help! best antivirus software? [Archive]

Catlady711

10-14-2008, 05:09 PM

I used Norton/Symantec for years and never had problems until they started combining the firewall and antivirus on one disk, then it was crash city and slowed my cpu to a crawl.

I tried a free trial download of mccaffe once and got nailed with so many pop ups (that one had no popup blocker) that it was impossible to surf the web.

I have to use the free stuff on hubby's cpu because it's a win 98 and none of the newer antivirus/firewall software will work on his and he's had two things get through it (and that's with spybot, and avg to boot).

I recently got the TrendMicro for my cpu and it seems to work fairly well. The only problem I'm having is an issue with my keyboard and mouse sometimes, but I just replaced my mouse so I can't be sure that isn't the problem not the TrendMicro. So far I'm happy with TrendMicro. Plus they had a Staples deal if you were switching from another antivirus company to theirs and bought at Staples you'd get a rebate. After the rebate the software only costs me $30.

Medusa

10-14-2008, 05:12 PM

The only problem I'm having is an issue with my keyboard and mouse sometimes, but I just replaced my mouse so I can't be sure that isn't the problem not the TrendMicro.

Do you have Bluetooth on your computer by any chance?

Catlady711

10-14-2008, 05:36 PM

Do you have Bluetooth on your computer by any chance?

No, it's just a normal desktop with nothing fancy on it.

king2005

10-14-2008, 05:41 PM

Medusa

10-14-2008, 05:41 PM

No, it's just a normal desktop with nothing fancy on it.

Ok, just wondering. I've had the same problem w/my maus and keyboard and it's the Bluetooth that keeps messing things up and I have the same virus protection that you do.

Hellow

10-14-2008, 07:47 PM

There are differences between anti viruses!

The one you pay for are usually the ones that have viruses made for them to take it down. So using free ware thats NOT a resource hog is is the way to go.. I strongly recommend Avast. I have yet to get a virus from it. Its always stopped them before infecting my computer.. well my windows computer anyways.. No viruses for my linux computer, so loads of save downloading for me, WOOT!

You cant have a virus made to take down a anti-virus program, such actions require someone to directly break into your computer to disable it. If there ever was one such as you described, having multiple anti-virus programs will defeat the virus before it ever attacks its target.

king2005

10-14-2008, 07:57 PM

You cant have a virus made to take down a anti-virus program, such actions require someone to directly break into your computer to disable it. If there ever was one such as you described, having multiple anti-virus programs will defeat the virus before it ever attacks its target.

No one has to break into your computer to have a virus take out your virus program... It happened to Norton & PC cillian I believe a few years back... & running more then 1 virus scanner wont stop new virus'.. it only lessens the chances of catching older virus'

Hellow

10-14-2008, 07:58 PM

No one has to break into your computer to have a virus take out your virus program... It happened to Norton & PC cillian I believe a few years back... & running more then 1 virus scanner wont stop new virus'.. it only lessens the chances of catching older virus'

Guess why I run linux :).

king2005

10-14-2008, 08:05 PM

Guess why I run linux :).

Thats why I use it!

But you still have to watch out for scripts.. I always have the auto run scripts turned off

Hellow

10-14-2008, 08:13 PM

Thats why I use it!

But you still have to watch out for scripts.. I always have the auto run scripts turned off

I never run scripts without personally looking the code over for dangerous commands.

king2005

10-14-2008, 09:15 PM

I never run scripts without personally looking the code over for dangerous commands.

I can't do that, so I don't install untrusted things

Catlady711

10-15-2008, 06:18 PM

I don't install untrusted things

That's the key right there. Most viruses/spyware come from people downloading things, file sharing, or opening suspicious emails. If all people would be so discriminating I don't think people would have nearly the problems with their cpu's as they do.

Hellow

10-15-2008, 06:28 PM

That's the key right there. Most viruses/spyware come from people downloading things, file sharing, or opening suspicious emails. If all people would be so discriminating I don't think people would have nearly the problems with their cpu's as they do.

Unfortunately, people mainly around my age download whatever they think is pretty or cool and they end up clogging up their computer with trash and other malicious things. I end up helping kids decrapify their computers since I am one of the only kids that knows how to in my school :p.

king2005

10-15-2008, 11:09 PM

That's the key right there. Most viruses/spyware come from people downloading things, file sharing, or opening suspicious emails. If all people would be so discriminating I don't think people would have nearly the problems with their cpu's as they do.

