Best Antivirus PC World

[Conifer]

What's the top antivirus program that you can best recommend? I keep changing mine, but the longest I used so far is Norton. When it expired I uninstalled and installed the newest trial version. I did uninstalled again and tried Mcafee and AVG then back to Norton for the third time.

Your help is very very much welcome. Thanks.

[bornatbirth]

to be honest, i only bother using free stuff off the net.

i have used a computer for year's and have never got a virus, as long as you look after your computer you should'nt have a problem.

[Cebu]

Avast works well on the pc's we use. Free on the internet.

[aromulus]

I am using Karsperski at the moment, and it is very good.:xxgrinning--00xx3::xxgrinning--00xx3:

For a long time I used AVG, and Avast together, with spy doctor running in the background.
All free software available on the net.
Never had any problems

[johncar54]

I am a member of a computer self help group of about 100 people.

With just a couple of exceptions we all use AVG free version.

The couple who do not, have not tried AVG as they are happy with what they have.


As for the remainder of us, most have encountered problems of some sort with other anti virus programs. The worst of these has been Norton, which takes up a lot of space, is intrusive and very, very difficult (worse than most viruses) to delete.

AS a 'belt and braces' addition, I also use IObit 360 Security too. The two programs do not appear to conflict.

[Doc Alan]

Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus Guard
Another free download - www.free-av.com
One of those recommended by "Which? Protect Your PC"

[joebloggs]

to be honest, i only bother using free stuff off the net.

i have used a computer for year's and have never got a virus, as long as you look after your computer you should'nt have a problem.


yes with a virus scanner, fire wall and a rootkit scanner

:yikes::doh

:crazy:

[KeithD]

If you have Spyware Doctor (free Google Pack) and a good firewall like Outpost you don't really need AV unless you do silly things like download torrents and run them without scanning, clicking email links, etc

[les_taxi]

I repair and set up pc's for people. Norton is very good the 2010 version is as good as nod 32 i believe. As for hogging resources and beling a .... to remove thats a thing of the past.
I never thought i would ever use norton again but i instal it on everyones pc i set up and no-one has had any problems.
The free a/v progs are ok just don't expect them to be as good as the paid for ones they are not.
However if all you do is occsaionally surf web and come here to **** my team off lol then you should be fine with avg free.
If you tend to dload and anyone in family uses limewire etc otr bit torrent clients then you need something better than avg.
And another tip you can get your premium a/v programs very cheaply if you dload the trial then look on e-bay for the license key only.
This is perfectly legit I got norton 2010 3 licenses with 2 year expirey date for £12 total i think.
I sold 2 for £10 each so mine was free and I made a Profit and I have genuine software on my pc:)

[johncar54]

[QUOTE=lestaxi1;202255]I repair and set up pc's for people. Norton is very good the 2010 version is as good as nod 32 i believe.

OK thanks for the update. We of course have not ventured to use it since the 'bad olde days'

[les_taxi]

[QUOTE=lestaxi1;202255]I repair and set up pc's for people. Norton is very good the 2010 version is as good as nod 32 i believe.

OK thanks for the update. We of course have not ventured to use it since the 'bad olde days'

No and you were totally correct it was a plie of .... in the old days but not anymore.
Just checked on e-bay and you can get a 3 license 2 year key for about £15.00

[aromulus]

Norton and Mcafee.....:action-smiley-081:
Great big piles of rubbish:doh

Sorry folks, but I only had bad experiences with the both of them...:NoNo:

[triple5]

Norton and Mcafee.....:action-smiley-081:
Great big piles of rubbish:doh

Sorry folks, but I only had bad experiences with the both of them...:NoNo:

Both are a lot better now. I had nightmares with mcafee in the past, but it runs like a dream now :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[walesrob]

I'm amazed no-one has mentioned Microsoft's free Security Essential anti-virus. My NOD32 antivirus ran out and was looking around for a free replacement, and the Microsoft offering is very good, very light on system resources and although scanning speed is a bit slower compared to AVG, etc, its fine on my lappy. The interface is very easy to navigate as well, and because it uses Windows Updates to download definitions, it integrates quite well within Windows.

