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    What is the best antivirus?

    Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by qohelet, Feb 23, 2006.

  1. 780Cinco

    780Cinco Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks

    Here is my current setup
    1. AVG Free Version
    2. AdAware SE Personal
    3. My stock Windows XP SP2 firewall

    Seem like im covered pretty good? I read many places that this is a solid combo
     
  2. mjpartyboy

    mjpartyboy Notebook Evangelist

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    I would add SpywareBlaster to that. It's free, very easy to use and low maintenance.
     
  3. LFC

    LFC Ex-NBR

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    After using AVG Free for several years I've purchased a 2yr licence for AVG Pro + firewall. 33mb ram usage. I've just setup both the av rules and firewall rules on recommended settings and left it at that. None of the constant pop up rubbish you get from other av or firewalls (mention for ZL here)

    I like it. Light, unintrusive and has been protecting me on this uni connection
     
  4. sony1

    sony1 Notebook Geek

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    Ive used norton forever till 2 months ago.It seemed to be doing it,s job but it,s really amazing what you find on your pc when you upload a diifrent antivirus for a trial.
    The antivirus software I gave a test on my sz-220 and 330 were
    Trend Micro :(
    McAfee :eek:
    Panda :(
    Kasperskey :)

    Trend micro and Mcafee were space hogs with increased boot time also causing confonflict with XP PRO (my safe).The install was time consuming with a user inerface that was below par.Both software programs found no intrusions.

    Panda seemed to run smooth with a fair install.The scan found no intrusions as well.

    Kaspersky was The winner with a easy install,No increased boot time running very light giving no bog.It also found 2 intrusions.
    (Trojan program Trojan-Spy.win32banker.cdp)
    The first one was found in -file: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Works\lnchtour.exe
    The second was found in-file: C:\Seystem Volume information\_restore-{5CeXXXXX

    Kaspersky Gets My Vote :) :) :)
    30 day trial ranging from 35-50$ so it does cost money.No antivirus software will catch every intrusion yet Kasperesky is doing a great job preventing them.

    Norton how sad how sad :mad: :mad:
     
  5. LankanDude

    LankanDude Notebook Consultant

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    I uninstalled Comodo AV (bcoz it takes too much resources) and installed Avast.
    Currently I have Comodo firewall also.
    I heard that Avast AV comes with a firewall. So now since I hv Avast AV installed can I get rid of my Comodo Firewall?

    Also which one takes more reources AVG or Avast?
     
  6. Omneus

    Omneus Notebook Geek

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    Avast AV doesn't come with a firewall. Comodo is an excellent free firewall, and unless you really want to get rid of it, it is worth keeping. Also, AVG and Avast are about equal in resource consumption.
     
  7. iza

    iza Notebook Evangelist

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    No Avast doesnt have a true firewall, it just scans all network traffic for viruses. I think AVG uses slightly less resources than Avast, but I could be wrong. Both are very light on resourses though, the difference should be negligible.
     
  8. LankanDude

    LankanDude Notebook Consultant

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    Oki cool...........
    Thanks guys....

    I also like Comodo Firewall, (hope they can improve their AV too)
     
  9. M3z3iAs

    M3z3iAs Notebook Consultant

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    Im using

    Kaspersky AV 6.0
    AdAware SE
    Windows Firewall (Dont know any which will be good)
     
  10. Bwen

    Bwen Notebook Evangelist

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    I just recently changed to Eset NOD32, before that I used AVG Free edition and before that I used Norton.
     
  11. dallascowboys1champs

    dallascowboys1champs Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have used Norton for years now. I think I may try Kasperskys when my subsciption expires in a couple of months. I would like something that does not take as much resources.
     
  12. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    Its interesting...many of the larger "review" sites rate Trend Micro way higher than Norton and McAfee, yet in these polls Norton and McAfee beat Trend Micro. Hmmm.
     
  13. 31337

    31337 Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    used to use AVG but now .. Kapersky for life =]
     
  14. NickAz

    NickAz Notebook Enthusiast

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    I use Microsoft Window Live-Onecare and so far so good I guess. I don't get many if any warnings while on the internet like I did with the Norton Trial that came with my laptop. Don't know if I should be concerned about that or not. Well actually I am and downloaded Spybot and Ad-Ware SE. Both found spy ware that MS Onecare didn't. Hmmmm........

    Now after reading these threads, looks like I'll be doing a search for AVG and Avast since both are free. I'm not too concern about how much ram they take up.

    Can I use all these programs without affecting something? It looks like I'm going to have 4 different spy ware programs on my system....

    PS, What I did like about he Norton program was the email scaning and the spam file it put in my OE email.
     
