What's the Best Anti-virus?

[GhulamAhmed]

hey all, i have to agree the best protection is the one sitting in front of the keyboard. like many I have tried a lot of the different free antivirus and kept the ones that work best for my web habits. yes none are bullet proof not even the paid ones. any virus that I ever caught was because I opened something up and bam there it was. yeah safe web habits is a must. poorguy

yeah, very true, bad habits leads to bad experiences ...

 

[monkeylove]

Following AV-Test results, I'm currently using 360 Safe.

 

[poorguy]

hey all, have never heard of 360 safe, is it paid or is it freeware. I am always looking for new freeware to try. poorguy

 

[GhulamAhmed]

hey all, have never heard of 360 safe, is it paid or is it freeware. I am always looking for new freeware to try. poorguy

they said its totally free forever
also available for mobile

 

[A Guy]

It's become quite a drama over whether it is working well, and will continue to be supported. Read the thread at Wilders, and it goes downhill at the end.

360 Internet Security: FREE Triple antivirus engine, BitDefender included | Wilders Security Forums

A Guy

 

[ICIT2LOL]

hey all, i have to agree the best protection is the one sitting in front of the keyboard. like many I have tried a lot of the different free antivirus and kept the ones that work best for my web habits. yes none are bullet proof not even the paid ones. any virus that I ever caught was because I opened something up and bam there it was. yeah safe web habits is a must. poorguy

Been saying this for a long time now even the big companies say they cannot keep up with deluge of malware that is posted every day. For example if I were to slip in some piece of malware myself it would take some considerable amount of time for it to be picked up scrutinized and then declared malware. If that process only takes an hour I am guessing it would find it's way into machines left right and centre before anything could be done about it.

I reckon that if they by "they" I mean the dedicated hackers or whatever can get inside government institutions like the Pentagon or NSA then what chance us??

 

[zapp22]

as said b4 by myself and others, in the current climate and as PC's become extinct [thanks to microsoft and the bloatware-inviting vendors], there is no "antimalware" that works, though 2 things can help:
- link-blacklisting browsers or add-on's
- winpatrol or something as good [anyone know of such? I do not].

other than these, the other "remedies" like 360 et al ad nauseum are just whacking-off, pardon the expression. those making/vending such products can see the end in sight, and they are not going to put the best minds working on such deadend "product". you're only going to get hackery and spamery to boot.

the other bright idea is what it has been for years: buy a macbook.

as to winpatrol... as a tech that folks pay to remediate their stuff and reco equipment & software, I regret not recommending and or installing winpatrol earlier/more-often. I have seen the results up-close. as silly as you may think the idea of the little barking dog, people who are utterly technically-illiterate can immediately grasp the idea, and save themselves money, time, headaches.
Instead of having to do call-outs or dropoff repairs, I may get a email or call saying "what's with this" a couple of times. once trained, the user's life is improved.

 

[Phill3990]

I'm very careful when it comes to browsing which keeps me pretty safe most of the time so I find Avast Free works for me. Malwarebytes is probably the best remover I have used and would recommend to anyone. Superantispyware is another decent remover which is very good at eliminating tracking cookies left by websites to keep ads going on your webpages. I am currently in the process of upgrading my security to include more firewalls etc due to the increase of scams and viruses in the last few months and felt the need to get my system secure.

 

[zapp22]

here's a little chum in the waters;
Note carefully what the writer/editor says about "never having seen".... it got my attention.
its xp, but ....
XP Users Can Still Get Effective Antivirus Protection

interesting

 

[The Howling Wolves]

Greg,
You asked me for my thoughts on this topic so here goes.

I use the KISS method:
Keep it Simply Safe.
1. I don't open 3-mails from unknown sender.
2. Very seldom links from even people I don't know.
3. When forward e-mails I use the BCC method as to hide all the addresses of my friends.
4 Don't venture to far from sites I am not familiar with.

The above posts, by all members, is close to what I do to protect my computer along with using WOT (Web of Trust) which is not a 100% lifesaver but serves its purpose.
I use MSE, SAS, MBAM and do a weekly scan with each to keep my computer safe and clean.

Each of us have different uses for our own computer's and have chosen a variety of AV's for preferential reasons.
The bottom line is there is no perfect AV that will save our bacon when we stray into the dark side.
JMHO
THW

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yep I am Keep It Simple Stupid too LOL!! only it is Kaspersky ISS plus a dabble with MBAM SAS ADW and even Emsisoft Emergency kit and Kaspersky rescue disk if I think I ma in real trouble.

 

[mickey12gauge]

Following AV-Test results, I'm currently using 360 Safe.

It certainly does the job!