[KeithD]

Windows aren;t allowed to advertise that due to competition laws :doh, even though it is software to protect their own software.

[les_taxi]

Norton and Mcafee.....:action-smiley-081:
Great big piles of rubbish:doh

Sorry folks, but I only had bad experiences with the both of them...:NoNo:

you would'ent have any now with norton:xxgrinning--00xx3:

As i explained before it's a totally different animal now:D

[bornatbirth]

yes with a virus scanner, fire wall and a rootkit scanner

:yikes::doh

:crazy:

:D i have used a pc since 1999 and online from 2000 and never had a virus, the only time's i have needed to reformat the hard drive is when the software didn't agree :furious3: but i have only ever used free stuff from spybot,avg you name it i have used it.

don't waste your money and use some good free stuff! :D

[KeithD]

you would'ent have any now with norton:xxgrinning--00xx3:

As i explained before it's a totally different animal now:D
It still the biggest hog of all the AV's, what has happened is computers have got faster and bigger memory so the drawbacks are absorbed by the system now.

I dumped Norton 360 last year as I noticed it hogging my quadcore with 4GB memory, strange how a lot of resources were released when I unistalled it.

Avita was recently voted the best, but it caused issues on my system.

[les_taxi]

It still the biggest hog of all the AV's, what has happened is computers have got faster and bigger memory so the drawbacks are absorbed by the system now.

I dumped Norton 360 last year as I noticed it hogging my quadcore with 4GB memory, strange how a lot of resources were released when I unistalled it.

Avita was recently voted the best, but it caused issues on my system.

It gets many positive reviews I am only talking about norton 2010 a/v

It uses less resources than nod 32 long hailed as the top a/v and my previous favourite.
I do appreciate that nearly all a/v come out top in various byassed reviews and it depends on the reviewer of course,but the main thing which blighted norton was it's memory usage and without using the norton removal tool damned near impossible to remove.

They are things of the past now and it's a good piece of software-I would not tell you it was if it was rubbish,

In between taxi driving i repair or format at least 1 pc a week and since i enjoy my hobby i have experimented with all a/v software out there and i
never thought i'd reccomend norton but who would have thought one day lots of people in uk would be driving a skoda:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Conifer]

Now I'm more confuse which antivirus to use.:doh I read different reviews, comments and feedbacks, best recommended ones, etc. but seems to no avail since they're trying to compete to be the best.

Anyhow, thanks a lot for your replies. For me I always have antivirus installed in my machine since the time it got virus. Sometimes I’m not careful in clicking and opening unknown messages and links so having antivirus installed at least helps in the prevention.

Oh, I already have McAfee antivirus installed, but recently I installed AVG cos it’s the best recommended one (from what I read). I didn’t have problem with AVG before unlike with Norton that takes space, slows down and creates strange sound while on the process of scanning. I have both AVG and McAfee running together, but only use as needed. Along with is the Registry Booster 2, top rated registry cleaner that automatically scans every time I start my PC.

But do you think that having two antiviruses loaded on my machine can cause problems? This is new to me, and would like to try if they’re both okay to run together. :Help1:

[les_taxi]

Now I'm more confuse which antivirus to use.:doh I read different reviews, comments and feedbacks, best recommended ones, etc. but seems to no avail since they're trying to compete to be the best.

Anyhow, thanks a lot for your replies. For me I always have antivirus installed in my machine since the time it got virus. Sometimes I’m not careful in clicking and opening unknown messages and links so having antivirus installed at least helps in the prevention.

Oh, I already have McAfee antivirus installed, but recently I installed AVG cos it’s the best recommended one (from what I read). I didn’t have problem with AVG before unlike with Norton that takes space, slows down and creates strange sound while on the process of scanning. I have both AVG and McAfee running together, but only use as needed. Along with is the Registry Booster 2, top rated registry cleaner that automatically scans every time I start my PC.

