Which is the best?

I don't think you can actually find an actual "What's best" but only what works best in certain things for you that is. Just because one program has worked out well for one doesn't mean it will be the one best suited for someone else's own needs.

Another thing to note is how well the support is for each. A review can show one program leading and the following month a new definition for another program sees that excell past the previously best rated. And then something new comes along and catches everybody offguard! "rotten bug!"

Keeping with what Night Hawk mentioned..."something new comes along...". And it does, everyday. How often, and quickly your AV updates is important, as the bad guys are ahead of the curve. Much is written for those with little, or outdated protection, because that is the easy pickings. But there are still those out there coming up with new exploits every day.

Some kind of behavior protection is wise, as it doesn't need to be told this is something new, and bad, but rather it see's what is being done and says, "that is suspicious behavior, I will alert you to that". Takes some interaction on your part, but a good program will only alert on things that could at least BE dangerous. A Guy

What you all said pretty much sums it up.

It's impossible for any AV to catch everything, simply because of the factors, such as when a new bug is released, it takes time for the AV companies to respond with a fix.

Then you have the "minor" bugs, the ones out in the wild that aren't widespread, but still doing damage. They might get attention after the big hitters are taken care of first.

It depends on how fast your AV is going to work on the problem & release a fix.

For the most part, I think it's common sense that prevails. If you notice strange behavior, investigate it. And keep your defs up to date.

I have seen it, several times, where people have AV's set up on their PC's and they say "How did I get a virus with this running?", then when I check the AV Defs, I find they are a month or 2 out of date.

Hey codyw,

This came from Dell (the McAfee) so it might be 10 (At least according to the Virus Scan Version). Not that it seems to make much difference.

I basically did this to myself, because when I was selecting the PC, it came with the option of McAfee or Norton. I know Norton gets decent reviews and I used it in the past, but I heard and noticed from experience with it was bloatware (apparently they've trimmed it down a bit).

Unfortunately, I opted for McAfee because several reviews said it was improved and didn't consume as many sys resources. But reviews change month to month.

I regret my choice now. I'm thankful MSE plays well with it. I'll more then likely leave it in or if Staples has a special on Norton I might snag that & throw it on. I have the McAfee disk in case I should want to put it in.

Note: The install disk for McAfee says copyright 2008, so it probably is 9

Hey, while we're at it, I'm curious if anyone knows a firewall test site.

I've been to Shields Up, it says all good.

But I'd like a second opinion.

Thanx

Borg 386 said:

Hey, while we're at it, I'm curious if anyone knows a firewall test site.

I've been to Shields Up, it says all good.

But I'd like a second opinion.

Thanx

I know someone who runs security checks on web sites that may know of a good site for this. I'll make an inquiry on it.

Here's one site for home pc firewall testing found at http://www.firewallguide.com/test.htm

I just tried on of the firewall test mentioned in the article. Right now I'm just using windows built in firewall and MSE. I felt like I should share the results. Note that I covered up my IP address, but normally it is shown to you.



EDIT: wanted to add that that site has many different test, but all are the same. Everything is in "stealth mode" according to the tests.

I took a chance at the Sheilds Up site out of curiousity to see what it would show there and ended seeing precisely the same results. I can see why Borg 386 is looking for another independent test site.

It's hard to find one that doesn't want a your e-mail address, for you to download something, or that actually works (the McAfee one only causes a error message, just like anything else by them).