The funniest thing I've done is install XP fresh & then install spybot.. it always finds stuff & I'm not even connected to the internet.. funny eh?

Also that popular XP file downloader (name slips my mind) IS a virus.. I find it so funny that everyone thinks its sooooooooooo awesome, yet they are full of viruses >_>

Maya & Inka's mommy

10-16-2008, 04:38 AM

My hubby says: Do never download a "free" antivirus program:eek::eek:. Even if you want to get rid of it, it will NEVER let you !!

We have Kapersky now, and it is very good!

Lady's Human

10-16-2008, 04:52 AM

AVG is good, and is free.

Symantec and Norton are bastards to remove from the operating system, there are pages and pages of info on how to do it, but it's a PITA.

AVG has never posed a problem for me for removal.

Hellow

10-16-2008, 06:16 AM

Heh, if something wont come off one of my Windowz computers, I personally root out and destroy what is related to it. That actually works.

king2005

10-16-2008, 09:39 AM

My hubby says: Do never download a "free" antivirus program:eek::eek:. Even if you want to get rid of it, it will NEVER let you !!

We have Kapersky now, and it is very good!

Not true..

AVG & Avast are both free & they let you remove & add them as many times as you want. They don't care.

Best of luck removing Norton.. I tried & tried & tried on someones box & no matter what i did, it was always there to haunt them.. I got annoyed & just formatted their computer & redid everything properly.. love msconfig :)

Maya & Inka's mommy

10-16-2008, 09:52 AM

Not true..

AVG & Avast are both free & they let you remove & add them as many times as you want. They don't care.

Best of luck removing Norton.. I tried & tried & tried on someones box & no matter what i did, it was always there to haunt them.. I got annoyed & just formatted their computer & redid everything properly.. love msconfig :)

What is "not true!" ?? My hubby once downloaded a free 3-months trial. After 3 months he decided he didn't want to purchase it, so he tried to delete it!
IS IT DELETED? NO............ . It even keeps interfearing with our other program we have now!

Medusa

10-16-2008, 09:54 AM

Best of luck removing Norton.. I tried & tried & tried on someones box & no matter what i did, it was always there to haunt them.. I got annoyed & just formatted their computer & redid everything properly.. love msconfig :)

This has been my experience, too. My computer guy (thank goodness for him) had a devil of a time w/removing Norton and he's an expert. As it turned out, the Norton application itself was corrupt and really messed things up for me. After it occured twice, I said 'no more Norton'. I have Trend Micro right now and it hasn't protected my computer any better than AVG which is free.

king2005

10-16-2008, 10:29 AM

What is "not true!" ?? My hubby once downloaded a free 3-months trial. After 3 months he decided he didn't want to purchase it, so he tried to delete it!
IS IT DELETED? NO............ . It even keeps interfearing with our other program we have now!

Thats different.. Thats a trial version.. not a free version.. Trial versions are just as evil as the paid ones hehe

king2005

10-16-2008, 10:32 AM

This has been my experience, too. My computer guy (thank goodness for him) had a devil of a time w/removing Norton and he's an expert. As it turned out, the Norton application itself was corrupt and really messed things up for me. After it occured twice, I said 'no more Norton'. I have Trend Micro right now and it hasn't protected my computer any better than AVG which is free.

Give Avast a try. Its always been my fav & hasn't failed me yet

Husky_mom

10-16-2008, 10:42 AM

Husky_mom

10-16-2008, 10:56 AM

which would be best AVG, Panda, Avast or Search & Destroy... I ask because I intend installing one of those to the work comp...

it has windows 2000 service pak 4

king2005

10-16-2008, 11:45 AM

I´ve used avast.. but lately it had soem weird virus... that supposedly was for avast and i tried and in never took it away... so i got search & destroy and apparently worked...

but now I´ve changed mouse´s because the older one when used.. well... it was like if was clicking like mad at other stuff.. and only by moving the mouse... now changed (usb mouse) I´ve had no problems

Search & Destroy isn't an anti virus program, thats a spyware remover program.. It best to run those both together as they'll catch what the other wasn't designed to do :)

Search & Destroy = Spybot :)
Unless its a new program or something

All virus programs will be targetted at some point.. but the lower key ones like AVG & Avast will be targetted a lot less as they are free. But more so Avast as I find AVG adertizes too much, so coders target it more.. which is still rare regardless...

Killearn Kitties

10-16-2008, 11:59 AM

I have one laptop that is still running McAfee. I am going to cancel it, I think, because the daily search for updates is starting to take an eternity. That may, however be because the laptop is a few years old now, I don't know. It does everything else fast enough though.

