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Best of the Free Anti-virus Choices?
iamjoltman writes "I've been looking to replace the McAfee anti-virus on my parent's XP machine. So, I've been looking at the three free anti-virus choices, AVG Free Edition, avast! Home Edition and AntiVir Personal Edition. I know there are other options, but I believe any others are only on-demand scanners, and that's not an option. So, what does the Slashdot crowd think is the best of these choices? Keep in mind, I'm only looking in anti-virus, I'll go elsewhere for firewall or malware protection."
I'd reccommend clamAV for windows or clamwin, both are windows ports of the excellent GPLd clam AV.
But I'm also going to make an obligatory dig at windows. Consider downloading some software that means you wont have to run anti-virus software.
(Staying true to my username, I would also like to reccommend os x, but as it's not available for download, and requires new hardware, I won't).
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
This is the best free anti-virus product by far.
I'll go elsewhere for firewall or malware protection.
No need...the above link has that covered, too.
Seriously, though, what exactly do your parents use the XP machine for? Is there a particular reason an alternate, less susceptible OS wouldn't suffice?
____
~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
But seriously, I like Antivir. I think it makes catches that others miss. The newest version seems a little bloated, but I have always liked their product.
So, what does the Slashdot crowd think is the best of these choices? Keep in mind, I'm only looking in anti-virus, I'll go elsewhere for firewall or malware protection."
:-)
You going to ask on Digg about those two then?
I've been using the free (as in gratis) version of AVG on all the Windows computers in the family for a long time and have been very pleased with the results.. No successful virus attacks in 9 computers over a period of at least 3 years. The hard part, and this is not specific to AVG, is getting the family members who still use dialup to stay current with updates since some of the downloads take quite a while.
I can't comment on the other free antivirus programs as I've not tried them.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
I've always had good luck with AVG, but YMMV.
I see no need to repeat myself, so I'll just link to my previous post on this subject.
End of lesson. You may press the button.
I like it. I've used commercial AV before, but the free AVG is as good, or better than those. And it can be set to auto-update and auto-scan.
I haven't used the other free ones; AVG has never given me a need to switch.
Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
He wants scanners that provide real-time protection, not just on-demand scanning.
And I've often wondered why Clam doesn't make a real-time protection piece. With all the other stuff they have I figure they're already 97% of the way there, with the AV signature databases and all. I'd use it, or at least give it a try.
AVG by grisoft is where its at though.
I don't know if it's the best, but I'm in the AVG Free camp myself. Auto-updating was big. nice side effect that you can't really turn that part off. I work on family and friends computers, and I've started dropping this on thier computers. Espically when I'm working on them because of a virus. That way I know if I have to work on the computer again, it shouldn't be because they've contracted another virus.
I use AVG at home and would recomend the free version to anyone.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
I would say according to this comparison, AntiVir is the best...and of course, this is the only comparison that really matters...
I use ezAntivirus, the AVGfree thing, but there was recently a 1 year free promo of the registered version - I dont have the link atm, but that might be worth checking if it's still an active promo.
... :)
It was listed on slickdeals.net if that helps.
It's MUCH less ressource craving than the norton package it replaces for me
That of not only protection but saving the time wasting recovery from infections?
I don't know the answer on that one.
I was using AVG and my system had been very sluggish. After several spyware scans with Spybot S&D, Ad Aware and Windows Guardian I was comfortable that I had no spyware or adware on my system. So, I decided to try a different virus scanner. I tried Avast first, it located one infected file that AVG did not.
I removed the file and my system immediately began to run faster. I wondered if AVG missed something, could Avast miss something, so I downloaded and installed AntiVir. AntiVir drove me crazy with all kinds of false positives. AntiVir picked up many security audit tools that I was evaluating as trojans. I'd never be able to use my system if I left it installed. I went back to Avast. For the time being, Avast is my personal virus scanner of choice. Apparently no false positives and it found a virus that AVG did not.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I'm sure that this will be covered, but I have installed ClamWin on my Mom's and Mother-in-laws computers to cover their anti-virus needs. Every now and then I'll get a call or glance at it when I'm over, but the most complicated thing for them is when they get a 'new engine available, click to download' link; which the click, it's installed, and they're done. All virus updates happen daily and it'll report that to them so they know things are working via the icon in the taskbar. At home on my FreeBSD mailserver I trust GPLd clam AV and BitDefender in parallel, so I know it works, no reason for this 40$ a year McAfee with the all the bloatware you'd never need! ;)
fak3r.com
I've recommended AntiVir to a number of family and friends. The usability increases with each iteration, and gives you options to schedule automatic updates. The only downside is during updates, it sends up a single advertisement for thier full-featured product. So far, I've installed it for my girlfriend, sister, mother, and grandmother. No one has yet had a virus breakout - of course, the promotion of Firefox to Default Browser(TM) and a little user education goes a long way.
As a sidenote, check out the Anandtech Consolidated Security Thread for great commentary on a slew of security products. As of version 6, (now version 7) AntiVir is rated at a 84.5% detection rate.
As for myself, I just use good ol' common sense and a router.
If you want an open source product, I think Clam AV is the only option. I am a pragmatist and have found AVG free edition fine for personal use. It has pretty good detection and does not destabalize the system like some well known non-free antivirus products. It is not the best for virus removal, but I concentrate on prevention.
Open source. Not realtime, but does integrate with email applications. Check it out at http://www.clamwin.com/
I've installed AVG and Avast on other peoples systems and for the non-technical, AVG seems to be the least scary and easy to use for them. It's the one I use and it's done the business for me for 4 or 5 years. Of course, some of the best anti-virus software I've used is Windows update, Firefox and Thunderbird. (I'm not quite linux/mac troll yet)
BitDefender 8 free edition, lacks real time scanner but has scheduler, auto updates and so on.
can't these people just search slashdot? i swear i've seen this same question in the past... it doesn't belong on the main page (or anywhere since it's already been asked in the last year).
AntiVir doesn't, which is why I prefer AntiVir.
We must be alert to the danger that public policy could become captive to a scientific-technological elite. - Eisenhower
AVAST also has plugins for about a dozen IM and p2p services. This is excellent for a number of reasons.
On the other hand, the free version does not seem to have a scheduled scan feature, not that I've noticed.
AVG is more user friendly, does have a scheduled scan feature that Avast does not seem to have. It does not seem to have a plugin for IM and p2p networks.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
How about firewalls? Now that Kerio has sold out to Scientology (Sunbelt Software), a good firewall has become suspect. Any newer suggestions?
A better operating system. (In extreme cases, you might have to change users also.)
A while back, I did some testing of my own using the three above scanners. The test was done using a virtual PC VM that could be rolled back and reset, that way all three were tested with an exact PC image and system. Then they were subjected to an IE attack from a known malicious site (which I wont mention since I don't want you infecting your PC)
AVG was dead last, and could not stop even simple web attacks from propagating, even with the highest settings, although it was the least intrusive and fastest of the three, and didn't nag you to upgrade or anything.
Second was Avast. it stopped a lot of the malicious code, but some still got through and started to drop spyware into the system. It supposedly has guards similar to Windows defender, but didn't seem to do anything to stop the unknown propagations from occurring even on maximum settings.
Antivir was the best out of the three, catching most of the viruses at it's default setting, and all of the malware at it's maximum (it has definitions for questionable programs like VNC, Jokes and the like, but it's turned off by default) It's biggest problem is that it is the naggiest AV of the three, which constantly asking you to upgrade to the paid version. It also has a tendency to be very sensitive to programs that do virus like behavior at maximum settings, so expect some false positives from time to time.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
Many of the responders argue the parents can't use Linix - fine, let's say that's true (though I think it's much less true than they imagine with the right distro). Why not a Mac then?
Then they would be safe NOW. Of course there could be exploits later but that does not really address the core point that they would be safe NOW, and if they run updates when they come up they'd probably be safe for a good long time.
I cannot stress enough how much time it saves YOU getting your parents a Mac. That the original submitter is asking about AV solutions for the computer is a hink of hoe much time is sunk into helping maintain the box. With my parents Mac I help install new versions of the OS, and that's pretty much it.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I would have to say that I recommend AVG Anti-Virus. I admit, at times, the free version has difficulty removing certain virus components, but at least it always detects. I've always had a problem with Avast anti-virus and it's annoying user interface. And Antivir did not look that great to me either. We use AVG Anti-Virus here in the computer repair center I work for and everyone seems to love it just fine. But if your computer has a good bit of memory and you have the money and/or you're a Comcast/AOL user, I would probably recommend installing McAfee Anti-Virus over it just because of the better detection/removal of viruses and such. Just note that both Comcast and AOL users get access to McAfee for free.
"Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
There are a few things that I wouldnt take for free, and a few that I would. I am much happier paying for independent fincial advice with someone who has no interests but my own to think about. As for virus software if I want to really know that my computer was safe and the data on it couldn't be compromised I'd pay. If all I was really bothered about was doing an adequate job and making sure most stuff is caught I look at the free scanners available. Always ask this though - if I'm not paying them - why is it in their interest to help protect my computer? I know there are lots of people who want to help protect your computer - but is there anything to actually make them continue providing a level of service etc?
