Anti-virus/malware s/w that WORKS??

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Hey folks,

I've been slow to adapt the anti-virus thing because I hate what it does to performance and general usability (at least the earlier products).

I come from a Unix background and I've just opted to run regular users as "restricted" to minimize the damage a virus can do.

However, seems things are getting worse and worse and I'm about ready to throw in the towell and conform.

I'd like to hear your experiences on what's good or not in this area. I'm looking for:

Transparancy and the best update situation availalbe for up to date definitions to stay ahead of the hacker curve (is that even possible?)

Please share your thoughts and/or recommendations?

Thanks,

[Suproman77]

So, we're talking about Windows now, correct?

I use Avast. It's free and very highly rated...better than many you pay for such as Norton or McAfee. It's in no way a resource hog and the updating is very on the ball.

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

If you want the absolute best in the business and don't mind paying for it, you gotta go with Kaspersky. You can't do better.

http://usa.kaspersky.com/?aw=feeds-TLP&CMP=KNL-YPIF07&HBX_PK=feeds+TLP&HBX_OU=51

[pir8matt]

AVG free works ok.

Microsoft is going to be giving away their anti-malware suite soon (currently onecare). Its better than you might think.

[bluesdoc]

I've been really happy with Trend Micro PC cillin. Costs about $50/yr, but seems to work very well. I've had it for about 15 months.

jon

[Rik]

+1 avast. it's been very good and a lot of updates for a freebee.. must register home user to be free. Seems fairly transparent.

[rattles]

I've been really happy with Trend Micro PC cillin. Costs about $50/yr, but seems to work very well. I've had it for about 15 months.

jon



I'm with Doc on this one! So far so good!

[XKnight]

I've been using Webroot for a few years now with no issues. In fact I just ran Kaspery's free virus scan to make sure my Webroot was doing its job and my computer is clean as a whistle.

[cmaciag]

I love trend for corperate environments.. but for home and free



http://computersavvy.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/avast-free-vs-avg-80169-free-side-by-side-software-review/

[Brian Scherzer]

I had been using McAfee for a couple of years, but got hit with a nasty worm that it had difficulty getting rid of. I followed some advice I got here and downloaded Avast. It got rid of that worm and found 4 more that McAfee never notified me of.

[DaveF]

I use eset nod32.

http://www.eset.com/

[DC1]

I use eset nod32.

http://www.eset.com/


Me too. Fantastic. They recommended Super Anti Spyware as something that is a good match for it, and covers the spyware angle.

Eset for viruses, Super Anti Spyware for the rest.

Do not use Norton. Ever.

dc

[Senor Blues]

Sunbelt VIPRE, low resource usage, and it just works:
http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Home-Home-Office/VIPRE/

[Boobala]

Avast or AVG will serve you well, and both are free.

Avoid Norton at all cost.

[Zelmo]

I use eset nod32.

http://www.eset.com/

Mee too. Was a long-time user of Trend Micre (PC-cillin) until ~2 years ago when they started monkeying around with the package and it brought my PC to its knees. Switched to NOD32: better, faster (no slowdown), cheaper.

[Nolatone Ampworks]

Great stuff people. Thanks to all. I've got some good stuff to consider!

[bluesjunior]

It isn't just an AV you have you also need a good two way Firewall. The Windows Firewall only stops stuff from getting into your PC. If something bad is already on there, Windows won't stop it phoning home.

I am very good with security on my PC and have tried most of what is available both buy and freeware and the best programs I have found that work together without conflict are.
Real time Protection: Comodo Firewall Pro v3.5
Avira Antivir Antivirus.
Spyware Blaster.

On board but used manually on a rota basis:
SuperAntiSpyware, = The best
MalwareBytes, = The next best
A-Squared Free, = The third best.

There is no one do it all malware product therefore I use the three mentioned above on a rota basis and find that they are each good at finding specific types of malware. As my machine is very clean and therefore the malware I get most are tracking cookies and Superantispyware is by far the best at that. I haven't had anything other than tracking cookies on my PC for nigh on four year now using the set up above and it is all Freeware.

[pir8matt]

It isn't just an AV you have you also need a good two way Firewall. The Windows Firewall only stops stuff from getting into your PC. If something bad is already on there, Windows won't stop it phoning home.



I agree with this but personally think that most people would benefit from just using a router that has a configurable firewall built in, rather than using a software firewall on the machine itself.

Or just use a completely separate firewall appliance entirely, though that tends to be overkill for a home setup.

[MudPies]

fyi, you don't need to spend money to have great protection. If you pay a fee for your AV you're really wasting your money.

[DC1]

fyi, you don't need to spend money to have great protection. If you pay a fee for your AV you're really wasting your money.

Oh, I disagree here. Eset Nod32 is 59 USD for 2 years, and the one time I dealt with their excellent customer support was well worth every nickel. You can use the free version, but there are benefits to paying for it.

dc

[BMF Effects]

I have been using and installing on client's computers Webroot SpySweeper and Symantec Corporate AntiVirus for several years without any issues.

