Which is a good anti-virus security program?

[hh5]

I would like to make a poll but I don't know all the great makers

 

McAfee in the last two years has been running like a dog ... eating lots of cpu ... even in beta

 

I wanna see anyone else opinion what is the best program...

 

I'm anti-NORTON because of the bloat ware it puts on the OS

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Microsoft security essentials - free, top rated, low overhead and unobtrusive. Add the free version of malwarebytes antimalware for cleaning up if you do get a Trojan and you're well covered. MSE is considered to be one of the best AV packages by just about anyone I know in the IT industry. It's actually the 'client' to microsoft forefront, the corporate software, running standalone.

 

Runs on XP, Vista and all flavors of Windows 7.

 

www.microsoft.com/securityessentials

www.malwarebytes.org

 

I sell a fair amount of Trend Micro into corporate environments and it does well at catching bugs. There is a home version of it that also gets decent reviews, but I haven't used it. I see it a lot as trial ware and generally remove it in favor of MSE.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Gene Splicer PHD

[Bill W]

I use McArfee and have been very satisfied with it.

[Daddydavek]

CNET does reviews and ratings and there are a couple of good free ones including AVAST and others. Check out CNET.com

[hh5]

It doesn't have to be free-ware. I'm looking for a replacement to McAfee n Norton.

 

Yes, I like to read reviews but so far I've read. They just sell you any one of the programs.

[JamesSavik]

Webroot SecureAnywhere

 

http://www.webroot.com/En_US/index.html

 

It's pricey but it's very good and comprehensive.

[Menace]

well, idk if you want to pay for it or not. But they have good ones at http://download.cnet.com/windows/antivirus-software/?tag=rb_content;main Pretty good free anti-virsues.

[hh5]

Webroot SecureAnywhere Complete

3PC @ 3Years for 179.95 that's better than McAfee 1PC @ 3Years for 120.00

 

I like to hear other ppls opinions

I found http://www.pcmag.com...,2369749,00.asp article but articles always lack giving practical experience of the software

 

Well is everyone be aware of how McAfee is with customer issues

* Real Time Scanning eats up alot of CPU Time has been an issue for a couple of years and the company hasn't address the issue ...

* One of the ways to stop the nonsense is to stop real time scanning for a period of time the user selects

* Refund policy is limited, its design to take in the money rather than address customer concerns about the issue.

So I am stuck with McAfee for a couple of years ...

* Customer Service Chat ... is rude to not listen to the customers issue and report it to the technical nor fulfill a customer requests ... they can end the chat to break the servicing

 

http://download.cnet...html#userreview

Well the users rate WebRoot 15/39 three stars and under

Best buy users ... 4/13 three stars and under

 

found this

McAfee customer service is ranked #426 out of the 548 companies that have a CustomerServiceScoreboard.com rating with an overall score of 27.69 out of a possible 200 based upon 171 ratings. This score rates McAfee customer service and customer support asTerrible.

 

 

I guess it more research

Edited July 9, 2012 by hh5

[hh5]

I think the free\trial ones only offer limited protection ... they all want re-occurring income

 

well, idk if you want to pay for it or not. But they have good ones at http://download.cnet...rb_content;main Pretty good free anti-virsues.

 

[jeet01]

i dont know much about computers but my friend who works in I.T. sector told me that Kaspersky is really good .And i use malwarebytes which is good and free

[JamesSavik]

i dont know much about computers but my friend who works in I.T. sector told me that Kaspersky is really good .And i use malwarebytes which is good and free

 

I don't trust the Russians.

[Yettie One]

I quite like AVG. It has a setting that allows you to dictate how much of the processor it can access while its operating which is neat.

 

I used to use Bullguard when I was running my business. It gave a licence for several pc's which was useful, and I always found it very comprehensive.

 

I've heard Kaspersky is really good, but i have never tried it. I'll give it a go one day, maybe when I upgrade my laptop.

 

I agree Malwarebytes is cool, and its free. Bonus

And Cnet is a great source for lots of really cool aps and software. Plus you get real people's impressions/feedback which I love.