I've been using Avast! for the past year and love it. Free software, free virus definition updates, and best of all there's a native x64 build for those of you using Windows xp x64 Edition.
The interface is simple and integrates with the xp shell making individual file scans fast. Its modular, and scans Outlook, e-mail attachments, P2P apps, web, etc. by default, and each module can be enabled or disabled on the fly.
I've not tried the other apps you listed, but I'd imagine they don't have 64-bit builds which was the selling point for me.
I get McAffee free with Comcast, so if your motivation is eliminating your subscription fee, you might find that you're already paying it via your ISP.
I use AntiVir on 2000 Workstation and XP boxes. I chose it specifically because it catches viruses the big names (Symantec and McAfee) deliberately ignore, such as the FBI's "Magic Lantern" (or whatever they've renamed it this month). As a perk, it really does run well and consumes a minimum of system resources.
Unfortunately, AntiVir refuses to run on any "servers" (meaning NT4 server, 2000 server, and any form of 2003). On those, I run AVG, which works almost as well, IMO, but has a slightly less friendly updater.
I've never had any trouble with AVG in the last 4 years. But I don't open unfamilier attachments either... so take that for what you will.
Telling the truth to people who misunderstand you is generally promoting a falsehood, isn't it? -- A. Hope
In my work for a college IT department, we've seen MANY student machines that are heavily loaded with all sorts of malware. We recommend AVG Free as part of a solution for these students, and we've had very good luck with its ability to clean things up.
Avast, I've found is the better of the three. Catches the virii and identifies alot of trojans (spyware etc). It also has a boot scanner, which makes cleaning up a nasty infection easy.
I've tried AntiVir and AVG. They are both excellent in terms of protection from viruses, but I find that AVG is quicker to update and the interface looks more modern. Antivir's interface looks like something out of the Windows 3.1 era.
Antivir also requires you to re-run their setup program each time you have to update the engine, which in my experience could be at least once a month. This is cumbersome and can be confusing to computer illiterate users. Since I've switched to AVG I haven't run into these problems and in fact I convinced my mother to ditch Norton AV for AVG. So far she's really happy with it.
The best choice would be to explain to them what programs to use and what they should stay away from. There is no need for antivirus if you use your computer properly, even for non-experienced users. However I would recommend a good spyware program like spybot and such.
Where we have strong emotions, we're liable to fool ourselves. -- Carl Sagan Sh!fty
If all they're doing is basic email, web browsing and other simple applications, you might want to try switching them over Ubuntu Linux. Try popping in a live cd, available for download on the project's site http://www.ubuntu.com/ and that will give you a good idea as to hardware compatibility. If all is well, try it out or do a dual-boot and have them give it a test drive. If they like it, run that as their sole or primary OS. No more viruses. Other than that, I'd go Mac if I were you.
I've been using BitDefender (by SoftWin) for a little while, and while AVG and avast! are good, I like BitDefender better. It's more user-configurable, and I think the interface is less obnoxious. I haven't yet had it fail to detect a virus that makes it through my ISP's e-mail filters.
If your parrents have broadband there is a good chance that they also have free commercial antivirus software available through that provider. And what ever you do don't listen to these trolls that want you to downgrade your parents computer to Linux or replace it with a Mac. Linux is a fun toy, I enjoy my LBox very much. But it is not for your parents.
The best antivirus protection is not to be exposed to viruses.
Like the guy in the first part of Egan's "Distress" who was converting himself to use a different set of amino acids in his DNA/RNA to render himself immune to all viruses (except for rogue versions of the ones used to implement the conversion, which seemed to be a rather obvious hole in his clever scheme to me), the best protection is to be a different species, genus, phylum, or kingdom than the infected population.
Failing that, I've fallen back on "Don't use Internet Explorer or any other application that uses the Microsoft HTML control, damnit". That at least turns the antivirus clock back to 1995 or so, when the biggest exposure was still shareware and local network exploits. I can live with that.
avast! Home Edition works great for me.
Just that you have looked at free ones.
Nod32 from eSet has been running hassle-free on my Windows machine for quite a while and has scored 100% detection rates in third-party testing.
AVG Free Edition - Use it, Love it. Our curch used the commercial version.
avast! Home Edition - Had install problems. Many of my firends live by it.
AntiVir Personal Edition - Ran good, but I have had problems with random freezes when used on a system with an accounting package writen in VB 6 that used SQLBase. Not sure which cause which.
clamAV for windows - Haven't used it.
clamwin - Haven't used it.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
I have successfully used AVG and Avast for several years. Zone Alarm (free) has a warning with Avast, but I've never seen problems.
Also recommend Spybot Search and Destroy (especially with TEATIMER as a resident watch on registry) and Ad Aware.
Help end the use of Sigs. Tomorrow
the best virus scanner ever is AVGOLD! It will always tell you you are infected, even when you are not. No need to go looking for it. Chances are, you already have it.
o it
http://wiki.spsu.edu/index.php/Microsoft_WMF_Expl
I have no experience with the free variety, but when securing my parents machines, I went with Norton. I was able to configure the mahcines for auto update. Its easy...They dont have to touch a thing to be up to date. To be honest, Im more worried about their system's getting a virus than most people (they are the perfect malware/phishing/virus targets).
AVG would be my choice, and is what I run on my parent's computer. I have had problems with it in the past though that make me not use it on this machine, specificly the computer will sometimes refuse to load Windows unless I uninstall the program. I don't know why this happens, but it has made me wary of using it again (this has happened three times now on two different computers). My parents have never had such a problem, so your results may vary.
After getting tired of Norton AntiVirus "couple hundred per year" and "won't work if you choose a newer OS without buying an even newer version", etc.... I installed avast! Pro. I have to say, I am liking it. Works on different platforms, $40/year, etc...
:)
My wife got a notice at work that some webpage she tried to go to contained a virus... I purposely went to it to see if avast! would catch it - and it did.
And, you can try it for free
http://www.google.com/profiles/malachid
format c:
I've used AntiVir since the late 1990s or thereabouts. The most recent version has taken to spamming me with an ad for the pay version every time it updates (once a day). The ad pops up and interrupts whatever I'm doing. It doesn't go away until you click it. So this nice freeware seems to have become nagware. I'll be reading others' responses to find out what I should be running instead of AntiVir.
Make cheese not war 8:)
At least as much as an anti-virus package can. Just use google to find it ;)
Of course, the best solution is to simply upgrade from Windows to a real OS like Linux. :)
i am an open sourcer and while i would like to agree with you there, i have to say that the linux i run is crud compared to win xp.
fedora core 4
1. probs with mounting usb disks
2. no easy to use graphical search function like win xp
3. i tried to copy from one usb disk to hdd and it corrupted the usb disk!!!!
f3773t
AVG for anti-virus and e-mail scanning. Also recommended for Linux systems that use Samba in a Windows network. AVG is consistently rated at or near the top of the list in reviews.
Might as well mention anti- spyware and adware applications I use as well. I've not only used these, but not one person I have recommended these to (or system I've installed them on) has ever had an infestation in 4 years. In fact some have had commercial software fail to protect their systems while these applications prevailed.
Zone Alarm
Spybot Search and Destroy
Spyware Blaster
Ad-Aware
PGA
It contains several points.
There are other things, but the general idea is this. Most anti-virus software will slow down your computer. Sometimes, as much so that it behaves as if it's actually infected with a virus. Following general rules you can lead a completely normal life with a computer, sans anti virus software. I have been doing it for over 12 years, and none of my computers have ever been infected with a real virus. Sure, I've had to do MS updates for sasser and the like to prevent other drone computers on the internet from attacking me using a flaw, but that doesn't count as being infected with a virus, and most likely wouldn't have been something an anti-virus program would have stopped to begin with.
Oh, and Linux zealots: Please try to stop yourselves from suggesting that Linux in some form is the "end all, catch all" cure for PC woes and viruses. I would much rather go to my mothers house once a month ro remove a virus than once every 15 minutes to try to explain how to do something simple with her system. Before you fuckers get happy with the moderate menu please understand I'm not bashing Linux, I'm just saying we have to stop making the answer to every question "Install Linux."
Windows has more viruses because linux has more virus coders.
See, it's funny because he says he doesn't use antivirus, and then a virus not only messes up his Slashdot post, but then also causes a segfault!
Stupid moderators, this is comedy gold.
What I can't understand is why people will pay $500-$2500 for their computer, another $200-$1000 for software, but won't pay a measly $20-$40 per year for an antivirus.
I use Trend Micro Pc-cillin Internet Security 2006. It's $50 to buy, and $25 a year after the first year, and it's the best I've tried so far. It includes antivirus, firewall (very configurable), anti-spam (which I don't use), and malware protection.
Unlike Norton, which only updates their definitions once a week, Trend Micro updates theirs every three hours. It's the same update frequency as their enterprise solutions, which are very powerful and easy to administer.
I know I sound like a commercial, but come on; with all the money you've spent on your computer, don't skimp on protecting it. Then again, as others have suggested, you could just go with Mac or Linux and not worry about viruses at all. (Just get something to protect against worms and root attacks.)
