Is two anti-virus programs installed okay if I....(see inside)

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Beemer

I have McAfee installed and would like to try out AVG or Kaspersky. I know
that running two is bad but would it be okay if I disabled all the McAfee
programs in Security Center and then installed another program?

Beemer
 
From: "Beemer" <[email protected]>

| I have McAfee installed and would like to try out AVG or Kaspersky. I know
| that running two is bad but would it be okay if I disabled all the McAfee
| programs in Security Center and then installed another program?
|
| Beemer
|

No, it isn't a good idea.
 
I have McAfee installed and would like to try out AVG or Kaspersky. I know
that running two is bad but would it be okay if I disabled all the McAfee
programs in Security Center and then installed another program?

Beemer
Click to expand...

Running two AV is fine as long as ONLY ONE real time scan is running.
You might want to use the other one as an on-demand scanner to get a
second opinion as no AV is 100% perfect. I would recommend you go for
Kaspersky instead of AVG.
 
I have McAfee installed and would like to try out AVG or Kaspersky. I know
that running two is bad but would it be okay if I disabled all the McAfee
programs in Security Center and then installed another program?
Click to expand...

I know conventional wisdom says 2 is okay, as long as only one is
scanning realtime, but I'll second David's "no" with more explanation.

Back in the day when XP first came out, a friend (trusted computer
knowledge) and I used to handle a good bit of malware and suspected
malware. She was also into testing to see if "conventional wisdom"
was true, and she was really giving her new XP the workout. She had 2
AV installed on both 98SE and XP, none scanning in real time since
this is most annoying when purposely handling malware. We always
disabled AV by stopping any files from starting, rather than trying to
stop them once started, or relying only on the program's settings to
do so. Literally, we searched with full knowledge that something
could be hiding, and they were as inert as we could possibly make
them.

She once had a malware file that was ostensibly known by both, but
neither detected on an individual file scan. Uninstalling one
(completely, with a third-party uninstaller program) would allow the
other to detect, and vice versa. This was repeatable multiple times,
on both her computers. There were no errors produced, no noticable
slowing of the scan time, no sign of other malware on the computer, no
sign at all of anything amiss. And perhaps worst for us, we could
never determine WHY.

I won't say which programs it was, because it was so long ago and I
don't believe it matters. This was around the time that a LOT of
malware started disabling AV, with the consequent accelerated attempts
by AV writers to keep their programs from being disabled. My point is
that these days, it can be almost impossible to disable AV completely
and permanently, but even if you could, you shouldn't trust either of
them.

Carol
 
Beemer said:
I have McAfee installed and would like to try out AVG or Kaspersky. I know
that running two is bad but would it be okay if I disabled all the McAfee
programs in Security Center and then installed another program?
Click to expand...

I can

1) /almost/ guarantee that you will have problems trying to get KIS/KAV
up and running with another AV installed, disabled or not.

2) /absolutely/ guarantee that you won't get any help with a KIS/KAV
installation if previous AV installations have not been removed and
cleaned up.

You want to evaluate an AV solution in the mode in which you are going
to use it. That means with only one AV and only one PFW, if other than
the Windows FW, installed. Before you install any AV application for
evaluation purposes, make sure you know how to get rid of it should you
so desire. Some are a real PITA to uninstall.

If you are going to evaluate KAV, I suggest that you obtain a trial
license for KIS. You can use a KIS license for KAV if you wish, but not
the other way around. And you can only get one or the other throughout
the product (eg., KIS/KAV 6) life cycle.

Some KL links:

Free Antivirus & Antispyware Software Trials

http://usa.kaspersky.com/downloads/trial-versions.php?aw=downloadspg

Removing other AVs prior to installing KIS/KAV

http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showtopic=5233

KIS/KAV 6 Removal Tool

http://www.kaspersky.com/faq?qid=186812979

I know for a fact that the McAfee Security Center causes problems with
KIS/KAV installations. If you have any trouble or questions, look
through the KL Users Forum threads. IIRC, there is a Registry hack to
fix the MSC problem. If you can't find it, ask Lucian Bara. You must
register (gratis) in order to post.

http://forum.kaspersky.com/index.php?showforum=4

The other option, of course, is AVS --- free for Personal Use, read the
EULA.

http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp?

If you choose to install AVS, do _not_ install the AOL Security Toolbar.
Many people consider it to be spyware.

At this time, if I were going to use a freeware AV app, it would be AVS
or AntiVir.

AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
http://www.free-av.com/

Only if I could not use either of those, would I look at AVG or Avast.
If you look at AV testing, month after month, AntiVir consistently does
well.

AV-Comparatives (Andreas Clementi - Austria)
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Look at the February 2007 Comparatives, for example. The Premium version
of AntiVir was tested, but I would think that the engine and signatures
of both versions are the same. You would have to ask an AntiVir user.

AntiVir PersonalEdition Premium
http://www.avira.com/en/produkte/antivir_personaledition_premium.html

Trends are always more important than any individual testing result. And
even then, don't read any more into the test results than is warranted.
That said, check out the test results for Microsoft's OneCare Live app. LOL.

Ron :)
 
1) /almost/ guarantee that you will have problems trying to get KIS/KAV
up and running with another AV installed, disabled or not.
Click to expand...

How about if KIS/KAV is already installed and running fine? After
installing AVS, I've had Avira and Bit Defender free installed
with no problems. You can easily disable both modules in AVS
to disable its realtime functionality in order to give Avira a free
reign as the realtime scanner, if that's what you want (not that
I recommend that).

Art
 
Art said:
How about if KIS/KAV is already installed and running fine? After
installing AVS, I've had Avira and Bit Defender free installed
with no problems. You can easily disable both modules in AVS
to disable its realtime functionality in order to give Avira a free
reign as the realtime scanner, if that's what you want (not that
I recommend that).
Click to expand...

Thanks, Art. It kind of surprises me that the AntiVir installation
didn't choke. As time goes on, more vendors are concentrating on
self-protection, and many AV apps see other AV apps as a threat. And the
better able an AV app is to protect itself, the more likely that it
would balk at another resident AV app being installed. This is
particularly true with remnants of NIS/NAV.

I have been impressed with AntiVir testing, but a couple of studies come
to mind.

DFK Threat Simulator version 2 (DFKTSv2)

http://www.morgud.com/interests/security/dfk-threat-simulator-v2.asp

AntiVir -> "Potentially vulnerable to a Power User service attack
(described below) and specifically targeted by the DFK Threat Simulator v2."

And from West Coasts Labs,

http://www.westcoastlabs.org/

AntiVir was not able to disinfect all of the test samples. This work is
kind of old, and so I am not sure that it is still apropos. I am also
keeping an eye on David Matoušek's work.

http://www.matousec.com/

His next round of testing will evidently involve AV apps. His last study
had some interesting results WRT third-party PFW vulnerabilities. (I
don't care about the leak tests, myself.) His work is controversial, as
many people question his ethics --- a business model that on the surface
appears to be based on /extorting/ money from security vendors.

The next time that I install AVS, I will have to try to duplicate your
setup. Maybe throw in 3 or 4 PFWs, too. LOL.

Ron :)
 
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