Norton user looking for a new Antivirus program

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AVG 8 Free edition released about a month ago is as good as a freebie gets. If you are prepared to pay for it, there is no doubt that a complete integrated package is better than bits from here there and everywhere and I would still go for Kaspersky Internet Protection (no I don't work for them!)
 
I Belong to the Legion of the Not-So-Lucky........(!) or (?)

AlbertLionheart said:
AVG 8 Free edition released about a month ago is as good as a freebie gets. If you are prepared to pay for it, there is no doubt that a complete integrated package is better than bits from here there and everywhere and I would still go for Kaspersky Internet Protection (no I don't work for them!)
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With the threat of no updates on my AVG Free 7.5 looming on May 31st, I decided to "upgrade" to AVG Free 8.0. I had the same bad feelling about this as I had about the BIOS "upgrade" that ended the life of my Intel G965WHMK motherboard. Premonitions not withstanding, I forged ahead. Several attempted installs, reinstalls , a couple of system restores, a few runs of a registry cleaner, and a couple of trips to the safe mode later, I was still stuck with only one error, albeit a fatal one.Something about avg.exe failed to start, some zeroes, a couple of eights in an error code. Yes, I Know, I should have written it down. But, when I had it copied and pasted, there were many others on the net with the same problem.

To the upside, Avira PE went right and works perfectly, so I guess it's my new favorite free anti-virus application
 
Best free is Avast! Much better than Avg, no hassle! Also, with the next update promising new scanning system e.g quicker scanning, why not choose it?
 
i use eset nod32 with outpost firewall. very light and works very well. spyware doctor v 6 just released today (or yesterday). they say this prog is one of the finest. I have used it -- heavy on resources -- makes a good on-demand scanner
 
also, surprising results with counterspy v. 2. this prog has found bugs when multiple scans with more expensive progs (spyware doctor, spy sweeper, nod32) found nothing. counterspy v2 is $20 and comes in a close second to premium products
 
I've used quiet a few Av programs, and avg is my favorite. I have no complaints. I love the fact that it the programs doesn't only look for known viruses, but also reports suspicious behaviors. The real-time protection is one of the best. I think everyone would agree with me that the program gets better with every release. The best thing about avg is that it is light and doesn't use up a lot of precious sys resource. with 8.0 updates remains automatic and doesn't require any user input, and this is all done in the background, with no pop-ups. Their tag line should be set it and forget it. I recommend avg to all who have come to me for advice, and see no reason to stop doing so.
 
i don't get it.
let me tell you a secret. it's not what anti-virus, anti-spiware you use, they all have their matches out there. I use a very old nod32 v2.7 anti-virus just for the sake of it (pretty nice it alerts me on viruses) and really it ain't that good except for the speed (that is why i kept it. after tweaks to the registry and many other my system boots up as fast as a fresh win xp install and trust me i have some programs at boot time)
I have many viruses, trojans in my pc (that i use and i can control to infect others). have bite adders to make them invisible to anti-viruses, even have av killers for many av you've posted here.
The safe way is to know what you are doing ! Download soft only from manufacturer. I use torrents and dc++ too but i know what i'm looking for (even though ny av stopped me getting infected thru torrents)
So, my advice, get a simple av, maybe even with anti-spyware if you like, but be carrefull what to download. The only thing you should really get is a firewall because there are many hackers out there scanning and breaking into servers (i know for a fact:) )
I have nod32 v2.7, spyware doctor wich ain't running, just a scan every 2 month and a online scan by kaspersky, trendmicro and bitdefender every 6 months. This keeps my system in top shape (firewall provided by router)

BTW: for the post above: try eset smart security. is nod with av, anti-spy and firewall. Cracks can be found out there but i can't tell where because i ain't allowed
 
I use Kaspersky Internet Security 8 and it detects all viruses(it's updated daily). I once copied the source code of one virus from the net and saved it as .txt file. KIS 8 detected it and got rid of it before I changed it to a .vbs or some other executable file. Tried AVG but it disappointed me as it let some viruses(twas a smss.exe) get through and I had to format my PC. Plus KIS * is relatively cheap(~$50-$60). KIS and most other Russian products(Movavi et al) really rock. Hoot hoot hoot....
 
I have been a supporter of Kaspersky for a while and now use Internet Security 2009 on all client machines. No fuss, no drama - just gets on with it.
 
yes i know kaspersky is great (as i said it has it's weak spots and trust me it doesn't detect all viruses) but the downfall of it is that it consumes a lot of resources from the system
 
they all consume resources to one extent or another - I would rather have kaspersky as it seems to consume less (cannot really be bothered to check the detail!).
 
