Antivirus. Which to choose?

Layback Bear said:

Intsu said:

haha, nice linnemeyer For me i think i don't use any AV's because I'm not downloading crapp. no.. Windows firewall for me, lol

With millions up on millions using a anti virus and firewall what do you know the other millions don't know. Please share so we all can learn.

Maybe common sense? It's THE best protection and for sure does a much better job. But anyway, specially in Windows, I would really want to have an AV just in case, at the very least MSE to begin with.

Anthony said:

I did use Avast for a while but it seems to be getting a bit heavy with system resources, have now switched to Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows

Same here. Many of the new features in Avast free were redundant or not really needed.

ignatzatsonic said:

The most commonly recommended programs on this forum are probably Microsoft Security Essentials and Avast, with Malware Bytes often recommended as a complementary application.

The most recent versions of Norton have a pretty good reputation if you prefer to pay.

McAfee is the one most often NOT recommended.

There are dozens of threads on this topic in the Security section, available via a search.

Earlier versions of Norton were resource heavy and would throttle a computer. That's when I switched to the freebies. They were lighter on both my computers and my budget. I've actually have had fewer problems with nasties getting through than I did with Norton.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

ignatzatsonic said:

The most commonly recommended programs on this forum are probably Microsoft Security Essentials and Avast, with Malware Bytes often recommended as a complementary application.

The most recent versions of Norton have a pretty good reputation if you prefer to pay.

McAfee is the one most often NOT recommended.

There are dozens of threads on this topic in the Security section, available via a search.

Earlier versions of Norton were resource heavy and would throttle a computer. That's when I switched to the freebies. They were lighter on both my computers and my budget. I've actually have had fewer problems with nasties getting through than I did with Norton.

Over a decade of using Norton with not a single piece of malware and running as admin so perhaps it was you that let the malware through?

There is NO perfect antivirus. An antivirus may provide ample or sufficient protection but may degrade computer performance and vice versa. So it's best that you add extra layers of protection aside from your AV as primary protection: a firewall with proactive malware defense, backup (secondary) scanners, a sandboxing program, system tweaks and a backup-restore program. In choosing such programs, you have to look at its features first before doing a comparison and review. In selecting a firewall for example, you have to first look at its features whether it includes automatic (one-way/two-way) blocking, filtering and etc. This way, you will know how much protection can such software cater your needs. For secondary/supplementary scanners, you can have as many as you want to augment your AV detection rate for as long as you are capable of managing extensive updates and nags/warnings. You should also bear in mind that not all of the software you deploy are compatible with each other. One program may not work properly with the other. I suggest that whenever you install security software, you have to monitor its performance first. If it doesn't perform well then better uninstall and use software B. A sandboxing program allows you to run programs on a sandbox without affecting system integrity. I use it myself to protect my PC from viruses. You can know more about sandboxing here. Another way of adding protection is through system tweaks. Tweaks like UAC password, no autorun, etc. are very useful.

If you have the fear of losing your PC due to zero day malware attacks, then be sure to have a backup or image of its clean state for you to restore in case of an irrecoverable attack. Lastly, the best defense you have is your COMMON SENSE. It strictly implies that you must be careful especially when downloading software. The Internet is a vast place where we can have fun but we are limited from crossing to dangerous sections because of viruses in the wild. We should claim responsibility for the actions we take and not really put all the blame to our security layers.

Hope this helps.