What's the Best Anti-virus?

[3Colors]

Good article I was aware of that but there is more detailed. Experiment 2010 is interesting and lends itself to what I mean. Ok, It may happen that you do the work and others only from copying but that was because everyone was estranged. If one of each company were together(physically) working on group could avoid that. What's happened in 2010 was to have no good communication. That's something we're missing today


I was wrong about what footprint. The news said it was possible to steal a fingerprint from a photo. No digital footprint.

 

[Callender]

AV databases

But I always had this question. If all viruses that appear are added to the database of each AV. Why there is no global database so that no Antivirus left behind avoiding that one if it detects it and another does not.

Well for at least the last couple of years I haven't relied only on AV malware signature databases. Instead I like to get notified if any new unsigned executable that attempts to run with the option to block it after a scan via VirusTotal upload.

Nothing gets to run if it's a new file on my machine unless I allow it specifically:

​

Note: The software shown in the screenshots is my personal choice - not a recommendation - as it will only suit a certain type of user. It's just that for me it tends catch anything missed by my onboard AV. (Along with a few other methods of blocking malware)

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep well Callenders comments lends in my mind a great deal of credence to what I was saying while back in that one can be hacked at any time regardless of what encryption or safeguards one takes,

So I am beginning to think that while in the "old days" security may well have protected us to some degree but this new technology of simply listening in on and to as I said even encrypted electronic traffic, data and I suspect even implanting encrypted malware onto whatever device one is using be that a computer, phone, iPads etc etc ad nauseum makes us pay for and install free security suites in a way quite pointless in a sense, although having said that I suppose something is better than nothing .

 

[PC LIZARD]

it's what your pc likes.... i found the MSE works best for me i watch HD MOVIES....

 

[Layback Bear]

I think the Hackers are keep ahead of the Hacker Cops at a growing pace.

Which means the PC and phone user must pay more attention to what they are doing and where they are doing it. There lies more than ever part of the problem.

Some of the people I talk to know what brand of Internet security they have on their computer but none of them know if their is any security on their phones and they don't seem to care.
Give it a try. Ask your friends what security they have on their computer and their phone/tablets ect.

You don't need to be a guru to know and do Basic Security 101.

 

[3Colors]

These security problems in smartphones/tablets is for install several applications and visiting insecure pages, right ?
Before installing any application you need to figure out if you have good comments. And there are free antivirus like AVG for these media.

Not yet made the leap and I still have my cell without android without wifi

 

[DavidE]

As MoxieMomma has posted no program what ever kind it is will not be perfect all the time.

Malwarebytes Anti Malware is no exception.
I have been using Malwarebytes Free/Pro/Premium or years and I can only remember 3 problems.
Malwarebytes took care of those problems is a short time.

I would not go online with a computer without Malwarebytes Premium, anti virus and a firewall.

Hello Jack !

imho

MBAM is good at fixing false-positives quickly.
They are bad at fixing program bugs quickly, if ever.

Now they have issues with V 2.18 where real-time protection may not work correctly for some folks.
The MBAM GUI may show everything is working, but it might not be.
As far as I know, this bug only affects people that use a Windows Limited User Account.
They say "we do hope to have a fix for this in our next patch release which we're looking to send out just as quickly as possible.."

If MS puts out a bad update on Patch Tuesday, they pull the patch quickly when they see there is an issue.
I have no problem with that ...
I understand an update by anyone can cause unexpected problems, and MS does the best they can as quickly as possible ...

MBAM knows they put out a "bad patch", and now we have to wait for a "next patch release" to fix the problem.
So, how long do we have to wait for the "next patch release", days, weeks, months ... ?

When a security product does not "protect" as advertised, how can i trust or recommend buying/using this ?

I'm not impressed with their sense of urgency fixing bugs quickly (if ever).

Just my 2 cents ...

 

[MoxieMomma]

As MoxieMomma has posted no program what ever kind it is will not be perfect all the time.

Malwarebytes Anti Malware is no exception.
I have been using Malwarebytes Free/Pro/Premium or years and I can only remember 3 problems.
Malwarebytes took care of those problems is a short time.

I would not go online with a computer without Malwarebytes Premium, anti virus and a firewall.