But do you think that having two antiviruses loaded on my machine can cause problems? This is new to me, and would like to try if they’re both okay to run together. :Help1:

no never run two a/v at the same time they will conflict with each other and dramaticaly slow your pc down.
I rest my case with norton and as ive said before it doesent do all you say above at all
If you happy with avg then run that but on its own.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but it does annoy me when it's based on old versions of software which were rubbish.

If you said to me 3 years ago what dya think of norton i'd have said total bloated crap,but that was then andi have used every a/v on the planet and nod 32,kapersky and norton are very good paid a/v.

If you dont want to pay avg is fine but not as good as the paid versions.

[joebloggs]

:D i have used a pc since 1999 and online from 2000 and never had a virus, the only time's i have needed to reformat the hard drive is when the software didn't agree :furious3: but i have only ever used free stuff from spybot,avg you name it i have used it.

don't waste your money and use some good free stuff! :D

i go back to the days of cp/m machines and commodore pet (late 70s - 1978) :D

never had a virus - what do you do with ur pc :action-smiley-081: :Erm:

i never get infected with a virus, caz the virus scanner stops them :doh

pay :rolleyes:

:icon_lol:

[Arthur Little]

Browsing through this thread, I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge that so many of my co-forumers have amassed on computers in general! :cwm24: As a comparative newcomer to the "world" of Information Technology, I have to confess to being largely self-taught.

For ME, it all began in 2005, when my daughter and her husband decided to replace their PC, and offered me their "old" model [circa 1999] ... on the premise that I showed at least SOME interest [previously lacking] in learning at least the "basics". Well, I DID manage to get THAT far ... but still know damn-all about the technical aspects (or "fiddlier bits" as I refer to them!) and, even though the vintage model donated, has long since been superseded by an updated Microsoft Windows 'Vista' version, I still tend to treat my [new] computer as a glorified typewriter.

Someone here, recently referred to me as the "Grandfather of the Forum" :olddude: ... and I suppose I AM in a sense ... being (I think) about the second-oldest of our regular members by less than five years. So, IS it an "age thing", I wonder? DOES the fact that I belong to a generation that can remember computers in their infancy - as being large and bulky machines taking up the entire ground floor space in the offices of a Multi-National Insurance Corporation's Headquarters, for example - enter into it? And nowadays, of course, children seem better-equipped to master the intricacies of technology than they are at learning the '3rs' or reciting the alphabet. But is this necessarily a good thing? :doh

[bornatbirth]

did you use an abacus to add up or a calulator or even a pen an paper when you was at school?

same method's different tech.

[Arthur Little]

did you use an abacus to add up or a calulator or even a pen an paper when you was at school?

:Erm: ... the latter only ... bet you thought I used a quill and parchment! :icon_lol:

[KeithD]

Les, I've been programming PC's for decades in multiple language, running Linux servers for over 10 years, and can rip memory resources, networks, etc into tiny fragments.

Norton is still basically not the best. CNET provide the industries standard accepted reviews and they agree with me http://reviews.cnet.com/antivirus-and-filtering/norton-antivirus-2010-1/4505-3681_7-33770771.html

Out of all of them Avast comes out the best http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html .....and it's free!

[les_taxi]

Les, I've been programming PC's for decades in multiple language, running Linux servers for over 10 years, and can rip memory resources, networks, etc into tiny fragments.

Norton is still basically not the best. CNET provide the industries standard accepted reviews and they agree with me http://reviews.cnet.com/antivirus-and-filtering/norton-antivirus-2010-1/4505-3681_7-33770771.html

Out of all of them Avast comes out the best http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html .....and it's free!

I accept you have a very good knowledge of pc's keith. But saying norton is the biggest hog of systems memory is not correct.

I have looked at avast and it does look promising and since it's free then yep why not try it.
I was so anti norton in the past as it was rubbish,all i'm saying is it's not rubbish now which is aknowledged on the cnet site.

I download all sorts of stuff and it has found plenty of nasties in there and rarely gives false positives it's a good product and cheap too.

