Best AV?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chakolate
  • Start date Start date
C

Chakolate

I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
 
Chakolate said:
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
Click to expand...

You will get a lot of different opinions on this. I recommend AntiVir
Personal Edition. It is small and light, and it has never let me down.
The updates are frequent and comprehensive.
 
AntiVir for sure.

Paul Urquhart said:
You will get a lot of different opinions on this. I recommend AntiVir
Personal Edition. It is small and light, and it has never let me down. The
updates are frequent and comprehensive.
Click to expand...
 
Chakolate said:
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
Click to expand...

avast! 4 Home Edition


Overview :

avast! 4 Home Edition is a full-featured antivirus package designed
exclusively for home users. Features: ANTIVIRUS KERNEL: Almost 100%
detection - Outstanding performance - Reasonable memory requirements -
ICSA certified. USER INTERFACE: Memory test during the program startup
- Very intuitive Simple User Interface - Testing whole disks or
selected folders - Working with the scan results - actions with
infected files - Virus encyclopedia - Log Viewer - Various appearances
- skin support - Running from Explorer context menu - Antivirus
screen-saver. UPDATES: The system of incremental updates guarantees low
traffic - The updates can be completely automatic. RESIDENT PROTECTION:
Standard Shield protects the file system - Generic SMTP/POP3/IMAP4
scanner - Specific MS Outlook plugin - Heuristic analysis in e-mail
modules. REPAIRING: Limited capability of direct repair (especially
macroviruses) - Repairing files using automatically generated Virus
Recovery Database (VRDB).

Homepage: http://www.avast.com/

For related software, check out:
http://www.arjan.org/?Security:Anti-Virus


Kind regards,

_____
Arjan

E-mail: (e-mail address removed) (remove NOSPAM)
Homepage: Arjan.org's Absolute Freeware Links (http://www.arjan.org)
 
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about Norton. :(

If you want a fully featured AV that watches your pop3, I recommend Avast.

If you're more disciplined and religiously scan everything, Antivir PE or
AVG are pretty good.

Right now, I think Freeware AV programs are lagging pretty bad in
comparison to the Shareware ranks. No Freeware AV programs are even close to
Nod32 or EZ Trust for example.

-- Bob
 
Chakolate scribebat:
Is there another one that [...] provides comparable AV protection to Norton?
Click to expand...

Well, almost any virus scanner offers the same amount of protection, the
differences are very small. With other words, you can chose almost any
virus scanner, as long as you keep some basic security instructions.
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources [...]
Click to expand...

Do you want a resident virus guard or can you live without one? The "guard"
is always taking up many resources, regardless which scanner you use. Well,
here is a list of all free virus scanner for Windows I am aware of:

AntiVir PE <http://www.free-av.com/>
Update is a bit annoying, otherwise the program is good.
Offers on-demand scanner and virus guard.
Free for personal home use

Avast! <http://www.asw.cz/eng/down_home.html>
I found the GUI quite annoying, otherwise the program is well.
Offers on-demand scanner and virus guard.
Free for personal home use

AVG Free Edition <http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5>
Offers on-demand scanner and virus guard, otherwise not tested.
Free for personal home use.

Bitdefender <http://www.bitdefender.de/bd/site/downloads.php?menu_id=22>
This is an on-demand scanner only which works smoothly.
Offers only on-demand scanner, NO virus guard.
Free for any use.

ClamWin <http://www.clamwin.com/>
A windows version for ClamAV, quite slow, lacks heuristic support yet.
Offers only on-demand scanner, NO virus guard.
Free software under the GPL.

F-Prot für DOS <http://www.f-prot.com/>
This is a command line scanner, thus extremely light on resources.
Offers only on-demand scanner, NO virus guard.
Free for personal home use.
 
Bob Adkins wrote:
/snip
If you're more disciplined and religiously scan everything, Antivir PE or
AVG are pretty good.
Click to expand...

/snip

But if you are using AntiVir and have AntiVir Guard activated, it works
in the background and it will not let you save anything infected to your HD.
 
I know what you mean about Norton. :(

If you want a fully featured AV that watches your pop3, I recommend Avast.

If you're more disciplined and religiously scan everything, Antivir PE or
AVG are pretty good.

Right now, I think Freeware AV programs are lagging pretty bad in
comparison to the Shareware ranks. No Freeware AV programs are even close to
Nod32 or EZ Trust for example.
Click to expand...
Bob,
I'm using Norton SystemWorks myself with AVG on my other boxes. A
service tech I was talking to yesterday tells me Trend is better (?),
their def updates coming out weeks before Norton - dunno, I suppose it
all comes down to individual preferences.
POKO

--
P. Keenan - Webmaster
Web Page Design
Manitoulin Island, Canada
http://manitoulinislandindex.com
(e-mail address removed)
 
I'm using Norton SystemWorks myself with AVG on my other boxes. A
service tech I was talking to yesterday tells me Trend is better (?),
their def updates coming out weeks before Norton - dunno, I suppose it
all comes down to individual preferences.
POKO
Click to expand...

