MS Security Essentials

There is no "best". Free, paid, antivirus or suite, they all let things slip by. If you like super simple, go with MSE. If you want total control, go with Comodo. You want something light on resources, with good detection, go with avast! There really is no wrong answer.

I personally use Kaspersky Internet Security, and sometimes I install AVG Internet Security on other machines. KIS is by far one of the best you can buy, but it can slow things down when doing a full scan though. AVG, to me, seems to be a few notches above MSE. The thing with AVG is it has MAJOR issues with false positives.... obnoxious.

Speaking of MSE, I know someone who works at the hospital here and he's told me that MSE is installed on every machine there. I winced at that because if there was code that could make its way into the system, it could easily kill MSE's process in Task Manager. That's my stickler with it though.

DBone said:

There is no "best". Free, paid, antivirus or suite, they all let things slip by. If you like super simple, go with MSE. If you want total control, go with Comodo. You want something light on resources, with good detection, go with avast! There really is no wrong answer.

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Then Avast it is.

Markmental said:

Maguscreed said:

A billion rewards doesn't counter the fact that among AV's it's the most common to cause issues in windows 7. More often than not they are full blown BSOD crashes.

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alright, what is the absolute best av for windows 7?

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Honestly I have yet to see one that just doesn't pop up with problems now and then. ...this could of course be because I'm incredibly active in debugging here.
The ones I have seen the fewest trouble posts about are probably kapersky and ESET. Though I don't use either personally, I haven't seen many dump files pointing to them as the cause of an issue.

The real problem is windows has a somewhat open nature compared to OSX+ and linux.
The thing a lot of these AV's are doing to try and compensate for that is blocking some features that while not used often by many people can become a real problem for others.
You trade off for just about everything, you can use an AV that provides the best level of detection and protection but you may suffer a problem with it blocking a proper system driver, protocol, or function at some place down the road.

While it's not a problem for geeks who can weed out the setting/trigger event themselves it is a problem for common users, which is why I stick to suggesting the one with the fewest known compatibility issues instead of what may be the actual best protection.

At the end of the day a good bit of commonsense will keep you from even needing the protection.

Most viruses are rather easy to clean out after all.

Markmental said:

DBone said:

There is no "best". Free, paid, antivirus or suite, they all let things slip by. If you like super simple, go with MSE. If you want total control, go with Comodo. You want something light on resources, with good detection, go with avast! There really is no wrong answer.

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Then Avast it is.

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Do a custom install. If you use a web based mail provider (Yahoo!, ect..), then don't install the mail shield. If you don IM or use P2P, then don't install those either. If you don't like gadgets, then don't install it. Same with the WebRep (like WOT) browser add-on.

It's your machine, install what you need!

The File, Web, Network and Behavior Shields are a must!!

I wouldn't be too concerned about that the systems in those hospitals are pretty well controlled, they are probably using mse because it's the least issue causing and they don't expect much of anything to sneak by the first layer of defense. Since not a single user in the entire complex has an admin account.
Most of the time those machines don't even have flash player and other basics installed to their web browsers. As we as having those net nanny type programs that keeps people from visiting all but the most rudimentary of sites.

Have had some experience with this recently because my mom was in the hospital.

for safe surfing I use Wot and McAfee siteadviser

You can dump McAfee all day long. WOT is just OK, and not a real security measure. Norton DNS ( Norton DNS ) is better then both WOT and McAfee combined, and it doesn't take any of your machine's resources. A layered approach is the best, and the DNS is a great 1st line.

DBone said:

You can dump McAfee all day long. WOT is just OK, and not a real security measure. Norton DNS ( Norton DNS ) is better then both WOT and McAfee combined, and it doesn't take any of your machine's resources. A layered approach is the best, and the DNS is a great 1st line.

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wow thanks it works well

You're welcome! Norton DNS is a great free tool, and for me, it's even faster then my ISP's DNS.

Markmental said:

Maguscreed said:

A billion rewards doesn't counter the fact that among AV's it's the most common to cause issues in windows 7. More often than not they are full blown BSOD crashes.

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alright, what is the absolute best av for windows 7?

