Best Anti Virus If You're Not Going To Update Anymore?

[michael diemer]

Watching the various Windows Update threads here, I'm considering just stopping them altogether. I ran Update today, and after an hour of "still searching" nonsense, I clicked out of it, better things to do. I see now that MS is now using IE to sneak stuff in to "encourage" us to update to W10 (irritate us into it is more like it). Fortunately I rarely use IE. Instead, I use Firefox and Opera. (Also just installed Opera Email to get a leg up on the possible demise of Thunderbird).

So, my question now is, if you're going to forget about Windows Update, what is the best AV and Firewall to use? I want it to be low on resources of course. That has been the one drawback I have found with free AV. I don't use Windows enough to justify a paid version. I'm on Linux most of the time, except when composing, but I have W7 Pro on that computer and I keep it offline 90% of the time. So, for my everyday internet computer, what to use? I've tried Comodo, Avira, and Panda. All of them have caused slow starting or some other issue. I'm using MSE now, which is fine as long as you update monthly, but I don't trust it if you're not updating.

Many might feel that this is crazy, but I frequently see posts about how you will still be able to use W7 after EOL in 2020, and I see that others here are also giving up on the monthly update harassment. So I'm thinking you can do it, provided of course you are smart with your use of your computer, especially when online.

 

[indianacarnie]

I can't say I would recommend never updating, but I guess it's your choice. Speaking of "choice" that will be my answer to your question also.Every machine and user are different, with different configurations, programs etc. What may be "best" for me and my machine may not be best for you and yours. Me? I use Avast, tried just about all the other top rated ones at one point or another but Avast "just works" for me. BitDefender I used for almost a year, same with Panda others for varying time periods. Both Panda and BitDefender are very light on resources. I'm quite surprised in fact that you mention it slowing down your machine.

In the end you'll just have to try them out and pick which one works for you and your machine. Here's a couple review lists that may help you figure out what you want/need.

The Best Free Antivirus Utilities for 2016 | PCMag.com

Best free antivirus software 2016 | TechRadar

Good luck with your venture into the un-updated realm. I seriously recommend you rethink your position.

 

[whs]

I don't update and I use no AV program. For internet work I use a virtual Linux system.

 

[michael diemer]

Thanks IC, I have already checked out those links and a bunch of others. I am intrigued by Zone Alarm's inclusion of a a firewall. Is this a big deal? Or is using Windows Firewall just as good? I forgot, I have also tried Bitdefender and some others I can't remember. With an older computer, even tho I have 6GB RAM, I do value lightness on resources. One of the ones in PC's list also had password protection, another intriguing feature. It's interesting that different sources have different lists. I guess the best is to see which ones are always in the top three, and pick one of them, and hope it's light, non-irritating and effective.

From what I see, AVG, Avast and Avira seem to be frequently among the highest rated. Also Panda and Bitdefender (which sometimes had trouble logging-on, when I had it awhile back). Zone Alarm's is basically free Kaspersky, but very basic. I guess I'll pick one I have yet to try and see how it goes.

 

[michael diemer]

I don't update and I use no AV program. For internet work I use a virtual Linux system.

Hmm, I've never tried the virtual thing. But I use Linux a lot, so maybe I should look into it. I'm not sure I could use all my music software, however.

 

[whs]

Here is a tutorial I made on how to install Linux (in this case Zorin) in a virtual partition.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/278957-vmware-player-install-setup-zorin.html

But I am still using my base system normally. It is Windows 7. That's where you can run your music.

 

[michael diemer]

Thanks! As it happens, Zorin is my preferred Linux OS, so I will give this try.

Actually, what I would want to do is to run W7 in Zorin. Then run my music software in W7. But I'm not sure that's possible.

 

[lffoar]

Thumbs up for Avast free
Been using it for some years and never had a problem

 

[whs]

Actually, what I would want to do is to run W7 in Zorin. Then run my music software in W7. But I'm not sure that's possible.

That is possible. You can install VMware Player under Zorin.

https://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-vmware-player-on-ubuntu-11.04-linux-mint-11

http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Emulators/VMware-Player-6410.shtml

 

[michael diemer]

Oh, I just realized what you meant, whs. Your base system is W7. But you run Zorin as a VM in Windows, and that's how you access the internet. And yes I would then have no problem running my software in Windows.

