Time for anti-virus software, but choose which one?

Hello,

Expecting my T61 is coming in the next two days, I am looking for the anti-virus software. (case, memory, etc. sounds like I am buying everything for a new baby )

Ok, I did some research. I read this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132063

I feel its discussion is sufficient enough.

I also found a report on

http://www.av-comparatives.org
(Click Comparatives, line 14, online reports of May)


Some people say Norton or McAfee is good, but I found out that at cnet.com their average scores are around 3 out 10 from over 100 customer reviews. Sounds horrible to me. Some recommend other brands that I never heard of and have no confidence.

I could post this thread in other forums, but I trust my fellow Thinkpaders here.

Your input/info/pointers is really appreciated.

Edit: the above poll list may NOT be right or complete. Please forgive me.

 

i use kaspersky Internet security suite....its brilliant..doesnt use a lot resources and laptop boots up very quickly unlike some ..or nod 32....bothe very good

 

If you're looking for something that's free, I use AVG which I like. There's also Avira but some people complain that avira bugs you all of the time about getting a premium version. I tried it, it's ok, but it did bug me. If you're willing to pay, there are a ton of good options like NOD32 and Kaspersky.

 

How is the AVG premium package?

 

Zonealarm in the poll doesn't make antivirus software - they actually use Kaspersky 6.0 in their latest Internet Security Suite. Prior to that, they used CA.

Typically, the good paid ones that have always led have been Kaspersky, NOD32 and Bitdefender. Kaspersky's latest version is very bloat-free and dominates almost all tests with known viruses, but is a bit weaker on wild viruses and heuristics.

NODS32 excels at heuristics (well, relative to the others that is...), but is a bit weaker on cleanup and known viruses.

Kaspersky 7.0's on the verge of being released though, no clue how that'll be.

 

isnt this for the windows forums?

 

I use Mcafee. have no problems ever...

as for slowness, I can't say. my system is super fast with or without my AV.

good luck AVG I think is one of the best free AV's around.

 

I use Kaspersky Internet Security 6 and Spybot Search and Destroy

 

We should try to keep this area free of off topic discussion.

Here is a long thread "best anti-virus":

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=42070

 

Using Norton Internet security 2007 and Vista here.

I found Norton is not a resource hog at all. I have noticed no slowdown, lock ups, or alike. Their 2007 release is surely night and day compare to their 2006s.

If you plan to use Norton, choose their 2007 release. And choose not Norton Anti Virus, but choose more complete suite like 360 or Norton Internet Security 2007.

 

I like Avast. No slow downs, great protection, easy to use without a lot of fluff and annoying extras. Plus it is free.

It is almost always rated as one of the top ones as well and usually beats AVG.

Best AV out of everything though is Trend Officescan Enterprise...but it runs about $10,000 and is only for large businesses

 

Kapersky AV has the best scanner out currently out of those listed. But NOD32 takes almost no resources and is almost just as good. the newest norton is no longer a resource hog and is supposedly really good.

 

Finally Norton got the idea than, I might have to try it out. I always loved their corporate stuff but the darn gui crap for consumers got old quick when it would hog 30% - 40% of your resources (back in the P3 days) and then still a huge chunk in the modern times.

 

According to who??

 

I've read that myself recently in a couple of different magazines. Can't remember for sure, but think PCWorld or SmartComputing might have been one of them. In one article, as mentioned above, NOD was also highly rated - as was, believe it or not, Norton.

 

Go for AVG because it is lightweight and free.

 

honestly don't remember the source i read that from. i read it maybe a couple of months ago. for a good comparison go to

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

 

There are no interesting threads to respond to .

 

For Real...

for the record, I like Avast!

 

I think you're talking the June issue of PCWorld.
I like that mag too (along with SmartComputing, PC Magazine, CPU and Maximum PC).
But I never trust their reviews to be objective. Well, I trust CPU more than the others.
Those are ad driven publications.
Well, they're not as bad as the car magazines, but you get the picture.

 

I had terrible experiences with ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite (firewall, antivirus, antispyware combo) It's a resource hog.

Now, I am running Comodo Firewall (free and highest score in leak testing) and Sophos AntiVirus.

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
http://www.sophos.com/

 

My ZoneAlarm firewall is very easy on resources.

 

are you using the free version?

 

I've been reading that about just about every magazine I happen to read which does any sort of review, for a period probably longer than most NBR posters have been alive - especially when a reader disagrees with what's being said. Most reviews are reputable, fair, using methods of testing which the average schmuck (like me) can understand and appreciate. You may be right, but I don't think so, unhooked.

When reviews are really biased one way or the other, the slant is nearly always obvious. Sometimes writers even admit to personal preferences in their articles; oddly, those sometimes are the best reads, IMHO.