Find environmentally and socially responsible products on http://buy-right.net
I've used all 3, and I must say avast! is definitely the best and the most professional. The other 2 have chincy interfaces and don't have the nice look and feel avast! does. avast! gives you updates at least once a day, is easy to use, and is friendly on the resource consumption. Plus, avast! has individual components for different methods of attack (p2p, Web, IM, network, etc.).
The best way I've found to clean an already infected PC is to go to www.ubcd4win.com and download and build an Ultimate Boot CD for Windows.
This way, you boot from the CD, with the OS offline. Then you can update and use the ubcd4win built in antivirus and antispyware utils to clean your system. This has worked every time for us.
Moderation in All Things... Especially Moderation - gurutc
When I used to use Windows, I never used to use antivirus. Or even anti-spyware software.
I believe with a good firewall, a good HOSTS file and some common sense, you should be fine. And the vast majority of Slashdot readers have plenty of common sense. I use ubuntu these days.
I hate when people think that using a different OS means that you are totally safe. I don't care if it is Linux or OSX, viruses are out there and anti-virus software should be used. There is no question that (1) Windows is more susceptible and (2) that there are more viruses for Windows than other OS's, but no OS is completely safe. You are sending a very bad message by implying that using Linux or some other OS will void the need to protect your computer from viruses. Your hatred for MS is blinding you.
The real-time system scan also performs well, with relatively little memory usage compared to Norton or McAfee. I haven't made much use of the P2P or IM scanners, but if they're up to par with the system and e-mail components, I'd say it's a tough package to beat.
DecafJedi
my weblog: apropos of something
I like Comodo AV
. html#2?entryURL=
http://www.comodogroup.com/products/free_products
Its a good program, the developers need to eat, so I purchased it after the trial.
I work on a lot of other people's computers. I used to recommend Norton or McAffee. But there are several problems with these:
1. Any pay version is likely to be dropped before long. No matter how you stress it to people, eventually they are gonna get tired of paying the fee and let the subscription lapse. I can't tell you how many times I had to clean a machine because they let the subscription lapse and were working with out-of-date virus definitions.
2. Norton has bloated to the point where it is just useless. I always had problems with compatibility (hell, it broke more systems and/or programs than any viruses) and now it has grown to the point where it cripples even the fastest machine.
3. McAffee just can't be trusted! The last three machines that I found infected were all running McAffee, had the latest virus descriptions and still got infected. What the hell were my customers paying for?
Now, of the free AV products, AVG is the least intrusive (both in terms of performance hit and nag screens) and, in the case of #3 above, it found each instance that McAffee missed. I have been installing AVG Free on all the machines that I setup for people for about 1 year now (total of 10 machines) and I can honestly say that none of them have been infected (yet!).
AVG Free - highly recommended!
your parents should use a mac :)
This is my sig. There are thousands more, but this one is mine.
My favorites: For online scans, housecall.trendmicro.com is your way to go. Does Linux too. NOD32 is the most impressive Windows scanner I've found. For cleaning out and managing the registry, you want JV16 Power Tools, but running msconfig's the quickest way to clean the crap out of the registry as you don't need anything to download. Be careful though...
I've used all three of the referenced products.
I personally like AVG the best. It is easy to use, the updates are seemless, it works.
The negatives that turned me off of the others.
AntiVir
Ignores anything on a shared drive. You can open eicar.txt from a shared drive without a problem which is a problem if you have shared storage. Not a show stopper for everyone though.
Avast
Looks cool and provides a lot of functionality but I found it to be not nearly as simple to setup and use as the others. I like the standard options style configuration tabs all in one place, Avast looks more like a media player then an antivirus aplication with various popout buttons for configuration and to start scans. Once it is setup, it does work fine though. I can work through UI issues but an even bigger negative is you can not schedule scans with the free version, resident protection is always active but periodic full scans must be run manually.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
I have used both AVG and Avast and find that Avast is the better choice IMHO. Avast has a nicer UI (again IMO), updates are automatic for both av defs and engine, and seems to use little resources.
I liked it enough to acquire the Pro version for my wife's computer, and I'm considering using it for my company AV (currently using CA and it sux).
Just my 1/2 cent.first start with the behavior that causes virus infections. teach your parents safe internet habits.
e curity.php
then use firefox and thunderbird. http://www.mozilla.com/products/ it's safer and faster. chances are, once your parents become familliar with the features, they won't care about the stupid blue E.
then install a good internet security suite. Not Norton or McAfee, I said good.
it's worth money to protect your computer and all your information. (parents always reply with, "I don't have anything on there!")
if it has to be free, AVG is the best.
if you are willing to spend some money to ensure safety, Kaspersky Internet Security Suite is my top choice. http://usa.kaspersky-labs.com/products/internet-s
I've used all major AV and PF applications out there. This is by far, the best I've ever used.
it lets you password protect the running process. so a virus can't shut it down.
bottom line, viruses spread with 20% technology, 5% evil, and 75% user ignorance.
They're using their grammar skills there.
AntiVir Free outperforms almost all pay AVs, and it simply kicks all other free AVs seriously where it hurts...
:)
Don't rely on the virus.gr test results, they so flawed that all AV experts I know of start crying when they even hear that URL. Refer to good AV comparisons, like www.av-comparatives.org which have been rated professional by security experts and AV vendors.
The old GUI has changed significantly in the V7 release, so it's not looking like win 3.1 anymore either
Funny thing I disabled my XP "Non-technical Wife access Services" and I did just fine until she enabled something that came out of the box with my HP which led to 180search which far too many of us have learned leads to misery... kind of like how fear leads to the darkside.
I'm planning on ditching Norton (don't shoot me, it came out of the box and my brother bought me a six month subscription so it was kind of free and I thought it would be ok on a faster computer) for AVG (because Norton eventually made me crazy). I have this vague recollection of hating Norton's uninstall from the last time it made me crazy.
Enough commentary and to a question: How configurable did you find the real time scanning to be?
Oops, how did this get here?
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Personally, I'd recommend Avast! I install this on the majority of computers I use and recommend it to everyone I can.. There are two very important reasons for this:
I've been using AVG for about an year now and not had any problems. I've got it on XP professional. The updates are always current.
I've been using it for about three years now, and I've never had an infection on my computer or any of the machines belonging to friends and family that I 'administer'. At one stage I was carrying around burnt CDs with the Blaster removal tool and Avast on them and giving them to people when they complained about the damn thing.
My only gripe is that the small alert notice that lets you know Avast has been updated does not play well with fullscreen 3D apps. Everything stops for about five seconds, then the framerate drops to about 3 FPS while the box moves on and off the screen. Very frustrating when you're in the middle of a fight in World of Warcraft and you get your whole group wiped, but getting own3d in WoW beats getting your box own3d in reality.
I maintain a handful (15-20, actually) of family PCs, all running Firefox + AntiVir + ZoneAlarm + AdAware. Haven't had a single virus infection in four years. I keep the above combination with me (on a USB key) at all times.
For the less tech-savvy, low maintenance is the key. Memory-resident scanning and automatic updates (that do not require a reboot) are a must. Full system scans should still be run about once a month, preferably manually (tell them to run a scan when they know they won't be using the computer for an hour or two).
All of the options you mentioned should work just fine. If you're already familiar with one, why not try that. If not, try one and see if it fits.
Never mind the technical details, but anyone lucky enough to be in my office when Avast! says: 'Virus database has been updated' or 'Warning! Virus detected' is instantly converted.
Twice now, it's caught virii that AVG missed, and the scanning engine is, in my experience, a lot faster than AVGs.
Every single person to totally ignore the parameters of the question, and recommend switching to Linux, has recommended Ubuntu. This suggests to me that Ubuntu users are exactly the bunch of deluded self-righteous World-domination freaks I have always assumed them to be.
1. If this guy wanted to hear about how Linux was less susceptible to virii than XP, he needn't of posted his own askslashdot question, he could have just read any frontpage story about Windows, Linux, or malware in general.
2. What you freaks fail to understand is that the goals of the free software movement won't be met by everyone using Linux as their desktop OS. They will be met by every computer user having a genuine choice as to the software he runs.
3. It seems to me most Linux users' desire to 'liberate' the Windows machines of all the Joe Users out there, is actually motivated by nothing else than the selfish desire to have workable drivers for all the shiny new gadgets you buy each month. Why don't you do something about the driver issues yourselves and stop trolling the world?
my password really is 'stinkypants'
I use ClamWin. I haven't checked out any of the others, but we use clam on all the unix boxes for mail av so I just followed that to the windows world. =) Worth checking out, although very primative it works. Absolutely no bells and whistles, it's a *nix product in a win shell.
There are plenty of other ways for an infected file to get onto a system besides Outlook, and a scheduled scan can't catch those files until it runs. On demand provides the ultimate protection for uneducated users, which is why ClamWin is adding it in.
From the FAQ:
Q.) Can ClamWin check files automatically as they are accessed
A.) The answer is not yet.
So far ClamWin does not have on-access scanner so you need to be careful and scan a suspicious file before opening it. If you do that you will be as safe as with a commercial antivirus. User awareness is sometimes better than automatic protection, as it may be easier to break the automatic protection than to fool an educated user.
However an average user with little knowledge about online and computer security the on-access component is a must and the ClamWin should be used only as a complimentary scanner. We are developing it and will release it in the next major version update.
