Anti-virus software suite

malexous said:

Is the reason you don't feel safe with Norton because it is quiet or something else?

No anti-virus is 100% effective so if you don't already, it is a good idea to scan once a week with an on-demand anti-malware. Most use the free version of Malwarebytes.

Mainly because it was too quiet, but I guess thats good sometimes.

I decided, thanks to your advice, to get the free Norton that comcast provided. I figure free is good and the only thing it does not have is the online backup which I do not need anyway. Thanks again!

If I had my choice of a top 3 ....

1.) Eset Nod32 - the best I know of to date .
2.) Norton Internet Security - used to be bloatware but they have really trimmed things down now .
3.) Vipre Antivirus - little known but up and coming .

[QUOTE=Corrine;829224]

Dackz said:

<Start Lecture Mode>

With P2P file sharing, what means do you have of identifying or authenticating the source of the download? In addition, a file can be distributed among many hosts, and peers will provide for download the sections that they have already downloaded. This results in the distinct possibility of a distribution method in which malicious bits are mixed with with good files.

P2P programs form a direct conduit on to your computer. They have always been a target of malware writers and are increasingly so of late. P2P security measures are easily circumvented and if your P2P program is not configured correctly, you may be sharing more files than you realize. There have been cases where people's passwords, address books and other personal, private, and financial details have been exposed to the file sharing network by a badly configured program.

</End Lecture>

hooray for the lecture mode! that's what you get for having a p2p program in your system. i dont want to promote mine but kaspersky does its part in protecting me even if i have a p2p program installed in my system. so far, i did not have any programs with hijackers or malware installed in my system because kaspersky always does the job. there may be other programs just as capable or ever better than kaspersky but i really trust it with my files (files = life).

MSE is the best..

Guess I'll add my 2 cents to the discussion. No anti-whatever is 100% effective 100% of the time whether it's a stand alone or a suite. Depending on which review you happen to be reading, XYZ might be rated #1 this month and #3 or #7 next month. That doesn't necessarily mean XYZ has suddenly become a "bad" product.

I used to stay away from security suites. Just a few years ago it seemed that companies started out with just one main product. Either an antivirus or an antispyware or a firewall. Then they started adding things to be more competitive. Sometimes the flagship product suffered due to the add-ins and sometimes the add-ins were marginally effective because the company didn't have the experience dealing with the new component(s). And almost all suites eventually suffered from bloat and system slow-downs. Granted, most companies have solved the bloat and slow-down problems but people still have periodic problems.

Microsoft Security Essentials has become my personal favorite even though it's a suite. My laptop used to use about 110MB - 150MB disk space with individual anti- products. AVG by itself used about 80MB just as an example. Along came MSE and disk space dropped to 12MB. It's fast, quiet, and seems to do the job quite nicely. I run periodic on demand scans with Malwarebytes, Superantispyware, and Trend Micro's Rootkit Buster. My machine has been totally clean for about a year (when MSE went into Beta testing.).

One final story. A friend's computer recently became infected. She called Microsoft Support for help. After remotely connecting to her PC they ran their Malicious Software Removal Tool (free.) Then they turned off her anti- products, installed MSE (free), and ran a full scan eliminating several malware. Finally, they installed Malwarebytes and Superantispyware (both free) and killed a few more malware. They used totally free products and charged her $99 for their services. Moral of the story: if free is good enough for Microsoft...

marsmimar said:

...... Moral of the story: if free is good enough for Microsoft...

I've got me sleeping bag and I'm first in the queue for my free Windows 8!!

Fathther Jack said:

marsmimar said:

...... Moral of the story: if free is good enough for Microsoft...

I've got me sleeping bag and I'm first in the queue for my free Windows 8!!

Actually, the idea behind MSE (originally code named Morro) was explained in the original PressPass Announcement (bold added):

...This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs.
. . .

“Because uptake of standard anti-malware is low around the world, particularly in developing nations, the availability of basic protection for anyone who wants it is all the more important,” said Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. “By offering such basic protection at no charge to the consumer, Microsoft is promoting a safer environment for PCs, service providers and e-commerce itself, since it is through unprotected PCs that the worst threats are introduced to the system as a whole.”
...