Best Antivirus?

megabyte · #1 10-13-2004, 07:27 PM

Looking for abandoning Norton AV and trying another antivirus. Any suggestions. Tried Mcafee and Avast already and they are pretty good.

Any ideas on what the best AV is? All opinions welcome.

pow1983 · #2 10-13-2004, 08:06 PM

I recommend AVG-Free edition

The reasons I like it:

Non irritating interface
No pop-up messages asking you this that and the other, sits quietly, only virus warning messages, its all I care about.
No need to pay yearly for upgrades.
Works nicely with Outlook.
You can scan a network drive.

Reasons I would choose another Version of AVG or another brand when compared to AVG-Free:

No network capabilitys, you can scan, but not erradicate the virus.
You have to scan the whole hard drive, even if you know where the virus is (this may be a limitation of all virus scanners).
Doesnt scan Spyware at the same time. As far as im concerned Spyware is just as nasty as a virus. (Other tools are available, but an all in one might be preferable).

Zxian · #3 10-13-2004, 09:11 PM

I'm using NOD32 V2.12 right now and I'm really happy with it.

Some people claim that they have problems using it, but I've found it really easy to use.

It updates itself pretty much automatically, and it's got a better track record on the Virus Bulletin 100 list than any other AV program out there.

Downside compared to AVG-Free, is that... it's not free.

It is, however, stupidly fast and really easy on system resources. On my machine, it only uses 15 megs of RAM, and it scans my 4200RPM 40GB hard drive in only 7 minutes on the intensive scan, 3 minutes on standard scan.

Have a look. Eset NOD 32

Cheers!

vidster · #4 10-13-2004, 09:52 PM

Having used Norton and McAfee, i would go with AVG. I have now installed AVG and it hardley uses any system resources. I do not get any annoying popups either!

TheFrog · #5 10-14-2004, 05:34 AM

NOD32 - Absolutely the best. Small, fast, unobtrusive and catches everything thrown at it.

megabyte · #6 10-14-2004, 07:07 PM

Thanks for replies everyone.

More recommendations are welcome.

David1234 · #7 10-15-2004, 05:55 PM

i used to have norton and it was slow and complicated to get updates, mcfee as well.
now i use AVG is free, so easy to use and picks up all viruses

Agito · #8 10-15-2004, 08:24 PM

Well on this computer here I have Zone Alarm and Panda Anti-Virus amoungst other things.

But I find the two together work well.

dustyrider · #9 10-19-2004, 11:57 AM

I've tried several different AVs, but in my opinion McAfee is the best. AVG catches viruses ok, but doesn't get rid of some of them. Norton (although highly rated) just doesn't work well. I work on a lot of computers that have up-to-date Norton AV that have viruses on them. Norton's automatic up-date feature stops working on a lot of computers also. Panda seems to work well. After trying all of these I always go back to McAfee. It just works. I've used McAfee for several years and (knock on wood) have never had a serious virus problem. I don't worry about how slow it scans or how much resources it uses as long as it does what it is supposed to do.

These are just my opinions.

megabyte · #10 10-20-2004, 03:53 PM

Thanks for the replies. Still trying the different antiviruses.

How about Bitdefender, F-secure and F-Prot. Are they any good?

More recommendations still welcome.

Thanks

pow1983 · #11 10-21-2004, 09:37 AM

You might want to read this:

http://www.idefense.com/application/...hstatus=tr ue

Zxian · #12 10-22-2004, 02:40 AM

Another good site to look at is www.virusbulletin.com.

It's a group that conducts indepentent tests of various AV software out there. They test known viruses and "in the wild" viruses. In other words, they make a virus, and see if the AV program can pick up on it's actions. Such detections are done by heuristics. You can think of them as behavioural patterns for viruses.

blakeman212 · #13 10-23-2004, 08:57 PM

LOL ! NEW-B'S !!!

GET panada and its the only thing you'll ever need...ever!!!

www.PandaSoftware.com

s7p9a2m4 · #14 10-23-2004, 09:30 PM

I have had terrific luck with Avast. My friends and associates also love it.
Removed Norton from a friend's computer the other day and installed Avast. Avast immediately detected a key- logger trojan, Norton had failed to find. In fact, Norton's live update was not even working. He is thrilled to say the least.

megabyte · #15 10-24-2004, 10:46 PM

Thanks for the replies and links to various sites and bulletins.
They were quite helpful.

More recommendations still welcome.
Thanks