 

Yes, I am.

 

WHAT THE F?!

How is it that you haven't put Panda in your poll? In my opinion, it is the best security suite out there. I use Panda Internet Security, and it is the only software on any of my computers that I have actually paid for (shhh). Why? Because I figure if every attempt (that I know of) of someone trying to crack it has failed, it's worth my money.

- It doesn't take up system resources the way that Norton and McAfee do
- You can multi-task while doing a virus scan (unlike Norton and McAfee)
- The firewall is great
- It's relatively easy to use, but offers full control of the suite
- The taskbar icon is a panda bear.

My only complaint that I've had in the last 2 or 3 years that I've been using it, is that when there are wireless networks nearby, upon start-up, Panda will prompt me for a security profile to use. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm hoping I can set a default so it will quit asking me on each boot.

If you're considering security suites, you should seriously consider Panda's kickas$ product. www.pandasoftware.com Sh!t, I sound like I could be a sales rep for Panda.

All that being said, if you're just looking for a free anti-virus scanner, get AVG Antivirus.

 

Never had good luck with panda personally. Didnt take up many resources but at the same time let quite a few things through. Luckily at the time I was running dual layer AVs so trend caught it in a nightly scan (I was using panda for the realtime scanning and trend for scheduled scans while testing some different AVs).

It all is luck of the draw though on what if any viruses come at you and if the software you are running can catch that one that you catch.

 

Well, I was talking about the Internet Suite. The free Zone Alarm is only a firewall (not an antivirus) and actually that was rated Very Poor in a recent personal firewall review and test:

http://www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

 

NOD32 or Kaspersky are both some of the best antivirus programs out there.
With either one, you'd be well protected.

 

Has anyone here tried Blink? I was thinking of trying it out. They currently offer a free one year subscription. Cnet also has a write-up about it.

 

Best anti-virus is no anti virus ... they consume your precious computer resources for little good ...

 

You will think that to the day you actually get a virus

It is true that some people are less suseptible it seems. I have not had a virus on my network of machines for many many months (maybe even a few years) and never a serious one. But some people just seem more prone to get them.

This is why I think the whole Windows sucks and is insecure thing is not fair...I have used Windows for years without any problems at all even with no AV or firewall at times. But someone else may have a huge issue and just catch that one devistating virus or exploit that will wipe out all their documents.

 

I don't do suites.
The free Zone Alarm works just fine.
I might try Comodo Pro though.

 

Edit: double post. Whadda n00b!

 

IMO, very poor "advice" to anyone using a Windows machine unless it's never connected to the Internet, in which case, saying so would have been a good idea.

 

If you guys are interested in Kaspersky, you can get it for free shipped after two $25 rebates at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Kaspersky-Lab...eals&ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1182543679&sr=1-2

 

Nonsense.

From a security perspective, a home user needs to have 3 things. Firewall, Antivirus and Antispyware, and they can be downloaded for free. They don't consume as much computer resources, and they do a lot of good.

 

router takes care of my firewall problem. i deleted my anti-virus software 5 years ago because i never got one. i should probably check with some virus checker to see if i actually did without noticing, but no problems so far. and i never get spyware. i have an adblocker, i don't download anything stupid, and i had spybot do its "block certain types of spyware permanently" thing.

 

now that laptops are shipping with 2 cores it's much more efficient to have a anti-virus like Avast, NOD32, or AVG running in the background or even scanning.

 

What do you mean by "laptops are shipping with 2 cores"? Thanks!

 

I think he means " dual-core" processors. Core 2 Duo, Core Duo, Turion64X2.

 

Would you recommend any good FREE Firewall and Antispyware? (what's the different by the way?) Thanks

 

Difference? hmm.
Firewall protects your computer from intruders.
Antispyware removes all the spyware that causes annoying pop-ups or tracks your surfing habits.

Zonelab's ZoneAlarm (click on "I only want basic ZoneAlarm Protection" for the free version)
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp
Ad Aware 2007 (or SE if you're using Vista, 2007 is not compatible).
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-2007-Free/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Antivirus -
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 AVG antivirus from Grisoft
http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html Avast Antivirus.

 

correct, that's what I meant.

 

It doesn't matter if your processor is dual core or not when those applications run in the background since they take very little resources.
Scanning is a different story. A dual core will make a huge difference.

 

System64, many thanks!

 

No Problem!

 

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0

Free after rebates at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000FR...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448501&pf_rd_i=507846

 

zonealarm! It's firewall is one of the best I've ever seen, you probably don't even need to worry about viruses when you get it, (Zonealarm security suite that is). It's spyware and antivirus is very good as well. I have one as well. ^_^

 

Is the ZoneAlarm security suite compatible with Vista?