What anti-virus to use with your Alienware?

Like the topic says, what anti-virus is the best one for Alienware laptops. Was just reading that some can make the computer slower so now I have no idea what to get.

Razz

 

I use ESET NOD32. Pretty effective, and low system resources.

 

Okay but can you use it with win7? Just thinking because when I was looking on it on amazon.com it didn´t say compitable with win7 if you know what I mean.

 

try microsoft security essentials should work fine win 7 since both are created by ms

 

I use Mcafee but it's free from work.

 

Yes it is compatible with Win7. I use ESET Smart Security package on Win7 Home Premium. (They even offer x64 bit versions)

 

I use AVG free a alienware tech told me it works fine and free as long as you don't go crazy with bad sites..

 

Okay cool so they do work even though it doesn´s say win 7?

Hahahaha

 

I use Avira Anti-vir. It's got a a really small footprint & works very well. My wife loves myspace & Limewire. So Avira is constantly being tested on my systems.

 

Yep, it's listed on their website. LINK

NOD32 v4 antivirus and v4 Smart Security are both Win 7 compatible. When I bought mine I just used the license key provided in the box to register and download the installer direct from their website. And yeah, it does have a small footprint. (currently using 4MB)

MS Essentials is a good free alternative too.

 

I highly recommend AVAST Home (free). Using it for years (almost a year on AW M17X). Light, fast and effective. Oh and did I say it's free?

 

Not only is AVAST free, but it's also full-featured, something that most software companies tend to reserve for the paid product.

 

My girlfriend uses AVAST. She gives it the thumbs up!

 

i recommend AVAST as well. 2 years been with AVAST free version.

 

+1 Eset NOD32 great product, have rolled this onto many client machines and with great results

 

i use avg total internet security its the best one ived used to date and ive used most of em £40 a year but in this day and age its well worth it.

 

I had to use Norton's Enterprise Suite when I worked and got it for free for home use since I would do work from home on occasion. Kept using it after I retired because the laptop and desktop had both been used for sensitive information and was legal in continuing to do so with my CIO's blessing.

When looking for the desktop replacement I also was a BETA tester for Windows 7 and quickly found my Norton's was not 7 compatible nor had they upgraded to make it 7 compatible since it was not an official OS so I went looking and tried AVG and quite frankly was very happy.

A little over a month ago I was reviewing A/V software and kept seeing Avast getting so many positive remarks compared to some of the very expensive one's we all know about so when I installed the Intel 160Gb SSD and did a clean installation I opted to give Avast a try and to say I'm impressed would be a gross understatemnt, I think Avast, Windows 7 and the M17x were made for each other!

 

This is a facinating question and I am glad someone has asked what anti-virus to use with your computer. By far the only program I would use is Microsoft Security Essentials. The program is obviously compatible with Windows 7 64 as it was made by Microsoft and it only has the essentials you require and is not going to bloat your computer or slow it down.

I have been on a personal quest for years to find the best combination of security and performance. I have come to this conclusion: Why spend thousands of dollars upgrading a laptops performance with all the bells and whistles you can afford just to knock its performance down 30% with bloated 3'rd party software utilities?

It is interesting to note that Dell forces you to take the free McAfee trial in some countries. Why...? I begged them not to put McAfee on my system and I was told that many gamers do not use antivirus and they clog the tech lines for support. For this reason they force antivirus onto your system. Fair enough.

I have tried several McAfee, several Norton including corporate editions & suites, Eset, Windows live, Microsoft Security Essentials, and Zonealarms, and last but not least Trend Micro. Have I forgton any? Here is what I have learned.

1) You need antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware protection and nothing else. Avoid the big "suites" as these utilites are completely unnecessary, can create problems, and make your system unstable and cause performance issues. Avoid programs labeled, 'works', 'cleansweep','uninstalers', and my favorite vice, 'registry editors'.

2) Windows 7 has highly evolved from XP and many features in 3'rd party utilities will hinder, corrupt, slow down performance, cause major problems, or are just duplicating features you already have.

3) Ask yourself why is the worlds largest software company giving away free software, "Microsoft Security Esentials."? The answer I think is simple, it is more cost effective for Microsoft to give you free antivirus, firewall, and spywhere protection than it is for them to sort out why windows is no longer working because your junk 3'rd party antivirus software has some how caused windows to stop working proplerly. Be honest, how many times have you contacted Microsoft support or Dell after adding a new antivirus, or utility? Microsoft also as a reputation to uphold with Windows 7 and would like to see people change platforms. I think Vista was a huge learning curve for them and they want people to embrace Windows 7 and finally move beyond XP which is now a 9 year old legacy software. For this reason it is in their interest to provide you a proper working solution to antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware for free. They could have included this with windows 7 but some people do prefer other choices. Likewise you must download your Windows Live mail as it no longer including with the operating system.