If the "Integration with Windows Explorer" option is checked during installation, any file can be scanned from within Windows Explorer simply by right-clicking on it and selecting "Scan With ClamWin Free Antivirus"
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Use BitDefender. Ranked highest in PC Magazine (although the commercial version is pricey), the free version is up for Windows and Linux.
The Death Penalty: Killing people to show others that killing people is wrong.
If I had to choose one, however, it would most likely be AVG Free because I found its interface the most useful. Avast was less intuitive and looks like it attempts to be striking. AntiVir was all right. As far as detecting viruses, I found that they were just about the same. Depending on the most recent updates, some would detect a virus that another missed. However, considering that no software is entirely perfect and the software may not have been updating, neither program is at fault.
In all honesty, I don't think one is signficantly better to warrant a completely acceptable conclusion. I can vouch for all of them as far as detection is concerned, and personally recommend AVG on the basis that it is user-friendly.
Fun Zoid RPG
Hi all,
while on the subject, is there a good, free, anti-virus that can be launched from a Un*x system (say Linux) to scan attached Windows partitions (both FAT and NTFS)?
And is it possible to use Tripwire (or similar) from Linux to periodically scan Windows partitions? (say hooking the Windows disk drive to a Linux box every two weeks or so and lauching tripwire)? (anyone did that? I searched the net but didn't find much infos)
I tried the free AV route before on my parents computer and it didn't turn out well. Tried AVG and a few months later they we're getting popups for this 'red dot' or whatever. I go over there and notice AVG is totally disabled and non functional. I pretty much bit my lip and told them to go buy a real AV software package. Of couse Norton & Mccaffe were two off my list the quickest. CA's eTrust was what I used personally before but that software disables itself if you don't close down the computer properly. It kept forcing me to reinstall it over and over every time that happend. That and the fact they supported Sony's rootkit thing which I sent one hell of an email back at them saying I'll never trust thier service ever again. So now it was a battle between NOD32 & PC-cillin. It basically boiled down to how much of a resource hog they were and NOD32 won that one easily. So I tossed it on my folks computer and that damn thing cleaned up the mess on there really good. Seems like my mom liked playing games from MyWay.com and it placed viruses in these java applets that spread everywhere else. NOD32 did an excellent job not only cleaning up the mess but clueing in as to where the problem was comming from. She wasn't too happy about not being allowed to go to that site anymore, of course. heh :)
The bottom line? This free crap ain't good enough. Period. Don't use it.
when i still used winblows i liked fprot..simple..not a major commitment..easy to remove..and actually works to remove viruses. *not just for windows btw
I made the switch to AVG even though I never had a problem with viruses anyway.
I also used McAfee Firewall for a few years. I went with ZoneAlarm free the last time I reinstalled. McAfee and Norton can go to hell.
It's a perfect time for being wasted.
A perfect time to watch the stars.
- Burden Brothers, "Beautiful Night"
Viruses (virii?) existed back in the days that we did not have internet and they were little binaries that lived in the bootsector of floppy disks or infected executabled. Back in those days, the virous writer could only write a virus that did something but could not contact back to the person. So back then, virii were jokes and pranks by practical jokers. They would do something annoying, funny and maybe dangerous.
After the net, somebody would be STUPID to write such a virus. Any person with the skills and intelligence to write a virus, would create one that sits silently on the PC and opens a backdoor, trojan, etc.
So the only one who would write a virus would be mac a fee. Today people don't distribute binaries to each other. Almost everybody downloads their binaries from the vendor's site. So no virii here. And there are other ways to make malware. Trust me. You don't want to know.
The best antivirus is already integrated in every operating system available...
It's called "turn off computer".
About half my friends use AVG and the rest use Avast. I used to use AVG (v6) when it was a bit clunky and email scanning was a hack. So I switched to Avast (Free version). Avast is never in your face, except a voice message telling you that its "Virus database is updated".
Avast seems to protect well at first contact. It will alert and block at browse time if things are suspect and even things like sending exe's in emails will get a warning. Its also low on resources.
I was actually having a look just today at this very topic and came across this. http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.co m/
But of course (to me) there's alot more than just reviews stats to clinch it.
I have a friend who works for Trend Micro (PC-cillin) and its definitely a nice product aswell. From the above link and other reading it also seems that NOD32 claims to have the best ITW catch rate of any. I've heard good things about that too.
Not to cast dispersions, but in all honesty, one friend in particular who has only ever used AVG has a very tainted machine. He constantly runs AVG scans hoping to catch whatever is affecting it, but it never seems to get better. Admittedly, that could just be Windows XP for ya :)
But personally, like most people, I use what works for me, and tho I have voyaged to many a dangerous corner of the web (using Firefox mind you) Avast certainly gets an A+ from me (and all those I've convinced to use it).
I think I have run an Avast scan once or twice ever. I just rely on On-Access protection and everything is great.
The only brief freak out I had a few months ago was a sudden false positive on a Microsoft Visual Studio file after the virus DB auto updated. I was pretty certain it was ok, so I googled then emailed Avast Support and got a prompt reply saying it had already been fixed and to simply get Avast to fetch the DB file again. Presto problem solved.
No software application is perfect, and being a software developer myself I actually feel comforted by Avast's occasional automatic software self-upgrades (no reboots usually). So you know you are getting any bug fixes and performances improvements the minute they become available. Its a freshing change from alot of slow stale buggy software out there.
You certainly can't go wrong with any of your listed choices but I'm sure you won't be disappointed at least trying Avast.
Good luck :)
AntiVir costs 20 euros per year (less if you buy several years) and I'd say it's worth supporting.
:)
The free version is well worth using (installed it on everyone I know's PC) but paid for version has malware checking, pop scanning, better update servers, well worth the price of a few beers.
Also shame about ClamWin, can it be that hard to hook a real time scanner up to it? (oh and, before you ask, no I cannot write it myself!
Antivir works really good. I used in BartPE when I remove spyware and it usually finds things the pay scannners dont
My free trial for Norton is about to run out on my laptop. Norton has a firewall that has different settings depending on if I'm connected on my home network or another network. Is there a free firewall that can do this? I want to disable Windows file sharing when I'm not on my home network.
I have seen numerous badly infected machines "protected" by the free AVG. Used McAfee, Norton (you can get if free in the Google Pack http://pack.google.com/) and AntiVir on Windows. AntiVir has an annoying auto update - it has a popup that runs whenever there is an update, and it shuts down protection just to install definition updates. Very intrusive. I ended up choosing Avast! http://www.avast.com/ after trying it on Windows XP 64 bit. Good interface, great protection, no annoying popups - a small, semi-transparent popup in the lower right corner to let you know when an update has been installed, very unobtrusive. The only annoying thing with it is the alarm and warning when a virus is detected - easy to change the settings, but startling the first time.
I've been using AntiVir (now called the "PersonalEdition Classic") for almost couple of years and pretty much satisfied with the results. Performances where pretty good even on my old computer (P3@800) and definitely OK on modern hardware. They recently upgraded their UI which makes it slightly better, however updates seem a bit heavy and would definitely take a while on a modem. On the older version (i.e. past a few month) they would regularly update the program by having you download an full installer. Even though it was all automatic that was still several megs to get and the need to go thru an installer periodically. I haven't seen that on the new version so far, so maybe they upgraded their engine -- on the other hand the new version pops up a window with a news flash (aka self-advertisement, ymmv) every time an update runs and that's a big minus point. Over the period I used it I've seen it in action a couple of times.
Now the real problem here is that no end-user is actually going to seriously test these scanners (which would imply getting the lastest crop of viruses and feed them to your box to see what the scanner says, and that's very a bad idea unless your run it in a VM.) Once you have a full setup with firewall and after having ditched IE for Firefox of course, how do you know you are getting infected and protected? If you regularly get hit by viruses and the scanner kicks in, you should question your web practices. If you don't you just have to hope the source is trusty.
Your post was 100% worthless. But because this is slashdot, you got modded up to +5.
just a nod to the makers of avast!, have used this for years now. no hassle, frequent (several times a day sometimes) updates and all the features I need. this together with ad-aware have kept my win2k running fine for about 4 years now, 24/7 connection and no firewall.
"I've been looking to replace the McAfee anti-virus on my parent's XP machine."
A "parent's XP machine" has taken the same spot these days that "friend's sexual problem" used to hone back in the days of print magazine Agony Aunt columns.
Slashdot doesn't make a good agony aunt, boy.
Install Linux, Unix or buy a Mac...it comes with it..
---Free is my favorite four letter word...along with beer..but when they are used together..mmmmm
The virus.gr tests are generally looked down upon by security experts, they are so flawed that it's quite unbelievable a single person can make so many mistakes in testing an AV!
Have a look at the www.wilderssecurity.com forums, it is explained in detail there.
Please refer to good tests such as www.av-comparatives.org, which is run by reknowned AV tester Andreas Clementi, who is together with Andreas Marx of av-test fame the ONLY tester to be taken seriously!
I've compared all 3 myself in the past, and AVG is far and away the winner. AntiVir & avast are both much slower in their scanning, and avast launches an excessive number of relatively memory-hogging processes. AVG has the better track record as far as detection according to VB100.