I used Kaspersky Suite for a while, then abandoned it because it was too intrusive, and did not remember too well. I now use Eset Smart Security. Non intrusive, very little setup required (I only have one change from defaults). Two year licence for two computers works out at around 26/computer/year. Very prompt servce, and Eset monitored forum on Wilders Security site.

dolutetz makes two very good points - no AV is foolproof, a dose of responsible surfing is required. And download directly from software developers/sellers. And make sure the site is not phised!. Not too long ago I wanted to get on Eset site and misspelled it with 2s - got a phised site. Fortunately the site was so bad, no graphics, looked like it was designed on a word processor.
 
Anti-virus

I have used two anti-virus solutions on one pc, ie Kaspersky Anti-virus 7.0 and Eset NOD32 2.7.

They worked miracles since there were some viruses that KAV could detect and clean but NOD32 could not and vice versa.

They will will eat into your resources, but its worth it.
 
AlbertLionheart - if you think kaspersky ain't eating up your resources... congrats you have quite a system ;) I wonder if you try at least the trial of nod32 av or smart security wich consumes a few more than just the av

old101 :)) that is something
used to see a lot of mail yahoo, aol, and many banks phising around my time

Kijana - you beat even AlbertLionheart. It's true they complete themself i think quite good BUT can show up false positives because you have 2 av's, and they do eat a lot of your resources.
NEVER EVER HAVE 2 OR MORE AV OPTIONS ON AT THE SAME TIME.
ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE REAL TIME PROTECTION !!!
Try to disable one of them (not uninstall, just disable startup) so you can scan from time to time with the other to exclude any virus. This 2 options you have combined like i posted above should remove ANY threat because they are top antiviruses
 
AVG all the way, i use the AVG pro its $40 for a 2 year license. Works great, caught a few bugs and cleaned with ease.
 
1. a few... check av ratings
2. avg has a free edition that has a + from me
3. easy disabled by 3rd party software (and quite very fast stoppeble by av killers)

of course it has its speed and in the past had quite a nice detection rate. But i really don't trust a free av because it is used by too many and thus makes it the first av a hacker would try to disable

pc world 2007 rating
cnet ratings 2007
anti-virus software review This site is more like a commercial site. I think it should be used to compare av to the features and scanning capabilities not the effectiveness

Of course this are 2007 reviews because virus / anti-virus market is growing faster than a human can make a benchmark of all those av
 
As a computer tech, I have recommended AVG from grisoft.com as an alternative antivirus for around 3 years now. Havent had one complaint from around 300 customers to date, and 98% of that 300 have avg installed. No problems reported.
 
Each to his own! I would not have it on my system now, not since the upgrade (!) to AVG 8.
I don't think it is worth the money, and it is free.....
 
So was AlbertLionheart I suspect!

Try Free Antivirus like Avast or Avira

The new and improved AVG8 just slows computers down, and should normally be avoided as the best support answer to free Antivirus software
 
I Have Good News and Bad News......

footprint than the older versionsAvg8 (Free) is still a decent product. But, it does have a much heavier footprint the previous versions. As products evolve, they seem to get bloated, and maybe if enough people complain they'll do something about it. Although that said, it's pretty hard to take someone seriously when they're complaining about a free product.

The link scanner issue with AVG8 has really been flogged to death and whined about, but there,all you have to do is disable it. Since you never had it before, you should be prepared not to miss it. I guess life's a b**** when you have to move that big heavy mouse around and even make a couple of extra clicks with it.
 
I just have to add one last comment. Everyone to his own sure enough, but to bash AVG free so harshly boggles the mind. I have it installed on a 6 computer network (yes that is 6 computers), and as I said earlier, many of my customers have it installed and have experienced no resource hogging at all.from the program. Any resource lag seems to come from the obvious installation of Mcafee, or Norton. Yes, AVG appears to be showing signs of bundled add ons, but nowhere near the extreme of telling someone you would NEVER put the program onto your own machine because it lags. I have a AMD 2.2 ghz processor with 768 ram. A bit more than outdated compared to most systems today, and no lag trouble at all. So between close to 300 satisfied customers, and myself that see no problems, please don't downtalk a free AV program that has pretty much proven it's worth.
 
For my part, if something does not do the job it is claimed to do, whether it is paid for or not, it is a liability. As the supposed "experts" it is up to us to say so.
I am sad that AVG appears to be falling by the wayside in terms of performance as there is a definite place for the free edition with the home user, but if it doesn't work it is worse than a simple non-functioning product because in this case the user trusts it to protect 'invisibly'
 
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