4) You are stuck with what ever antivirus program you choose for the life of your computer. HUh! What is he talking about! Add delete software will not remove all traces of this software from your registry. The free sweepers written by Norton and McAfee will also not clean your registry. The 3'rd party registry cleaners will remove this junk but they will also remove many of your Dll's which will make other software unstable.

5) The only way to switch brands of antivirus software and completely remove all traces is to completely reinstall your opreating system. I had my previous laptop become unstable and copletely wiped out the operating system three times, once by Norton, once by McFee, and once by zonealarms and would only recommend using a product made by Windows. These companies all play the same game of leaving junk in your registry. When you switch brands the system becomes unstable which draws you back to your original vice.

6) When Microsoft Windows has updates that are critical I don't think these third party software programs can keep up and this is why they become unstable and start to delete, or quarantine essential code.

 

I agree that Avast is a great anti virus program. Its probably the best anti vir out there which you can grab for free.

 

Microsoft Security Essentials all the way. Its free, non obtrusive, utilizes next to no resources, is constantly updated to the newest virus profiles, runs seamlessly with windows 7. I honestly don't understand why anyone would run anything else.

 

Thanks alot for all the information! First I was thinking of buying the software but now when reading your comments I´m gonna try the free one´s ! Not sure if I´m going to try MSE or Avast, does anyone know if there is a comparison review or something like that between them?

 

I just use MSE. Runs brilliantly, free, unobtrusive, and it's not overloaded with rubbish that's unnecessary.

 

i find MSE to be great, the least obtrusive program of its type: had very bad experiences with Micro Trend and MacAfee and I dislike trhe way Norton tries to run your whole computing life. The various free programs (Avira, AVG etc) all work but they mess around with the free program a lot -- new version, slow updates etc.
Never been an issue with MSE.
You can add Malwarebytes Anit-malware and do a periodic back check too but thus far it hasn't caught anything missed by MSE for me.

 

I wouldn't go anywhere near Norton. A while ago I tried the full version out-a friend had a spare code- and a week later it got infected.

And those people at Norton wanted $99 to remove the virus from my system, because their antivirus didn't work? That was some real bull.

 

When I received my Alienware m17x the first thing I did was delete the McAfee 30 day free trial from the Add/Delete software list.

After deleting the program you will still find traces on your system like in the lower right hand corner taskbar icons. If you look at the hidden icons you will see the system still thinks McAfee is on your system as it gives you a choice to hide, or show this icon.

I did not have time to fiddle with the registry as this computer was sent back for the dual CF upgrade. If anyone has tweaked the registry and knows exacly how to clean McAfee complety please post.

Again as previously posted the free McAfee sweepers you can dowload from McAfee will not fix the registry of the clutter they leave behind.

I think many of these third party utilites were usefull with XP because it had so many security threats, and vulnearabilites. With Vista they tried to fix these security issues but in doing so made vista very difficult to network. I think Windows 7 has found the balance and best to stick with microsoft products like microsoft security essentials.

 

One of my CS professors stopped teaching for about 5 years and founded his own anti-malware software company, tasked by the Department of Defense to make some really good stuff. He eventually sold the company to Microsoft and it is at least part of MSE.

I have been using it since last October and it is fantastic. I also have all of my family of friends using it, and we use it at my part-time IT job on campus for our user-base. I used AVG free for a few years before that, but it started to get more and more bloated and much more irritating trying to get you to buy the full version (almost like spyware) so I was happy to be rid of it.

 

Very helpful reading. I´m going to install MSE the first thing I do when I get my M15x on Tuesday . Is the best thing to just go to Microsoft´s website and just download it? Didn´t choose the McAfee trial either, heard it screwed alot of computers at a company when they were upgrading it lol, never gonna use it.

 

I use Kaspersky on my alienware and it works very well with windows 7. I read many reviews and most of them say that Kaspersky is the best anti-Virus out there.

 

It's a powerful software but slightly heavier than MSE or AVAST and pricey.

 

Eset Nod32

 

Don't forget to delete McAfee first otherwise you will have a total mess if you install MSE overtop of McAfee.

 

Shouldn´t be on the computer, didn´t order it with the trial.

 

I used Norton 2010 but that slowed my laptop down worse than an actual virus. I am currently reviewing MSE and it seems very good

 

Here is the link

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

 

Thanks alot man!