Best AV out there?

With due respect Rich, it is because of my common sense and computer knowledge that keeps me away from MSE.

I have used it in the past and found it lacking in detection and removal of items once detected.

Then its best to agree to disagree. I have tried many, even Norton, I can get that for free and still prefer MSE in conjunction with Malwarebytes.
I guess I use them all in conjunction with Macrium Reflect, any big problem, I just use my image. Actually needed it twice.

derekimo said:

marsmimar said:

As others have said, it's really a matter of personal preference. Some people like Ford, some like Chevy, some like Dodge when it comes to cars and trucks. And I don't believe there really is a "best" product. If there was such a thing we'd all be using it.

This is the answer here. ^^^

But the debate will never end...

You are so correct Derek

richc46 said:

derekimo said:

marsmimar said:

As others have said, it's really a matter of personal preference. Some people like Ford, some like Chevy, some like Dodge when it comes to cars and trucks. And I don't believe there really is a "best" product. If there was such a thing we'd all be using it.

This is the answer here. ^^^

But the debate will never end...

You are so correct Derek

I will buy that. I think I made a similar statement in one of the many threads like this.

I like Dodge too.

There is one thing that MSE never does, that all the others do on some systems, and that is cause BSOD's.

I have seen several tens of these in the BSOD section, and diagnosed a few myself......AVG, Avast, Kaspersky, Norton, Macrapee, Avira, BitDefender...almost every single one. Why only on some systems, and not others, I cannot say.

This is another reason for recommending MSE.....if its the choice between changing AV or living with a BSOD, I know which most of us would prefer.

I wonder if it's because MSE doesn't use a detection engine as robust as the others? It relies mainly on definitions, I think, while the other use heuristics and behavior for detections. Windows may object to having its innards tickled by some security suites depending on how the user configures his system.

Norton 360 does have a lot of useless "Optimizing" tools, one of which is a built-in defragger and temp file cleaner, both rubbish.

"Macrapee", I think, is the same as MuckAfee.

Britton30 said:

Windows may object to having its innards tickled by some security suites depending on how the user configures his system.

That may very well be the case

Okay we all have made our choices, that's great.
The thing I don't understand is why after as many years that Windows 7 has been out why can't 3rd party anti viruses and firewalls developers figured out how to make their programs work with Windows 7.
BSOD do keep you safe; your computer won't work.
It's like a car that can't start pollutes the least.