What is the best antivirus?

i use symantec client security as firewall/antivirus
and i like how unobtrusive it is.

 

I use AVG, best virus scanner in my opinion.

 

i have had avg and it has worked well for the last year but last week i installed avast and my computer is running faster than ever. they are both great but avast uses less ram and allowed me to get rid of my zone alarm firewall which sped up the process. i kept windows defender as a backup just in case as it is one of the only things microsoft has ever done right.

 

As far as free stuff goes, I think AntiVir is the best. However, although a tiny, tiny bit resource intensive, Kaspersky is the most secure. Hourly updates and very good virus recogntion.

 

What if you install multiple virus protectors? I have AVG and AntiVir Currently.

Mike

 

Sorry if this is a lame question, but does Windows Defender come automatically on your computer if you have Windows, or do you need to download it?

Thanks!

 

Does not come with your computer.

You can download from this link.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

 

I use McAfee. If you haven't used VirusScan in a while, you should try it... Much improved.

 

I've been using Avast! Home for 4 years on different systems, and it rocks! I especially like the fact it is very customizable and it has a great support forum.

Actually, I don't use any scriptblocker and have had absolutely no problems at all. I do use Firefox and Thunderbird for surfing and emailing, maybe that has something to do with it as well.

If you do want to use a scriptblocker, check out this one; AnalogX's Script Defender I use a lot of software from AnalogX, and it all works very good.

edit; I voted Avast!

 

I was a big fan of Trend Micro 2005, but it failed on me about a month ago. I had to reformat my hard drive to clear out the problem. I switched to Eset's NOD32 anti-virus and everything's running smoothly, so far. I like how NOD32 updates itself automatically. TM 2005 constantly sent pop-ups to have me update its files. Highly annoying!

NOD32 doesn't have a firewall, so I started using Zone Alarm's firewall. Again, no troubles.

 

i want to try avast. is it free?

 

yes, it is free. read the first page of this post

 

Wait, is it true that if I'm using Avast! I don't need to also be running Zone Alarm?

I prefer AVG (purely out of familiarity and appearance), but they're pretty much equal in my mind. On the other hand, if I could stop having to run 2 programs for security I'd be all over it.

I just disabled Windows Defender in an attempt to stop using up so much resources. The reality is that for about the last 3 years I never used anything and never had a virus and had only minimal spyware.

 

Avast rocks!!! Elegant skins! hope security is good too! lets see...

 

Any of you Avast users also use mailwasher and Thunderbird? I tried Avast for 2 days and couldn't get Avast to allow Mailwasher and Thunderbird to receive or even log in. I tried all the suggestions in the Avast forum but nothing worked. I also compared the resources of Avast vs Kaspersky (which I have been using for a yr. now) and Avast was much higher. Anyway, couldn't get it to work and I've never had any problems with Kaspersky so I guess I should just stay put but its always fun to look and experiement.

 

Does the free Avast come with built in firewall?

Wondering if I need to install a firewall if I'm planning to use Avast?

Thanks!

 

Trendmicro Internet Suite (Pc-cillin 2006), the all around Anti-virus, Firewall, Anti-spam suite which delivers, at least, as far as I am concerned, a very effective protection. I have been using Trend-micro since 2000. I tried Norton Internet Suite, yukk! Very intrusive and leaves so many remnant registry entries, and files when you uninstall it.

 

I downloaded Avast today, and had it scan my hard drive at boot up (does it do this in dos, prior to Windows launching?)

Well, Avast found a virus called Win32: Adware-gen!

Amazing! I've been using the free demo of Norton Internet Security since the first time I booted up my laptop, and it hadn't found this virus! Upon loading, Avast not only finds it, but removes it!

I later looked up on the internet, and found numerous people who had major problems with their computers due to Win32: Adware-gen virus! I can't believe Norton didn't find this virus, but the FREE version of Avast did!

Still using Norton for it's firewall capabilities, but not for much longer.