[joann414]

We have McAfee at work, and I have my protection through my provider at home. No problems so far, and I have been with my provider over four years. ( knock on wood)

[Palantir]

I've been happy with ZoneAlarm for years. It uses Kaspersky as the engine for it's anti-virus function.

[hh5]

Gosh I watch a few news show on Chinese Episonage... no wonder Computer Security has become a new field in the last 15 years at least with companies going under ... Chinese denying it ... they didn't describe if its military or private or gov't

 

But in SyFy type movies ... humans are very destructive ... within the earth ,,, within the countries ... within the gov't ... within the states .. within the companies ... survival is tough ... when you add the internet ... companies will disappear

 

I don't trust the Russians.

 

[JamesSavik]

Fact: Lot's of viruses come from Russia or Eastern Europe.

 

Bulgaria and Romania are particularly bad.

[hh5]

i guess they have too much time on their hands ... but every once and a while

I restore from image ... [erhaps its when mcafee isn't doing its job

Fact: Lot's of viruses come from Russia or Eastern Europe.

 

Bulgaria and Romania are particularly bad.

 

[hh5]

one of the complaints about this one is that you can loose your OS or something bad

thats a comment i read somewhere

Webroot SecureAnywhere

 

http://www.webroot.c...n_US/index.html

 

It's pricey but it's very good and comprehensive.

 

[JamesSavik]

one of the complaints about this one is that you can loose your OS or something bad

thats a comment i read somewhere

 

I've never had any problems with it.

 

It's got a small footprint, runs in the background and covers all of the major bases (anti-virus, firewall, email scanning, anti-spyware).

 

None of them are perfect but I like this one because once its running, it's reliable and you can sort of forget about it.

[hh5]

ok then perhaps I will change to it after my mcafee runs out in three years

my other laptop runs of mcafee beta

my former main laptop did have mcafee but i restored my image that didn't have it

so perhaps I might put my free (less than one year webroot bby on it or put it on my moms xp

 

my moms slow xp runs AVG and its noticeable taking too many cpu cycles because she has a celeron

lol she doesn't stay on the internet long enough to catch up on updates or run an antivirus scan

 

I've never had any problems with it.

 

It's got a small footprint, runs in the background and covers all of the major bases (anti-virus, firewall, email scanning, anti-spyware).

 

None of them are perfect but I like this one because once its running, it's reliable and you can sort of forget about it.

 

[Zombie]

Microsoft security essentials - free, top rated, low overhead and unobtrusive.

Just remember that support for Windows XP will be stopped in 2014 (will continue for newer OSs)

 

CNET does reviews and ratings and there are a couple of good free ones including AVAST and others. Check out CNET.com

 

well, idk if you want to pay for it or not. But they have good ones at http://download.cnet...rb_content;main Pretty good free anti-virsues.

 

WARNING

My advice is only ever download software from the company site and be especially wary of other sites offering free AV software. Sometimes (often?) those sites can be either compromised, or scams to infect your computer even more which is the exact opposite of what you want

I tested sites mentioned in this thread using a free rating site http://www.mywot.com :

 

http://download.cnet...ivirus-software WOT shows 178 people have reported spyware / adware issues e.g.- trojans were installed onto my computer, while the spyware analysis team at download.com insisted that the download was completely safe.- I discovered ads on the site pointing to scam websites and rogue software.- caught three trojans on a download.and my web search spyware diaabled my security center - Download.com wraps downloads in bloatware, lies about motivations

 

http://cnet.com WOT shows 19 people have reported malicious viruses and 37 people spyware / adware issues e.g.- CNet is starting to place a proprietary "wrapper" around the downloads which can install additional software (toolbars) that are not part of the what the user asked for.- requires Babylon adware toolbar to be installed on your computer each and every time that you download from C-net . This toolbar is very difficult to uninstall and now has many forums on the internet with customers complaining of the inability to uninstall this tool bar which you cannot opt out of when downloading anything from Cnet- I refuse to download anything from them ever again. (Unless they publicly admit they are complete morons.- download ended up installing a infected toolbar (known as STARTNOW TOOLBAR, which I have been trying to get rid of all day. These practices are unacceptable in my eyes. I purchased downloaded lots of stuff through CNET in the past and they lost a valuable long time customer and a good rating from me. I have notified everyone I know to beware of these practices and I recommend you do the same

 

I am stuck with McAfee for a couple of years ...

