Need an Anti Virus system

Anybody know a good deal out there? I bought an HP and the Norton trial is up, I'm looking for something else. Thoughts? Best one for your buck?

This probably belongs in Tech Yourself not FS/HD. If you [i1b9e500f36]do[/i1b9e500f36] visit that forum, you'll notice a handy little sticky thread at the top that explains a lot. This question has been asked/answered several times, hence the sticky.

http//forum.freeipodguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=67085

How about just some good old AVG Free....works great if you ask me.

Never heard of it, I checked out that thread, good stuff, never knew that was there. Thanks.

Moved... AVG FTW.

So, AVG 8.0 really sucks. I've noticed a distinct slowdown in general PC performance, since upgrading. I don't have a screaming PC, but I also don't use it for hardcore things. However, the AVGUpdate, and scanning module has really turned me off.

What's the best free anti-virus software out there these days? I'm looking to make a change.

I've heard similar about 8.0, but hadn't upgraded yet. It's disappointing since AVG has been my mainstay for years, and its claim to fame was low resource utilitization. Could it be the new anti-spyware they built in to 8.0? Have you tried disabling that feature, if possible? I'd be surprised if their AV engine is that much worse, I'm betting it's some new feature they've added.

I was looking towards Avast! as an alternative, it always seems to vie for the top spot with AVG among free AV.

I have a paid version of Kaspersky that came with my last motherboard, and it's highly regarded -- probably the only AV I would spend my own money on now.

My SO's mother complained about the slowdowns first; we thought she was daffy. Then I started noticing the same slowdown on my own PC, and have disabled as much as they allow - it's the update that kills everything, presumably because there are so many features built in, each which needs to update. Once the PC is booted, everything runs fine, but I don't appreciate waiting 3-5 minutes for my PC to be accessible, when I had it optimized to boot in 45 seconds.

[quote160e4f70c0="doylnea"]My SO's mother complained about the slowdowns first; we thought she was daffy. Then I started noticing the same slowdown on my own PC, and have disabled as much as they allow - it's the update that kills everything, presumably because there are so many features built in, each which needs to update. Once the PC is booted, everything runs fine, but I don't appreciate waiting 3-5 minutes for my PC to be accessible, when I had it optimized to boot in 45 seconds.[/quote160e4f70c0]
Ah, so it's not a runtime slowdown, but a boot-up slowdown. That's more understandable I guess. I'll have less of an issue with that, as I tend to power up and walk away for awhile, then leave my PC booted up all day, sometimes for several days. Startup time isn't a huge deal to me.

However as I mentioned, I have read others, who were fans of prior AVG versions, claim that 8.0 sucked. But I don't recall them saying why other than IIRC it was slower, which was what I assumed you were referring to. If it's just a startup slowdown, it's a nuisance I can live with.

I still may migrate to Avast! Free though, it's really popular as well. Now seems like a good time. Since this last refresh of Vista I'm running, I haven't yet put an AV back on it, and was hesitating on AVG 8 after reading some of the comments.

Kaspersky, still my favorite and loads faster than most.

i dont get why people need anti virus. Im a huge torrent downloader and what not and i haven't had anti virus on my computer for probably 4 years now, and haven't gotten a virus once. I only reason i reformat is cause i get to much junk and programs on mine that its just easier to earse everything. The only thing i do is not click on the "Rock em sockem robot fight" things they have on myspace and what not.

^ lol. So technically speaking, you wouldn't know if you even had a virus. ;)

Well you kinda start noticing the computer slowing way down and all the lovely pop ups when you dont want them starting coming up randomly.

Not necessarily. Viruses can hide themselves and you wouldn't have a clue as to what's going on.

I bet you he doesn't wear a condom because he will know when a girl has a STD.

STD free!!! But for a strange reason my balls itch real bad oops oops lol

[quote470ed94b44="N204life"]i dont get why people need anti virus. Im a huge torrent downloader and what not and i haven't had anti virus on my computer for probably 4 years now, and haven't gotten a virus once. I only reason i reformat is cause i get to much junk and programs on mine that its just easier to earse everything. The only thing i do is not click on the "Rock em sockem robot fight" things they have on myspace and what not.[/quote470ed94b44]
Unfortunately that's a popular, yet wildly naive, view that a lot of people have. I used to have it myself many years ago, until I was infected by a friend who gave me a file they didn't realize was infected.

Virii, trojans, and other malware are not always about "slowing down" your computer, or otherwise being noticeable. And I don't know what you've been torrenting, or where from, but if you get much from public trackers then you will run into more than a small amount of malware. Without AV, I would have been infected by files downloaded from a variety of P2P sources, and from friends, family members, and co-workers (unwittingly). Why do you think companies spend thousands of dollars on AV protection when most don't allow their employees to visit "shady" sites or even download files in the first place? Because there are numerous vectors from which a virus can infect you.

It's not a matter of if, but when, you get infected without AV, unless your usage patterns are so restricted as to be virtually locked down. Your comment about torrents tells me that isn't the case. You may be infected right now and not even know it, and the worst type of infection would be a keylogger or other trojan that is sending your identity out. Or acting as a DDOS bot.

Yeah, that's an extremely naive view to take, especially these days. Especially when running Windows.

if i ever need to use a windows AV then I use NOD32. If I were you I would just move to linux lirollseyesli

[quote25d73e75ed="doylnea"]So, AVG 8.0 really sucks. I've noticed a distinct slowdown in general PC performance, since upgrading. I don't have a screaming PC, but I also don't use it for hardcore things. However, the AVGUpdate, and scanning module has really turned me off.

What's the best free anti-virus software out there these days? I'm looking to make a change.[/quote25d73e75ed]

Antivir, if you can stand that daily pop up window urging you to update to the premuim version.