Antivirus/PC Security software - advice and opinions needed

After dealing with McAfee this morning trying to get a refund on auto charges for an old, dead system....and STRUGGLING to be understood....well, I'm just wondering what the best course of action is for me to take with protecting my new system. McAfee (not thrilled with it in the past), Norton....others...

I guess what I need to something that will keep infections, viruses and other such junk off the PC, but will not lag my system as it is doing it's updates.

I'd love to hear opinions on the good, bad and ugly of software out there, what works, what doesn't.

thanks!

 

You're going to get a variety of opinions (for instance, my wife and use McAfee and have never had any issues with it... I know... go figure). You will hear others praise Norton and others condemn it. In terms of free programs... Avira, Avast, AVG are three reasonably good antivirus programs, Zone Alarm (free) and Comodo (free) for firewalls and for anti-malware you have Comodo, Spybot and Ad-aware (all free). I use Spysweeper (paid program). And you'll find a variety of opinions in terms of standalone programs versus suites (I like suites but most here do not). I also (another opinion) like as few programs as possible so I have one anti-malware/spyware program versus some who have several, the argument being that one can't possibly do it all. I've found after twelve years online and having never had any problems that it... works for me. I just don't get as caught up in this stuff as some folks do. Again... go figure.

All the best.

 

I'm sure you would have had more responses if it had not been for the holidays.

I use CA Antivirus (Computer Associates) and have done so for many years. You can purchase a license but also many ISP's buy it and you can download it from your ISP if, of course, they happen to be that considerate.

Also, Maximum PC just did an article on antivirus programs and I thought it was pretty good. You can read it HERE.

I have given up on Norton, McAfee and many others because they are slow or bloated or both. Of course antivirus programs are like insurance... you never really know how good or bad they are until....

 

I've been a satisfied user of CA antivirus for a number of years and still have it on one home computer. However, I am quite impressed with Kaspersky's Internet Security Suite that I have on several other household computers. I'm also using Kaspersky on a business network that consists of 17 workstations and 2 servers and am pleased with it's performance and protection.

 

I appreciate the info - there are some programs I haven't heard of, so it'll be good to read up on them. I've used a lot of freeware in the past (Adaware, Spybot, etc.) and they have done a surprisingly good job in keeping things clean without bogging down my system. I'm not thrilled with McAfee and really want something else, but I do think I'd prefer the "all-in-one" approach just for my own sanity's sake.

 

I agree with Evan Omo concerning Windows Firewall. I've been using that and never had a problem compared to some firewalls that are so secure you can't use the Internet "-)

 

Another thought is your ISP. Some (ours for instance) offer a free internet security suite (ours offers F-Secure which my wife and I used up until getting our new desktops this past summer which came bundled with the McAfee Internet Security suite). If yours doesn't offer anything, then Kaspersky (as Noah mentioned) and Trend Micro (my wife uses this on her laptop) both offer reasonably priced all-in one security suites. The point is this: you have to find something that is not labor intrusive (ours never bothers us and I like it that way), does the job thoroughly and is not outlandishly expensive. The way I look at is... $50 is NOT too much to pay for a year's protection. When I consider all that I do online, I don't mind paying a few bucks for peace of mind. Granted... some will opt for free and there's nothing wrong with that. I've used free myself in the past. But currently I'm more comfortable with what I mentioned and that was a paid-for suite (albeit a very inexpensive one).

All the best.

 

I use eEye Digital Security's Blink Personal. You get 1-year free subscription that includes all the essentials: system firewall, application firewall, and anti-virus. Sounds alright, but what really hooked me in is that the software is designed from a hacker's perspective.

The antivirus is behavioral-- in that when it scans files, it runs them in a "sandbox" and examines them for malicious behavior (in addition to looking for known signatures like your typical Symantec or McAfee AV will do). This pretty much 'future-proofs' the antivirus in case a new virus emerges and there are no virus definitions for it.

Another feature is what they call missing patch and "zero-day" protection. Let's say you forget to update your word processing application or you have a program installed that doesn't automatically update. It has protection that will STOP someone from exploiting a security flaw. It also has an Intrusion Prevention System that stops incoming and outgoing attacks and a vulnerability scanner that looks for versions of applications that contain security flaws.

Bad thing is that my system did at times take a performance hit, so I moved to ZoneAlarm and AVG, ZoneAlarm and NOD32, but after running virus scans and installing programs, malware and unknown applications would sneek by the protection. So I stopped using my computer-- just kidding.

I later found out after uninstalling Blink that the slowdown was because it monitors so many known channels that the bad guys use for attacks. I guess it could be said that it was TOO secure. I was fed up with things getting through Symantec, McAfee, ZoneAlarm, etc, so installed the new version of Blink and things have been great so far.

On a Core 2 Duo 2ghz, a full AV scan of my system took about 25 minutes. I have about 25gigs used on a 300gb hard drive, so the results are pretty good. The firewall is similar to others, it has a learn mode and a silent mode. Learn mode can be a tad annoying at times, but once it is setup it runs smoothly. They have this option, "allow for this application instance ", that allows you to temporary allow an application for as long as it is open; which means that you don't have to click the Allow button 3 zillion times-- kinda nice .

This link will give you an overview of it:
http://www.eeye.com/html/consumer/products/blink/index.html

You can get support from their forums at (everyone, including their developers, are pretty responsive, and /keyword/ receptive to any problems):
http://forums.eeye.com/

Found this link from one of their vulnerability info newsletters (VERSA), its pretty ingenious
www.blinkfree.com

 

I'm curious as to why you're not "thrilled" with McAfee. Did you find malware or spyware on your computer? Did you go to the McAfee forum and discuss your issues with them? I've discovered over the years that many perceived problems folks have with Norton or McAfee are easily resolved when they present their problems in forums with McAfee and Norton technicians. Just a suggestion.

 

Well lets see for my 1st post here:

I used all Norton apps since 1999. Switched to BitDefender in 2005 or 2006 after discovering Norton had let some virus live on my PC for some months undetected.

Only used BitDefender anti virus app, the firewall was garbage. Switched to Zone Alarm Firewall only, the rest of their stuff was garbage. Switched to NOD32 in 2007 after BitDefender let a virus live on my pc undetected for months. Zone Alarm vector thing kept crashing on me after a while, so I switched to Outpost Firewall.

Used to use Spyware Sweeper. Switched to PC Doctor when I got a nasty piece of spyware that Spyware Sweeper let thru, and at the time, only Spyware Doctor could remove while running regular Windows (didnt need to go into Safe Mode. Most if not all anti spyware appz can now detect it. Removing it is another story tho.)

I had a setup with Zone Alarm Firewall, BitDefender anti-virus, Spyware Doctor. That combo a few years was very secure. If something was wrong with ZA or Spyware Doctor, they would block internet access. That setup was also so secure I couldnt use any harddrive diagnostic apps. It was too secure. lol That setup also slowed my PC down; Boot up, shut down, etc.

Been using NOD32 & Outpost Firewall ever since. Spyware Doctor is gone. I havent found a decent brand name anti-spyware app I trust.

My setup today is:

NOD32, Outpost Firewall w/anti spyware module active, Spyware Blaster, SpyBot Search n Destroy, Google pop up blocker, IE with the Active X prompt. Outpost has a good Active X, Java prompt thing too. Now nothing obvious gets thru unless I let it thru.

When I get real paranoid, I use VMWare & VMWare tools. (I normally say this is my #1 Internet Security app. lol) I use that when my kids wanna use the internet too. They small so not being able to use 3D isnt a big deal right now. VMWare + VMWare tools = kids and most ppl cant tell its not my actual desktop. The Tools get rid of mouse lag and lag in general.
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Norton was a resource hog, and slowed down the pc if not configured right. *this could be said for just about any internet security app.* (thing about it was u had to configure it to be less secure for better pc porformance. And Norton having a mini firewall in their anti virus back then was stupid. If u got the regular Firewall later, u had 2 software firewalls running at the same time..... That was in the past, dont know how they are now.) Have ben scared to try anything new from them. Last I used was Norton 2005 or 2006.
BitDefender was good, I thought. It caught lots of stuff on demand. But something slipped thru that turned me off of them.
Zone Alarm was good, if not for that vector thing crashing all the time. Their self protection was good: Blocking internet access til the problem got fixed. Spyware Doctor is good. Some may say too good. It catches alot of stuff on demand. Blocks sites good too. When I get a chance I will test it again for pc slowdown. NOD32 is light on resources. So is Outpost Firewall. U can choose which modules to run/not run for even less resource use.

 

Wow. I've never seen so much switching and so many undetected viruses. Where on earth are you surfing that your protective software can't handle it? LOL

Anyway, if it's working for you now... great. Stick with it. I've never found the issues you have over the years I've been surfing so I suppose I've been very fortunate (looking for wood to knock on!). Take care.

 

Just going to throw in my 2 cents for what's it's worth...

Was a Norton AV user for many many years then one year switched to NIS (Norton Internet Security)...after using NIS for a couple months I noticed that my mail would work and I couldn't connect up to my work (via VPN)...long story short NIS was the culprit. I had to shut it down to check mail or connect to work. That was not an option. I had being playing with a free 6 month license of NOD32 on another PC and really liked it so I dumped NIS from my other PC and purchased NOD32.

I have been using NOD32 now for a few years and it's never let me down. My main rig runs NOD32 (paid), Comodo Firewall (Free), Comodo BOClean (Free), and SUPERAntispyware (Paid). I also have MalwareBytes as an "On Demand" scanner. This works for me.

A good WindowsBBS thread on the subject of free AV => http://www.windowsbbs.com/general-security/79136-best-free-antivirus-software.html

 

Try Avast !!

Hi,
I recommend avast antivirus professional. I have used it for years and it provides total security, including e-mail scanning. Good thing is that it does not slow down the system too.