Anti-virus opinions

[hossthehermit]

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.

 

[Waterwings]

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.

 

[BassAddict]

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

 

[user 6672]

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.

 

[hossthehermit]

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

 

[user 6672]

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..

 

[aeviaanah]

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.

 

[hossthehermit]

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..

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

 

[batman]

AVG free .

 

[jdbassin2003]

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.

 

[HOUSE]

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.

 

[wasilvers]

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

 

[juggernoob]

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

 

[magnum9]

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.

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

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.

 

[DocWatson]

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.

 

[atxjess]

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

 

[New River Rat]

I'm running $ymatec Endpoint Protection and Combofix.

 

[tnriverluver]

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.

 

[russ010]

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