Reguarding reviews I dont trust any site they often get sweetners we all know that and i'm sure cnet get there share but avast,norton nod32 consistantly get good reviews on many sites.:)

[KeithD]

I accept you have a very good knowledge of pc's keith. But saying norton is the biggest hog of systems memory is not correct.
http://www.anvilsmithtech.com/images/graphs/graph1.png


Reguarding reviews I dont trust any site they often get sweetners we all know that and i'm sure cnet get there share but avast,norton nod32 consistantly get good reviews on many sites.:)
CNET are trusted throughout the industry and have been for years, they get payment off Norton products and yet they say it is no good, not very good for business, as they get much less recommending the free ones :Erm:

[les_taxi]

http://www.anvilsmithtech.com/images/graphs/graph1.png


CNET are trusted throughout the industry and have been for years, they get payment off Norton products and yet they say it is no good, not very good for business, as they get much less recommending the free ones :Erm:

Keith the link you sent shows norton with 4out of 5 stars and a reasonable review thats from cnet:Erm:

[KeithD]

Keith the link you sent shows norton with 4out of 5 stars and a reasonable review thats from cnet:Erm:
They all get 'reasonable' reviews, that's why its a respected independent site.

[les_taxi]

So a review from cnet and given 4 out of 5 stars = no good?

[johncar54]

Just a thought. I know you experts will correct me if I am wrong.

I understood that hackers/virus writers etc are more likely to try and get around the security of a large well known company than a smaller one. Thus, it might be an idea to have a 'good one' plus a lesser known one (providing they don't conflict).

[les_taxi]

Some people don't use 1 and have no probs at all,you just have to stay away from limewire,torrent sites and any suspicious emails.
I personally need one for various resons.1 good a/v will do you dont need two it generally will make no difference.
If you ever have 2 installed and both set to run on pc boot up you may be waiting some time before you can use pc as they will be in conflict and til resolved you aint gonna be able to do much with pc.
You can have 2 installed though just make sure both don't automatically load up on boot up.
Go to msconfig,startup to ensure this.Unchec 1 of your a/v.

[triple5]

Just a thought. I know you experts will correct me if I am wrong.

I understood that hackers/virus writers etc are more likely to try and get around the security of a large well known company than a smaller one. Thus, it might be an idea to have a 'good one' plus a lesser known one (providing they don't conflict).

Whenever I've tried running 2 they always conflict with each other. The nice people who create viruses often just do it for the thrill and to show off to one another, others are after your passwords :omg:

[KeithD]

So a review from cnet and given 4 out of 5 stars = no good?
:Erm::Erm::Erm: You're on another planet other than Earth :Erm::Erm::Erm:

[les_taxi]

:Erm::Erm::Erm: You're on another planet other than Earth :Erm::Erm::Erm:

The link you posted http://reviews.cnet.com/antivirus-and-filtering/norton-antivirus-2010-1/4505-3681_7-33770771.html
rates norton as excellent what are you talking about saying i'm on another planet it's your link???:doh

[KeithD]

We we're talking about it's footprint though!
"Despite dramatic performance improvements in the past two years, Norton still doesn't leave the smallest footprint on your CPU, and new efficacy results show that while it continues to be in the top five at detecting malicious software, it still doesn't have the highest rate of detection."
IE. You can get smaller footprints and better detection on the free ones.

[les_taxi]

Ok let's leave this 1 now keith we could go on forever.
I was only trying to help and having used all the a/v progs available was totally suprised to find out how much norton had improved from it's dubious past

I have installed it on plenty of pc's including my own and everyone seems more than happy with it,some of the pc's being quite old models too.

And remember the cost is very,very cheap if bought correctly about £5.00 per pc for 2 year license. remember too i was a devout nod 32 fan in the past.

Whilst i accept there are some very good free ones about it would be totally unfair to say norton is a resource hugging bloated piece of crap,it was but it aint now.

