What's the Best Anti-virus?

[Layback Bear]

This thread was started in 2010.
Still quite active.

Is it fare to say no one has found the best anti virus program that will suite the needs for all systems and users?

 

[Night Hawk]

Couldn't agree more since there is "Absolute 100% PERFECT" program to find! It simply doesn't exist especially when you consider there are new bug being worked on all the time with many geared to slip past the present array for av and other security softwares.

Now here's a favorable test done on VIPRE at the start of the year still showing that despite the best I have run so far it proves it sill isn't 100% fail proof and will have a few minor issues. Test ThreatTrack VIPRE Internet Security for Windows 7 | AV-TEST

 

[lehnerus2000]

This thread was started in 2010.
Still quite active.

Is it fare to say no one has found the best anti virus program that will suite the needs for all systems and users?

Perhaps this is one area where competition actually works as per the "Standard Model".

Since weird hardware/software interactions cause issue for things like browsers, it is reasonable to assume that AV programs are no different.
That is to say, some hardware/software combinations may degrade the effectiveness/performance of the AV programs.

 

[Night Hawk]

In most cases it always would seem to be the oppostie where av programs end up clashing with the existing wares when first being introduced onto a system. One thing I can state quite clearly is never having to have to shut down the av protection here in order to run some other program whether gaming, video capture, etc. since VIPRE has a very light footprint.

In the past however even with AVG at times the rule of thumb was to disable the av when running a resource intensive app. After years of complaints the companies realized they had to smarten up a little about the intrusiveness of their wares!

 

[lehnerus2000]

The first program I install is Macrium Reflect (so that I can create a "pristine" initial install image with no AV).
An AV is usually the 2nd program I install.

An AV that has issues with the OS, isn't worth installing.

 

[Night Hawk]

My interest as far as VIPRE became focused not on the av side but a firewall that included web filtering to prevent things from getting on in the first place. Once you get veered away from potentially bad sites to sites found clean you avoid 99% of the bugs most encounter from the start!

Others I have been finding are slipped into various forms of media site downloads to not only pc but hand helds leading to bigger problems like the 2013 FBI PayPal scam! Lately a friend's kid had just that on his Android he bought used off of a friend when someone sent him a link for some non genuine rock group site and bbboingggg...!!! nailed! The screen was locked up and before he brought me the phone to find the safe mode or administrator mode he took and shot it with a pellet gun!

But the lesson there is to be smart when it comes to the web! Email filtering is another layer to consider there to as well as .... ? Does your av have coverage over social networks? FaceBook, Twitter, and/or some other? Malware writers can be found just about anywhere!

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Couldn't agree more since there is "Absolute 100% PERFECT" program to find! It simply doesn't exist especially when you consider there are new bug being worked on all the time with many geared to slip past the present array for av and other security softwares.

Now here's a favorable test done on VIPRE at the start of the year still showing that despite the best I have run so far it proves it sill isn't 100% fail proof and will have a few minor issues. Test ThreatTrack VIPRE Internet Security for Windows 7 | AV-TEST

Totally agree and have done for years he best AV is working the keyboard. There can never be a perfect one simply because of the stream of malware that pours out everyday and you have got to be a genius to first guess what it will be.

 

[Night Hawk]

Scam wares can be the worst at times not since they are that difficult to manually remove but since there is no forewarning! The av program or other protections are immobilized upon you "clicking on something" that delivers a blow like Mohamed Ali! BOOM!

I cleaned off a friend's laptop a few times from some of those that locked up the task manager and discovered the exe bug file it was calling itself the "Windows Process Doctor" blocking the TM and moved that from one folder to another when not able to delete it on the spot. It was buried in one of the user account sub folders. Once in safe mode bye bye bug!

From there VIPRE being on that laptop (showing how even the best web filtering is never 100% fool proof either while one of the better ideas) was then able to clean off the four phoney trojans that weren't any actual problem just emtry files and the rogue gui part where you see the most buy fake program that doesn't even exist to clean the phony trojans off of machine! They got you if you swallow the line of crud!

In most cases easier when having web access with a second machine of course someone will have run into one of these and wrote some useless removal instructions for both pc desktop, laptop, tablet, embedded OS units as welll cellular, smart, IPhonies type hand helds.

With the number of av software companies now deciding to make strides sometimes pooling bug information malware writers are looking for other avenues to bug bomb the users with. And it isn't limited to just Windows systems either! A good portion of what is now being seen in the last year or so is now multiple OS as well as multiple platform. They are trying to cover all bases!

