Latest on Antivirus

[Meister]

What is the latest on Antivirus? I had both McAffee and Norton, but find them both very intrusive, meaning they slow down my system considerably.

I can't go with the free ones because they attach a message at the bottom of your outgoing e-mail.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[cancowboy2001]

http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/03/av-comparatives-february-2009-report-four-winners.ars

http://www.av-comparatives.org/ just released their latest set of tests.
You need Adobe Reader (or some other PDF program) to view the report.
There is a variety of testing criteria: scan speed, false positives, etc.
Symantec, ESET, Kaspersky and McAfee got the highest rating.

 

[Disturbia]

Almost all antivirus programs tax your machine. And, those 2 Norton and McAfee are the worst.

I don't use Windows at home only on my virtual machines (that's how I make a living!). I kind of tested them all and I think Avast, home edition, is really good.

It doesn't slow down my system as much as the others, free (you'd need to register with an e-mail to register and get a key for a year), and doesn't add any kind of ADs either popping up on my machine or e-mails.

 

[overlgrover]

Get a mac! Problem solved!

 

[wantoplay]

ESET NOD 32, or yeah, a MAC!!

 

[WoodPeckr]

Run linux on your PC, problem solved plus linux won't cost a penny, unlike Mac.

On windows I've been using free Avast since 2006 with no problems on XP & Vista.

If you insist on paying Kaspersky is very good.

Plus I've heard but haven't verified that Norton 2009 runs very lean now and is not the resource hog it used to be.

 

[Disturbia]

LOL .. LOL ... come on guys. This guy asks for our opinions about antivirus programs.


P.S. On second thought, yeah ... go either get yourself a MAC or switch to WoodPeckr favorite OS ---> Ubuntu

 

[WoodPeckr]

P.S. On second thought, yeah ... go either get yourself a MAC or switch to WoodPeckr favorite OS ---> Ubuntu

LOL!
Well you have to admit, if you're really paranoid about all the farking visuses out there and you should be, the best thing to do is dump M$ and switch to linux or a Mac....

 

[Disturbia]

LOL!
Well you have to admit, if you're really paranoid about all the farking visuses out there and you should be, the best thing to do is dump M$ and switch to linux or a Mac....

So true. I did this about 2 years ago. So much saving since then ... not to mention my own personal time every night updating this and that ... closing this service and that ... so on and so forth.

I had enough!

Now, I own my MACs (3 --> iMac 17, iMac 20 and iMac 24) and my beautiful SONY VAIO laptop running Ubuntu baby What is antivirus again?!!!! LOL

 

[Meister]

Almost all antivirus programs tax your machine. And, those 2 Norton and McAfee are the worst.

I don't use Windows at home only on my virtual machines (that's how I make a living!). I kind of tested them all and I think Avast, home edition, is really good.

It doesn't slow down my system as much as the others, free (you'd need to register with an e-mail to register and get a key for a year), and doesn't add any kind of ADs either popping up on my machine or e-mails.

Thanks for the info. I will give this Avast a try and report back.

btw, is it enough to remove norton and macaffee through the regular uninstall routines or do i need to get a special 3rd party remover that makes sure it's all gone?

 

[Disturbia]

Thanks for the info. I will give this Avast a try and report back.

btw, is it enough to remove norton and macaffee through the regular uninstall routines or do i need to get a special 3rd party remover that makes sure it's all gone?

You're welcome.

Although the install / uninstall part for many new applications have been greatly improved, I would suggest the following simple steps:

1) Reboot your computer

2) Close all other running programs / tools & utilities

3) Go to Add/Remove programs .... uninstall the antivirus program.

4) Whether you see the prompt to restart the system or not, please reboot.

5) Go to your TEMP directory (not sure what version of Windows you have there) and delete everything.

That's all. Install your new Antivirus program which normally should prompt you to restart the system.

Good luck.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Norton is a real pain to totally remove, Symantec always leaves files behind.
When done doing the above you may want to do a search of your PC in 'files and folders' in Windows for Norton, Symantec and antivirus and remove the remaining several folders you will find.
Then get a free 'registry cleaner', run it to remove the Norton/Symantec registry keys you find. This will take out all traces Symantec left behind.

Give Avast a try. Been using Avast since 2006 wil no problems.

 

[PDSAjax]

Use this tool to completely remove Norton products...just pick the right version to download...

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039?OpenDocument&seg=hm&lg=en&ct=us

 

[trymeplease]

MMM why do people always say that Macs and Linux don't get viruses?

Is there something magical about these operating systems.. isn't apachi linux...?didn't root kits originate in unix back in the 60's?

Don't fool; yourself.. by thinking that an operating system will protect you ,there aren't that many av scanners out there that are non win so I think most are infected and just don't know it..the whole idea is to own the system so you can use it ;not to do damage to the host so that the virus will be detected..

 

[WoodPeckr]

MMM why do people always say that Macs and Linux don't get viruses?

Is there something magical about these operating systems.. isn't apachi linux...?didn't root kits originate in unix back in the 60's?

Linux is a more secure OS than M$.
Here's a quick read why: Security in Ubuntu

This is the reason the secure Linux Apache Web Server is preferred over others.

 

[trymeplease]

Well it is a good articale but I think it is incorrect..like any virus if written correctly will bypass and securty in place..thus the updates..yes linux in many ways is more sercure then win but..it is not billit proof as many are lend to believe.. as i know of some security distro which have changed their format just to keep up with the updates..

 

[WoodPeckr]

The article points out no OS is bullet proof, just that linux is far more secure than M$ and as long as you follow their guidelines an attack is virtually impossible on linux.

 

[t8rs]

I've been using the free version of AVG for years. There is an option to turn off the messages at the bottom of your outgoing emails. Uncheck the box that says "Certify e-mail". It's under Tools -> Advanced Settings -> Email Scanner

 

[Meister]

I've been using the free version of AVG for years. There is an option to turn off the messages at the bottom of your outgoing emails. Uncheck the box that says "Certify e-mail". It's under Tools -> Advanced Settings -> Email Scanner

Thanks, I didn't know that is possible.

In the meantime I installed Avast. So far so good. Not as many bells and whistles as Norton, but not as bloated.