What is the best antivirus for Windows?

Post by **szh** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 6:57 am

Syndicatet3k wrote:Blackice- incoming and outgoing security

Something is better than nothing, but I would recommend ZoneAlarm over Blackice for use as a firewall ... read the stuff at http://www.grc.com (and run their firewall ShieldsUp™ tests) to understand why!

Z

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:24 pm

szhosain wrote:read the stuff at http://www.grc.com (and run their firewall ShieldsUp™ tests) to understand why!

Z

Wow...there's a lot of really good info there. I wish I'd discovered that site years ago.

Funny thing...I read his real downloader article. Took me back to the days when my family first got AOL in 97 or 98. I remember some videos or music using realplayer format. The first time I downloaded realplayer it struck me as unacceptably invasive. It felt like it was trying to take over my computer (which it no doubt was). I uninstalled it and never touched another real-anything ever again. Funny how the big companies of the early internet years are barely remembered anymore. Guess that "force yourself on the consumer" tactic didn't work as well as they'd hoped.

Post by **TDK2004** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:37 am

Norton bothers me..... I think they plant viruses in your comp when the subscription ends...

kinda like the ghostbusters vault.

Post by **rsagen** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:47 pm

Avast Pro is pretty good. you can get a free version for a month. I have the home (free) version tho, there is no need to hit the scan button, as it constently scans the computer, like just the other day, Downloaded a file, and saved it, then avast came up and said its spyware and which type of it. then it deleted the file for me, all I had to do is click the mouse once.

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:23 am

Bah, no need to run antivirus.

Just reinstall windows every month

Post by **rsagen** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:26 pm

tha

PoorManQ45 wrote:Bah, no need to run antivirus.

Just reinstall windows every month

that is the funnyest thing i ever read. i stole it for my sig

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:36 am

On my gaming rigs I reinstall once a month just because.

Post by **rsagen** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:39 am

that would work i guess but wouldnt u lose all your saved data from your games?

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:26 pm

Yep, but i've got a 30Mbps connection. It's all back in under an hour

Post by **rsagen** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:11 pm

lol cool 4 ya

Post by **BadQ45t** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:56 pm

Cool thread, so I worked in the AV industry for many years. I was the Product Manager for Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan. I currently work with all the big guys, Kaspersky, Norton, McAfee, Trend, CA etc. The new Norton Internet Security 2010 rocks, Kaspersky is also great. The freebie ones mostly suck...if your going to go free, try the new Microsoft Security Essentials, free and it works.

Norton 360 3.0 does alot but does hit the system but 2010 NIS works great, give it a try. The NOD and others are sorta crap.

Post by **Infinitiguy19** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:21 pm

Avira is said to be the best according to PC world with Avast coming in second. Microsoft security essentials isn't bad from what I hear but I have never (Knock on wood) had a problem with Avast.

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:07 pm

BadQ45t wrote:Cool thread, so I worked in the AV industry for many years. I was the Product Manager for Norton AntiVirus and McAfee VirusScan. I currently work with all the big guys, Kaspersky, Norton, McAfee, Trend, CA etc. The new Norton Internet Security 2010 rocks, Kaspersky is also great. The freebie ones mostly suck...if your going to go free, try the new Microsoft Security Essentials, free and it works.

Norton 360 3.0 does alot but does hit the system but 2010 NIS works great, give it a try. The NOD and others are sorta crap.

What is your test criteria?

If you need a corporate rollout, yes, I agree with you. None of the free AV programs are any good, but for personal use, there are many free options

Post by **bundy26** » Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:13 pm

I don't know much about computers, I use Trend Micro AV and haven't had any problems ,pretty fast also.Is it good or not?

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 12:17 am

We use trendmicro at work and I dislike it because it is intrusive and pesters you more than any other antivirus program I have experience with. It also generates a LOT of false positives in my experience, especially in the "dangerous website" department. I do not like it at all.

I personally use the McAfee suite that came free with my Comcast subscription. It nags much less than any of the true free alternatives (AVG, etc.) or Trend Micro and tends to be much more realistically focused. Not many false positives and it goes more or less unnoticed while doing its job, which is something I can't say for a lot of other antivirus suites I've used. I NEVER want to hear from my antivirus/security software unless something is wrong. A lot of antivirus software is more annoying than the viruses it prevents.

I really hate AVG. It always runs into update issues for me, and always stops working after a while. It also is one of the more invasive ones, reminding me of things it needs to shut up about.

One thing I really dislike about virtually all antivirus/security programs is that they count on the user having bad habits. They'll schedule to scan at 8am on X morning or whatever...but I don't leave my computer on all the time. I turn it off (not suspend, not sleep, OFF) when it's not needed. Scheduled scans are pointless if my computer is never on at the same time dependably. So STOP PESTERING ME ABOUT THEM. I will scan when I decide to scan.

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 12:32 pm

I agree MoD.

I had the same issues with AVG. It just stops working after awhile.

About the scheduled scan time. I don't scan the computer, ever!

All AV programs have a heuristics scanner built in. They actively scan files as they're being used. Virtually nothing should get by. So there's really no point in running a scan.

Post by **gatzze** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:09 am

I think its the quality (in this case the maximun no of virus) that the antivirus can catch. for this functionality i would sacrifice on the speed even though its a tad low

Post by **Ryan** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:12 pm

I run either MSE or AVG on my systems. They haven't failed me yet.

Though being smart about what you actually do on your computer goes a long way.

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:11 am

Honestly, I don't understand how people get infections anymore!

I torrent. I watch p0rn. I visit russian sites. You know, everything that is supposed to get you infected. No problems, even without an antivirus!

Maybe it's that the majority of people still use Internet Explorer.

Post by **Infinitiguy19** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:28 am

Okay I just installed Windows XP X64. I have Windows Vista Home Basic with 512MB or RAM and I had to disable every useless service just to run more than 3 programs. Windows XP X64 is far better for now till I get more RAM.

But whats the lightest antivirus program out there?

I saw Norton as one...

I was a fan of AVAST till I saw how slow my computer got, and even after I un-installed it the computer still remained fairly slow. I tried AVAST on a laptop with a dual core 1.8 GHz AMD processor and 2 GB of RAM, To be fair Windows Vista Home Premium was installed.

So I need something that is light and give me back full performance when uninstalled (Leaves no traces behind)?

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:51 pm

I've been running Microsoft Security Essentials for a while now. I replaced McAfee with it. I like it quite a bit, and it's definitely lighter-weight than McAfee. It's also less intrusive/annoying than most AV suites I've tried. I did have a minor issue with it failing to update due to windows being installed to the F:/ drive, but was able to resolve it.

Post by **Infinitiguy19** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:59 pm

MinisterofDOOM wrote:I've been running Microsoft Security Essentials for a while now. I replaced McAfee with it. I like it quite a bit, and it's definitely lighter-weight than McAfee. It's also less intrusive/annoying than most AV suites I've tried.

I would try it but I am running Windows XP X64 and I tried all I could to make it work but Microsoft gave up on this OS.

MinisterofDOOM wrote:I did have a minor issue with it failing to update due to windows being installed to the F:/ drive, but was able to resolve it.

I hear yeah I once made a mistake installing windows with a different drive name and nothing would work. I wonder if that would prevent most viruses. Most software default to C: anyways hope it works that way with some viruses.

I just tried Avira free edition and it shows you an ad to buy the premium version when updating the program. That wasn't the worst of it though, the program takes up to 30 MB of RAM!!!

I read a review online that it only takes up 1.5 MB of RAM when inactive (Idle).

So now I have been using Trend Micro House Call and I scan my files when I want. Sure its annoying scanning a program you don't trust that you just downloaded but beats a system thats bogged down by the antivirus program.

Microsoft please make Microsoft Security Essential compatible with Windows XP X64!

Post by **MinisterofDOOM** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:11 pm

I'm running MSE on a bunch of office terminals running XP32 with no issues. But now that I get thinking about it, I remember all the issues XP64 had even back when it was still actively supported by MS.

Post by **Infinitiguy19** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 6:15 pm

Well I have yet to encounter them but to be fair I just installed it a day ago. Seriously X64 is far better than the X32 XP. But I did encounter some issues with some IE updates I had to remove to get Halo to work other than that smooth sailing with 512 MB of RAM and 2.0 GHz Intel single core processor.

Post by **rsagen** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 10:28 pm

Everybody here should Google ubuntu. I've been using it for a while now. I downloaded the Windows xp skin, so it acts like xp, but is as fast as Linux and getss no viruses like a MAC.

Post by **chemao** » Mon May 24, 2010 9:38 pm

Antivirus programs are for computer n00bs

Post by **KYZAAC** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 12:39 pm

chemao wrote:Antivirus programs are for computer n00bs

agreed, i can't even think of a time i had a virus.
but if i had to choose i would go with nod32, and would recommend ditching internet explorer and get opera, and dont click on popup's and you should be alright

Post by **n00b240** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 2:25 pm

PoorManQ45 wrote:Honestly, I don't understand how people get infections anymore!

I torrent. I watch p0rn. I visit russian sites. You know, everything that is supposed to get you infected. No problems, even without an antivirus!

Maybe it's that the majority of people still use Internet Explorer.

hahaha, Im the same as well, torrents, pron, russian sites, ares, slsk, and yet no infections! the best AV is no AV

Post by **PoorManQ45** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:17 pm

I would like to change my vote.

I have been using Microsoft Security Essentials. It installs instantly and gives great protection while using minimal resources.

Post by **KYZAAC** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:53 pm

n00b240 wrote:hahaha, Im the same as well, torrents, pron, russian sites, ares, slsk, and yet no infections! the best AV is no AV

PoorManQ45 wrote:I torrent. I watch p0rn. I visit russian sites. You know, everything that is supposed to get you infected. No problems, even without an antivirus!

either of you on a private torrent site and wanna trade invites?

What is the best antivirus for Windows?

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows? (Syndicatet3k)

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows? (szhosain)

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows? (MinisterofDOOM)

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows? (Paul Wall)

Re: (PoorManQ45)

Re: (PoorManQ45)

Re: (PoorManQ45)

Re: (rsagen)

Re: (BadQ45t)

Re: (BadQ45t)

Re: (PoorManQ45)

Re: (bundy26)

Re: (rsagen)

Re: (PoorManQ45)

Re: (Paul Wall)

Re: (MinisterofDOOM)

Re: (Paul Wall)

Re: (MinisterofDOOM)

Re: (Paul Wall)

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows?

Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows?

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Re: What is the best antivirus for Windows?

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