Need Virus and Internet Security Protection

bpatters69 · 01 Sep 2015

Hello All,

I have just reinstalled Windows 7 Home SP1, 64 bit on two Asus laptops. I am using Windows Firewall and Microsoft Security Essentials. The laptops only have 2GB of RAM which is the bare minimum. I am probably going to upgrade the RAM to 4GB as 2GB is just not enough. The CPU is an Intel Celeron so not the most powerful processor either. The laptops belong to my neighbor and I am just helping them out. The laptops are used by their kids.

Anyway, my neighbor bought a subscription to Trend Micro and I installed it on one of the two laptops. Prior to installing Trend Micro, the RAM utilization was around 40 to 50% but once Trend Micro was installed the typical RAM usage shot up to 80 or even 90%. Not good. I know Virus and Security programs use up resources but 80 or 90% RAM usage is very high. I have used Norton on other machines and I am equally as unimpressed with Norton as I am with Trend Micro. I have McAfee Internet Security on my desktop and I have no issues. My desktop is an i7 with 8GB of RAM so the comparison is not really fair but I have also used McAfee on other machines and it works fine.

So I have three choices and I want some feedback from the forum on which one makes the most sense.

1. Uninstall Trend Micro. Reinstall Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Firewall
2. Install McAfee Security Suite
3. Find a decent free Anti Virus program and turn on Windows Firewall. Thinking Avast or AVG. Between the two, Avast seems to offer the best trade off for performance and protection.

For option 3, I do not think there are any free, integrated software suites that include Virus and Internet protection aka Firewall. Or is there?

Thanks

ThrashZone · 01 Sep 2015

Hi,
Big mistake you might as well reinstall again,
Nothing but trouble from Trend Micro or any IOBit products.

If you want better security just get Malwarebytes Premium and use any free a-v like MSE or Panda.

Second mistake installing McAfee

bpatters69 · 01 Sep 2015

"....Big mistake you might as well reinstall again...."

Meaning.. reinstall Windows?

Thanks, Bill

himv · 01 Sep 2015

I would choose option 3. Uninstall both the products. Do a thorough uninstall. You may want to use something like IObit Uninstaller or similar program. Once all is clean, Windows firewall and MSE will be active again. You may choose to keep them or choose another AV like Avira, Avast, etc. You can also get a good firewall like Comodo.

I use Avira and Comodo.

UsernameIssues · 01 Sep 2015

himv said:

I would choose option 3. Uninstall both the products. Do a thorough uninstall. You may want to use something like IObit Uninstaller or similar program. Once all is clean, Windows firewall and MSE will be active again. You may choose to keep them or choose another AV like Avira, Avast, etc. You can also get a good firewall like Comodo.

I use Avira and Comodo.

Any app from IObit has a poor reputation here. The company has poor ethics too.

Avira is fine at detecting bad stuff, but I would never install it on a computer that only has 2GB of RAM. And do yourself a favor: don't ever call Avira for support. They tried the scam of showing harmless errors in the Windows event log and wanted big bucks to fix them.

bpatters69,
You probably will not find any antivirus app that is as light weight as MSE. MSE intentionally does not look for most potentially unwanted programs. Use Malwarebytes for that. I would stick with the Windows firewall. You don't need a firewall app taking up RAM.

Let us know how it goes. You are a good neighbor

MoxieMomma · 01 Sep 2015

Hi:

Discussions about "best" security software inevitably evoke at least 11 strong opinions from every 10 computer users.
There is no "best" combination that suits all computers (hardware and software), users (computer skills, internet usage habits, preferences, and other factors) and budgets.

Others will disagree, but IMHO, the nominal cost of some of the paid programs (which works out to a few cents a day) is well-worth the added benefits for more robust protection/support.
And it is much cheaper than the cost (time and effort and misery) recovering from a malware catastrophe, data breach or other debacle.
While there are a few decent free AVs out there, most of them now come with a trade-off (reduced features, reduced or non-existent support, toolbars, or pop-up ads, etc.).

There are many unbiased, authoritative resources -- including information about the many free and paid AV/ISS options -- here: Answers to common security questions - Best Practices

EDIT: Regardless of which AV/ISS you ultimately choose, it's very important to completely and cleanly remove all traces of pre-existing products, using the vendor's removal tool, if available. AV remnants and leftovers, especially drivers, can lead to clashes/slowdowns/other performance problems, even if the program is "disabled".

As for IObit, you might find this thread interesting or helpful: Thoughts about IOBIT products - Good, Bad, OK?

Having said all of that, no one security application or combination of applications can provide 100% protection against every threat. As has often been said, the most important security component is the one between the chair and the keyboard.

Cheers,

himv · 01 Sep 2015

MoxieMomma said:

[/B]As for IObit, you might find this thread interesting or helpful: Thoughts about IOBIT products - Good, Bad, OK?

Thanks! Will keep an eye out for unusual behavior.

UsernameIssues said:

Any app from IObit has a poor reputation here. The company has poor ethics too.

Got it! Will keep an eye out. Probably block IObit uninstaller in Comodo so it doesn't ship information out. PS: I like the uninstaller though. Thanks for the heads up!

bpatters69 · 01 Sep 2015

Thanks to all for your insight. I understand that there is no right answer to these type of questions. If I were to summarize, I think the best option is to remove Trend Micro by downloading their uninstaller - if one exists. Step 2 is to turn Windows Firewall back on and find a decent Anti Virus program. I am thinking that Avast is a good option for Anti Virus based on what I have read from the sticky in this forum which is based on performance and ability to stop threats.

UsernameIssues · 01 Sep 2015

I would be interested in how well or poorly these low RAM laptops perform once Avast is installed. I'm not saying to avoid it. I'm just curious. I have not tested Avast in a while because none of the users that I support have asked about using it.

MoxieMomma · 01 Sep 2015

bpatters69 said:

Thanks to all for your insight. I understand that there is no right answer to these type of questions. If I were to summarize, I think the best option is to remove Trend Micro by downloading their uninstaller - if one exists. Step 2 is to turn Windows Firewall back on and find a decent Anti Virus program. I am thinking that Avast is a good option for Anti Virus based on what I have read from the sticky in this forum which is based on performance and ability to stop threats.

That sounds like a good starting point.
However, as explained in the articles found in that bleepingcomputer link, the current recommendations suggest a layered approach.
IOW, an AV + firewall (whether free or paid) is no longer sufficient for today's threats.

If your hardware will support doing so, you might want to add complementary protection against zero-hour & zero-day malware (e.g. with one of a small handful of real-time anti-malware applications -- there are no good free ones), and with the addition of anti-exploit protection (for example, MBAE offers both a Free and Paid version). (AVs and anti-malware applications target the "what" of malware, while MBAE targets the "how" of malware.)

And safe computing practices are the true cornerstone.

Ennywho, just food for thought, "take it or leave it".:)

Cheers,