T400: What do you use for Virus Protection?

It comes installed with mCafee. Wondering what you all recommend. Thanks!

 

Skeptic browsing. Firefox with adblock and noscript...

But if you must install an Antivirus AVG, Avira, and Avast are decent free ones.

 

I've always used McAffe and Avast! and I've never gotten a virus.

I like Avast! because it's free

 

Eset Nod32

 

skeptic browsing with chrome!
stay behind a router- lol NAT

 

Avira AntiVir Personal is the best of the freeware scanners in terms of being the least obtrusive and using the fewest system resources. The only time it nags you is when it pops up an ad during virus definition update downloads, but you can disable that. AVG has been rather bloated for a few years now, and I wasn't impressed by avast! when I tried it out.

I didn't use any anti-virus software for the previous 10 years or so, largely aided by having my computers behind a router, having never ever used IE as my primary browser, and having a good software firewall on my desktop, but my company VPN software requires anti-virus software installed on my machine. I can't complain though because Avira has actually found a few inactive trojans lying around on both my desktop and laptop. As long as it's easy on system resources (unlike Norton and McAfee), I have no complaints.

 

Avira is pretty good and is really light on resources. AVG is okay although they had been bad early on with AVG 8.

Norton AV 2009 is light on resources although it costs money. Symantec has really been bloating their products for the last 6 years so I wonder if declining sales made them change their product.

 

I agree that Avira is the best free one. I use it myself so I can test files and sometimes be less responsible about my browsing. But Nod32 is the best paid AV as far as resource usage and heuristics.

 

I dont run an antivirus constantly. I do run a scan once in a while. Never had a problem with viruses at all. IMO the ones that run in the background all the time are a waste of resources.

 

ESET NOD32 as well

 

None. I find them more trouble than they're worth. I keep images of the OS install and multiple backups of the stuff I don't want to lose.

 

I use Kaspersky

 

I used to use Eset Nod32 and then Norton Antivirus 2009, but then I realized I didn't really need an antivirus.

 

Eset Nod32

 

I use Avast.

 

KIS2009 hangs a bit while scanning but I bought it.

 

NIS2009 was way smoother..at least on my T61.

 

It was nearly completely rewritten from NIS08, and it uses even fewer resources than Eset Nod32. If I were to install an antivirus, that would be my first choice.

 

What is "skeptic browsing?"

 

Maintaining a skeptical awareness of what you're clicking on, what sites you visit, what you download and how, etc.

The reality is that if you stick to sites you know or that have a reputation beyond reproach, use good judgement when choosing to download or install something, use common sense before clicking on anything, have a decent popup/malware blocker and reasonably high security settings, the chances of inadvertently getting a virus are slim to none.

I occasionally scan for malware and viruses but other than that do not use always-on software. Haven't had a malware issue in years.

 

There is also the web of trust plugin for firefox that shows you links and has a rating icon next to it on how safe it has been rated (various metrics) by users.

 

I like using Zone Alarm. The main reason why is that it does a good job of preventing the applications from "phoning home". I also use Firefox, noscript and adblock. You can also do your browsing from within a virtual machine, which is also alot safer. There are many options for this, VMWare has one for free, you can get one now from ZoneAlarm, Microsoft used to give away VirtualPC.

 

nothing, i hate taking the performance hit. i backup/reformat as needed (about 1-2 times a year)

 

Agree 100%. Not only does it reduce the risk of infection, but it substantially reduces bandwidth consumption and CPU utilization when browsing (NoScript especially for its ability to block Flash).

I don't use any active scanning AntiVirus programs, but I do maintain thorough backups of all my data on other machines so if one of my machines were to get a Virus, I could wipe the drive, start over, and lose nothing except a few hours of time.

 

I rarely use Windows, but when I do, I don't use any antivirus software. It's just a worthless thing that people have been scared into using. All it takes is one time that it doesn't pick up on a virus, and your OS gets trashed. You're much better off just not running any executables from non-trustworthy sources.

I use Opera as my primary web browser; I've found it to be far better than Firefox in terms of speed & features. It also has a much smaller market share, and thus it's not nearly as much of a security target.

A much bigger problem than viruses is using bloatware that causes your computer to start slowing down. One major type of bloatware is antivirus software itself. Here are a few others:
AIM, MSN, Yahoo Messenger (replace with Digsby)
iTunes (replace with foobar2000 or Winamp)
Nero (replace with CDBurnerXP)
Adobe Reader (replace with Foxit)

IMO, this is a much bigger problem than any virus.

 

Bloatware is indeed a major issue. As a note for Digsby, download the plain installer, not the bloatware-infested one. It's available for download at the link right under the normal download button ( direct link here).

Also for those tied to iTunes on Windows, foobar2000 has a great plugin that can sync your iPod with your computer, sans iTunes.

 

I PM'ed you.

 

Whats with the link...

 

here is a good article comparing antivirus software:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/protect_your_pc_from_guys_like_this?page=0,1

 

Another vote for Nod32 - always seems lighter and faster than the competition and always does well in detection rate shootouts.

I also run the online Kaspersky scanner once in a while to make doubly sure there are no nasties lurking.

 

i am my virus scanner.

i vow to never use a virus scanner in my life. i used nod32 and norton before that, but now with windows 7 out, i dont plan on installing any scanners.

 

I've used NOD32 for a few years before Eset Smart Security came out, and now using Eset Smart Security for about 2 years now on all my systems. Very fast, resource efficient, and effective. I do use 'skeptic browsing' with Noscript and Adblock, but it wouldn't hurt to have an additional level of protection. You can always disable antivirus temporarily when you need all resources.

 

Norton Internet Security 2008 Here.