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YOU are the best AV!
If you use good judgement on where you go and what you download you will be fine.
Don't know who sent you an e-mail or attachment don't open it.
Just plain old common sense will keep you and your computer out of harms way. IMHO
THW

I agree for the most part, but even the most secure and trusted web site can be hijacked, and infected with drive-by's. For that reason alone is why I rely on virtualization. If I land on an infected site, and my browser gets slammed, all I have to do is close my browser, and it never happened.

I do agree with you though.....almost

I am an employed with the local school system in my city. I have used MSE since it first came out and no have any issues with viruses or spyware, like most have mentioned before me I am a safe down loader and ony use trusted sities. The school system just recently dumped Norton and switched to MSE. Hope this helps with your decision. By no means am I an avid Microsoft fan, but there are some things that Micorsoft does right and a lot of things not so right.

DBone said:

This is the only site that I frequent that pushes MSE. I know why, as it's a forum that many Microsoft fans populate. OP, if you are interested in the best free AV you can download, check out Wilders Security Forums - Powered by vBulletin and spend some time there.

All programs have their pros and cons, and AVs are no exception. On other security forums, avast! is highly thought of by most people, and MSE is not. Like I said, I have 1st have knowledge of over a dozen machines running avast! Free, Pro and AIS, all without a single problem in over 2yrs................No, the sky is not falling.

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As to the security community, comments made by many security experts include removing Avira from the list of recommended programs. As to the Wilders community, on the whole, I wouldn't say they are very pleased with the direction Avira has gone. I suggest reading both the Wilders topic as well as the linked DSLReports topic. Avira Software Has Gone To The Dark Side

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DBone, you know enough to ignore the Uniblue and Credit Monitoring offering. With so many people easily duped into purchasing rogue software, how many will fall for the advertisements by the provider of their antivirus software?

Could it be that Avira has constructions costs to cover? AVIRA News - Avira opens new company building in Tettnang?

The project was financed by company resources and a loan from the KfW Bankengruppe, provided by Sparkasse Bodensee. The second and final construction phase has already started and will add another 50,000 square feet to the building complex, bringing it to a total of 155,000 square feet. The move-in-date is scheduled for early 2012. The second construction phase will cost US$ 12 million.

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See this is why I don't get personally invested in software. People just love to believe that what they are using is the best despite any evidence to the contrary.

I don't have that problem because I never become personally attached to a piece of software.

Corrine, I am definitely less then thrilled about avast!'s partnership with CreditAlert, and you can see my opinions on the matter over at the avast! forums ( ** INTRODUCING: NEW BETA VERSION OF AVAST - 6.0.1184 ** ). So far, avast! isn't pushing the service to its users. They made the service a voluntary opt-in service, and there will be no pop-ups or banners to nag the user, unless they opt-in. They had better keep it that way, or I will be installing a different AV!

Markmental said:

I be he said:

Markmental said:

i might check out comodo im just av jumping. try one uninstall it and try another one.

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If im not mistaken, installing and un-installing A/Vs is not that good for the registry. Are you useing a VM or Returnil for testing so you dont effect the registry? Do you have a back up O/S copy at the ready? If not you might be looking at a fresh OS re- install in your future :shock:

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I have recovery discs and It's a fairly new install. I deicided to ignore what people say and keep Avast

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If Avast runs fine on your rig, theres no reason to change. However i wouldnt completely ignore what others have to say

DBone said:

I agree for the most part, but even the most secure and trusted web site can be hijacked, and infected with drive-by's. For that reason alone is why I rely on virtualization. If I land on an infected site, and my browser gets slammed, all I have to do is close my browser, and it never happened.

I do agree with you though.....almost

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Sandboxie makes every A/V look good

I be he said:

Markmental said:

I be he said:

If im not mistaken, installing and un-installing A/Vs is not that good for the registry. Are you useing a VM or Returnil for testing so you dont effect the registry? Do you have a back up O/S copy at the ready? If not you might be looking at a fresh OS re- install in your future :shock:

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I have recovery discs and It's a fairly new install. I deicided to ignore what people say and keep Avast

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If Avast runs fine on your rig, theres no reason to change. However i wouldnt completely ignore what others have to say

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I know i think i just worded it wrong

I dont know if this will mean anything, but with most of the free A/Vs being products that come from europe, spain, etc. And the situation with the euro , it might be safer to trust the folks in redmond, wa.