 

The first time you used avast, it will scan your HD after reboot. I like this antivir so much! Enjoy

 

I voted for McAfee because I loved it when I was using it last year but now I'm using AVG and its working fine so far.

 

i used to have avg but it updates new viruses in its database far too slowly, sometimes up to a whole day later. i have avast now because it monitors in realtime which is a great feature

 

I used Norton 2005 for my old lappy but it was expired last week. I chosed Avast free edition for futher protection because I don't want to invest any more money in my old lappy. The free edition works pretty good surprisingly besides the fact that it's terribly slow when doing the deep scan. It took about an hour and a half to scan thoroughly. I'm still not used the terrible speed of scanning compared to Norton. Perhaps, it's doing a better job than norton I don't know.

 

Bryce,
you can try bitdefender. it scans faster and detect viruses better than any other antivirus. it was rank no. 1 among antivirus solutions by toptenreview.
see link: http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/bitdefender-review.html

I'm currently using bitdefender 2006 standard edition. But since you don't want to invest any more money to your old lappy, i don't recommend this because it's not free and the evaluation is only good for 30 days.

however, there is a free edition of bitdefender that you can use.
it is called bitdefender 8 free edition.
try this link: http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Main/view/Download-Free-Products.html

i used avast before but it annoys me because it scans so slow! bitdefender, however, accomplished a thorough scan of my computer for 15mins.

try it and see for yourself.

 

A european friend of mine turned me on to AntiVir. I've been using it since late Feb and so far am impressed with it. Its quick, light on resources, and most importantly, far as I can tell. I'm still virus free.

 

I voted for avast because its easy to use, the talking interface is great and it scans faster then other viruses such as norton av 2006. i have avast on both of my notebooks and had never had a virus except for spyware

 

Kaspersky, Nod32, and BitDefender are the best virus scanners overall currently. AVG and Avast are OK, but hteir detection rates are far worse than that of Nod or Kaspersky. Norton, Mcaffee and Trend Micro aren't really that good right now, and for the most part are not as good as Avast.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/ is a good site for more info.

 

Kaspersky Antivirus for me!

 

Kaspersky Antivirus 6 is one of the most secure AV software available right now.

 

Either NOD32 or Kaspersky for me. Kas has an advantage in noob-friendly interface and warnings on required full system scanning. Whilst nod doesn't - just the way I like it.

 

Kaspersky Antivirus 6 seems to heavy for me...

 

Kaspersky is far less heavy on system resources than, say, Norton (I realize this isn't saying much), and leaves far fewer footprints...There may just be lighter av solutions out there, but none seem to have the detection, real-time monitoring, update frequency and heuristics that KAV has at this moment, all while being decent on the system load. Just one man's opinion.

I tend to use my girlfriend's system as a guinea pig of sorts, testing all types of AV/security solutions. I'll let her run for a week, install a new app, and test. Now, I know it's not empirical data in a controlled situation, but she tends to surf the same sites daily. Kaspersky consistently finds more suspicious activity than any other I've used, and I recommend it to anyone who comes to me for a repair/tune-up.

 

AVG is not a memory hog, is full featured, and does the job very well.

 

In the last couple of weeks my AVG Free Edition requires me to reboot my notebook after an update has been installed, it never used to and it still doesn't need to on the home desktop. Any ideas anybody?

 

I installed this on another Dell notebook today and it doesn't need a reboot and I have since found this, so I'll see if it works:

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5471/lng/us/tpl/v5

 

Now that I think about it, this thread shouldn't be called "What is the best Antivirus", but "What is the most popular Antivirus". Conclusive AV testing has shown that NOD32 and Kaspersky are the best in detection rates. Rarely are AVG and Avast considered even in the top 5 (assuming more than 5 products are compared), yet they are considered the "best" according to this thread.

