What's the Best Anti-virus?

[Jesse Williams]

Yeah, I use Avast on my mom's 8.1 desktop pc, and Panda on mine and my sisters' win 7 laptops. Panda seems as if it picks up more than Avast though, as in cookies.

 

[Night Hawk]

I gave Avast a whirl once and tossed it! It lacks quite a bit. I had been in regular contact a few years back with a senior security analyst at one of Symantec's overseas divisions and have heard from people here seeing great results with the updated form of Norton Internet Security which I would put in second place with GFI's VIPRE Internet Security I've been running now since 2010.

VIPRE blocks bad sites with the web filtering included in the program's firewall which prevents 99% of most malwares not including things you download. When going to run a downloaded utility with options for McAFail trial or an IE toolbar it will flag the download on the spot "detected adwares" being the message seen in the prompt.

On one occasion once I was able to move the exe file for a scamware that blocked access to the task manager to another location and then booted up in safe mode to toss that VIPRE cleaned the bug plus the trojans it downloaded. In fifteen years this I would have to rate as a number one av software after trying out several others!

 

[zapp22]

you were lucky?
VIPRE Internet Security 2014 Review & Rating | PCMag.com

• Pros Antivirus aced my hands-on malware blocking test. Good score blocking malicious URLs. Simple, accurate spam filter. Bonus tools include Facebook scanner. Small performance impact.
• Cons Fair to poor scores from independent antivirus labs. Poor phishing detection. Old-school firewall program control turned off by default, HIPS and IDS features didn't take action in testing. Firewall easily disabled.
• Bottom Line VIPRE Internet Security 2014 combines a decent antivirus, a simple, accurate spam filter, and a disappointing firewall; it's all over the map. You'll do better with a suite whose components are uniformly strong.

I gave Avast a whirl once and tossed it! It lacks quite a bit. I had been in regular contact a few years back with a senior security analyst at one of Symantec's overseas divisions and have heard from people here seeing great results with the updated form of Norton Internet Security which I would put in second place with GFI's VIPRE Internet Security I've been running now since 2010.

VIPRE blocks bad sites with the web filtering included in the program's firewall which prevents 99% of most malwares not including things you download. When going to run a downloaded utility with options for McAFail trial or an IE toolbar it will flag the download on the spot "detected adwares" being the message seen in the prompt.

On one occasion once I was able to move the exe file for a scamware that blocked access to the task manager to another location and then booted up in safe mode to toss that VIPRE cleaned the bug plus the trojans it downloaded. In fifteen years this I would have to rate as a number one av software after trying out several others!

 

[Night Hawk]

There's one other thing that review misses entirely. That would be the mobile scanner for cell phones, smart phones, etc. in the compact arena there.

The firewall does work however. In fact that can be a little stubborn at times when going to add exceptions in there are not programs already installed on the system. You see that only mentions "blocks bad URLs" but not the fact that the web filtering is part of the firewall itself.

In order to get on a site that gets flagged when knowing it's not loaded with bugs I have to shut VIPRE down entirely at times. The site will be a http:// unsecure compared to the https:// you don't see when looking at some vendor's site like newegg being one example due to the higher security level. When the "s" is in there it's a clean site and when not seeing the front of the address that's due to an even higher security.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Exceptions seem to be problematic.

In Avast, you are supposed to be able to add an exception to an item that has been moved to the "Virus Chest" ("Restore and add to exclusions").
It never works on my PC.
I have to restore the item and then manually add the exception.

 

[Night Hawk]

I ran into the same type of problem here on a few occasions when evidently something too hard coded in a new download was blocked until I shut VIPRE down and had a look only to find some unwanted check box options I left unchecked until the app was on. Once VIPRE was started back up there was no interference when going to run the app.

No one word of caution in regards to scamwares is be prepared for those to slip right past any system protections once you click on some link or download something and then run it while being in the admin account. Usually an exe or other type of executable will take over the task manager as one of the more common targeted system options to prevent immediate shutdown once the rogue ware loads up with Windows. Some of these are also multiple platform bugs that can lock up your smart phone or android having a variety of installers like the FBI PayPal scam.

A friend's kid just got on his android phone a friend sent him a link likely for a media player and the screen was locked solid with the scare tactic that he was required to pay out $300 or face imprisonment. That one first appeared a year ago but is still making the rounds it seems. For pc booting up in safe mode is the obvious for the experienced user while tapping the menu button on a hand held for that type of safe mode or admin mode allows for manual removal of the bogus app.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Some of these are also multiple platform bugs that can lock up your smart phone or android having a variety of installers like the FBI PayPal scam.

