# Anti-virus opinions



## hossthehermit (Nov 5, 2011)

Wifey bought a new computer last spring, came with 6 months of Norton installed, it's down to 3 days, they want her to re-up. I know there are many options, some free, some not, looking for opinions on what's good and what to avoid, please. Thanks.


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## Waterwings (Nov 5, 2011)

We run Norton on this machine and my wife's laptop. I think my subscription ends in about 60 days, and will renew it once again.


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## BassAddict (Nov 5, 2011)

The AVG free addition, IMO Norton and Mcaffee is just bloat ware with anti virus capabilities built in.


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## Canoeman (Nov 5, 2011)

BassAddict said:


> IMO Norton and Mcaffee is just bloat ware with anti virus capabilities built in.



Agreed with the Norton and Mcaffee being bloat-ware.. both are resource hog's and cost money.

AVG Free edition is a good Free AV, updates and scans automatically with a resident shield.

Currently been testing Avira free edition which also updates and has a resident shield but without all of the excess AVG has and is less intrusive than avg.

Im unsure as to why people continually pay for anti-virus software.. You already paid for the system then pay monthly for internet, let alone data on the phone too.. it is an added unneeded expense.


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## hossthehermit (Nov 5, 2011)

Thanks, guys, she put in the AVG, I guess, hope it works.


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## Canoeman (Nov 5, 2011)

hossthehermit said:


> Thanks, guys, she put in the AVG, I guess, hope it works.



It works great, just make sure she installed the free and not the trial, after 30 days the trial will ask for money, if it does go to control panel and add/remove avg.. there will be an option to convert to free edition.

Good luck..


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## aeviaanah (Nov 5, 2011)

I use AVG 2011. The free version works great too...The virus database is the same for the paid version. If you buy the paid version you will get extra protection like firewall, anti spyware, link scanner, email scanner, antispam etc.. There are free software for that too. Check filehippo.com...its all free and opensource. Under the anti-maleware section, will have everything you need. I trust this website.


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## hossthehermit (Nov 5, 2011)

Canoeman said:


> hossthehermit said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks, guys, she put in the AVG, I guess, hope it works.
> ...



Thanks for the info, I'll pass it along. Gawd I hate this crap


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## batman (Nov 5, 2011)

AVG free .


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## jdbassin2003 (Nov 5, 2011)

AVG is decent, though not as good as it used to be, I use comodo security suite. it's free, includes a firewall and all that good stuff. Malwarebytes for an occasional malware scan doesn't hurt either, all free.


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## HOUSE (Nov 6, 2011)

I've used just about all of them out there and prefer the full version of MalwareBytes over Norton/Mcafee and the others. I've had good luck with NOD32 and Kaspersky if you are looking for something to buy from a store. Most of the retail boxes have mail in rebates if you shop around, so you can probably get one of them for free. If you are not a "high risk" user, the free software like AVG is probably all that you need. You might run the free version of MalwareBytes occasionally as well just to get a second opinion as mentioned above. Trend Micro also has a free scan online that I sometimes use called "House Call". I think I'm just partial to the name.

*2 notes:*
-Check with your internet provider too. Around here, Time Warner offers free internet security software from Computer Associates. 
-Avoid the "Internet Security Suite" type bundles _if you are using a wireless router_ and just get a plain "antivirus" program. The internet security suites that all of these companies are pushing come with software firewalls, and you really don't need that if you are using a router. It's just going to slow your computer down.

Here is a deal this week for Kaspersky Antivirus that should make it $9.99 after rebate:
OfficeDepot: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/709492/Kaspersky-Anti-Virus-2012-Traditional-Disc/
Rebate: https://forms.young-america.com/124525_441-94.pdf

if you need more than one copy, Trend Micro might be a good option. I used this when I worked for Geek Squad years ago and like the way it runs. 
OfficeDepot: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/710383/TITANIUM-ANTIVIRUS-3-USER/
$30 Rebate: https://forms.young-america.com/124690_NV71-737-9992-2011-11-01.pdf
$30 Rebate (if you have another antivirus barcode from your current antivirus: https://forms.young-america.com/124691_NV71-738-9992-2011-11-01.pdf

Sorry for the long post! Spending other people's money is a lot more fun 

-House

I'll check around the house too, I might have a free copy of something laying around.