 

i don't think that AV users who voted on this poll based their votes on popularity. like me, i voted based on AV ability to protect my computer against viruses. that said, i think the title for this poll need not to be changed. btw, i considered bitdefender as the best of them all (at least for me). i like it much for its scanning ability and simple user inteface.

 

i don't think that AV users who voted on this poll based their votes on popularity. like me, i voted based on AV ability to protect my computer against viruses. that said, i think the title for this poll need not to be changed. btw, i considered bitdefender as the best of them all (at least for me). i like it much for its scanning ability and simple user interface.

 

Kaspersky gets my vote for numerous reasons. It doesn't take up all that much resources, has a great interface, updates multiple times a day, has GREAT technical support, and is just an all around superb product. I began to hate Norton after I decided I didn't want to upgrade and I had to go through a zillion steps to take it off of my computer. I don't think that I will be switching any time soon in the near future.

 

I went from avast to avg. In addition, here is a great article on how to create your own free virus scanner based on trend micro's software http://www.maximumpcguides.com/?p=78 its worth a shot. i have it on my usb drive now

 

DO NOT USE AVG... AVG IS A TROJAN ITSELF...

believe me... we students here in the philippines only use it only for trojan removal purposes... it does not detect other virus... and it is 'dumb' annoying when it creates pop-ups to inform you about a virus...

i recommend the use of MCAFEE... it is so easy to use. uninstall it and you won't delete important system files... NORTON deletes them by mistake...

MCAFEE is the best

 

Read http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=61129

 

That didn't work for my notebook.

 

Well, I have to agree with omeus that this is more about popularity or even worse 'herd mentality' than the 'best scanner'

Personanlly I still use Zonealarm, mainly because the firewall and mail scanning are quite good and are more impotant to me since I don't mess with obscure programs that much, and even it's av engine licensed from CA isn't that bad.
I complement this with an occasional scan using the online options of Kaspersky (KAV didn't find anything up until now, and neither has ZAV).

But soon I'll move to BitDefender which also has an excellent firewall right now and is in the top 3 "consistent" good performers both prespective and retrospective (see http://www.av-comparatives.org/).
But I'll probably still complement it with an online scan.

BTW the argument that a certain scanner is good because it didn't find anything is a bit flawed (not scanning at all would deliver the same result). And so is the argument that a certain scanner is bad because another one found something (are they equally up to date? could there be 'false positives' which you signalled to the one scanner some time ago, but are still detected by the second one?)

I guess it shows that democracy (polling) is not the best way to determine the best virus scanner (though definitely the least worst form of government)

cheers

Drio

 

I wonder why Avast doesn't appear in CCleaner under Applications, then Utilities; AVG did.

 

I use Kaspersky Antivirus, and I must say this is the first antivirus I'm genuinely impressed with.

It doesn't hog the memory, clog the registry or ask you a billion questions every time you do something. Its simple interface is appealing, and its powerful defense mechanisms, do, I admit, set it apart from the competition.

Trend, Norton and McAffee had left me cynical of Antivirus in general.

 

i love nod32. its simple in design, and doesnt kill your computer when doing a scan

 

SYmantec corporate edition by far the best AV on the market. You can tweak it in everyway possible. As well as run it in a domain with centralized quarantine. It does the normal virus and adware scans and removal, and has thus far removed every virus and adware minus one; and that was a registry edit away.

I dont think many compare due to the tweakability of this software. Too bad it cost's $39 a liscense (type a) and you need at least 10 to purchase, so its kinda pricey. But if your running many pc's and or servers at home its well worth the money. Coupled with windows defender and updated definitions my LAN at home and work NEVER gets infected.

Not to be cornfused with the horrible cousin norton home version. That along with mcaffe consistantly let stuff through. Freeware AV avast has never steered me wrong. I used for a few months before I started using Symantec corp.

 

How do you guys get Grisoft AVG for free. There is only a trial version that lasts for 30days. Can any one help me?

 

You have to find the free version. Google it. i think it's free.grisoft.com

 

Can somone reccomend me a good personal firewall please!