looking for a new antivirus

[Night Hawk]

I always keep a few things up my sleeve here!

 

[monster528]

so why would multi layering be a bad idea? i hear it from everyone, is it just a waste of processing power? or is there more to it?

also i DO agree that norton uses too much memory, its horrible, but the end result is that it DOES keep my system secured. its another reason im looking for a new AV program

 

[monster528]

oh there was also one other thing i wanted to talk about. this seriously happened to me i dont know how or why, but i would like some feedback on this from someone.

a few months ago, i decided i was getting tired of how slow norton made my computer, so i decided to uninstall it for a little bit to check the difference. my computer was noticeably faster after i uninstalled norton, afterwards i had to go help my dad move a few things for his work, so i was gone for maybe an hour or two.

:the computer has been on the entire time:

after i came back on my computer, a virus had already infected it, the thing was pretty bad, it opened up my control panel, and other windows folders, but they looked very different and they were actually links forwarding me to websites. it was the worst virus i ever had and there was no way to stop it.

after i had reinstalled norton and did a full system scan, the scanner found no traces of any viruses or anything of the sort, but everything had gone back to normal. do you think symnatec would infect my pc for the simply purpose to make me reinstall their antivirus program?

on top of that, what if i uninstall norton now? think it would happen again?

 

[Mike8]

AVG has auto protection and will quickly put problem files in virus vault (which you can also get back if it does the wrong thing). I have used the paid for version for years (that includes root kit and tech support). When removing norton and mcafee the uninstaller never removes everything which can cause problems. You may also need the full uninstaller (for use after the normal uninstall) which is available from the vendors site. AVG also quite often updates its definitions several times a day and the tech support via email is very prompt and they will stick with you until resolved (paid for version). M

 

[Night Hawk]

If you suspect your system was hit with a virus and the present av program isn't making the grade such as you saw with Norton there's one free system rescue program found to be quite effective recently for dealing with things like that. VIPRE Rescue - VIPRE Computer Recovery Solution from Sunbelt Software

When a bogus av program ad a friend decided to look at came in with the usual spam mail an I-Worm took complete charge creating a totally new admin account locking him out of the desktop entirely. The VIPRE Rescue Program removed the phony I-Worm and restored a normal OS.

By that time after some 3yrs. of not having adequate protections inplace it was too late already to save the present Windows(XP there) and ended up needing a clean install on a different drive until all his files could be recovered. What a mess!

Later once the clean install of the older version was up and running his also saw the VIPRE Premium installed and on the initial scan revealed several downloaders and numerous trojans mixed in the recovered files. They do offer a 30 day trial for that av program that will be quite a contrast to the "Norton bloat" as that is usually called that would be something to consider there.

I grabbed a summer sale back in late May once the new build was up and haven't had any complaints with it. With the firewall and antispyware protection included it's actually lighter on resources then the free AVG builds also not seeing the constant prompts to update definitions since all that is automatic and seen to almost totally invisible behind the scenes.

 

[Faladu]

Being free and excellent, Avast! is the one I recommend, just have to get codes through email from them, very simple.

I bought their full security suite including firewall for 3 PCs for 3 years of updates for $120. (they use a license file for easy installs across other PCs, I just have the .exe and the license on a pen USB drive).

I've covered what utils I use so many times already, search my posts if interested, many have been mentioned in this thread.

Just adding my .02 Avast! fanboy reply.

 

[CGA1]

I recently have gotten into a security craze, after a lot of research (and personal experience now) I find there is a 3 program combination that is amazing- Like many people have already said, MSE is the first I'd recommend, which that by it's self is a very good AV. If you want to go one step further, Malwarebytes is a program that specializes in... well... Malware! Lol. The last thing I recommend is the COMODO firewall. These three things work in harmony together for amazing protection. A bit of advice, I don't know for sure, but a lot of firewalls start to misbehave if you have more than one active at the same time, so I'd disable the Windows firewall.

Ha, my combo exactly, works very well here too.

 

[DirtRider]

I have never tried Microsoft Security Essentials so I just installed it on my XP PC to see what it is all about

 

[AussieGuy92]

its a good program and light on system resources. its a win win

 

[DirtRider]

I see it is light my XP PC is now much faster. I may just keep it on this one

 

[Petey7]

I recently have gotten into a security craze, after a lot of research (and personal experience now) I find there is a 3 program combination that is amazing- Like many people have already said, MSE is the first I'd recommend, which that by it's self is a very good AV. If you want to go one step further, Malwarebytes is a program that specializes in... well... Malware! Lol. The last thing I recommend is the COMODO firewall. These three things work in harmony together for amazing protection. A bit of advice, I don't know for sure, but a lot of firewalls start to misbehave if you have more than one active at the same time, so I'd disable the Windows firewall.

Ha, my combo exactly, works very well here too.

I still use the good ol' windows firewall, but other than that a good combo it is indeed.

 

[thathagat]

so why would multi layering be a bad idea? i hear it from everyone, is it just a waste of processing power? or is there more to it?

hi.......multi layering per se is not a bad idea...if you use a good realtime av...a good firewall...add some browser protection with say sandboxie...or go for system virtualization with shadow defender/returnil...this coupled with on demand scanners like mbam/hitman is a good setup with multiple layers and does not tax the pc in terms of cpu/ram/IO.... but using too many real time av/as scanners is not an ideal setup...they end up doing the same thing...and eat precious resources

also i DO agree that norton uses too much memory, its horrible, but the end result is that it DOES keep my system secured. its another reason im looking for a new AV program

nah.....the new line is very good both in terms of protection and resource consumption...you must give the devil its due.

looking for a new antivirus

1.willing to pay:norton/eset
2.want good free av:MSE
3.willing to pay and experiment new techrevx

 

[monster528]

good feedback guys. seems there a few mixes of opinion, but there seem to be a good amount of people with the same AV programs

 

[pparks1]

MSE user here. Also use Malwarebytes on occassion and Spyware Blaster.

With regards to your question about whether Norton played a trick on you when you uninstalled....I don't think so.

 

[bobtran]

I personally use Avast on all my pc's and also on my Windows Home Server. Avast has multiple scanners as you can see below, I especially like the way it scans downloads automatically as a part of the download process and you can manually scan any file at will by right clicking the file and choosing "scan <filename of file you clicked on>":



After 3 years I can tell you that the Free Avast for Home PC's is an excellent AV. Not one single virus yet on any pc that I service or own. Just register and get the key good for one year, when the year is up just get another one year key no hassle, no charge, etc.

If Avast is not to your taste then by all means definitely use MSE as it is also a good product and you can't beat the price.

Best of luck with whatever program you choose to run. May the force be with you.

 

[malexous]

$24.99
Newegg.com - Symantec Norton Antivirus 2010 3 User

If you still prefer to change, you have already been given an onslaught of alternatives.

http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html