  15. FrozenSolid

    FrozenSolid Notebook Evangelist

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    I use Norton Systemworks and Norton Internet Security and I am happy with the protection that I have. The 2006 version of Systemworks is a bit more intrusive than I would like but I can live with it. I have chosen to update window manually and Nortons is not happy about that and sees it as a security problem.
    The only time I ever got a virus was via email and I had not been connected for about a week so when I did connect I checked my email and updated my virus protection at the same time. Norton did it's background scan after installing the new virus definitions and informed me of the virus. After that it was easy. I was taken to the Norton site and clear and explicit instructions were provided on how to remove it. No problems afterwards so it's Nortons for me.
     
  16. NickAz

    NickAz Notebook Enthusiast

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    Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0

    Well, since I have Micorsoft Live Onecare I haven't installed free AVG yet. Will there be a conflict with the 2 if I use both?

    I use spybot and adware se to search for spyware but that's only after the fact. MS Live Onecare catches nothing as far a spyware goes and that's pissing me off.
    Trend Micro Anti-Spyware 3.0 is not free but I would gladly pay for a spyware program that would keep this stuff off my computer, not just search for it after the fact.

    I'm needing suggestions
     
  17. 31337

    31337 Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    Hi , want my advice uninstall onecare it's lame and install kaspersky anti-virus,spybot search n distroy, ad-aware, spyware blaster, RemoveITPro. you can find all this @ http://majorgeeks.com..
    want to know what users say about onecare take a look in google.com
    http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-OneCare-Subscription-Months/dp/customer-reviews/B000FA36WY this might help .. all the luck :)
     
  18. Thibault

    Thibault Banned

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    I've used AVG for the last few years. Works great.
     
  19. samuderaindia

    samuderaindia Notebook Consultant

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    I got message from AVG that my AVG antivir will be discontinued after 17 Jan 2007.
    So AVG doesnt have free version again?

    Any suggestion what free antivir that I can use?
     
  20. Lysander

    Lysander AFK, raid time.

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    Where's the "None" option?

    AV slows down your PC.
     
  21. Fred from NYC

    Fred from NYC Notebook Evangelist

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    AVG Anti-Virus is still free. You just have to upgrade to version 7.5. You probably have 7.1 or an older version installed.
     
  22. donka

    donka Notebook Geek

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    Avira Personal Classic Edition works good for me - it found 2 virus's that Norton missed and is free and uses little resources - similar to AVG. I don't think it does email scanning in the free version but because I use webmail, this isn't an issue for me.
     
  23. donka

    donka Notebook Geek

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    I forgot to add, I removed Norton AV from my desktop and I am currently running AVG Free, Avira Classic and Nod32 trial. All working great and no issues with each other. I did try Kaspersky but found it to be detrimental to the performance of the PC - it was constantly scanning my PC even though it was set to only scan when idle - opening applications etc. would take literally 20 seconds instead of a second and I'm unsure if this was an issue with my dual core system and Kaspersky thinking one core was quiet meant the PC was idle. I eventually had to remove it as nothing I did would resolve this - it was performing like our corporate McAfee on my work's laptop and constantly thrashing the hard drives.
    Incidentally, I only have 1 installed on my personal laptop and that is Avira Personal Ed Classic, mainly because it is free and offers great protection - for me, slightly better than AVG Free. I do like Nod32 but having to pay for this is what leads me to use Avira.


    A good link for freeware AV is http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm
     
  24. hydra

    hydra Breaks Laptops

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    Been using Avira AntiVir for two years. Outstanding job for the money ;) Uses 70k memory with 3 processes. Unlike Norton, it's never interfered with burning or other tasks.
     
  25. Pirate

    Pirate Notebook Enthusiast

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    PC-cillin for me!
    it's the complete suite Antivirus, firewall, spam Protection, email/webmail, spyware, network security, and much more!
     
  26. BigV

    BigV Notebook Deity

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    I'm probably the 20th person in this thread to make this joke:

    Linux :p
     
  27. 31337

    31337 Notebook Consultant NBR Reviewer

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    kaspersky =]
     
  28. luee

    luee Notebook Deity

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    Have been using AVG free for about 6 months, works very well. Updates automaticly and does pick up nasty trojans in the newer version not found by other spyware detectors on my system and it does not hog resources like Norton.
     
  29. moon angel

    moon angel Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    I have McAfee at the moment because I have to for the university network. I usually have AVG installed.
     
  30. NickAz

    NickAz Notebook Enthusiast

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    will avg interfere with MS LiveOnecare?
     
  31. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    It's best not to run more than one antivirus at a time.
     
  32. niGht kiD

    niGht kiD .. beach boy ♫

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    So it means that I can have both the AVG and Avast antivirus on my notebook, just not to run both of them together?
     
  33. niGht kiD

    niGht kiD .. beach boy ♫

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    another question... :eek:
    so do I need to turn off the window firewall if I want to install ZoneAlarm?
     