A friend's kid just got on his android phone a friend sent him a link likely for a media player and the screen was locked solid with the scare tactic that he was required to pay out $300 or face imprisonment. That one first appeared a year ago but is still making the rounds it seems.

Unfortunately since Western Governments are getting rid of "innocent until proven guilty", these type of scams will increase in effectiveness.

 

[Night Hawk]

Well if the FBI or other law enforcement finds evidence(s) you broke some law your phone or pc doesn't simply get locked up remotely! They come knocking on your doorstep with badges and possibly a court issued search warrant when there's sufficient indication of wrong doing on your part. Simply trying to find a free app for an android or other device like tablet with an embedded OS like an mp3 player wouldn't be considered an offense let alone prompting the FBI to fine you. Parking in a no parking zone or a traffic violation or littering sees fines you pay at a court house!

The same goes for other fake wares that download bugs onto your system and want you to buy a program that doesn't exist. And there a site for report internet crimes like those you may not be aware of. Filing a Complaint with the IC3

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

 

[lehnerus2000]

It is more likely that they would download spyware onto your PC, rather than lock it.
If they were interested in what you were doing, they wouldn't want to tip you off.

Here in Australia, ASIO, ASIS, and the Australian Federal Police have recently been lobbying the Government for the right to do whatever they like, without having to go to the trouble of getting warrants.

Apparently, having to prove that they have evidence that justifies a warrant is too much of an onerous burden.

 

[james171]

I am using Avast antivirus and its working working very good Avast Free has some useful extras, too. It has many advanced features like browser clean up tool that removes unwanted add-ons.

 

[Night Hawk]

It is more likely that they would download spyware onto your PC, rather than lock it.
If they were interested in what you were doing, they wouldn't want to tip you off.

Here in Australia, ASIO, ASIS, and the Australian Federal Police have recently been lobbying the Government for the right to do whatever they like, without having to go to the trouble of getting warrants.

Apparently, having to prove that they have evidence that justifies a warrant is too much of an onerous burden.

The trojans that the rogue scam wares drop in with them are just enough to be seen by your av program due to how they are coded but don't actually do much of anything. The idea is they sound alarm bells with the existing system protection as part of the feat process iin order to get you motivated to pay out for the bogus software.

Once the bug's executable is no longer starting up with Windows all you have left is crud just about any lav or malware program will dispose of. That's the commonly type where you still have access to everything except your system protections being blocked along with the task manager. This other FBI PayPal scam however was geared to lock everything up including the Start menu on startup and why you have to boot into safe mode even on the hand helds where it was most commonly seen.

As far as eliminating the need for court authorized search warrants that would tend to lead to end up in what you would call a police state where the right to privacy in your own home has been lost. Anyone could then claim they have edvidence even when not having any and why the oversight of official sources like that would be lost. That would lead to bigger problems there.

 

[lehnerus2000]

It is more likely that they would download spyware onto your PC, rather than lock it.
If they were interested in what you were doing, they wouldn't want to tip you off.

The trojans that the rogue scam wares drop in with them are just enough to be seen by your av program due to how they are coded but don't actually do much of anything. The idea is they sound alarm bells with the existing system protection as part of the feat process iin order to get you motivated to pay out for the bogus software.

I meant Government Agencies, not malware writers.

The malware writers definitely want to attract the user's attention.

As far as eliminating the need for court authorized search warrants that would tend to lead to end up in what you would call a police state where the right to privacy in your own home has been lost. Anyone could then claim they have edvidence even when not having any and why the oversight of official sources like that would be lost. That would lead to bigger problems there.

Agreed.

The Government has successfully terrified most people here and it seems like they'll agree to anything that is supposed to save them from paedophiles & terrorists.

The Government (Right Wing) has just introduced new laws that will jail journalists if they reveal dodgy behaviour performed by the Government or its agencies.
They claim it will only be used to protect National Security, however the definition is purely left to the discretion of the Attorney General.

The current Attorney General seems to contradict himself any time he is asked to explain what he said the last time he opened his mouth

Unlike the US, we don't have any laws to protect us from the Government.

:focus:

I suggest that Avast users download the installer for the latest version, instead of updating the currently installed version.
I spent about an hour battling with Avast 2015 because its new features were running wild (continuously using 16% CPU).

The only way to fix the issue (on my PC) was to:

• Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features
• Find Avast in the list
• Choose "Change" from the Context menu (or click on it on the Command bar)
• Deselect a bunch of features/tools (I'm not sure what the problem feature was)

Presumably, if you use a new installer you may have the opportunity to deselect various items during the initial install.