Trend is another well respected AV, and I can see why.

I personally use Nod32, and it's usually updated once daily. Back when all
the worms were mutating like crazy, I would get as many as 4 updates per
day.

-- Bob
 
Right now, I think Freeware AV programs are lagging pretty bad in
comparison to the Shareware ranks. No Freeware AV programs are even close to
Nod32 or EZ Trust for example.

-- Bob
Click to expand...

i think you are right on this. i consider Kaspersky and NOD32 to be
some of the better ones. however, i use a combination of freeware right
now including Bitdefender (on-demand only), F-prot for DOS (on-demand
only), AVG, and FireLite (scans, doesn't clean).

there's also a-squared (antitrojan) and antivir (i haven't used this
one) and ClamWin (an open-source AV).

michael
 
Onno said:
Well, almost any virus scanner offers the same amount of protection, the
differences are very small. With other words, you can chose almost any
virus scanner, as long as you keep some basic security instructions.
Click to expand...

i don't agree with this. there are definitely differences in detection
ratio between scanners. whether the additionally detected programs are
malicious is harder to prove.

for instance, i noticed AVG Free and NAV couldn't detect Optix Pro in
mid-2003.

there are differences in heuristics, type of malware (e.g. spyware and
trojans in addition to viruses), scanning speed, etc. this is why i use
a combination of freeware and will later add Kaspersky.

michael
 
xmp scribebat:
i don't agree with this. there are definitely differences in detection
ratio between scanners. whether the additionally detected programs are
malicious is harder to prove.
Click to expand...

Well, I said that there are differences, but the thing is: While there are
differences in the detection ratio of the scanners, this ratio is often
changing and the difference is usually quite small.

Not to mention that there is no virus scanner which detects a virus before
at least its family is known -- your behaviour is *much* more important for
your computer's security than the virus scanners detection rate. Combining
these two points, it does not matter which virus scanner you use.
 
at least its family is known -- your behaviour is *much* more important for
Click to expand...

That was well said!

No AV is foolproof. If you're diligent and careful, a good AV program will
pick up your slack with nearly 100% reliability. If you get sloppy, you'll
certainly get bitten!

Since all the major AV programs are fairly close in detection, the best AV
for me is one that is stable, requires few resources, requires almost no
attention to operate and keep itself updated. In other words, transparent...
until it finds a virus.

-- Bob
 
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
Click to expand...

Don't skimp on A/V unless you like being in doubt. .Kaspersky(payware) first.
P.S. With Windows, always be in doubt.
 
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the
resources it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog
resources but provides comparable AV protection to Norton?
Click to expand...

Thanks to all who replied. You've given me just the information I was
looking for.



Chakolate
 
Chakolate said:
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
Click to expand...
C -

You'll get a lot of opinions in this matter. I have a write-up on my
"Guides and Docs" page by Bill Rucker, called "Antiviruses Compared."
You're invited to take a look at the article and follow the links at the
bottom and make your own decision. My site is in my signature.

John H.
Web Site www.jhoodsoft.org
"The best home and business free software, no ads, no time limits, no
fluff."
"No kidding."
 
Chakolate said:
I get Norton AV free through school, but I'm really sick of the resources
it takes up. Is there another one that doesn't hog resources but provides
comparable AV protection to Norton?

Chakolate
Click to expand...
C -

You'll get a lot of opinions in this matter. I have a write-up on my
"Guides and Docs" page by Bill Rucker, called "Antiviruses Compared."
You're invited to take a look at the article and follow the links at the
bottom and make your own decision. My site is in my signature.

John H.
Web Site www.jhoodsoft.org
"The best home and business free software, no ads, no time limits, no
fluff."
"No kidding."
 
news:[email protected]:
Click to expand...
Avast:
http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html
Click to expand...

I like it, but last version needs much memory.
Updating is marvellous: automatically check & download without a single
click (and updating files are small: it's an incremental update, I
suppose): I see only a tray alert which notify the installation of new
virus database/software.
With Avast you are always sure to be updated.
Antivir:
http://www.free-av.com/
Click to expand...

Very light, but updating is a pain (compared to Avast): big files, too
many clicks [Internet update -> check updated version -> download ->
Install -> setup -> Read me ?... :-((( ], I haven't found an automatic
procedure [maybe in the commercial version ?]: it'not a little defect
for an antivirus software.

Simon
_______________________________________________________
"Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try."
by Yoda, Jedi Master (from anonymous poster)
( remove/togli 'FalselinK' to reply/per rispondere )
 
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