Hello Jack !

imho

MBAM is good at fixing false-positives quickly.
They are bad at fixing program bugs quickly, if ever.

Now they have issues with V 2.18 where real-time protection may not work correctly for some folks.
The MBAM GUI may show everything is working, but it might not be.
As far as I know, this bug only affects people that use a Windows Limited User Account.
They say "we do hope to have a fix for this in our next patch release which we're looking to send out just as quickly as possible.."

If MS puts out a bad update on Patch Tuesday, they pull the patch quickly when they see there is an issue.
I have no problem with that ...
I understand an update by anyone can cause unexpected problems, and MS does the best they can as quickly as possible ...

MBAM knows they put out a "bad patch", and now we have to wait for a "next patch release" to fix the problem.
So, how long do we have to wait for the "next patch release", days, weeks, months ... ?

When a security product does not "protect" as advertised, how can i trust or recommend buying/using this ?

I'm not impressed with their sense of urgency fixing bugs quickly (if ever).

Just my 2 cents ...

Hi, DavidE:

<<<Just a home user here>>>

Thank you for your important feedback.

As you know from your thread over at MBAM forum, the issues with LUA tasks have been identified and are being fixed.
The software developers will notify users and release a new build when it is ready, either as a beta or as a release build.
Security software coding is not like the Mozilla Firefox rapid release cycle -- MBAM developers (and other security software developers) do not push out new program versions for each individual bug fix or even every 6 weeks. The programming and testing takes time. And certain bugs take longer than others to resolve, especially in today's complex computing environment, with numerous Windows platforms to test.
(In my own experience, for example, KL releases new builds only a few times a year.)

I'm sure the product team welcomes your feedback.
But it's highly unlikely that the MBAM Product Team or developers or coders will see your detailed feedback here in this "What's the best Antivirus?" thread at sevenforums.com (especially since MBAM is not an anti-virus).

Your comments and suggestions would be more likely to reach the folks who can directly address your concerns if they were posted in the "Comments and Suggestions" section of the MBAM forum.

Thank you again,

MM

 

[Diosoth]

I use MSE for the real-time protection and let it run auto scans once a week. I know the program is essentially weak, but it's part of Windows and free.

I use MBAM and SAS for scans and both have served me well. TDSSkiller is also kept on hand in case of a root/bootkit. I've used ESET but only when doing a full scan for a suspected issue, it takes some time. I also have Spybot on hand, mostly for the immunization feature- but it seems they update that rather rarely these days. I don't much bother with scans unless I know I have an issue because there is no "quick scan" option- it's a full scan that takes hours. I also mix those with Adblock Plus, NoScript and Ghostery under Firefox, which block out those nasty malware-infected ads. I did have Hitman Pro until the free trial expired, never bothered to purchase licenses though.

I just tried Comodo this morning and was 100% unhappy with it, and I was before it even did its first scan. I didn't like seeing 5 separate text boxes for unwnated program installs/homepage change and all that and despite unchecking all 5, it still installed their browser and something called "Geekbuddy" without my consent. That alone ticked me right off. The box that it overlays on the desktop annoyed me as did their constant beg notice to call a technician to finish setting the thing up. Not to mention I had to restart after the initial scan to "finish installation" before I could uninstall it. Even then I suspect I'll have to run CCleaner to get some of the program off my computer. I know others on this forum do use it, but anything that installs unwanted junk when told not to is not something I'll endorse, because in my eyes, a PUP is a PUP no matter what it is or who installed it.

 

[A Guy]

If you want an on demand AV scanner that is highly rated, install Avira Antivir and deselect active Guard when installing. The interface will say you are not protected when you open it, but of course you are still using MSE for protection.



You can still do a right click context menu scan of individual files as well



I run Avira scans with my weekly scans.

I keep the scheduler service on Automatic. It does not update or run by itself. I manually update before scanning. Avira does not appear in running processes unless I am updating, after updating until next restart, or if scanning



Does not conflict in any way with my Avast active oprotection when scanning.

A Guy

 

[UsernameIssues]

If you ever opt to buy Avira - do not contact them for support. I watched as they tried to scare/scam one of my users by showing harmless errors in the Windows event logs and then asked for $300 USD to fix that stuff. When the user balked at the price, it came down twice. When the user refused the final price, the support staff got rude.