I also use AVG on a different machine. I have never had virus problems with either of them.

Catty1

10-16-2008, 12:08 PM

I loved AVG. However, I updated to version 8 which included a lot of extras and it took almost 6 hours to scan my computer!

I switched to Avast, and use Spybot S&D. (If you Google Spybot S&D, there is a result that looks a lot like it....make sure it is the real one!)

Spybot removes spyware, which comes in through the computer's "back door", and tracks your surfing habits, as well as taking up extra disk space. Also...viruses CAN come in via spyware, though I've not heard of any cases in particular.

Norton was on a friend's computer that I was working on...what a PIG to uninstall!!! It's like removing a squid, and then searching for the tentacles that broke off in the process. It's a resource hog. One of my geek friends says Norton is a virus itself in the way it acts.

Avast and Spybot - that's my choice. Have had no virus damage at all in over 5 years.

Husky_mom

10-16-2008, 01:43 PM

I have avast in my home comp... but as it let in some spyware I used the spybot S&D... so I wondered if it would be better to go with AVG and S&D... for the work one.. but is AVG made for win 2000?.. or should I go with avast..

http://news.helpero.com/article/The-best-free-antivirus-is_11.html

Avast Home Edition
With a skin-based interface Avast! is the friendliest antivirus software from our test. This can be a minus because using sophisticated skins can affect the memory usage. It has an interesting feature "VRDB". The aim of VRDB is to help when, despite all the security measures, a virus gets inside the computer and the files are infected. With the help of VRDB, it is possible to repair infected files (return them exactly to their original state). It has detected only 1 of the 2 major threats on the test computer.
You can download Avast home Edition from here.

AVG Antivirus
Offering a rock-solid protection AVG is THE BEST FREE ANTIVIRUS from this test. It has a very good definition update system,uses little system resources and a full time protection utility with "on-access" file scanner and e-mail scanner. The program doesn't tax your system when scanning or when running in the background and always proved effective in our tests. This app's interface can't be described as beautiful, yet it is mostly simple to navigate. During the full system scan it has detected both of our major threats on the test computer.
You can download AVG Free Antivirus from here.

Hellow

10-16-2008, 02:26 PM

ClamWin (http://www.clamwin.com/) is a free and open source anti-virus solution, that I obviously put my full weight behind. It is pretty good, I have used it before. Oh, if you ever hear the term "Back Door" they mean either:
A) A bug in the code in Windows (which it has a lot of)
B) A open port (internet/virtual port, not the actual ports on the physical computer) or otherwise a security vulnerability which people can exploit. Having a open port is like leaving every door in the house open wide in a large city with a high crime rate, you really don't want that.

Husky_mom

10-16-2008, 03:09 PM

will this protect the comp and not slow it down as a snail.... is it easy to remove if needed... and can I still have spybot just in case along withthis one..

thanks ;)

Hellow

10-16-2008, 03:55 PM

will this protect the comp and not slow it down as a snail.... is it easy to remove if needed... and can I still have spybot just in case along withthis one..

thanks ;)

Heh, ClamWin is small as heck in my experience, my computer which is older than this 9 year old desktop plowed through running it, all open source software is easy to remove if needed (Firefox is an example, although I am ticked at them for putting a EULA onto something otherwise good) and as long as Spybot Search and Destroy does not detect this as malicious software, you will be fine :).

king2005

10-17-2008, 12:03 PM

will this protect the comp and not slow it down as a snail.... is it easy to remove if needed... and can I still have spybot just in case along withthis one..

thanks ;)

I had Spybot on my PII !!! So thats like what, 15yrs old? Its slow, but that was the only program that didn't crash on that box.. that box went through a fire so it has a lot of damge to the hardware. & Spybot & Avast were the only programs to run smooth.. open FF or IE, or play a game CRASH LOL It was ok 50% of the time with Pigon running, as long as 2 people didn't message me at the same time.. SO I would go invisible & talk to 1 person at a time.. tell them I'll brb in 5 mins & talk to someone else for 5 mins & repeat hehehe poor poor poor old computer.

I plan to turn that box into Linux now that I have a secure xp box that actually works! (loves her uncle for the awesome gift)...

If anyone has heard of Ubuntu & is willing to expiriment with OSs, give it a shot.. it functions a LOT like windows.. but remember it is NOT windows! Its easier to use it for surfing & downloading...