Avast is really very good: it updates regularly, can scan mail, P2P, IM, downloads on the fly and, unlike many other background scanners, it is very light on resources. Spybot, particularly with the immunise function and IE protection, takes care of any browser spy/malware which might try to slip through Avast, and is also very lightweight. Spybot is free everywhere, Avast is free for home use, which is a major point. Of the free scanners it is certainly one of (if not the) most capable. The Pro version licenses are also very competitively priced, and it has a 30 or 60 day (I forget exactly) tryout period.
I have also seen AVG and AntiVir, but prefer Avast.
>i am an open sourcer and while i would like to agree with you there, i have to say that the linux i run is crud compared to win xp.
.java or a .php file. Can't do it. (There is a workaround and you can download WinGREP if you want.) On my system (SUSE 10.0 / 10.1 and KDE) I click on the geeko icon and type my search phrase at the top of the menu. Works like a charm. Let's not forget Beagle, which is supposed to be the best search/index utility out there on any OS. (I haven't tried it so cannot comment.)
t ml
l
Not in my opinion. In fact, WinXP was the final straw. I was very eager for "NT 5.0" and was excited when I first put the Beta into a spare system. Man what a disappointment! In fact, whenever I get XP on a system (I have it here at work) I am continually reminded how pathetic a "downgrade" it is compared to Win2K.
But that's another story.
>fedora core 4
I have very little experience with any Fedora product. The last RedHat product I used was RH 4.2 back in the '90s. I have Fedora 5 here but never used it. (I get free DVDs with one of my magazine subscriptions.)
> 1. probs with mounting usb disks
Okay, fair enough. Not sure what the problem is, but I bet the millions of other Fedora users would have been glad to help out. You might try www.linuxquestions.org or www.fedoraforum.org - both of those sites are very active.
> 2. no easy to use graphical search function like win xp
Heh. This one made me laugh. I am so amazed that people "like" the disabled (compared to Win2K) search function in XP. Just try searching for a text string inside a
> 3. i tried to copy from one usb disk to hdd and it corrupted the usb disk!!!!
Man that sux! I've never had this issue. (I have a growing collection of USB disks - currently in proud possesion of a 2GB deal I got last week.) Again, you would have gotten much help on the above-mentioned forums.
In addition if you're thinking of upgrading from Windows to a Linux Distribution, you should check out the following links:
Desktop Linux dot com - http://www.desktoplinux.com/ - this site has some
good informaiton for beginners.
Tux Magazine - http://www.tuxmagazine.com/ - this was supposed to be a
print magazine, but turned into a PDF download. Great stuff for people
like me who haven't a clue what they're doing.
Linux Planet has some cool articles...
http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/tutorials/
Then there's the big red N - Novell's Cool Solutions:
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/slp/
Then there are the forums, http://www.linuxquestions.org and
http://www.linuxforums.org
This is a great comparison of the two, though it is getting old: http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/Linux.vs.Windows.h
As for a comparison between Windows and Linux versions, you're in luck.
http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.htm
Enjoy!
Flame bait...bah!
The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
Antivirus alone cannot secure your PC. Don't forget to use Firefox/Opera (and raise IE level to paranoic) in addition with script blocking and all that stuff. Eventually, Ad-Aware would be nice to have. With this, keeping in mind not to open any suspicious .exe files in your e-mail, IM or P2P, you're safe. At least, I hadn't got any viruses for more than a year following this technique. I was using Avast by the way.
Finally, I decided to switch to Linux for ideological reasons.
Because it means buying a whole new computer.
Mac mini, use existing monitor. WHat is your time worth? Are you really saving money not buying them a new computer?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"The best antivirus protection is not to be exposed to viruses."
Yeah, that's like saying the best form of birth control is abstinence...How obsurd!
Shut the smurf up mothersmurfer!
"Why not a Mac then?"
$$$
Macbook is cheaper than a Dell and a Mac mini is a much more usable box with a lot of software for very little money, just use the existing monitor and possibly the mouse/keyboard.
The software included alone is a great reason to get parents a Mac.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
convincing my 83 year old mother that it's OK to leave an "appliance" on when it's not being used. It uses electricity, you know, and that costs money. She's also the one who doesn't have caller ID on her phone because that costs a dollar a month or so.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
I've been using AntiVir the past few months after a favorable PCWorld review:0 .asp
http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124475,0
Among the three free programs reviewed (also including Avast and AVG), its virus detecting was rated best. It's free; but, you must bear with the splash screens every couple of days.
What you pay is what you get. You should shell out those 70 bucks for a decent commercial anti-virus software. Security is pricey no matter 7ft negro bodyguards or computer shielding. Most linux buffs choose Kaspersky from the non-free sortiment.
I used avast and AVG with different results. Lately though I found that AVG is missing some infections so my main Avtivir is AVAST now. I found that often when when I check PC-s that were running McAffee or Norton AV after uninstalling those and doing an AVAST scan I can pick up one-two viruses almost all the time.
Also Avast has a basic malvare/spyware protection too and shields for p2p networks and IM protocols. I would suggest AVAST since it even does automatic updates, the user doent even have to move a finger. The lack of scheduled scans its not so important since the program constantly scans the drive while the PC is idle.
Linux.
Available to download in multiple distros.
May the Maths Be with you!
I'm a firm believer in a hardware FW/ AntiVir PE / Spybot combo for people that insist on using Windows...
AntiVir Personal Edition has been installed on my Mother-in-law's computer for a couple of years now. Her router has been set up to limit ports to the few applications she actually needs. Spybot is also set up to automatically update, search for and remove spyware on every boot.
She used to have constant virus infection problems until I introduced her to the product(s). She's not dumb, but she is ESL (english as a second language) so she doesn't always understand what the computer is asking her and occasionally clicks "YES" when she should have clicked "NO."
I used to have to remotely repair her PC using VNC on a constant basis. Now, it is almost a self-cleaning oven.
This might sound weird, but what AV product uses the least memory(and is reasonably effective!)? I use Symantec and it eats up quite a bit of memory.
So I was wondering if anyone has the same problem with AV products? I am sure some of the other products have a much lesser memory footprint.
Lord of the Binges.
Clamwin + WinPooch = Awesome Open Source AV solution for Windows Desktops.
AVG has been running on this machine for about two years now. It has a very easy interface (easy to understand, etc.) and can be set to automatically update and scan daily. I can't give my opinion on the other two, as I have not tried them before.
I have seen AVG clean viruses that Norton detected but could or would not clean.
You should check out nod32 for sure.
Most virus scanners protect against other malware as well.. worms trojans and backdoors.. I wouldn't bother with any other malware software.
I use nod32 because it was a very small memory and processor footprint. Every other scanner seems to turn any system, no matter how fast and how much memory, into a pig.
The problem I have with security software is that some people, ie, my father for instance, are paranoid and install some gigantic resorce-sucking pig like Mcaffee w/ virus, firewall and whatnot and some strange, *and* vaguely named prog named Webwasher. The theory I guess is that stacking security software makes your machine somehow even *more* safe. Well no, it just slows the system down to an unbearable crawl and causes security warning windows to pop up every 10 minutes.
Remember you have to use your system, not just protect it. So I use just nod32 and the built in windows xp firewall. Also most people behind a router don't really need a firewall anyway, the router is providing roughly the same function.
Some people will yell that you *need* a third party firewall for this reason and that. I researched them for a while and found that most were poorly configured and popped up false hits all the time, just training people to hit the 'allow' button automatically without even reading the warning. Secondly that *they don't work*. Even if you configure them correctly your computer can communicate with the outside world just fine. Any firewall can protect from incoming packets at the application level, but all an attacker has to do is hijack another thread and you're screwed. The only firewall that 'works' that I found was tiny firewall.. all the other ones are worse than garbage.
http://www.antivirus.comodo.com/ But read this http://www.emailbattles.com/archive/battles/securi ty_aadgdfdddh_ah/
In the last few years, I've been called on for well over 100 cases of spyware and virus clean-up on customer PCs. (I own my own consulting business now, and do it part-time, while working as a system administrator full-time during the week, and worked for a small on-site service business before that.)
.jar file, for example, AVG will complain and complain that the .jar is infected, but will never do anything about it. It's up to you to go in and manually delete the thing.
You'll get many, many opinions on "which anti-virus solution is best", and that's partially because people tend to rave about whichever product actually found and successfully cleaned their particular instance of getting a virus. (EG. If someone has Norton AV and it removes the Blaster worm for them successfully, then they're likely to praise Norton - even if it sucks at removing thousands of other virus infections, or has other major issues with use of system resources or conflicts with other software.)
I was always especially interested in the free solutions though. Customers who just paid you upwards of $80-100 to clean a virus don't like to be gouged further on your service call because you had to sell them some $50 anti-virus package too.
I'd sum it up this way:
1. All in all, AVG is my favorite solution. The software grabs AV updates very regularly, and seems to find many lesser-known trojan horse type virii that the others miss. The single biggest headache with AVG is that it can't clean a virus located inside a compressed archive file. If you get an infected Java file inside a
2. Avast, in my experience, does NOT find nearly as many infections as AVG does - but it sometimes finds a couple that AVG misses. I wouldn't feel comfortable using Avast as my every-day scanner, but it's worth running through a full scan on a PC you know is infected and you're trying to clean. They also offer a rather expensive, but useful product called "BART" that lets you boot from a stripped down XP install on CDR and run a scan, clean up the system registry, etc.
