anglo-Swedish AV that (when I ran it) utilised a combination of the excellent BitDefender engine & the Outpost firewall (supposedly one of the best firewalls at the time that money could buy). It wasn't that expensive if I remember, but for some reason when my licence expired I decided to use Norton which was provided by my ISP. I learned my lesson the hard way, although eventually my ISP (British Telecom) changed to McAfee.

I believe that the BitDefender engine is also used by Kaspersky & F-Secure. If I was going to purchase an AV again it would be a choice between BullGuard, Kaspersky & F-Secure. At the moment I would probably go for F-Secure.

If I were you, I would avoid Norton & McAfee, I didn't have the same problems with McAfee as I had with Norton but I have been vary wary of these AVs ever since. They say that Norton has improved. It couldn't get worse, that's for sure. It allowed malware onto my notebook anyway, so I'll never use it again, even for free (they couldn't pay me enough).

I am now running MSE on both computers. The 64 bit version is particularly fast & MSE runs really well on both 32 & 64 bit machines. I am not that interested in running heavy suites any more & a light integrated AV like MSE is virtually perfect IMO.

 

Well... maybe I've been overly cautious since I have to do a number of sensitive things online due to my circumstances. But I think I'm learning. My subscription to Norton is due to lapse soon. I've been with them for years but lately I've been thinking more and more about Avast. Last week I bought a new Net Gear router with the strongest security firewall. So perhaps going with the freebie from Avast and enabling the Windows 7 firewall along with the router will be enough.

 

Sounds good. I'll check it out.

 

Got to agree with Arie and Evan on this 100%.