 

[Otase]

If only microsoft could learn a bit from linux lol

 

[groze]

as said b4 by myself and others, in the current climate and as PC's become extinct [thanks to microsoft and the bloatware-inviting vendors], there is no "antimalware" that works, though 2 things can help:
- link-blacklisting browsers or add-on's
- winpatrol or something as good [anyone know of such? I do not].

other than these, the other "remedies" like 360 et al ad nauseum are just whacking-off, pardon the expression. those making/vending such products can see the end in sight, and they are not going to put the best minds working on such deadend "product". you're only going to get hackery and spamery to boot.

the other bright idea is what it has been for years: buy a macbook.

as to winpatrol... as a tech that folks pay to remediate their stuff and reco equipment & software, I regret not recommending and or installing winpatrol earlier/more-often. I have seen the results up-close. as silly as you may think the idea of the little barking dog, people who are utterly technically-illiterate can immediately grasp the idea, and save themselves money, time, headaches.
Instead of having to do call-outs or dropoff repairs, I may get a email or call saying "what's with this" a couple of times. once trained, the user's life is improved.

Pc becoming extinct I don't see that happening they are cheap. Mac are two expensive or I would have one. Technically aren't macs becoming more like a pc? Mac are using intel processors that are also in pcs.

The key is backup software, so you won't have to spend hours reinstalling your operating system.
Regular backup to a usb hard drive is good. I haven't tried windows full system backup, since the hard drive came with it's own backup software. You at least need to use some kind of protection for windows. Linux, Mac can also get viruses, spyware and adaware.

I am debating between MSE, AVG and Avast. There are pros and cons for each of them.

If only Microsoft could learn a bit from Linux lol

They have but still needs a some work. It is called UAC.

 

[Stephanie]

What's the Best Anti-virus?

Watching what you click and staying away from iffy sites

 

[HarriePateman]

What's the Best Anti-virus?

Watching what you click and staying away from iffy sites

Second that!

 

[lehnerus2000]

Opposites

If only microsoft could learn a bit from linux lol

The trouble is they are at opposite ends of the "permission spectrum".

Historically:

• Linux wouldn't let anyone do anything (even the owner)
• Windows wouldn't stop anyone from doing anything

 

[zapp22]

I debate whether macbooks are more expensive. If one keeps up with the releases, there is a "right time" to buy/sell/trade macbooks. I buy mac things on ebay [I do a lot of business both ways there], and sell them either locally or via ebay. nothing holds value like Apple techthings. ipad, macbook, even iMac's. given that they don't break much, have little bloat, difficult to attack, you don't spend a lot of time on remediation, and the low depreciation, they're cheaper than PC's imho. there's no tablet that has yet hit the market that is as well executed as ipad. yes there are some that do some things better [i have a galaxy note] but in general, for the untechnical masses, I stand by the comment.

however if one buys product new, and uses until all value is gone, pc's are a little cheaper, and worth every penny of cheapness. the current crop of laptops is awful - a literal minefield that is wasting money for the majority of buyers. newer desktops are almost as bad unless one buys the business class machines where effort is spent on quality controls. but desktop is becoming a very small segmented market of specialty-purposes.

the next gen of android-target SOC's and devices will make them superior to pc laptops in some respects. the only thing holding me back from nixing pc laptops is the dockability of my 'droid. the latest/greatest Note shows where such things are headed. Apple is not likely to follow suit as they don't want to harm macbook sales any more than the enemy is....

 

[groze]

Zap22, I hope your wrong about the PC desktop computer going away. I am using one right now to type this. One thing I hate about some mobile computing devices they require batteries even if you don't use the battery. I don't like the way laptops are designed if you get a big screen laptop, it is really heavy. I returned the laptop because of another issues and got a dell desktop. After some configuration problem, I got it fixed without any help. As long places require Microsoft Office there will always be some form of a windows desktop and/or laptop pc. I can't see small screens very well eye problems.

 

[remm]

If only microsoft could learn a bit from linux lol

The trouble is they are at opposite ends of the "permission spectrum".

Historically:

• Linux wouldn't let anyone do anything (even the owner)
• Windows wouldn't stop anyone from doing anything

LOL! That's what I dislike about Linux. Since I don't know UNIX or commands (the last and only command language I learned was DOS in the late 80s) I have to use LINUX blindly, praying nothing goes wrong. And when it does, I am lost. So aside from distro live drives which are fun to test and can even come in handy in certain situations... and setting my elderly mom up with Ubuntu so I don't have to perform maintenance on one more system... I have to say I much prefer the Windows philosophy of letting the user do anything. And if that results in vulnerability, well my response to that is that if Linux or MAC had instead been the #1 selling machine/OS instead of PCs/Windows, then MAC and Linux machines would be the ones overrun with viruses. There is nothing stopping hackers from writing viruses for Mac or Linux... it's only that the machines most used by businesses/gvmnt/people have traditionally been PCs running Windows. As more and more people and even businesses start using Linux and esp Apple products like tablets, the motivation to write viruses for these machines/OSs will exponentially increase. I'd guess the Apple free ride will be coming to an end in the not too distant future. JMO!