3. AntiVir, I have the least experience with - but I believe it's a product that has been re-incarnated from shareware products sold in the past that would scan/detect viruses, but wouldn't actually clean the results for you automatically unless you paid for it. If it's the same product I think it is, it did well at finding some very obscure trojans. Probably a contender, but I feel more comfortable with AVG because it's more "tried and true" for me in daily use.
and a good brain, I don't seem to miss having any AV. Last time I had a virus was around DOS 5.0 days. And I use Windows (although not for the firewall ;).
I generally find AV software to be in the way, generating conflicts with other software and generally slowing the machine down a LOT.
Been using AVG forever now, but it has let a few things through. Back a while ago when I was still on IE, a few of their security holes let some malicious exe get through and run without AVG stoping it. Luckily ZoneAlarm stopped it before it reached the net.
I'll be checking out this Avast thing as well, now that I know there are more than 1 free alternative.
Avast works great for me I'm runing xp@home believe me, I have gone to all the virus infested sires and my machine is FINE. http://www.outdoorsunlimited.net/
I'd recommend Sophos Anti-Virus.. it's quite nice.
Google it!
I was tired of Norton's hogging so many resources and decided to give AVG a try and haven't looked back. The free version does a very good job of protecting my machine and doesn't seem to use near the resources that some of the other anti-virus programs do.
I'm surprised to see no mention of Prevx (http://free.prevx.com/) in the responses to this query. They release their beta for free and it got rid of a pretty nasty virus on my machine, one that the Computer Associates anti-virus software that comes free from my inet provider largely missed. I'd be curious to know what other people have to say about this particular antivirus package.
...I'm only looking in anti-virus, I'll go elsewhere for firewall or malware protection.
Why? Because viruses aren't malware? (They are). Because when you say "malware," you're referring to spyware and/or adware that behaves completely different than viruses? (More and more often, they use the same tricks & techniques). This is like seeing one doctor for contagious diseases, and another for diseases that don't spread.
Buy a program that treats all malware the same. Then you're actually protecting a system.
Spend the money, get yourself a good scanner. My preference is NOD32 (http://www.eset.com) because it uses VERY little system resources and goes an exceptional job of catching viruses. Kaspersky is also very good.
I cannot imagine skimping on a utility that is essentially the difference between a working, and a nonworking computer. $30 is a small price to pay to cover your investment that may be worth thousands, depending on what you actually have on it.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
I have really had good luck with Clamwin. It doesn't do realtime scanning - so you actually have to scan stuff manually, or setup some auto scans. On the other hand, it won't bog down your system scanning every bloody little thing you download. Plus it is open scource - that is a bonus.
If you couple clamwin with winpooch (open source anti-spyware) it gives you incredible control over your system. With winpooch, clamwin can do real-time scanning.
I've been using AVG for about 5 years. It has been great and I've been virus free.
It never found a single virus, yet when I returned my laptop to the manufacturer for repair, they found 8 viruses, blamed the problem on them, and returned the machine to me without having fixed the faulty hard drive. Needless to say I was not impressed, either with Avast! or with them.
Both insightful and informative! And interesting too!
I've used all three. I've picked AVG because antivir has an interface out of the Windows 3.1 days and has to be manually rebooted each time it updates.
Avast has the annoying tendency to throw up popups even when I'm in the middle of a full screen app. Getting knocked out of a powerpoint presentation because it needs to helpfully inform you (along with a full page add) that it has successfully completed the twice-daily updating, is aggravating.
AVG isn't great. It noticeably slows down my computer, unlike every other virus scanner I've used, and I have a pretty fast machine. I disable it for +20 fps. It also doesn't disable very well.
I just don't see how in the long run anti-virus software can be free. An AV supplier needs a team of researchers, preferably with at least some number of analysts available 24/7/365.25, and if it is going to have a realtime Windows scanner it needs programmers with a good knowledge of Windows realtime filesystem internals, and they normally don't come cheap.
Personally, I find F-Prot quite good. Home users get 5 PCs per subscription, and for corporate users their volume licensing discount is very reasonable. YMMV.
sPh
Linux is the best free alternative to Windows viruses!
Where do the free antivirus programs get their virus definitions? Is there some open virus definition database or something? I think that Symantec has a team who writes^H^H^H^H^H^H researches new viruses and update the signatures. But who does that for the free projects?
Or try a different approach: http://www.sanasecurity.com/products/sc/features.p hp
Any suggestions for free anti-spyware? Pros and cons?
Can I bum a sig?
(Despite a few conflicts also managed to get norton running on same machine too. (would be ranked number 2)
:)and very fast
3. AVG - sucks. Didn't catch anything
2. Avast - better but no automatic scanning
1. Antivir - Ad poppup a little annoying and connects to remote server too much-- but seems to caught things others missed (other than NSA spyware
AntiVir is prolly the best from my experience, but I wouldn't give it to granny on account of the update popup ads that would likely confuse and annoy her very greatly.
FreeAv is nice overall, but I found it to be a tad sluggish.
Never used Avast, so I can't say.
Linux?
Oh wait,
it's perfect.
=)
Having used AVG and Avast! I would highly recommend Avast! over AVG. I ran AVG for about 4 months before I discovered I had at least one virus it wasn't catching. I downloaded Avast! and it found that virus and a few others. Also, it does great things even my parents Norton doesn't do such as warn you before you download an infected file. I can't speak to any others because I haven't tried them.
One other thing. I think you want a free one. Just come by after 5:00, and I will give you this one.
.
.
.
Oh! What? You said anti-virus??
.
Never Mind!
avast!
ZoneAlarm
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Ad-Aware SE Personal
I see viruses every day in my spam folder, but other than email delivery of viruses that are targeted at a specific mailer on a specific OS, where do you find viruses?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
clam do not have a on-demand thingygibbiribish.
Try that.
"If you loved me, you`d all kill yourselves today"
Spider Jerusalem
1. Doesn't hog system resources
2. Does seem to pick up viruses when needed
3. Updates by itself quite frequently and leaves me alone
So it does its job quite well, doesn't hog my machine, and keeps itself in shape. Couldn't really ask for more, could I?
I've been using Avast for the past couple of years and will soon be switching to another (probably paid) solution. Last week Avast found a virus that wasn't a virus. I used Panda's free online scan and 14 virii that Avast had missed. Not what I call a good record.
--- This
AVG Antivirus or Avast Personal Edition: $ 0
I'm not talking AV software (for which I'd use ClamAV on Macs or Windows). I'm talking the iLife stuff, like iPhoto or iDVD or iWeb. And TextEdit is even a fully functional word processor in ways that Wordpad is not. Mail.app is a pretty good mail program. And so on and so forth.
I'm talking about buying a computer and needing NO other software after purchase for the intended receiptient. Linux offers that to a greater degree though it's a little harder for people to use currently, the Mac strikes a good balance between software including and making it easy to use the whole system.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
8. AntiVir Personal version 6.32.00.51 - 86.55%
15. AVG version 7.1.371 - 77.97%
17. Avast version 4.6.744 - 76.93%
It doesn't appear that there is any free AV higher than Antivir, with the possible exception of the toned-down Bitdefender8 Free Edition (which I have never used).
?giS
I tried different kinds of AV tool. I would say any AV tool you choose in the market will do something for you, however they all miss some virus, especially the new emerging type. For a better protection, I would recommend to install a well known AV tool plus some special protection tool. For example, I installed both Panda AV and http://www.wenpoint.com/HiddenFinder in my Win XP. Panda can kill most known virus, and HiddenFinder can kill the hidden virus and spyware.
the kicker there is that there's no AOL client I'm aware of for Ubuntu, or any other Linux/BSD distro. I have a small company that provides dialup access and I offered to give her a free dialup, but that didn't work since she just won't get off AOL. "I've been using it from the beginning and I don't want to change.", she said, even after I showed her how easy it was to use, my dialup and Firefox. Oh, then there's the other problem. Mom's a gamer! Boggle, Bejewled... {{sigh}}
:-)
In fairness, she's never had a virus or problems with getting choked with ad/spy/mal-ware. Since she shuts down Windows every session, she doesn't have much problem with lock-ups and so forth. Anyway, she's my mom and I try to be a good son so I'll bite my tongue do what I can to make her happy.
"Do the Right Thing. It will gratify some people and astound the rest." - Mark Twain
You might also look at CA's eTrust antivirus. It's free for a year by going here: http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/ It's an active scanner, is light on the system resources and is backed by a fairly large company. It's essentially a commercial product that they're giving away. I use and recommend it.
the only time i do get into trouble with an AV software is Symantec's which is installed on my corporate LAN. it is a big nuisance; especially when it flags netcat (which i use as a tool for testing my network apps).
the question i'd like to ask the poster is that how has been his experience with mcaffe. why are you switching out of mcaffee?