 

[lehnerus2000]

I run <censored> and <censored> to block unwanted web content.

 

[Layback Bear]

Of course their will never be a perfect AV program. It is nice to see companies trying to be better than the other guy. We end up with better AV programs.

In my opinion more attention should be directed towards informing the general public about needed security. People reading this forum and others like it have some sort of idea the importance of security.

Now how to do that is the question.
If someone doesn't want to learn they can't be tought. A lot of advertisement would help but who pays for it?

The bad guys have a upper hand.
They take the time to learn their trade of infecting computers. Their opponents won't even take the time to boot their computer.
Those that are lost but don't take the time to find their way will be lost forever.
Most computers users are lost.

Note: The word computer in this post = all computing devices.

 

[groze]

I blame the malicious stuff you can download by just clicking a download button, that looks legit. I know some legit web pages it is hard to find the legit download link without clicking on the malicious stuff.

 

[Night Hawk]

Ohhhh I think you are onto something there! I can't say just where but especially at gaming sites if you click the wrong button you wouldn't get a Steam game mod for example but the trial version of something else. It's an old tactic to get people to buy something unwanted!

If you run a search on a particular Windows error you often run into some registry program that someone may even recommend from having bought the same but not the actual solution for the particular error you may be experiencing on your own system. At other times you may arrive at a site where you have to pay for a subscription to view the answer for a similar if not exact same question regarding some error being a form of sales gimic.

One thing I have been noticing lately is the need to click on the "allow cookies" button when arriving at some sites during a general web search and decline automatically and simply back away from the site in question. That prevents any spyware bugs or tracking cookies from being placed on the system.

One of the reasons I will continue to stay with the present form of internet security used here is the web filtering will often block new windows when arriving at a site and flagging external links from the site. The pages are blocked for security reasons when the program detects certain forms of embedded coding in them.

 

[miket82]

Started with MS Security then to AVG free.

Then, like most S/W houses they got carried away with their success and it became bloated. So I switched back to MS Security Essentials. Then I was taken in by the reviews for Bit Defender so parted for the first time with actual cash. What a total disaster, all 3 (and different) machines had the same problems so I went back to MS. Peace at last.

Over the years I have tried most of the free offerings but didn't like the resources some demanded, front ends were amateurish, were obscure in workings or didn't inspire me with confidence. I also run MS on publicly available machines where I have limited control of user antics and have yet to experience bad stuff happening. In fact, in over 30 years usage only once have I received a call asking for help when an accounts clerk asked me whether it was normal for the text she was reading to start falling off the screen like rain. OK, it was a CP/M based PC and the problem was more amusing than dangerous but I say it as it was. Now, either I have been very lucky or others are going to places they really shouldn't and are essentially opening their door to strangers.

I tell a lie, I did some work in Indonesia some years ago and the first thing I did was remove some 800 nasties from a single PC. Guess what, most of those infections could be traced back to files transferred from government sites via a flash drive. Lesson, trust no body, regardless of their apparent credentials. I also ran a network where some pretty clever inmates did their best to beat the system and failed. Admittedly before GCHQ and NSA started their nefarious activities. My advice, choose whatever works for you, don't go into dark places, and assume there are people out there waiting for you to leave the door open. It's a wild west out there and there is always someone looking to be the next fastest gun in the west.

 

[Night Hawk]

Most newer or newer versions of the best av programs will automatically prompt you about scanning flash drives and other external devices like cell phones and cameras upon the initial detection when first plugged in. I was pointed at VIPRE by someone in the industry as well as a mechanical engineer that had done work for MS when he offered an evaluaion on it.

A few years back I had to clean one scam ware off a laptop that had the gui of the Advanced System Care freebie app some were familiar with having the name of "Security Essentials" trying to mock the MS program by name. BUT! That was the one I was mentioning before that download four fake trojans with the prompt that you had to buy a program that didn't even exist!

While AVG started getting larger in size even for the free version they were about the first besides Crawler to introduce web filtering in the form of an IE toolbar addon. But! I never did care for IE addons excepr for the Bing toolbar option since that is MS!

The free 30 day trial version of VIPRE works under a temp as the full retail product unlike the free versions of many program giving that one an A Plus rating. But the real besides having the best rated programs is "Multiple Layering" of system security while most av programs won't allow for any second av type program.

