Please recommend antivirus software

Hi all , since getting my system this past summer , which came with McAfee , I really haven't been happy with it . Every so often , it decides that it won't update the antivirus index and it deactivates the firewall . I thought that once all of the preferences were set it would do all of this automatically (am I wrong in thinking this ?) . Obviously , I "m not a computer guru - this is why I come here for help ! Anyway , lately , it constantly says it needs to close and wants to send an error report . No matter how many times I do this , it keeps popping up again . So today I uninstalled it and was going to install my old Symanted 2000 disc and upgrade it . But I see now in the thread below by Bill C . that it doesn't support restore points unless you change some things around . A friend of mine suggested software which I can't remember the name of right now that he got at circuit city . Suggestions please on the best antivirus protection ? Thanks ! PS , I installed IE7 a few weeks ago . Does this have any relevance in all of this ?

 

HELLO JetstreamJim,

It might have something to do with IE7 http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=59192&highlight=McAfee


My favorites are NOD32 - Eset

And KAV - Kaspersky

Use them both and both have forums

Regards - Charles

 

Sorry about posting this topic in the wrong place. Thanks for that info . I've already installed AVG free for now . My computer is definitely running faster . Is Mcafee known for being more trouble than it's worth ? I have a Dell so maybe it's just more of the bloatware conspiracy I've heard of with said company . Any problems known of for AVG ? Gracias !

 

Right on both counts Dell, however is not the only offender. I just got a HP laptop and had to clean it out before I could use it.

All in all, AVG is problem free, nothing like the two industry leaders, McAfee and Symantec.

FYI, an excellent site on comparing the effectivness of AV's
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Regards - Charles

 

JetstreamJim,

Just my two cents here. I switched from Norton products to AVG Free awile back and I am pleased with the change. Even with 3 kids in the house, I've had no virus problems and my systems run quicker with AVG then they did with Norton's. Especially my old Win98 system. I would stay with AVG if I was you.

Mike

 

Both Norton and McAfee can be accused of having very heavy products, adding lots of services and processes to your machine. Not so great if you're running an older less powerful machine.

I switched from Norton to AVG, not because of any conflicts but just because my surfing habits just don't require such a robust av.

In so far as having bloatware, Dell certainly is not alone in that respect. Most OEM suppliers add loads of stuff to keep the cost down on newer PCs.

To remove lots of that bloat, try the PC Decrapifier

I have not used it, but have not yet read of any major problems with it and it appears to work very well.

 

i will offer my 2 cents also. avg free is very good. they used to be known as ewido. our computer tech guys recommend avg free and adaware because they are free and they work. ive had norton and mcafee and got nothing but headaches from them. and for me they werent user friendly. i would also give a warning to anyone who has avast. i put it in my old computer which was using windows 98 tried to uninstall it and couldnt. it didnt seem friendly either. maybe im the only one to have problems with it. of course that computer is no longer being used .but i personally wont recommend avast either even if its free because free isnt always better.

 

thanks for all the input folks !

 

Hi pishbloom,

Just a slight correction. The AV - Grisoft/AVG - was always AVG. Grisoft bought Ewido and married Ewido's anti malware application to their suite.

Regards - Charles

 

billyarow - AVG

As I understand it, the problem with AVG is that it gives no protection against Network Attacks. I would there for recommend Kaspersky - admitted it's not free, but it is excellent!

 

Kaspersky is a great AV. My own recommendation is for NOD32. I love its hourly updates and the ease of use of this product. Again, not free but not really expensive either. And how can one put a price tag on freedom of mind?

 

I use Kaspersky 6, it's rated as one of the best. Unlike Norton, you get excellent suport as a home user. When upgrading to a new version you need to uninstall first, and unlike many others the uninstall is quite clean. Kaspersky Anti-virus 6 offer a wide range of protection features, more complete than free programs.