One question, though: What if I need to update, say, a synthesizer? It seems I would have to use Windows. Still, that would only be an occasional thing, and so long as that's all I did, there would be little danger.

Or is there some way of downloading a file on Zorin and transferring it to Windows? I don't see how you, for example, convert a tarball file to a zip file.

 

[whs]

You still have full internet capability in Windows and accessing safe and known sites presents only a minor risk. But you can also download it in the virtual partition and place the file into a partition that is shared with the host system. I once wrote a tutorial on how that shared partition business works ==> VMware Player - Share Partitions Between Host and Guest

 

[michael diemer]

Thanks again, whs. I will be doing some research on VM's. Could be the answer I'm looking for.

Another question, though: On the machine in question, I have to first install Vista in order to install W7. In a VM, would I need to do this?

 

[whs]

The VM will not change the requirements you have for the host system. I assume this detour via Vista is due to the key.

 

[michael diemer]

The VM will not change the requirements you have for the host system. I assume this detour via Vista is due to the key.

Exactly. Now, how about this? Make a system image of my current W7, and install that as a VM in Zorin?

 

[whs]

If you can figure out how to restore an image in VMware Player. I have never tried that.

 

[michael diemer]

I am currently running a 2-3 hard drive machine. One drive has Mint (not currently connected); the other two both have Windows 7 and Zorin. (I have 2 W7 installs going because the original drive is supposedly bad and about to fail, but it never does. I installed W7 on the other drive as insurance against that expected failure). Now, it occurs to me that I might not gain anything by running a VM. I already have Windows and Zorin. I already do most of my internet work on Zorin. I'm using the W7 (the one on the good drive) to test music software. If I am religious about staying offline with it, except when installing and updating music software, I don't see why I can't stop the irritating Windows Updates. I'm doing the same thing with my music rig, only using it for music and going online only to update software. But I've been keeping up with the monthly Windows Updates. I was planning on using it indefinitely, past the W7 EOL date, as Sonar, my preferred software only runs on Windows. But if updating continues to be the charade it now is, I will stop updating it too. I will keep updating my wife's computer, however, in case anything bad happens. Then at least I can say that I did everything I could...

 

[ThrashZone]

Yea I believe M$ is tying the update system closely to the newest update clients and net framework releases
Which the newest .net is 4.6.1
.Net 4.5.2 isn't too bad but anything lower than that I've seen a lot of delays searching :/

Panda free or paid and mbam premium is mandatory.

 

[RolandJS]

Thumbs up for Avast free Been using it for some years and never had a problem

I've been using Avast also for some time now; just make sure one uses the custom / advanced install -- so that only desired modules will be installed.

 

[Emmar]

Roland have you had any problems with Avast in the last couple of days? I certainly have and they have no solution for it. I scanned my laptop and Avast found one virus and asked me what I wanted to do with it. It did not tell me what it was and I don't like to delete something from my PC not knowing what it is. I did delete it anyway. Then it started popping up a message wanting to reboot once or twice a day. I set up an account so I could ask question in Avast forums and no help there. Then I found out you cannot delete an account once you have set it up. They told me how to make a report folder, but it did not work for me. I downloaded Avira and so far so good. I could blame my PC, but the same thing happened on my desktop during the same time period. Also I was having glitches on my computer, settings changing for one thing. Since I uninstalled Avast I haven't had any problems. Oh, by the way, I looked below the restart pop up and and said in 10 minutes. Later I clicked the arrow and there were options for an hour, 2 hours, etc.. The bottom option was the next century. I clicked on that until I could uninstall it. They must have known it would irritate people. I wasn't the only one with these complaints.

 

[RolandJS]

Emmar. although I've used Avast for some years, the last two recent versions have been problematic to the point that I am uninstalling Avast after the 3PC-1YR license runs out in August. Avira AV Pro and Emsisoft AM provide the real time protection shields now. I really liked Avast for years! However, I am unable to resolve the incompatability problems.