  34. donka

    donka Notebook Geek

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    I ran these two and Nod32 all at the same time - just don't kick of a system scan on more than one at a time or your pc will most likely grind to a halt. They seem to live quite happily together.....
     
  35. iza

    iza Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes.

    If you wanna be really safe about it though, just download the ZA installer, then disonnect from the internet before turning off the windows firewall.
     
  36. bbz_Ghost

    bbz_Ghost Guest

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    New to this poll, so I dropped my vote for NOD32 - the problem is, the OP and poll creator didn't list it as NOD32; that person neglected to mention the product by name and chose the manufacturer, Eset, instead. That sorta hampers the voting since a lot of people might not even know NOD32 by the manufacturer's name. In fact most people just call it NOD32, sooo...

    Norton AV was mentioned by its well-known name, so was McAfee AV, and several others. Why not NOD32? People don't call it "Eset," they call it NOD32.

    Either way, it's the best AV out and has been for quite some period of time now. These types of "best AV software" threads are all over the Internet in countless forums such as this one, and most nearly every time NOD32 ends up being the most recommended one for serious users that prefer not to have 200MB worth of hard drive space used up for antivirus software, nor tons of RAM and CPU resources required either.

    The competition is fierce, but NOD32 just smokes 'em all.

    Just my $.02...

    bb
     
  37. iOsiris

    iOsiris Notebook Evangelist

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    I've never ran more than one AV at a time
     
  38. usapatriot

    usapatriot Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Right now im using CA Anti-Virus! :)
     
  39. Gator

    Gator Go Gators!

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    The best antivirus software is one that is complimented by a firewall. You can really do some interesting stuff with legitimate software that uses Windows Remote Desktop ;)
     
  40. the_aaron

    the_aaron Notebook Enthusiast

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    Im going to try out kaspersky as i have heard good things about it in the past... i have a hardware firewall via router... but i am curious whether it is worth spending the extra $20 and getting the KIS or just go the KAS...

    Can you disable things you dont want eg. firewall... and essentially have a working copy of KAV? or does installing KIS dig deeper into your system?

    im fine with just getting KAV but figured for an extra $20 i can have the other stuff incase i decide to test it out... only as long as it doesnt slow me down further...

    also considering NOD32 (Eset)? heard some good stuff about that too..

    ps. is there a good guide on completely removing Norton Internet Security 2007? I want to uninstall and then test out the trial version of a few of these AV's... tried google but couldnt find a decent guide on registry edits etc...
     
  41. Reezin14

    Reezin14 Crimson Mantle Commander

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    Avast gets my vote, been using it for a year now and haven't had any problems and it's FREE.
     
  42. SF49ers

    SF49ers Notebook Enthusiast

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    Eset Nod32 is definitely without a doubt in my mind the best. However, I don't run an anti virus. If you are cautious I feel there is no need. I haven't used a anti virus on my personal computer in 5 years. However, at my work I make everyone use NOD32.
     
  43. bmnotpls

    bmnotpls Notebook Deity

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    I used to use Avast, then switched to Kaspersky (AOL branded). But I wanted a low resource, on-demand scanner, and BitDefender8 fit the bill.
     
  44. hehe299792458

    hehe299792458 Notebook Deity

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    Is the free version of Avast better than the paid version of Zone Alarm Security Suite? I don't care about performance lags, I just want the best possible protection. Are there any others (paid or free) that I should try?
     
  45. Arla

    Arla Notebook Deity

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    Aren't you missing Avira Antivirus?
     
  46. MadHater

    MadHater Notebook Deity

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    I used to use Avast! Home,it doesn't take too much memory and it's simply to use.I used Panda before.
     
  47. surefire

    surefire Notebook Consultant

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    FREE (1) AVG Free (2) Avast
    PAID (1) Norton (2) TrendMicro

    Norton 2006 & below might have been serious system hugs
    But I tell you Norton is back with 007

    Superlight : Superfast : Superreliable : Superstealth
    With 007 you get absolutely no prompts or notifications.
    007 decides for you. Tell me who beats that!!!
     
  48. donka

    donka Notebook Geek

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    Performance was just one issue with Norton. With regards to the free softwares, I personally would have Avira Antivir up there as #1.
     
  49. sfpb

    sfpb Newbie

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    If you are going to buy anti-virus the best choice is Kaspersky because it has the absolute best detection rates compared to all others.IT detects around 99.5 % of all viruses.F-Secure is distant second with around 96.7 %.Mcafee is further back with 93.13 % and Norton is way back behind all.
     
  50. jpagel

    jpagel Notebook Evangelist

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    I dont want my av making all the decisions for me, I dont care if you use 06 or 07, your STILL getting the same defs. and if the virus definitions dont find the viruses your pc still gets infected even if it is a "super" application - AVG does not find as much as AVAST in the free catagory, NOD32 is my numero UNO choice, but I am hearing great things about Avira so thats my next av to test.
     
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