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## wasilvers (Nov 8, 2011)

I used norton on some - buy from Frys.com - they always seem to have a special so it costs you $5-$20 for a year.

Now I use trend micro. Really doesn't slow the machine down that I can tell. Some websurfing is a bit slower, but not really noticablly so. I never seem to find it on special though


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## juggernoob (Nov 10, 2011)

Microsoft Security Essentials, it's free and it works pretty well.


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## magnum9 (Dec 18, 2011)

The single most impotant piece of software one can have is *Malwarebytes*.

It isn't an antivirus but is an anti-malware that will catch and remove most malicious software that is hidden. 

I never recommend any paid versions of antivirus. I use Avast and AVG as my mains. I will also run housecall and Kaspersky once in a while.

The most important thing is to acually run the scans. I run Malwarebytes, avast, and AVG every two weeks.
I always recommend having avast because it has a boot scan optio which can be invaluable for removing tricky viruses and malware.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Dec 18, 2011)

Ditched worthless Norton and McAfee a long time ago and wished I would have earlier. I am using Kaspersky which has been head and shoulders better in no uncertian terms. AVG would have been my second choice. Norton and McAfee is just a waste of computer hard drive space and money.


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## DocWatson (Dec 21, 2011)

AVG is a good choice. The user interface is pretty straight forward, making it easy for new users to work with it easily. But make sure to remind the little woman to remove Norton from the computer completely. There is a special tool from Norton for this. You can get it here.


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## atxjess (Jun 20, 2012)

Also use Spybot Search & destroy for general maintance. It's free and keeps things running smooth.


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## New River Rat (Dec 18, 2012)

I'm running $ymatec Endpoint Protection and Combofix.


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## tnriverluver (Dec 18, 2012)

Free version of Avast for the past 4 years and no problems. I also run Malwarebytes once or twice a month as a just in case.


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## russ010 (Dec 18, 2012)

tnriverluver said:


> Free version of Avast for the past 4 years and no problems. I also run Malwarebytes once or twice a month as a just in case.



same here... I've been running Avast for about 11 years with no problems on any of my computers... but I run SmartDefrag 2. I haven't ran Lavasoft or anything like that in a long time. I also use Firefox as my browser and run in Private mode - never had any problems


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## DanMC (Dec 18, 2012)

Run the main connect thru a condom :lol: ...keeps most viruses at bay :roll: .


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## nick4203 (Dec 20, 2012)

i quit using anti virus programs like 2 years or so ago
but when i did... i used malwarebytes and avg
they conflict with alot of stuff i install and i figured even when i did get a virus

it didnt seem to help!

i always get the gradual drop in performance from everyday use of my comp. downloading installing different things 
even if i didnt get any virus's i still get a gradual drop in performance after lets say 3 to 6 months thats about the target where it starts moving slow and irritating me thus i reformat my comp i got a few terabytes worth of hard drive space and have everything backedup/saved to them so its not an issue trying to back everything up 

and i just re load programs as i go


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## DocWatson (Dec 21, 2012)

nick4203 said:


> i quit using anti virus programs like 2 years or so ago
> but when i did... i used malwarebytes and avg
> they conflict with alot of stuff i install and i figured even when i did get a virus
> 
> ...


Have you considered using an imaging program for your backup ?? If the "reformat every 6 months" is your strategy of choice for keeping your system lean, mean and clean, then an image of a clean install with all the updates and patches and all programs and drivers installed would seem to be the best way to go. That would save you all the trouble of recreating your system ever 6 months and all you'd need to do is restore the image, update all patches and install any new programs, drivers or version updates to stuff, create an incremental image of the current setup with your image backup program ... before you start to use it.... and you should be ready to go for another 6 months in less than an hour with a spanking clean install of your updated system.


