Best Antivirus/Internet Security? [Archive]

EinBebop

08-19-2006, 09:36 PM

Three or four years ago, I did some research and decided that Trend Micro's PC-Cillan had the best anti-virus out there. Last week I got a Trojan that kept making windows pop open, and TM couldn't clean it... instead gave me some instructions that involved painting some pagan symbol on the side of my tower, and then grinding my copy of World of Warcraft into a fine powder and baking it into a cake. It didn't work.

Since my current license expires in ten days anyway, I decided it was time to research the latest 'internet security' suites, as they're now called. Trend Micro doesn't rank very high anymore. Juggernaut Norton gets nothing but crapped on these days, whereas the other powerhouse, McAffee, gets reviewed mixed between very good and very bad.

The two best-received seem to be Bitdefender and Kasperosky.
Bitdefender seems to be better received but not as well known, while kasperosky seems to have a pretty dedicated fanbase. I tried putting both on my system, only to discover that it's not a good idea to try to put another antivirus program on with my old one. Since it took two tries to learn my lesson, I'm not sure which program actally cleaned my virus, but one of them worked.

Anyway, I haven't committed, and am looking for suggestions.

solarflere

08-19-2006, 10:03 PM

MCafee is the worst one, especialy new versions. It gets bundled with new PCs like Dells and with AOL as part of "comprehensive virus protection".
Norton Internet Security is one of the best (as long as you configure it like I did) but NIS is very heavy on system resources, but Symantec Internet Security, is more powerfull than its consumer Norton counterpart, and does not eat PC resourses nearly as much.

Trend Micro is good, I realy don't know why it gave you trouble, its considered right up there with Norton. Lava soft is rising in ranks very fast, but its also resource heavy.

Stay away form Panda. The botom of the pit.

F-Prot is pretty good, but I use it mostly for its mobile features. Its very easy to install on a Flash Drive.

Dr. OneWay

08-19-2006, 10:08 PM

Mine's Norton. I have the 2003 edition and it still works great.

Phantasm

08-20-2006, 03:54 PM

Yeah...Norton does the trick for my computer quite well...as for the computer itself...I really should throw it out the window or something...

Chris Wood

08-20-2006, 04:29 PM

Yeah...Norton does the trick for my computer quite well...as for the computer itself...I really should throw it out the window or something...

Tell me about it. We should have a competition for distance.

MJC

08-21-2006, 11:50 AM

Coming from a tech support person, Avast and AVG are probably the best.

Stay far away from McAfee and Norton. McAfee will just mess up your system settings, and Norton is a serious memory hog.

solarflere

08-21-2006, 04:46 PM

Stay far away from McAfee and Norton. McAfee will just mess up your system settings, and Norton is a serious memory hog.Norton is not a memory hog. What memory are you talking about exactly? Virtual, RAM or conventional memory?
Norton Antivirus and Symantec antivirus are the some of best there is. With their Bloodhound settings, they can recognize even the unknown viral threats.
Norton NIS requres an up to date PC with good system resourses (like all major Internet Security suites). Synamtec Internet Security is the best I have seen so far.

Dr. OneWay

08-21-2006, 05:23 PM

Norton is not a memory hog. What memory are you talking about exactly? Virtual, RAM or conventional memory?
Norton Antivirus and Symantec antivirus are the some of best there is. With their Bloodhound settings, they can recognize even the unknown viral threats.
Norton NIS requres an up to date PC with good system resourses (like all major Internet Security suites). Synamtec Internet Security is the best I have seen so far.

Agreed. LiveUpdate starts up almost twice a week for me, just randomly in the corner of the screen. It's a really good program. And not a memory hog. My memories fine, and I've had it for three years.

solarflere

08-21-2006, 06:57 PM

Agreed. LiveUpdate starts up almost twice a week for me, just randomly in the corner of the screen. It's a really good program. And not a memory hog. My memories fine, and I've had it for three years.It also scans every archive files (winzip, wirrar, winace) and Executable files like .msi and .exe as soon as you download them. NIS gives you live protection from viruses (worms, trojans, key loggers, Hack attempts, port scans, DDoS attacks, Pings, Ping of Death, SYN attacks, browser hijacks) , it scans your AIM, Y! Messenger and MSN Messengers, it scans MS Office, Email clients, and it blocks ads and pop-ups successfully. NIS makes all your ports Sltealth, can notify you (in medium mode) for every Active X (Flash and others) and for every Java Script thats on a website before you view it, so if you trust the website, let it though, if you don't, you can deny it. In most secure mode, you can even filter out all the cookies. Lets you monitor all the programs that access you Internet (outbound and inbound), lets you setup a network between other PCs by IP so they can bypass the firewall settings.