[jay66]

Another vote for Avast and Super antispyware. Should be all you need and it's free!

[computer_savvy]

Dear Readers,

The Link that cmaciag provided is no longer valid and has been changed to the following:

Avast Vs. AVG Free 8.0.175 (http://computersavvy.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/avast-free-vs-avg-80175-free-side-by-side-software-review/)

And

AVIRA Vs. AVG Free 8.0.175 (http://computersavvy.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/avira-anti-virus-free-vs-avg-80175-free-side-by-review/)

Just click on the on you want and you'll go straight to the page....:)
Hope this helps,

Se7en

[DaveF]

fyi, you don't need to spend money to have great protection. If you pay a fee for your AV you're really wasting your money.

I haven't found a free av that it as low on resource usage as nod32.

[tennisplayer]

yet, Norton still gets good reviews from PC mags.

[DC1]

yet, Norton still gets good reviews from PC mags.

I spent a WEEK trying to get that garbage installed on the Dell. Including hours and hours on the phone with them.

Norton IS a virus.

Never, ever, ever, ever again...



NOD32

Fantastic.

dc

[pcutt]

Another NOD32 user here. Highly recommended as the choice of geeks here in Silicon Valley.

[harryjmic]

Kaspersk is the overall best, read the publications.

[Seakayak]

Me too. Fantastic. They recommended Super Anti Spyware as something that is a good match for it, and covers the spyware angle.

Eset for viruses, Super Anti Spyware for the rest.

Do not use Norton. Ever.

dc

Eset works for me!

[s2amps]

Kaspersky is the absolute best. It is lightweight, but very effective. It also updates itself every couple of hours.

[KCWM]

I use PrevX 2.0 based on a suggestion from the IT guy at a company I used to work for. It worked great, picking up and getting rid of some things that Avast didn't. I used it to clean up quite a few computers. My father also uses it based on my suggestion and it keeps his computer clean too (my little brother gets into all kinds of messes). I'm running a p4 3.0ghz with 2gb of pc3200 ram...not a screaming computer by any means, but still decent. I notice little, if any, lag on my system because of it.

I've used Avast in the past and it's definitely great for being free. It's a little more sensitive than I like, picking up a few files on my computer that, while questionable, definitely weren't malicious. We use it on my wife's laptop and she likes it just fine.

[mistercoffee1]

I spent a WEEK trying to get that garbage installed on the Dell. Including hours and hours on the phone with them.

Norton IS a virus.

Never, ever, ever, ever again...


Any other year, I'd agree that Norton is a huge resource hog.
This year, they've really done a facelift. Smallest footprint of all versions, very light on resources. You would think - is this really Norton?
Read the reviews (especially user reviews) on Norton Internet Security 2009. Much improved from previous years.

[DC1]

Any other year, I'd agree that Norton is a huge resource hog.
This year, they've really done a facelift. Smallest footprint of all versions, very light on resources. You would think - is this really Norton?
Read the reviews (especially user reviews) on Norton Internet Security 2009. Much improved from previous years.

I hate it. None for me. I am so happy with ESET.

They wasted a week of my life. No Norton.

dc

[MattB]

Avast or AVG in conjunction with regular scans of Ad-Aware keeps my PCs running clean as can be.

[mcknigs]

Last week I was asking around here about products for my daugter's computer. I took just about every suggestion given. At the time I was no longer able to run Spybot (due to virus intervention?). I had an old version of Norton AV that couldn't be updated but it wouldn't let me uninstall it. I tried downloading SuperAntiSpyware couldn't install it(virus intervention?).

I ended up hitting it with AdAware and Malwarebytes. After that I was able to run the new Spybot. I subsequently found instruictions for manually uninstalling Norton AV. I downloaded and instaled the trial version of the full AVG anti-everything. There was one other thing I tried, the name escapes me at the moment. Every product I ran took 2 hours to run a complete scan and every one found something new. I'm hoping the AVG is currently keeping it clean. Apparently every couple hours while my daughter is using it, it pops up a warning that something is attacking and it's defending. I started another full scan before I left for work this morning but don't know what it may have found. I just feel like nothing I do will ever finally solve the problem, including (probably) wiping the machine and starting over, since my daughter seems to be going places that are rife with virusses, trojans, etc.

Grrr.

-Scott

[ben_allison]

The best I've found is Mac OSX: no virus/adware/spyware required!

[KCWM]

I'm surprised it took someone 3 pages to spout something like that off...

Yay for being predictable. Kudos!!! /fail

[ben_allison]

Hey man, it had to be done!

[FlyingDutchman]

!avast and Ad-aware on my computer...Great combo.

My girlfriend bought the one care suite from MS when she got her laptop. I like it alot. Its well integrated into the OS and rarely does it let you know that its there. If they start giving it away for free, I may switch over from !avast.

[MLT]

Mac OS X.