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Which antivirus?

Discussion in 'Security and Privacy' started by Sandis, 2010/10/11.

  1. 2010/10/11
    Sandis

    Sandis Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi forum, i am currently beeing helped from infections by broni (big thanks to him so far) and i came to understand that it would be the p2p applications causing it. I am now wondering witch is the absolute best antivirus? F-secure, norton and so on. I really would like to read your opinions.
     
    Sandis,
    #1
  2. 2010/10/11
    markmadras

    markmadras Banned

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    I use Avast free, it has managed to keep my PC clean for several years with only the minimum of protection that the free version offers. The full version is not expensive and gives complete protection.

    Best person to ask for advice on this would be Broni.

    If you are using p2p regularly then you will always be subject to infections.
     
    markmadras,
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  4. 2010/10/11
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Hi Sandis. Adding to what Mark said as with any security program none offers 100% protection against malware but using a few good security programs together can help mitigate and lessen your chances of your computer getting infected.

    Also everyone uses different security programs so you may have to try a few of them before you find one that you like and that works for you.

    On my systems I use Spybot Search and Destroy, Spyware Blaster and Microsoft Security Essentials as well as the Windows Firewall. All of those programs are free of course and you should only have one antivirus program running in the background at a time otherwise they can cause conflicts with each other.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #3
  5. 2010/10/11
    Davezilla

    Davezilla Well-Known Member

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    I think that Avast! & MSE are the two top freeware AVs at the moment, in popularity anyway. I use MSE myself.
     
    Davezilla,
    #4
  6. 2010/10/12
    Sandis

    Sandis Inactive Thread Starter

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    I'm not going to be using p2p anymore and if i have to buy the music then ill do it (cheaper than a new computer). I have tried Norton 360, F-secure(witch i think has been easiest and best so far), ESET Nod32(i read that it is the best one so far? currently using 30 trial), Mc Afee and i've tried avast but i didn't understand it and i was not sure i could rely on something thats free. I can pay for something that offers the best protection, i never really thought of any free ones. Are there any differences by "good2best" grade or are all equal?
     
    Sandis,
    #5
  7. 2010/10/12
    leushino

    leushino Well-Known Member

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    Microsoft Security Essentials is free, low on resources and highly recommended by Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte.
     
    leushino,
    #6
  8. 2010/10/12
    Davezilla

    Davezilla Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, let's face it, Microsoft know their OS better than anyone else. I'm pretty happy with MSE. Norton was a nightmare & I used McAfee for over a year. I think I saw the best of McAfee as it is now going back to false-positive city, like I was warned about. I wouldn't recommend it, it has some nice toys to play with but at the end of the day, you just want an AV that works well & is relatively simple to use.

    MSE is all of these things. :cool:
     
    Davezilla,
    #7
  9. 2010/10/12
    jpChris

    jpChris Inactive

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    I'm going to have to throw my 2¢ in with Mark. ¡Avast! Free Edition is really easy to use and they have a paid version, if you so wish.

    And, as Evan said, none offers 100% protection. It's best to have more than one security program — just don't have them all running at the same time!
     
    jpChris,
    #8
  10. 2010/10/12
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Also a lot of people seem to think that just because you are paying for security software may mean that you are getting better protection. In some cases this may be true but most of the time the free programs can do as good if not a better job at protecting a users system from security threats.

    I also find that the paid security suites that you can get tend to really slow down a machine considerably so if you want a good antivirus and antispyware application thats light on system resources use MSE or one of the other free security programs.
     
    Evan Omo,
    #9
  11. 2010/10/12
    Davezilla

    Davezilla Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I agree. Some of those suites are huge, McAfee was massive & seriously slowed my laptop down, I don't know how I managed until I started using MSE. :eek:

    MSE is quite light:

    MSE for Windows XP: 11.3 MB
    MSE for Windows Vista/7: 6.91 MB
    Virus Definitions: Approx. 60 MB ~ Wikipedia

    & there is this ... 'As of 2009 McAfee virus scanning-products did not handle false positives well, repeatedly removing or quarantining known clean files even after the user restores them'
     
    Davezilla,
    #10
  12. 2010/10/12
    jan roberts

    jan roberts Inactive

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    i liked one care and went on to microsoft security essentials neither of which annoyed me.
     
    jan roberts,
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  13. 2010/10/12
    Davezilla

    Davezilla Well-Known Member

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    MSE rocks! It's just had an update. You certainly can't knock the price.
     
    Davezilla,
    #12
  14. 2010/10/13
    Sandis

    Sandis Inactive Thread Starter

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    Allright thanks for your opinions guys. I see we have a undefeatable winner the "MSE thats free" :). I suppose ill be goin with that, and thanks again!
     
    Sandis,
    #13
  15. 2010/10/13
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    No problem. :) I hope you will like using MSE.
     
    Evan Omo,
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  16. 2010/10/13
    markmadras

    markmadras Banned

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    I've had a few minor glitches with windows needing to close, internet going a bit slow, etc. I thought something was in the system so ran all the usual stuff, sfc /scannow, chkdsk, Avast anti virus and Ashampoo Antimalware. The Ashampoo found a couple of minor adware bugs but nothing serious.

    Having read this thread I downloaded MSE and it found two nasty trojans and everything seems to have speeded up again. So, I can highly recommend it.
     
    markmadras,
    #15
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  17. 2010/10/13
    Davezilla

    Davezilla Well-Known Member

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    I told you MSE rocked! :D
     
    Davezilla,
    #16

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