RayChuang

08-22-2006, 10:30 AM

I use AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 7.1.405 and I found to work well with a very low memory footprint and pretty good antivirus operations.

kirschy

08-23-2006, 12:45 AM

Generally speaking as long as you keep an antivirus/firewall/spyware scanner up to date, they should work well enough. Having said that, you were looking for software recommendations. I use AVG Free for my anti-virus solution; Zone-Alarm free for my firewall; and Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware for my spyware solution. The free stuff may not work quite as well as some of the really expensive enterprise grade solutions, but it generally works well enough to prevent mal-ware from infesting a computer, especially if the user does his/her part.

Vermunium

08-23-2006, 12:59 AM

In my opinion, Norton hasn't let me down. I do a nightly scan on my computer, and in the past couple of months, have only detected minor threats to the computer.

Kagetsu

08-25-2006, 11:03 PM

solarflere

08-25-2006, 11:38 PM

Hmm, I got tired of constantly renewing subscriptions for Norton. Really, an AV is only as good as the updates, if it isn't in the file, a new virus won't be stopped by anything once it's been opened.

I've got an old OS, so everytime I tried AVG my system crashed. I'm still using AntiVir Guard and haven't had problemsis a one year subscription realy all that of a bother? I think not. And Bloodhound feature will find viruses that it doesn't even know yet. And yes, every antivirus is as good as its virus definitions. Any free antivirus can't compete with something that you pay for, it will have more features and better protection.

Dr. OneWay

08-26-2006, 11:52 AM

Hmm, I got tired of constantly renewing subscriptions for Norton. Really, an AV is only as good as the updates, if it isn't in the file, a new virus won't be stopped by anything once it's been opened.

I've got an old OS, so everytime I tried AVG my system crashed. I'm still using AntiVir Guard and haven't had problems

I passed the subscription completely. When it came that time, I had a virus on my computer, and I needed to clear my hard drive. When I re-installed it, it gave another full two years. So, I'm good for awhile. :p

The Wolverine

08-26-2006, 01:07 PM

is a one year subscription realy all that of a bother? I think not. And Bloodhound feature will find viruses that it doesn't even know yet. And yes, every antivirus is as good as its virus definitions. Any free antivirus can't compete with something that you pay for, it will have more features and better protection.
But what if you can't afford to pay for all of that?

Unlike you, I can't be getting expensive programs all the time.

That's why I use free stuff. It works well enough for me to get by.

solarflere

08-26-2006, 06:53 PM

But what if you can't afford to pay for all of that?

Unlike you, I can't be getting expensive programs all the time.

That's why I use free stuff. It works well enough for me to get by.$60 per year is not expensive. Get a job. last resort, ask your parents for that money. If you can't afford $60 per year, you should not have a computer.
Antivirus updates, should be the first on your list for PC expenses. Not games and orhet stuff you would buy.

Dr. OneWay

08-26-2006, 07:02 PM

$60 per year is not expensive. Get a job. last resort, ask your parents for that money. If you can't afford $60 per year, you should not have a computer.
Antivirus updates, should be the first on your list for PC expenses. Not games and orhet stuff you would buy.

I can sympithize for beau. I'm almost 15. I don't have a credit card. Or a checking account. So, there's no way I can get the subscription myself. And the last thing I want for a birthday present is a subscription to Norton :p .

Just set your computer clock back a year. I'm sure that will work. :p :p

EDIT: I found that beau was 19, from the profile, which means they can pay. But $60 for a year is quite a bit for a college student.

solarflere

08-26-2006, 07:08 PM

I can sympithize for beau. I'm almost 15. I don't have a credit card. Or a checking account. So, there's no way I can get the subscription myself. And the last thing I want for a birthday present is a subscription to Norton :p .