I am confident that the user was talking to Avira staff since they processed a refund for the original purchase of Avira before starting the scam stuff.

The relatively minor problem that Firefox had was solved by uninstalling Avira.

Don't get me wrong: I understand how well the base app handles virus scans. It's the humans behind the app that I'm warning about.

 

[andrew129260]

Very Interesting, and concerning.

 

[hamneggs]

(Since this thread is old, I want to renew the free AV search)

Windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit

I’m looking for a totally free antivirus program that has no pop-ups or other ads. Currently, I use Avast free, but after a recent update it has gotten bloated and obtrusive with pop-ups. Antivirus reviews on various websites have different “top picks".

Just curious about what others are using with Win7. Interested in “free” only.

 

[ThrashZone]

All free a-v's have adds except for MSE and it needs MBAM Premium = not free.

 

[DavidE]

Panda Free can be so quiet i don't even know what it does without reviewing the logs.
You just have to disable "News" in the setup settings.

I use one of Avast Free, Panda Free, or others on different systems.

If you do want to try it
- Create a System Backup Image
- Use the Avast uninstall utility
- Install Panda Free

kick the tires, and see what you think.

 

[andrew129260]

Panda Free can be so quiet i don't even know what it does without reviewing the logs.
You just have to disable "News" in the setup settings.

I use one of Avast Free, Panda Free, or others on different systems.

If you do want to try it
- Create a System Backup Image
- Use the Avast uninstall utility
- Install Panda Free

kick the tires, and see what you think.

 

[3Colors]

Panda was one of my first AV

 

[mdd1963]

If you ever opt to buy Avira - do not contact them for support. I watched as they tried to scare/scam one of my users by showing harmless errors in the Windows event logs and then asked for $300 USD to fix that stuff. When the user balked at the price, it came down twice. When the user refused the final price, the support staff got rude.

This sound much more like the classic Indian tech support scam with "Windows Support Team" , etc., as opposed to legitimate Avira staff.....

YOu are positive your user dialed and was speaking with legit Avira support staff?

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Doubt it's false even Norton has their so called "Special cleaners" to use at additional costs,
Which all they are is mbam.... lol

 

[UsernameIssues]

If you ever opt to buy Avira - do not contact them for support. I watched as they tried to scare/scam one of my users by showing harmless errors in the Windows event logs and then asked for $300 USD to fix that stuff. When the user balked at the price, it came down twice. When the user refused the final price, the support staff got rude.

This sound much more like the classic Indian tech support scam with "Windows Support Team" , etc., as opposed to legitimate Avira staff.....

YOu are positive your user dialed and was speaking with legit Avira support staff?

The person that remotely controlled the computer was also able to process a full refund. When that refund came thru a few days later, we were confident that it was indeed Avira's support staff that pulled this scam.

The user asked for the refund first. Since it was a recent purchase, Avira's support staff did that without any questions asked. While Avira's support staff was waiting for the transaction to complete on their end, they chatted with the user. The user volunteered the reason for seeking the refund. The user told Avira's support staff hours had been wasted attempting to get part of Avira's software to work correctly. [The user had been using the paid version of Avira's software for years and knew what it should have been doing. The user tried for several day - hours at a time - to fix the issue before contacting me. I suggested getting a refund.]

After Avira's support staff said that the refund had been processed on their end, they offered to remote into the computer and get the issue with Avira's software solved. After messing with it for only a few minutes, they claimed that the computer's OS was too damaged for Avira's software to work correctly. As proof of this lie, they showed various harmless errors in the Windows event logs.

Once Avira's support staff realized that I was a part of the conversation, they asked if I was a computer support professional. When the user told them no - that I was just a friend - Avira's support staff claimed that the user's name would be added to a list and that Avira's would no longer offer support to this user - even if the user purchased Avira's software in the future. [Like that is ever going to happen.]



I realize that we might have gotten in touch with some rouge sub-contractor. I understand how this support stuff works. But once that purchase price refund came thru - I felt that I could safely/confidently retell this story knowing that the person pulling the scam had a legit connection to Avira.