 

[Night Hawk]

I think you may want to consider dumping Avast and all of it's apparent headaches and take a good look at VIPRE! A contact who lives in the Outback by the way was the one who referred me to this one originally and I found it sound advice. He had previously done work for MS on occasions and consults with various software, hardware, other engineers from various companies.

It goes right on fast and other then the one problem a few years back due to the auto updater you never run into these types of problems. Typically removing the old in favor of installing a newer version of some software has always been the most common advice heard. That frees up all system resources leaving them available for the next newer version avoiding any hangups. The same goes for Windows and any other OS where you nuke the drive and start over fresh when going to change versions.

 

[matts6887]

Ive been using AVG anti virus; and so far so good with it. I havent encountered any real issues using and running it and it was recommended by i believe it may be cnet editors as being one of the better ones they have tested and used.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

It is more likely that they would download spyware onto your PC, rather than lock it.
If they were interested in what you were doing, they wouldn't want to tip you off.

Here in Australia, ASIO, ASIS, and the Australian Federal Police have recently been lobbying the Government for the right to do whatever they like, without having to go to the trouble of getting warrants.

Apparently, having to prove that they have evidence that justifies a warrant is too much of an onerous burden.

Look as most of the regulars will know I have said for a long time now it doesn't matter what you and I do re security someone somewhere will crack it and what lehnerus says is going to happen whether we like it or not, because they have the resources to do just that. The alternative is to let the ratbags that threaten us with all sorts of dire consequences to do and say what they like with impunity and to disallow any law enforcement agency to not monitor suspect individuals is tantamount to utter stupidity.
I have no time for those bleeding hearts who carry on about civil liberties and their rights of freedom of speech and I would put money on those who are those bleeding hearts being the first to demand explanations as to why atrocities and personal harm has befallen them, or the country.
Frankly if you do the right thing why should you worry about this issue and also from another perspective the best AV is the person behind the keyboard.

On another note if one reads the comparison companies the tested AV's all differ from each other and their reports differ from month to month so what are you supposed to do in deciding what is the best AV?
Personally I have been with Kaspersky for getting on to five years now and it works fine for me and to boot it it is cheap too. I do of course run the on call scans and MBAM real time now that Kaspersky "plays" with it now

 

[Night Hawk]

Ive been using AVG anti virus; and so far so good with it. I havent encountered any real issues using and running it and it was recommended by i believe it may be cnet editors as being one of the better ones they have tested and used.

I ran with the free version of AVG for a number of years and would recommend it over Avast and some others. But in the same comparison it lacked the full version's own brother AVG Inernet Security when only seeing an addon security toolbar for IE some years back. Now when looking over a good number of programs at their own sites the second on the list is "Internet Security" for each program! That will offer a firewall with web filtering or should have web filtering included.

When you hear someone say "nothing ever gets on my system!" disregard it! They may already have bugs on their own pc that they don't even know about and that can include those that disable scripting in their browsers since stealth bugs can get right past that method. The well versed malware writers already take things like that into account. It's just one more thing that illustrates that there is no actual 100% fail safe av program to find. The better softwares simply offer the best detection processes as well as filters to keep most off to start with.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I did have an issue with AVG about 5 or 6 years ago, but I only decided to try something else when I reinstalled W7 in 2012.
I was annoyed by the stupid ad banner thing always popping up.

Next time I do a total clean reinstall of Windows I may swap back to AVG.
I have it on my VMs and it seems to do the job.

... and I would put money on those who are those bleeding hearts being the first to demand explanations as to why atrocities and personal harm has befallen them, or the country.

Agreed.

However I don't like the idea of being spied on by dodgy Corporate or Government personnel.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Avast 2015

The fix I tried a couple of days ago didn't actually work (post 972).

I was still experiencing weird issues after my Avast update (like only one type of scan being available).

To fix it I:

• Downloaded a new Avast installer
• Disconnected my network
• Uninstalled Avast
• Cleaned and defragged my PC
• Installed Avast using the new installer

My PC seems to be running much smoother and Avast seems to be running correctly.

One thing I discovered, whilst I had no AV installed, was that my PC booted up in half the time it normally takes.

 

[andrew129260]

This might help in the future:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/343783-avast-uninstall-completely.html

 

[lehnerus2000]

Thanks andrew129260

This might help in the future:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/343783-avast-uninstall-completely.html

Thanks for the link.

I had no issues uninstalling it via "Programs and Features" though.