Well...when I was being an computer assistance guy in my dorm a couple years ago, the university had a bit of a virus problem, and I learned a LOT about AV software. The university was running Norton. Whole campus went down for nearly a week. They eventually formated most of their systems. I was running AVG. Lost my box too. I tried Avast! afterwards, and managed to keep my box clean. I then set it up on someone else's machine who I knew WAS infected, and was able to clean it without formatting. YES, Avast is a resource hog, I won't deny the fact that it's the slowest of the offerings, but it is THE undisputed most powerful for eliminating stuff, from my experience. I haven't tried AntiVir yet, but considering I haven't had a single virus problem since then, and that I lived on a university campus for another year and a half afterwards with ZERO antivirus security on our side of the firewall, I'm pretty damn impressed with Avast!
Any Anti-virus program that has a pirate themed skin is good in my book.
-=Curtis=-
Coincidental timing.....I just posted a short article on freeware AV apps on my website. I've used AVG for years with no problem and have recommended it in person to thousands of people. I also wrote about it in my book. http://www.smartguypress.com/2006/05/smartguy-pres s-software-pack-avg-anti.html
Michael Shannon
Author "Computer Secrets I Taught My Mom" ISBN 0-9773105-0-7
http://www.smartguypress.com/
Author "Computer Secrets I Taught My Mom"
Does anyone have any experience in setting up these free anti virus tools as on demand-scanners ONLY?
I already have a scanner, but would like to cross-check my files with other tools occassionally.
However, setting them up so that they do not run in the background proved to be virtually impossible.
Alamost always there are some resident components remaining, and if I manage disable them all manually either the thing refuses to scan, or refuses to update manually.
I am considering setting up a VMWare virtual machine just for virus scanners
There's all manner of virus scanners out there - many of them very good.
For my parents - I'd give them AVG every time. Like most people they had Norton and like most people they couldn't stand the consumer version (corporate one is much better and just quietly sits there protecting - but I digress). I installed them AVG and everything was great.
Shortly afterwards their PC started behaving weirdly - and for once they didn't pester me (I think I might be slightly patronising) - and my Dad eventually coughed up for the full version of AVG (not sure why - I think he thought it was better than the free version and might help more). Anyway, it was cheap to buy the full version so he did. Mailed their support to ask for help - and they actually phoned him back, talked him through his problem and fixed it - even though it wasn't a virus.
In a world of automated responses, bloated products and clueless support staff - this struck me as quite remarkable.
Anyway, I whole-heartedly wish to plug AVG and hope Grisoft get the recognition I feel they're due.
I use my native virus protector, it uses no! cpu time and has no! memory footprint its called a root password. :)
I've had good luck with AVG and Bitdefender. I really didn't like the Avast's interface; it was so annoying I uninstalled it. I haven't tried AntiVir yet.
AVG is particularly good when setting up a computer for someone who isn't too tech-savy...I haven't had issues with false positives and it doesn't harass the user as much as most others.
FoundNews.com - get paid to blog.,
I saw this problem back when the OEM version of McAfee ran out (30 days) on a laptop I had just bought. And I was surprised to see that I could not simply purchase a 1-year subscription to McAfee, I had to pay for a full-install for a year--that cost more. So I said "fuck McAfee" right then and there. ...I ended up going with Norton, I am old-skool enough not to believe in free lunches and Norton shows a couple bugs but has worked fine so far.
Lots of people warned that Norton would bomb the system and be "uninstallable" (hadn't heard of regedit apparently) but I have been around long enough to know that ANY antivirus program can bomb an OS, and they all have. Some of that is due to the OS already being infected, and other times it's just bugs in the program, but one belief I do firmly hold is that any time you install new AV, you are risking the OS install (-Avast! bombed one of my own XP Home PC's into unbootability, for instance-).
But when I went looking, I found that it was very difficult to objectively compare AV programs. There's a few big ones and a hundred or two little ones, and lots of websites to reviews, but they grab one or two of the big ones and a few of the ones many people have never heard of and they test them. And every website tests a different group of AV software, every time they do a test. So the results are never really comparative across different websites, or even across two separate review tests done on the same website.
Ideally there'd be a website that repeatedly tested a large number of AV programs, the SAME programs with very little variation in the programs tested, once a month or so (and listing observed bugs would be good too). And then if one AV consistently came in near the top, or always did poorly, or worked but always showed lots of bugs you could form some real opinion of it. Elsewise, all everyone does is spout opinions and their own observations, "well I tried this one and it sucked, I tried that one and it was great". Everyone I asked online and IRL had tried one that sucked, and had tried some-other that was great, and they were all different and often conflicting.
~
Now that Frisk's F-Prot no longer has a free version (probably at the insistence of F-Secure), I recommend/install AVG on friend & family PC's. It seems to work fine, and everyone seems delighted with it after suffering through Symantec/Norton/McAfee hell.
I still really like F-Prot though, and on my personal laptop I use it, but both my wife and son have AVG.
-a.e.mossberg
Linux is not useful to most "average" users, because they end up wanting to run Windows software, and don't want to have to learn anything! Linux evangelists seem to have this mental blind spot that what "average" users tend to want is an OS that requires as little learning as possible and that runs commonly available retail (Windows) software.
Look at it this way: the price difference between Windows and Linux is about $100, for "retail" XP Home.
If I offered to pay you $100 a year to use an OS on all your PC's that wouldn't run any Windows OR Linux programs (or Mac, or any other you know of, or want to use, or are familiar with) would you think that was a good deal?
~
I agree(it's blatantly obvious innit) that experiences from individual end users don't carry much weight. I've been using AVG for at least 3 years, and the only times it detects a virus is when I present a file to it for analysis. How should I know if it works? I can only judge it for the usability and intrusiveness. The rest comes from reports on virus battery tests.
As long as you don't get AVG; It makes false positives, fails to detect real viruses, has an unfriendly interface and updates are both common and large in size.
Years ago I hated such AV programs as Norton, etc because of the heavy toll they had on my system. I use clamav at home now. I also use firefox which has led me to a great extension
"ClamWin Antivirus Glue for Firefox" https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/771/
Seems to work well. Basically all it does is scan downloads with clamwin. But at least it doesn't eat a ton of memory resources all day long. Another option for people anyway.
I no longer admin Windows boxes that aren't in a major university environment where I unofficially do support work because I enjoy it, not because it's in my job description. So I run whatever the hell AV they tell me to on the Windows boxes on campus.
However, when I did do official or unofficial admin work / computer consulting, not only did I use AVG, but my family did (and still does and digs it) and the same with many of my clients. Some even liked AVG so much they actually paid for the upgrade to the professional version -- despite using it in a SOHO setting where I think the license is vague as to whether or not you are requried to run a paid version.
As an OT type thing -- does anyone know if there's any previous standard for the use of "free for private, in-home use" when those computers are SOHO machines? In the letter of the license, I'd say it's legal, but I'm not sure it's in the spirit of the license.
I'm in a Unix state of mind.
Linux... you'll thank me for it
www.notesmax.com
I've being using Anti-vir for a long time and it's fine, but the auto-update feature has never worked very well. The ealier versions basically just were downloading the whole installation program and reinstalling it again, but it always asks the same questions as if it was a fresh install.
They reciently had a new version, where the auto-updater seems to crash the running version of Antivir and it never gets started again.
And finally the latest version comes up with some uncomprehensible message about updating a license.
I am going to dump it and try out AVG to see if it's any less annoying
Yeah, that's like saying the best form of birth control is abstinence.
Well, you know, there's all kinds of "safe sex" between total abstinence and dragging random users from a "shooting alley" and making out in the back of your chevy every night... which is where I'd rate Internet Explorer on the prophylaxis scale.
You don't have to go cold turkey on the Internet. There's a variety of browsers and mail readers and music players that don't use the HTML control that you can use instead of IE and Outlook and Windows Media Player.
Firefox.
Opera.
Kmelion.
Thunderbird.
Eudora.
iTunes.
Winamp.
Not Lotus Notes, though. Damn thing sucks the HTML control in if you look at it screwy.
the best antivirus is to just buy a mac :)
This is total bollocks (as a british friend would call it). So you don't drive a car with airbags and anti-breaking system because it increases your car's weight, therefore slows it down and you are a save driver???
Get real, even if you are without a fault, someone else may make a mistake and it will hit you. Someone else's computer gets infected and sends you an e-mail (with known sender) or a website gets hacked and has some malicious code on it.
My AntiVir consumes about 0% of processing power and I am willing to give up some main memory to be on the save side and have a little bit of protection
I've used them all and they all do the same thing. Avast is the one I use simply because.
I'm surprised no one seems to have mentioned http://www.clamwin.com/. It's open source.
Avast is the best. No question.
So where the hells is this "free" version of AVG? I haven't been able to find a download link on grisoft.com for years.
VirusTotal... it's free, web-based, and uses many different AV scanners: http://www.virustotal.com/
I had new IT guy go around putting this on servers and desktops without me knowing.... despite the fact that I licenses for Nod32. As soon as I put Nod32 on.. all sorts of crap was coming up. Word of advice to any sys admin, Windows or Linux... Nod32 is the best AV for both that I have used, works with Exchange, Sendmail, Postfix etc, light and damned effective.