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## nick4203 (Dec 21, 2012)

doesnt windows 7 have something like this built in DocWatson?

i was looking at this acronis true image looks promising gunna give it a try

was messing with my phone and i rooted it and updated it to the newest os (im no phone guy) was pretty straight forward but in the process of DL drivers and all kinds of software i think i may have messed something up restored to a previous date still same thing then did it again now all seems fine but i bet in a few days its gunna be lugged down again

first time i have ever looked in to rooting (not too hard by the way)


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## earl60446 (Dec 21, 2012)

AVG for me for many years now
Tim


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## Kochy (Jan 3, 2013)

Kaspersky. It's really nice, it also gets the job done. Aswell if you want to make sure your computer isn't infected, Download the trial version of Malwarebytes, it is the best anti-malware program out there, it will pick up malicious content on your computer that even some of the best anti virus wont pick up. 
It also deletes it. 



In my personal opinion, I wouldn't go with free verson of Anti virus because its cheaply made if its free, that means any virus that is encrypted is going to get past it with out the free antivirus picking it up. Then you could lose your precious data, if you do any online banking, meaning paypal, ebay or any of that stuff I will also suggest Comodo Firewall.



If you are downloading anything off the internet via music, documents, videos, inappropiate videos (you know what I'm talking about.), pirating software, even opening up emails, I suggest a firewall, A good Anti-virus such as Kaspersky or Norton, and especially malwarebytes and clearing your temporary internet files once a month as well as cookies. If you don't do any downloading then you wouldn't have to take these measures, but if you do paypal, I definetly would.


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## DocWatson (Jan 5, 2013)

nick4203 said:


> doesnt windows 7 have something like this built in DocWatson?
> 
> i was looking at this acronis true image looks promising gunna give it a try
> 
> ...


Sorry for the delayed response. Christmas and New Years, ya know.... :roll: 

Yes, Win 7 has a built-in image backup program. Read a review from PC Mag here.

However, as is often the case with MS backup software, some do not think very highly of it and this comparison review by CNET indicates that a free, third-party program does better.


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## cuda (Jan 5, 2013)

Avast the free version


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## WaltR (Aug 3, 2016)

I've been in IT over 35 years and this is one of the most contentious subjects. Everyone has there favorites and most hated. I've used Norton/Symantec, Mcafee and Kaspersky, Trend and Sophos Enterprise products. Kaspersky wasn't bad except when a bad update killed a bunch of servers. At different times Norton/Symantic, Mcafee and Sophos have sucked the life out of the systems they were running on. I found McAfee a sieve and Sophos not much better. Constantly cleaning up with Malware Bytes. Trend support and documentation are horrendous. We need to involve our account manager to get support on our Trend IDS, which should be going away as soon as we decide on a SIEM solution. 

AVG was my go to for small business and individuals for quite awhile, but got fat and lazy. I still used the free version as better than nothing for awhile after that. I tried Avast Free, but nags too much about upgrading to paid version for small business customers. I used Eset at home for a while, but it sucked the life out of my Mac worse than anything else I've ever used (not too bad on the PC). For the last three years, it's been Bitdefender across the board. Lightweight and effective on all platforms. Only complaints are that it requires logging into an account to get updates, even for free version and the management consoles for Enterprise and SMB aren't great. The firewall management, black and whitelisting could be simpler. I've submitted a number of feature requests. Some are just some minor logic changes in the order of operations. One was implemented within a couple weeks of submission. Tech support has been excellent in my experience as an Enterprise user. Much of it out of Romania, but excellent english and thorough. Haven't needed it with the home versions. I'm running a POC for Enterprise deployment at work right now. The client is powerful, but lightweight and does a good job of staying out of the way. I can run a full scan during production server during business hours and not worry about it bogging down, it just takes longer. It pretty much stays out of the way. Consistently rated in top three usually on top by independent testing labs. This is the longest I've been happy with an anti-malware product other than Malwarebytes.

I've also used Spybot Search and Destroy, but the latest versions have annoyed me a bit of late and haven't felt the need for supplemental protection since switching to Bitdefender. Spyware Blaster is another tool I've used as a complimentary tool. It has the neat concept of fooling malware into believing that it's already installed. You have to pay for automatic updates, but manual if free. I use both of these on my mother's computer because she's a malware magnet. I also paid for the professional version of Malwarebytes for her.


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## LionHeart (May 21, 2017)

+1 for Malwarebytes. Avast is very good also.


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## stinkfoot (May 21, 2017)

I use the paid version of Malwarebytes. I also like the Sophos Virus Removal Tool.


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