Nothing is ever 100% against the ever growing number of malwares being cleverly developed to bypass all known programs. Bug writers always seem to manage to find loop holes regardless of what program(s) you have! Being selective as well as cautious with what goes on flash drives like other removable devices often with any additional SD or other memory cards is one advice to help avoid the spread of any bugs! Keeping off of the web and not using any seems to be one solution that prevails for total isolation. No fun there however! :roflmao:

 

[shadow2201]

It's interesting reading through this thread. I myself use Avast, and have had 0 issues with it whatsoever. I also like Norton and never noticed it hogging any of my resources when it ran, so can't comment on that part of why people hate it. As has been said a million times already, there is no perfect AV, you just have to find the one that's right for you and how you compute, no one can make you happy with their pick, only you can really decide which one is best for you.

 

[Night Hawk]

I think the most likely reason for Norton getting the "bloated" rep is very the same as what Vista saw initially with people running systems with less then 2gb of memory compared to most now running 4gb or above! On those old pcs with only 256mb, 512mb, or a pair of 512s the Norton av or Symantec System Works were larger programs with the lesser amount of available ram.

Once you got into something with 2, 3, 4gb or more you hardly noticed it. The same would seem to apply to the predecessor to W7 as far as the minimum requirements not having been set high enough to match the OS there. W7 on the other hand just like the newer versions of these same softwares was reworked at the core levels in order to perform more efficiently.

Once I was able to get into a 64bit OS the ball had already changed a bit there with companies rethinking things as far as their av programs. Despite which program free or paid I've had on over the years I still seemed more or less bug free only getting an occasional pest. On the other hand I have to advise some people to run what I have on now since their kids manage to find all of the bugs I end up cleaning off!

 

[jonnyhillow]

Of course their will never be a perfect AV program. It is nice to see companies trying to be better than the other guy. We end up with better AV programs.

In my opinion more attention should be directed towards informing the general public about needed security. People reading this forum and others like it have some sort of idea the importance of security.

Now how to do that is the question.
If someone doesn't want to learn they can't be tought. A lot of advertisement would help but who pays for it?

The bad guys have a upper hand.
They take the time to learn their trade of infecting computers. Their opponents won't even take the time to boot their computer.
Those that are lost but don't take the time to find their way will be lost forever.
Most computers users are lost.

Note: The word computer in this post = all computing devices.

Excellent point LB , i agree . While i am far from an expert on computing , most of my time is taken up researching everything regarding malware and how to protect yourself.

In the beginning starting out i got infected a few times and that made my interest in it stronger , now i never have malware issues.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Avast 2015 vs System Restore

Any Avast users experiencing weird issues with System Restore?
http://www.sevenforums.com/general-...tection-turning-itself-settings-changing.html

 

[A Guy]

Peter, it may be the Avast NG

Some information about new avast! NG component: our classic sandbox technology (used for DeepScreen, Sandbox and SafeZone components) restricts a sandboxed application to modify your system. As Windows OS is quite rich for various APIs and frameworks, we need to monitor more and more OS functions invoked from the unknown applications. This works perfect for Sandbox/SafeZone, but it's not enough for DeepScreen analysis. When a malware is analyzed in DeepScreen, we'd like to allow it to behave freely without any restrictions and monitor only its activities. Unfortunately, we might end up very soon if it tries e.g. to load a kernel-mode driver (you can't monitor kernel-mode, and if it gets there, it can control your entire OS, hide itself, connect to internet, ...), or use some undocumented system calls on 64-bit OSes (we use own hypervisor driver to fully protect 64-bit OSes, but this doesn't work on older PCs or with disabled VT-X/AMD-V feature in BIOS).

Avast! NG helps us to analyze malware real-time totally without any restrictions - it can load a kernel driver, it can delete any Windows files, format your volume, everything it wishes. The malware is executed on your OS using VirtualBox engine and the entire OS with malware is monitored. NG was heavily tested for a few months by our user base and we have fixed various HW/SW conflicts and tuned performance. After avast installation, it takes a couple of minutes to prepare NG (this is executed in the background with normal priority in this Beta, it'll be on idle priority in final release).

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=154857.30

It creates a snapshot which could explain the space loss. I chose to disable Deepscreen as I have layered security, and I'd rather have the space. Have him use Space Sniffer, or Treesize free or similar, and see if he finds a large folder in the Avast directory. A Guy

 

[lehnerus2000]

Thanks for that info Bill.

I currently have DeepScreen enabled.
I reset System Restore earlier today and it is still holding its settings (even after a reboot).

Maybe scanning provokes the issue.
I have Quick Scan set for 6:00 AM everyday (except Sundays when I have a Full Scan scheduled).

I'll check the Avast folder next time I notice anything weird (and tomorrow when I get up).