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    what antivirus system is the best?

    Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by k0rn56, Jul 21, 2008.

  1. k0rn56

    k0rn56 Notebook Enthusiast

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    some people say that mcafee is the best, and then a guy at a store said windows live one care is best with windows vista, and then a guy at another store said a program called nod32 is the best there is.

    the reviews for nod32 are amazing so nod32 seems to be the best but idk for sure, does anybody know of anything different? or better?
     
    k0rn56, Jul 21, 2008
    #1
  2. makaveli72

    makaveli72 Eat.My.Shorts

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    Panda Antivirus+Firewall is very good!
     
    makaveli72, Jul 21, 2008
    #2
  3. KarenA

    KarenA Notebook Evangelist

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    McAfee? HELL NO.

    IMO:
    Free -> Avira AntiVir
    Pay -> Kaspersky AntiVirus

    Nod32 is a good bet too. Just not McAfee or Norton, please.
     
    KarenA, Jul 21, 2008
    #3
  4. k0rn56

    k0rn56 Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok and i was searching around and found shield deluxe is pretty good too, anybody know anything about that?
     
    k0rn56, Jul 21, 2008
    #4
  5. Phil

    Phil Retired

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    Just take Avira. It's free and does everything you need.

    It has higher detection rates than AVG and Avast.
     
    Phil, Jul 21, 2008
    #5
  6. THAANSA3

    THAANSA3 Exit Stage Left

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    Kaspersky or NOD32.
     
    THAANSA3, Jul 21, 2008
    #6
  7. KarenA

    KarenA Notebook Evangelist

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    My recommendation is to just stick with known ones like Avira.
     
    KarenA, Jul 21, 2008
    #7
  8. k0rn56

    k0rn56 Notebook Enthusiast

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    yea, i don't trust free programs at all, thanks though for your suggestion
     
    k0rn56, Jul 21, 2008
    #8
  9. THAANSA3

    THAANSA3 Exit Stage Left

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    No disrespect intended here, but you're making this more difficult than it has to be. A lot of the free stuff works almost as well as the premium stuff. However, since you don't trust the free programs, then look into Kaspersky or NOD32. Both are consistently rated the highest. Also, Bitdefender is pretty good, although I have heard that it takes a lot to run. That's really it. By going and looking at all these other programs, however obscure, you'll be confusing yourself and making your decision tougher . . . unnecessarily, IMHO.
     
    THAANSA3, Jul 21, 2008
    #9
  10. AKAJohnDoe

    AKAJohnDoe Mime with Tourette's

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    In order, the biggest bang for the buck (free or cost) in home computing protection:
    1. Common Sense
    2. Properly Configured Router
    3. Software FireWall with Outbound Protection
    4. Properly Configured Browser and eMail Clients (e.g.: FireFox with NoScript)
    5. Anti Virus/SpyWare

    If you really want to be safe, look at sandboxing and return/refresh state processes. I find them both to be overkill in my current usage.
     
    AKAJohnDoe, Jul 21, 2008
    #10
  11. The Fire Snake

    The Fire Snake Notebook Virtuoso

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    I used to use Mcafee and I thought it was ok, fairly easy to use, but slowed down the machine a lot. Then a couple of years ago they really screwed it up and I hated it and switched to Norton. Norton is an absolute piece of crap. I have had serious errors with it on the 3 machines I put it on. The DAT files don't download properly. There are issues with connecting to Symantec's servers to get the DAT file etc. I had a lot of problems getting Norton to work on my laptop and had no Virus protection. So in a fit of desperation I downloaded Avria and I love it. It seems to work great, no problems and stays out of my way. Can't compare its DAT files to that of the big companies but so far I don't think I have any problems/viruses :eek:

    +1 for Avria.
     
    The Fire Snake, Jul 21, 2008
    #11
  12. THAANSA3

    THAANSA3 Exit Stage Left

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    Good list.
     
    THAANSA3, Jul 21, 2008
    #12
  13. AKAJohnDoe

    AKAJohnDoe Mime with Tourette's

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    A valid argument could be made as to whether #'s 3 and 4 could be reversed, or even that #3 could be eliminated given #2. I placed #3 as #3 because it is a more systemic approach than the point solutions of #4.
     
    AKAJohnDoe, Jul 22, 2008
    #13
  14. swarmer

    swarmer beep beep

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    AKA, I would add a currently-supported operating system with all security updates installed. And that's somewhere above #5 too.

    Other than that, I pretty much agree with your list, although as you mention the exact order of things is somewhat debatable.

    IMO one of the dangers of security software is complacency. Some people install a couple antivirus and antispyware programs and then common sense goes straight out the window.
     
    swarmer, Jul 22, 2008
    #14
  15. AKAJohnDoe

    AKAJohnDoe Mime with Tourette's

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    I read an article this week that claimed some large percentage of home computer users have never updated their browser. The audience here at NBR is the antithesis of complacency; leading edge-early adopters mostly. I still see those Windows 98 and Windows 2000 users, probably running IE4 or IE5 here and there on forums. And way too many Windows XP users and users still running IE6 or IE7, too. I suppose they may be complacent, but more likely they subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy, which, more correctly stated is "if it is really broken, you cannot fix it". Others only update when they get a new computer.
     
    AKAJohnDoe, Jul 22, 2008
    #15
  16. Prasad

    Prasad NBR Reviewer 1337 NBR Reviewer

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    That's like asking what religion is the best ?
    You're just gonna have to try some of the well known ones and decide for yourself... it's a per-user thing!
    Otherwise, this can help.
     
    Prasad, Jul 22, 2008
    #16