A man utd fan and scouser are never going to agree on anything are we:D

[bornatbirth]

A man utd fan and scouser are never going to agree on anything are we:D

your agreeing to disagree :D that's progress

[KeithD]

A man utd fan and scouser are never going to agree on anything are we:D
Yes, I agree :omg:

[les_taxi]

Yes, I agree :omg:

I dont agree:icon_lol:

[aromulus]

Yes, I agree :omg:


I dont agree:icon_lol:

At least you agree on something...:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[bornatbirth]

At least you agree on something...:xxgrinning--00xx3:

they both like red :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[les_taxi]

they both like red :xxgrinning--00xx3:

And definitely not blue light or dark:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[somebody]

AS well as which AV Cnet are a good source of applications and info:xxgrinning--00xx3:

As well as AV dont forget other good security principles, ie dont run your pc in adminstrator mode, use strong passwords/ ones you change regularly/different for each login, update your os asap, Ensure all other software is updated asap. Adobe acrobat has been having issues recently, as has Internet explorer.

Another piece of advice is to keep your folders and pc neat so you notice the folder/file which appears from nowhere.

Montior if the spare memory in drives has changed and there is no reason for it.

Clean out temp files some programs like spybot offer you the choice as it speeds up scans..

Why have one firewall when two is possible. one software based and one on your router.

With your router update the firmware (dlink just had a scare recently and others have had issues in the past and will again in the future) Read though the manual routers are very complex devices again shut down services you dont use. Change the default password.

Close down services you dont need on your PC.

Do you need printer and file sharing switched on.

Do you need auto run switched on with your DVD/cd drive and how about usb drives?

Dont use filesharing/rapidshare or bit torrent on a device you want to do banking or use your card details on.

Logout of applications such as your itunes and other applications where you possibly have bank card details stored.Consider what infomation you need to store on your pc and if its well looked after.

On firefox you can get add ons one of the best for me is no script which shows you what a simple page may have running. Ad blocks another and i forget the name but theres also one which shows a flag of the country the server is in all free but very helpful.

Although you should never have more than one av running at a time in most set ups it is well worth having installed several different security applications. Including i feel more than one AV. But just dont have both running in the background or scanning at the same time.
In my expereince I have found they only clash when the other AV finds files quantined in the other.

No AV is perfect as are no Anti spyware program etc..

It can take a number of applications to detect, stop, remove and then check the system is clean even after a small infection. Always check and double check everything is ok..

Always try and work out where the infection started and how it was caused. So you can learn how to stop it happening again.

Many malware issues occur due to the user not taking care and overriding/bypassing the security on the system..

[Conifer]

My big thanks to all your replies. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

Seems avast is the absolute best from all the reviews I read. Now I have it installed in my machine and currently enjoying it. I think it is fantastic, and doesn't use half as many resources, it even talks to you! Will see how good it is, and hoping it’ll work best than the first ones. But of course have to be extra careful and smart on what I do with my PC now cos av doesn’t completely guarantee pc protection. Sometimes it’s just hard to tell if the downloadable material contains virus, and this is why my pc got a problem before. Antivirus didn’t protect it, since I went ahead downloading materials that contains virus which I really didn’t know. I didn't blame av for my inability to foresee the consequences.:doh Nobody is perfect as they say. Now, all I can say is to be super careful with my pc.

Well, I hope everybody here is enjoying their antivirus and anti-spywares, etc….

[KeithD]

It never talked to me!! But then the dumb thing couldn't figure out how to take the mute button off :D

[Conifer]

It never talked to me!! But then the dumb thing couldn't figure out how to take the mute button off

:icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:

well :Erm: , avast doesn't really talk to me. It only gives voice signal when scan is completely finished. :D It's good though it doesn't sing.

But if you're serious of putting the mute button off the link below may help.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080107133619AAQYb5I

[Amaw2008]

We took our PC in for an upgrade just short of a year ago. It used to have a Norton anti-virus package on it, but when we got it back they had installed AVG. I reckoned that we might as well continue with that, but I was a little bit concerned that as it was free, it wouldn't be quite as good. However, we've had no problems with it during the year, and reading the various comments, a lot of you guys use AVG as well. So, thanks for the advice everyone, why should I pay for something that I can get for free?:xxgrinning--00xx3: