If you were buying an Antivirus for your computer

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Sherryh

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which one would you recommend? I've been attacked with several threats TrojanPSW,HackTool,Adware....I've been using Microsoft Essentials is that enough to stay safe? Thank you experts :)
 
Sherryh said:
which one would you recommend? I've been attacked with several threats TrojanPSW,HackTool,Adware....I've been using Microsoft Essentials is that enough to stay safe? Thank you experts :)
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I researched them several times and Avast is great. McAfee takes up so much of your memory that your computer runs slow.  And Avast has a free version that is good enough for any home computer.  All they make you do is register it, aka give them your email info.
 
Microsoft is just about as good as any of the free versions.  Many of the trojans now days is a user issue, downloading of  games, software, fake anti-virus, etc.

Comodo free has a nice add-on where you can run the browser in a "sandbox" (better description here about what that means), the only thing I did not like was the pop-up pushing to by the paid version.  I ended up uninstalling it for that reason and going back to Microsoft Security Essentials, I use the program sandboxie myself, so that feature was not a big loss.

If you are going to buy, I recommend Eset, it is the only one we use for our business clients.  They have never missed a virus in the wild.  Both Eset and Comodo offer free trials, so you could get two months of free service and try them out if you were going to buy something.

I agree, Mcaffee and Norton are pretty much turn your machine into mush, they are just to memory intensive.
 
I removed McAfee and my computer has been running a lot better.
 
Thanks everyone I agree about Norton. I've never tried McAfee. I'll check those out for the last few days a viruse pops up and this is my business computer so I want to treat it like a baby. I don't play games, I do look at webcams across the country. Thanks for your help. I know you guys are the experts............ :)
 
For personal use, there are also good free solutions. If all you want is basic antivirus protection without all the "pro" bells and whistles, there's no need to buy AV software. The companies that make free versions also make paid ones, and they keep the virus database up-to-date for both.

When I first started using AV software, I started with AVG. I found that on my older machine, it was fine when it was passive, but an active filesystem scan made the machine almost unusable until it was done - which could take up to 90 minutes, given the size of my hard drive!

I switched over to Avast!, which solved the CPU hogging problem. However, after about a year or so, it started catching a rather serious false positive: the main executable of certain software that I use regularly for work. It quarantined and deleted it every time I tried to run it. Given that the package is rather old and specialized, this wouldn't be a problem for 99% of everyone - but it was a deal-breaker for me.

Currently I'm using Microsoft Security Essentials, and have had no problems with it for the last several months. I'm not MS's biggest fan, but occasionally they get it right.
 
I've used Microsoft Security Essentials for a few years now. I've always been happy with it until I get messages saying your computer has 3 viruses on it. I use my quickbooks and look on cooking sites....webcams of Michigan...so far so good . Thanks for your input I appreciate everyones wisdom ....I used AVG free version until they stopped then I purchased it but never renewed.
 
Security Essentials is about as good as the free antivirus offerings get. If you're getting notified by Security Essentials that its found a virus, then its doing its job. What you have to worry about is having symptoms of a virus without any notifications. Windows products are very susceptible to attacks. You should never log on to your PC with an account that has admin privileges just to browse the Internet. Create an non privileged account to do this.

Microsoft Security Essentials will not give you adequate malware protection. You can download the free version of MalwareBytes and run a scan periodically. The free version of MalwareBytes will not let you schedule a scan. You have to run it manually but it is the best free product I know for malware.

Mcafee is better than Norton but both are very intrusive. Norton is a lot worse than Mcafee. I do believe Mcafee Corporate Enterprise antivirus is the best product on the market. It has gotten much better since Intel bought the company. You do need the resources to run it and the updates do take some time to run if you don't have locally manages repositories to pull the DAT updates. In my opinion Mcafee has the best Security Lab in the business. Their dats are large for a reason. They are very comprehensive and contain the best detection signatures.
 
Thank you christundivided, I don't have admin account on my computer............Thank you for your information I'm copying everything for future needs.
 
I have used Norton for years and never had a problem.  Machines just run.  Also integrates well with the online family filter/monitor/report.

If you are trying out new software, just remember that you cannot run two anti-virus at the same time.  The two will conflict and you will have problems.  Remove one before installing the other.
 
I wouldn't buy one, at least so long as the free ones are good enough.

I mainly rely on Avast!, because it's the only free one I know of that auto-updates, and covers malware as well as viruses.

I haven't had a virus problem for years, so I'm much more concerned with spyware and other malware, which is everywhere these days. For additional malware protection, I use Spybot: Search & Destroy and MalwareBytes, both free.

If I had a worse virus threat and needed the best protection possible, it would be between Bitdefender and Kaspersky.
 
Binaca Chugger said:

If you are trying out new software, just remember that you cannot run two anti-virus at the same time.  The two will conflict and you will have problems.  Remove one before installing the other.

Just to clarify this: You shouldn't run two real-time anti-virus programs at the same time (i.e. the part of the anti-virus package that detects suspicious activity on your computer when you attempt to open an infected executable, insert a CD, open an email. etc.). Yes, they will often conflict.

However, if you use more than one anti-virus program to actively scan your hard drive (whether scheduled or on-demand), there should be no conflict. Just make sure you disable real-time protection on all but one of them. There is a benefit to having more than one anti-virus available: one package might pick up on something another will miss. (I only use one, myself.)

Thanks also to those who mentioned the problem of malware. Since I primarily run UNIX-like operating systems (and only infrequently boot into Windows), I'm far less susceptible to malware, since the vast majority of it simply can't affect my computer.

Anti-virus software does exist for Linux, however, and it does have a benefit at least as a "canary in a cage." The primary vector for viruses and malware these days is email, and even if an infected email can't hurt you, it's still good to stop it from inadvertently getting passed on to someone else.
 
I only have one antivirus that is Microsoft Essentials..........if I have anymore problems.......I'll delete it and use one of the recommended .............Again thanks for everyones input........... :)
 
I'd definitely recommend downloading the free version of Malware Bytes.  I love that program and it can attack most malware. 
 
On the Windows PCs I use Microsoft Essentials, both home and work. On my Macs I don't use anything.

Microsoft Essentials has been wonderful here in the office since many just click attachments without thinking ...
 
I also use Microsoft Security Essentials.  I can't use just any program because I use a screen reader, and a lot of them don't work with it.  Also, Norton is horrible.  I had that when I first got my computer because it came with a trial, and I had to delete it.  It kept crashing my screen reader.  Security Essentials was recommended by an organization for the blind.  I also tried AVG and Avast, but MSE is the easiest to use.
 
arctobear, Welcome to the forum......I'm staying with Microsoft Essentials and thanks for your input.  :)
 
Sherryh,
By far the top of the line for years has been ESET.
They were eating every other virus detector's lunch and the reviews showed it.
Then Norton and McCaffee changed the test suite to include certain kinds of malware that
they were good at, so it looked like they were the top dogs for awhile, and some of those reviews are still out there, but ESET is the best at protecting against virus' and trojans, and
really good at malware type protection.

A few years ago, one of my computers got a zero-day virus, that is, I caught a virus on the first day it was released--nobody had  a fix for it yet, and ESET stopped it, but couldn't repair it, till the next morning they sent me a repair file for it.  My boys had already figured out how to remove the virus and which windows files needed to be replaced and which extra files needed deleted by telnetting into the computer by a linux computer  which couldn't get the virus.

One of our mothers had 131 infections, because all the grandkids wanted to come over and "help" grandma by installing thing willy-nilly to show her, with predictable results.
We switched her over to using ESET, then after she was comfortable with it, we switched her over to Linux and no virus's or malware for the last 5 years.

You said you have a solution now, that is great, but if you have to buy one in the future, I strongly recommend ESET products.  I've always gotten good service from their 24/7 help line.

 
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