Best Antivirus?

What is the best Anti-virus out there regardless of price?

 

Linux.

 

nod32

unless things have changed in the past 2 years, chances are.. they're still #1

i havent used an antivirus in.. forever, and my computer's still fine, the best antivirus is being smart and not clicking on shady links

 

Even Linux is prone to malware

 

It's all quite subjective. No antivirus is "the best" in every single regard, and many of the rankings can be largely based on personal preference.

Best paid antivirus that I've used (and I've used many, many, many antiviruses) is Norton Antivirus 2010 - very light on resources, very comprehensive, lightweight, and quick protection with excellent detection rates. Currently using it on my secondary laptop.

Best free antivirus I've used is probably Microsoft Security Essentials (using it now on my Thinkpad, in fact) - very transparent and lightweight, and has great detection rates.

 

Not in the same way that Windows. Windows is prone to a lot of infection simply due to vulnerabilities on the OS. See the current .lnk vulnerability for example. Malware programs that target Linux have to use social engineering instead. Yes, there have been vulnerabilities found in Linux too sometimes. But, the difference is that in Linux, vulnerabilities are usually fixed almost immediately. In Windows, vulnerabilities remain open for much longer periods. And of course, at least for the moment, malware writers are not interested in targeting Linux. Why would they go through all the trouble when they have open doors to millions of unsuspecting Windows users. So, at least for the foreseeable future, using Linux one is much, much more secure. Especially if one is not computer savvy.

 

I would also recommend Avast for another free Antivirus.

But yes, no Antivirus is simply "the best". That's like saying "Well, this car is the best". Everything has an upside and a downside.

 

Windows OS is more vulnerable to security threats because more people want to hack Windows, not Linux. Windows Vista and 7 are more secure in this regard. I wonder how many open source programmers write malware for Windows.

If unsuspecting Windows users click OK for everything when they browse "Holy" sites, it's the fault of the those users, not Windows. Making Linux to work properly for a set of hardware itself, requires one to be more tech savy.

 

Well, this debatable, and has indeed been debated to no end. Personally, I have never seen Linux vulnerable to the degree that I have seen Windows vulnerable, time after time after time. Again, just look at the current .lnk vulnerability.

I doubt very much that any of them do. People in the FOSS community are mostly guided by principles. Just take a look at their seminal writings to understand what makes them tick.

http://catb.org/esr/writings/homesteading/cathedral-bazaar/

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

Sounds like you haven't used Linux in a while. All the installs I have done lately have been a matter of clicking next a few times (no more than 5) and everything just works. Just this morning I installed PCLinuxOS on a new desktop I just got. It took less than 15 minutes and everything works, including wireless, sound, 3D graphics, etc. Installing Windows is exponentionally more difficult than installing Linux. Besides, once installed any one can use Linux, at least as easy as they could use Windows.

I know this because I have installed it for several non tech friends that neede to be rescued from their virus infested Windows machines. Non of them have any desire to go back to Windows.

 

Avast>symantec end point. Those are the 2 I use and I only use symantec at work. I was going to get avast corporate but I wanted to continue with symantec for ease of use and familiarity.

 

Norton 360 V4 is good along with Malwarebytes.

 

AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Welcome to AV-Comparatives.org

 

Been using Kaspersky for 2-3 years, never had a problem Kaspersky couldn't take care of (although I never browse shady sites)

 

Common Sense 2010(if you can snag the 2011 beta that'd be even better )

No but seriously, common sense is the "best" in terms of the most effective way of evading a virus. Viruses aren't so common nowadays in contrast to spyware/malware and I haven't gotten one in years mostly due to safe/smart computing habits. If you develop and maintain those habits, that's IMO worth more than any AV program can pay. Most people will say they haven't gotten a virus in years too and IMO that's very little related to their AV program so much as their computing habits and mindset.

As stated previously though, MSE, Avast, Avira, nod32 and other AVs are all very good. I'd suggest you check the AV comparatives links posted in this thread if you want to read up on it.