I think the free\trial ones only offer limited protection ... they all want re-occurring income

 

No you're not stuck with it. Why wait 3 years????? Mcaffe can't force you to keep using it. If it's as bad as you say it is then dump and get a free and better AV like AVAST and Malwarebytes (which I use - they're great, I get daily AVAST AV updates, they're comprehensive and not a trial / time limited) or Microsoft security essentials which Gene recommends highly which will do a better job, won't hog CPU and won't cost you any more than you've already paid because it's free too

 

And here's a final WARNING

Do not run two real time AVs together. They will fight each other and become less effective than if you just had one installed! Play safe

 

Edit: to correct error pointed out by Gene

Edited July 19, 2012 by Zombie

[Palantir]

Wow! Thanks for this information about CNET.

I hate it when something that's been reliable turns unreliable without warning.

[Gene Splicer PHD]

Just remember that support will be stopped in 2014

 

 

 

WARNING

My advice is only ever download software from the company site and be especially wary of other sites offering free AV software. Sometimes (often?) those sites can be either compromised, or scams to infect your computer even more which is the exact opposite of what you want

I tested sites mentioned in this thread using a free rating site http://www.mywot.com :

 

http://download.cnet...ivirus-software WOT shows 178 people have reported spyware / adware issues e.g.- trojans were installed onto my computer, while the spyware analysis team at download.com insisted that the download was completely safe.- I discovered ads on the site pointing to scam websites and rogue software.- caught three trojans on a download.and my web search spyware diaabled my security center - Download.com wraps downloads in bloatware, lies about motivations

 

http://cnet.com WOT shows 19 people have reported malicious viruses and 37 people spyware / adware issues e.g.- CNet is starting to place a proprietary "wrapper" around the downloads which can install additional software (toolbars) that are not part of the what the user asked for.- requires Babylon adware toolbar to be installed on your computer each and every time that you download from C-net . This toolbar is very difficult to uninstall and now has many forums on the internet with customers complaining of the inability to uninstall this tool bar which you cannot opt out of when downloading anything from Cnet- I refuse to download anything from them ever again. (Unless they publicly admit they are complete morons.- download ended up installing a infected toolbar (known as STARTNOW TOOLBAR, which I have been trying to get rid of all day. These practices are unacceptable in my eyes. I purchased downloaded lots of stuff through CNET in the past and they lost a valuable long time customer and a good rating from me. I have notified everyone I know to beware of these practices and I recommend you do the same

 

 

 

No you're not stuck with it. Why wait 3 years????? Mcaffe can't force you to keep using it. If it's as bad as you say it is then dump and get a free and better AV like AVAST and Malwarebytes (which I use - they're great, I get daily AVAST AV updates, they're comprehensive and not a trial / time limited) or Microsoft security essentials which Gene recommends highly which will do a better job, won't hog CPU and won't cost you any more than you've already paid because it's free too

 

And here's a final WARNING

Do not run two real time AVs together. They will fight each other and become less effective than if you just had one installed! Play safe

 

Support for anything to do with Windows XP stops in 2014, I wish it were sooner. Security Essentials support for later operating systems will continue. I have seen nothing about killing off security essentials - do you have a source?

[Zombie]

Support for anything to do with Windows XP stops in 2014, I wish it were sooner. Security Essentials support for later operating systems will continue. I have seen nothing about killing off security essentials - do you have a source?

 

You're absolutely right Gene. I have XP (hey, I like it ) and I am obviously so egocentric that I was only thinking about myself when I posted that . Thanks for the correction - all you guys with swanky modern OS's can rest easy

[heartsmoney]

I've used TrendMicro for a few years now and I've literally never had an issue.

 

I've used TrendMicro for a few years now and I've literally never had an issue.

 

I forgot that I also use MalwareBytes, which works well and it's free.