Just set your computer clock back a year. I'm sure that will work. :p :p

EDIT: I found that beau was 19, from the profile, which means they can pay. But $60 for a year is quite a bit for a college student.For me, thats a 2 hours of work. So thats almost nothing. But like I said, for those with out a credit card, there is a money orders and a mailing address. And the worst case, ask your parents. I am sure that they can afford to give you that much so your computer will function properly. Its not like its for games of something.

And $60 for a year is not a lot for anybody. You can set aside $1 a day and you will have enough in 2 mounths. You can afford to set aside $1 a day, or stretch it longer, $0.50 a day if you must.

Dr. OneWay

08-26-2006, 07:25 PM

For me, thats a 2 hours of work. So thats almost nothing. But like I said, for those with out a credit card, there is a money orders and a mailing address. And the worst case, ask your parents. I am sure that they can afford to give you that much so your computer will function properly. Its not like its for games of something.

And $60 for a year is not a lot for anybody. You can set aside $1 a day and you will have enough in 2 mounths. You can afford to set aside $1 a day, or stretch it longer, $0.50 a day if you must.

Sadly, that's not the case. My parents don't have an easy $60 bucks lying around, OK. So, I would have to ask if for my birthday or Xmas, and I have the new cell phone I want, and DVD sets I've been wanting forever. So there!:)

The Wolverine

08-26-2006, 07:28 PM

For me, thats a 2 hours of work. So thats almost nothing. But like I said, for those with out a credit card, there is a money orders and a mailing address. And the worst case, ask your parents. I am sure that they can afford to give you that much so your computer will function properly. Its not like its for games of something.

And $60 for a year is not a lot for anybody. You can set aside $1 a day and you will have enough in 2 mounths. You can afford to set aside $1 a day, or stretch it longer, $0.50 a day if you must.
Parents don't make enough to pay for something like that, and I can't get a job here because nobody's hiring.

Besides, it's not worth the trouble. Once I DO get a job, I'm buying a crapload of import CDs from Japan.

solarflere

08-26-2006, 07:32 PM

Sadly, that's not the case. My parents don't have an easy $60 bucks lying around, OK. So, I would have to ask if for my birthday or Xmas, and I have the new cell phone I want, and DVD sets I've been wanting forever. So there!:)Well, you are14 and don't have any money of your own. But beau is 19, getting a job or some form of revenue should be wise thing to do.
As for you, you have to keep your priorities in check. Getting your favorite DVDs, which you can always rent or get later, or getting Antivirus updates that will keep your PC worth at least a $1,000 or more (in my case its close to $4,000) in working order. Whats more important?

Like I said, its very little money considering its once per year, and considering the investment it will protect.

Edit: Even if you set aside 17 cents a day for a year, you will have enough money to pay for it.

Dr. OneWay

08-26-2006, 07:41 PM

Well, you are14 and don't have any money of your own. But beau is 19, getting a job or some form of revenue should be wise thing to do.
As for you, you have to keep your priorities in check. Getting your favorite DVDs, which you can always rent or get later, or getting Antivirus updates that will keep your PC worth at least a $1,000 or more (in my case its close to $4,000) in working order. Whats more important?

Like I said, its very little money considering its once per year, and considering the investment it will protect.

Edit: Even if you set aside 17 cents a day for a year, you will have enough money to pay for it.

I've got till 2008. No, wait . . I'm getting Vista from a friend at Microsoft, so I can reinstall Norton again, getting another 2 years, valid till '09, without spending another cent.

It would be my birthday.
I want gifts.
The DVD's I want aren't at my Blockbuster, and I don't feel like searching around.
I don't download much stuff. Which means, even if I did run my subscription, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, considering I wouldn't be badly virus prone. Plus, like I said, Vista's coming. I'd just clear my hard drive. Once again. :p

solarflere

08-26-2006, 07:43 PM

Plus, like I said, Vista's coming. For some (like me) it already came. :cool:

Dr. OneWay

08-26-2006, 07:48 PM

That's very lucky indeed. But, it has an expiration date, and bugs that can't be fixed for you quite yet. If you wanna keep it, you gotta buy it.

solarflere

08-26-2006, 07:49 PM

That's very lucky indeed. But, it has an expiration date, and bugs that can't be fixed for you quite yet. If you wanna keep it, you gotta buy it.I am a beta tester. I get to keep it as long as I send feedback. And then I get a big discount at the finished version.