 

I'd like to chime in with a question here as I am seriously considering dropping my Cox High Speed Internet Security Suite built by Authentium and going to something else. Several ofyou have praised the AVG Free. What do you suggest using for my firewall, pop-up blockers and spyware control, if I shift to the AVG for antivirus?

 

I've been an AVG free edition for many, many years and have been completely satisfied.
Question??: I installed Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic and it seems to work well. (it did pick up a virus).....AVG didn't!!
Can two anti-virus programs be on same computer? I heard that this is
a "no-no ". Avira AntiVir runs at startup, in my system tray. Also, AVG also runs at startup. Am I asing for trouble??

from the website: "Avira AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic reliably protects your private computer against dangerous viruses, worms, Trojans and costly dialers ".

 

freeware antivirus? not on MY computer

Anyone who wants to trust their computer to freeware obviously doesn't care too much about security. It may be better than nothing, but believe me, maintaining software definitions updates for anti-virus software is an expensive and time consuming job, and you are just not going to get the same kind of service from a freeware distributor as from a commercial outfit. That just stands to reason. At least not for very long. Some publishers may release something as freeware for a while to build a userbase, but inevitably they either start selling it, or they work in lots of motivation to upgrade to the paid version. Our own Rose City Software had an anti spyware app for a while but frankly it was just much too expensive to keep it updated constantly with new definitions. And antivirus is the same way... with outdated definitions, it is worse than useless.

As CEO of Infinisource, the owner of this BBS and Rose City Software, I would recommend EZ Antivirus to anyone. They were purchased a couple years ago by Computer Associates, they do an outstanding job of keeping their defs updated and annual updates are *very* reasonable. I wouldn't use McAfee software on a bet, having done business with that company over the years. Symantec is much better, in my estimation, but expensive... I'll stay with EZ AV.

----
Joseph Burke
President/CEO
InfiniSource, Inc.
http://www.infinisource.com/
http://www.RoseCitySoftware.com/

 

Hello Irving,

Yes, you're asking for trouble.

Avira being the better of the two, at least disable AVG from starting up, and if you want to keep it, use as a "2nd opinion" scanner.

Regards - Charles

 

Antivirus Software

For my 2 cents worth Norton is a memory hog. McAffee has never worked for me. Has let virus through and has caused many other problems. It may work for others, but this is my experience.
I bought a Dell computer and it was loaded with junk as most new computers are. I formatted it and installed my version of Window XP Pro. I use the free Avast for anti-virus. It has never let a virus through yet and updates the files and the new version when it comes out as soon as I connect to the internet. I run other AdAware, Spware Blaster and Spybot - Search and Destroy.
I'm not knocking any software. Just posting my experience.
Thanks and Good Luck.

Oops. I just came back and read my post. I used to run the free version of Avast, but upgraded to the full paid version. My memory is not as good as the one in my computer.

 

charlesvar,
After reading all of the inputs in this thread, I've decided to do the following, since I have had most of my experience with AVG, and relatively little experience with AntiVar......
I have AVG in Start Menu, don't have AntiVar in this menu.
I then used WinPatrol and clicked on Services TAB.
AVG is running and on Automatic.
AntiVar is in Manual mode.
I'll try this for a week or so.....But must again mention that AntiVar has been running in the background and Updates itself daily, and scans daily...never identifies any problem. Also AVG is updated daily and scans daile, and reports no viruses found.
Will see what happens with this new setup.
Thanks to all.

 

For what it's worth, you can easily check your antivirus software and compare free vs paid at this website...

http://www.virustotal.com/en/virustotalf.html

In all truthfulness, after uploading a dozen or so infected files, I was amazed at how well the free versions are doing....I finally went for the lean side on system resources and settled for avast on my win98se ... (2% of system resources at boot)

Cheers
Jake

 

Triger , thanks for that info . I went to that website and honestly didn't know what to do ! It seems like a website that's more suited for the experienced computer user . Jim