If you add Winpooch to ClamWin, it becomes realtime. You also get antispyware, etc. from WinPooch. It's a good combo, but it can intimidate some users. I usually recommend ESET's for-pay NOD32 over everything.
[RIAA] says its concern is artists. That's true, in just the sense that a cattle rancher is concerned about its cattle.
I use Avast, and have had no problems. A couple of years ago it would mess up my system tray icons, but they seem to have solved that. If I am on my laptop and cannot connect to the internet, I get an annoying warning that the database could not be updated. A couple of my co-workers have AVG and all of their emails have a tag that "this email is certified by AVG to be free of viruses" or something to that affect. It is really annoying. I don't know if there is a way to turn it off, I am never approached them about it.
I use NOD 32 as my antivirus of choice. It has a tiny footprint (usually 9-12 megs) for active scanning - and that covers browser, email, and file system.
:).
It's $40 for the first year, and $27.30 to renew.
Why should you use NOD 32?
It's the antivirus software used in Microsoft's own software labs. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
They should know, considering they're the ones who know just how bad the virus problem is for windows. Ironic considering that they'r ealso the ones responsible for it
Since it's made by the chinese it must be safe right?
how does having plugins for various IM/P2P clients a plus? When something gets written to disk, it gets written to disk. It shouldn't matter what's writing it to disk, any new files written should be scanned. Does it not scan all new files that are written? Is that why it has (needs?) plugins for various IM/P2P clients in the first place? Makes no sense at all to me, disk activity is disk activity, and it should be taken care of regardless of what's doing the writing. If it isn't, well, sounds like a PoS to me.
actually, Norton Antivirus ranked best there, everything else, including AVK, got lower scores.
I've been using Avast! for about two years now, and will recommend it freely. It's damn slow for manual scanning, but its background scanning has never let me down.
Doubt.It, The comic
I looked at the bottom row, and it had the highest score there. My thinking was that this was the 'total' row, but in fact it was not. It was just for 'On-demand detection of polymorphic viruses,' for which it scored 100. The two rows above that were actually the total scores, in which AVK did indeed get the highest.
What a lot of crud to say and of course, this is the only comparison that really matters.... There is so very much more to be concerned with:
Size of memory footprint
Scan speed
Scheduled scanning ability
Plugs into email applications
How it behaves with other applications
How easy it is to use.
So NO that is not the only comparison that matters.
Go here. There are discussions about free versions. Definitely search andd read the FAQ since this is a common question.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
...but there's no handholding.
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
so how do you remove norton.
it has no uninstall.
Been using for years, never had any problems. Of course, I have to supplement that with adaware, zonealarm, but it works. in fact, the only problem is that the XP is breaking down (I used to have a context menu that was almost the length of the screen, but there would be a noticible pause when right clicking on ANYthing)
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
>What I can't understand is why people will pay $500-$2500 for their computer, another $200-$1000 for software, but won't pay a measly $20-$40 per year for an antivirus.
And what I can't understand is people complaining about a 10% price difference between a Mac and a PC but then pay 20% more because they need an anti-virus, anti-spyware and pop-up blocker software.
I know Macs aren't immune to trojans and dumb users, but still.
I must be doing something wrong... I have never purchased or used any anti-virus software, yet I've never had a virus or worm since Windows 3.1. I get some tracking cookies, but nothing else. I don't use ActiveX, I don't use scripting, I don't use html mail, I don't open attachments and I don't get spam or phishing mail because my provider does a great job of doing what they should do - strip them out. What are you people doing to get a virus?
She absolutely loved the Sudukos and other games that came with it, and uses it to check her e-mail and browse the web.
I think your problem is that YOU don't know anything about Linux, not your mum. Using Linux is easy once it's set up; it's setting it up that is the challenge.
The parent's (Score:3, Informative) post seems to imply that AVG Free Edition does not have real-time/on-access protection/scanning as a free feature, but it does. It's called AVG Resident Shield. From Grisoft's Get AVG Free page (WARNING: promotional hype follows):
Users of AVG Free know this (real-time protection) already, but I don't see other Score:3+ posts that make this clear to those who haven't tried it. It works for me, but I haven't tried the others, so I can't say it's the best.TO START
PRESS ANY KEY
Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...
I have to agree here. I used Mcafee's subscruption service for two years. I found their AV software to be extremely invasive and annoying. I had to disable about 5 programs from running in the background after every update...they caused many system crashes and problems with other software. Mcafee's virus scanner also disabled Norton Systemworks Integrater, even though I had specifically NOT installed Norton Anti-virus. I no longer use either Mcafee nor Norton software of any kind. Although I have used Window less and less since installin g Kanotix GNU/Linux about 10 months ago, I have used AVG free edition for over a year and a half on my Windows install. I have also installed AVG free edition on several customer's computers. None of the computers I have installed AVG free edition on has had any virus infections as long as the customers follow my instructions about updating often (I usually recomend at least updating once a week for home users).
As for the other free AV products, I have only tried Clamwin. I just didn't like it as well as AVG. I have not tried the others, but ease of use is important for home users (and a lot of business users who don't have an IT person to look after things for them). Basically if it isn't easy to use and easy to update, many people will just not do it. I am curently looking at free AV products and adware/spyware blocker/removers for Linux. Such things are not as much of a problem for Linux users (yet) as for Windows users , but as Linux becomes more popular (therefore used on more PCs) these things will become more of a problem for Linux users.
Windows Vista...the best reason I can think of for switching to Linux and FOSS!
I own a small business providing support to small business and home users and we have found that if a support call is placed regarding virus software not doing the right thing 9 times out of 10 it is Norton Antivirus.
Now when I say wrong thing I mean, screwed up while upgrading, refused to reinstall after it corrupted, (symantec have a tool to clean your machine up for a new install, even they recognise it does not uninstall/reinstall properly) live update refusing to work (very common one this), dramatic slow down of the PC after Norton install. The list just goes on.
Also do not touch AntiVir it has loads of annoying false reports and it can cripple your machine with popups when it finds a virus and can't fix it. (which seems to happen a lot)
I suggest AVG or Avast. )I personally like AVG because it is soo unintrusive.
Quick way to schedule a scan with Avast is to create a batch file containing the line
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashquick.exe c:
schedule that file with the task scheduler, creating new lines in the file for each drive you want scanned.
No different than what you have to do with windows defrag to schedule it.
Just remember to turn down the volume, I've had a number of people call me freaking out when the alarm goes off when it finds a virus.
Can someone please explain to me why we need to run AVG, SpyBot and AdAware, all three scan for malicious code, why can no developer create one fsking database with all the crap in one place and have it do the work.
Am I missing something?
The difference between a key-logger, a trojan and a worm and the next bit of crap is what again?
Bloody hell! I know this is off topic, but where else am I to bring this up? I've been using Konq for a while now and only now did I have a need to change the browser identification.
..
And yes, AFTER I CHANGED IT, the site actually worked much better.
What ident allowed me to use the site better? IE under XP.
MOST FOUL! Damn bastards
The sea changes color, but the sea does not change.
Maybe because air exists in natural state and computer programs don't ?
AVG has been awesome for me. I've used the free version for years, and recently upgraded to the pay version which gave me 3 years of service. On my parents 1.3GHz AMD Duron w/512MB memory there is no appriciable performance impact on the PC.
I know you only listed three choices but I recently downloaded a free, resident version of Computer Associates http://ca.com/ virus software and it is working well for me. When I downloaded it I was given a free, one year subscription to the AV software. I just did a quick check of the site and couldn't find the link. If I didn't have to go to work I'd do a better job of looking, but y'all should be able to find it if it's still there.
Me and my friends have been used avast for a while it's damn good, 2 updates for virus definitions a week, free, bunch of features, many languages, simple, light.. I've tryed macfee and norton.. This is way better..
Software is like sex. It's best when it's free.
Avast will pop-up a box that asks if you want to block the current incoming packets (it calls it a connection), so the virus does not even get written to the disk. So it acts more like a firewall in that regard.
I need a break!
I've been using and recommending Avast for years and have been very happy with it. The home users I support are reasonably savvy though, so the threat was probably fairly low.
t m
While fixing another computer that was known to be infected (multiple times), I plugged the hard drive into a Avast protected PC. A pretty brave move, but I was in a hurry to get a backup before I blatted and reinstalled. Big mistake though, as most would have guessed. The second computer was now infected and Avast alone couldn't remove it. It detected the troublesome virus as a trojan but couldn't clean it. It must have been missing a related file that was reinfecting the box. I thought I'd try Ewido (www.ewido.net now owned by AVG), a free trojan remover.
Ewido worked like a charm, but it took several hours to remove, and gain confidence that I'd cleaned everything (various SysInternals tools etc).
I'm still using Avast though, why? Because I agree with this article:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-vs-paid-av.h
No one program is perfect, and two different free versions are statistically better than one commercial one.
I checked the virus files on Virus Total (virustotal.com) and confirmed that I'd be in a similar boat with Norton, Symantec and McAfee. I assume these guys offer some type of free telephone support with their product, but this would never be valuable to me.
Avast is still running (active scanning), and Ewido is still installed if something strange happens and I need a second opinion.
When I started using Thunderbird, I discovered that AVG does not support scanning and quarantining of the inbox. Avast does, so I swapped.