Reggie do you know if they have fixed the DVD movie issues with Ubuntu or Linux in general? for 2yrs I couldn't get it to work.. but that could have been related to my box being broken... but still.. any news on that?

Hellow

10-17-2008, 02:31 PM

I had Spybot on my PII !!! So thats like what, 15yrs old? Its slow, but that was the only program that didn't crash on that box.. that box went through a fire so it has a lot of damge to the hardware. & Spybot & Avast were the only programs to run smooth.. open FF or IE, or play a game CRASH LOL It was ok 50% of the time with Pigon running, as long as 2 people didn't message me at the same time.. SO I would go invisible & talk to 1 person at a time.. tell them I'll brb in 5 mins & talk to someone else for 5 mins & repeat hehehe poor poor poor old computer.

I plan to turn that box into Linux now that I have a secure xp box that actually works! (loves her uncle for the awesome gift)...

If anyone has heard of Ubuntu & is willing to expiriment with OSs, give it a shot.. it functions a LOT like windows.. but remember it is NOT windows! Its easier to use it for surfing & downloading...

Reggie do you know if they have fixed the DVD movie issues with Ubuntu or Linux in general? for 2yrs I couldn't get it to work.. but that could have been related to my box being broken... but still.. any news on that?

If you are talking about dvd encryption problems, libdvdcss is the solution to that. If you are talking about problems with the actual playback of the dvd, any that have been are solved. Ubuntu is the best operating system for beginners, Fedora trailing second. For a PII, something more around Puppy Linux would work better than something that is huge in comparison. My PIII plows thorugh most any job what I do throws at it, and with the GeForce 6200 graphics card inside of it, games too. Linux is a pain to competely take down, I tried taking down my own computer remotely from my laptop, Linux blocked every counter-measure I knew to its defenses, every hole I knew to exploit, and every other security vurneribility that I might use. It is also the most customizable operating system I have seen in my life. Windows is like a puppy compared to how powerful Linux is.

king2005

10-17-2008, 02:42 PM

If you are talking about dvd encryption problems, libdvdcss is the solution to that. If you are talking about problems with the actual playback of the dvd, any that have been are solved. Ubuntu is the best operating system for beginners, Fedora trailing second. For a PII, something more around Puppy Linux would work better than something that is huge in comparison. My PIII plows thorugh most any job what I do throws at it, and with the GeForce 6200 graphics card inside of it, games too. Linux is a pain to competely take down, I tried taking down my own computer remotely from my laptop, Linux blocked every counter-measure I knew to its defenses, every hole I knew to exploit, and every other security vurneribility that I might use. It is also the most customizable operating system I have seen in my life. Windows is like a puppy compared to how powerful Linux is.

SWEET!! I was sooo annoyed to loose the ability to watch DVDs cause I don't have a TV.. it was a very boring year sitting on my bed everyday after work staring at the ceiling... FB can only entertain a human for so long lol & there is only so much surfing you can do/day.. so thats 1 reason I went to XP cause I couldn't get DVDs to work any longer... :rolleyes:

also its easier to code a website/php in Linux... + all my programmer buddies use Linux (not ubuntu, so they are no help when I run into OS issues).. they are Gentoo adicts lol Can't wait to get back into php!!

Hellow

10-17-2008, 02:54 PM

SWEET!! I was sooo annoyed to loose the ability to watch DVDs cause I don't have a TV.. it was a very boring year sitting on my bed everyday after work staring at the ceiling... FB can only entertain a human for so long lol & there is only so much surfing you can do/day.. so thats 1 reason I went to XP cause I couldn't get DVDs to work any longer... :rolleyes:

also its easier to code a website/php in Linux... + all my programmer buddies use Linux (not ubuntu, so they are no help when I run into OS issues).. they are Gentoo adicts lol Can't wait to get back into php!!

Gentoo is the biggest pain in the rear end you will ever encouter using linux, you have to compile every single package that goes into Gentoo, so basically you make your own distribution. I use Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian (for my server), CentOS, and Windows. Ubuntu I use the most, I do not understand your coder buddies using the hardest distrobution ever unless they want to show off. I know HTML and CSS, nothing more on the web side. I know Bash and Python scripting languages, Python I am still working on.

king2005

10-17-2008, 03:17 PM

Gentoo is the biggest pain in the rear end you will ever encouter using linux, you have to compile every single package that goes into Gentoo, so basically you make your own distribution. I use Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian (for my server), CentOS, and Windows. Ubuntu I use the most, I do not understand your coder buddies using the hardest distrobution ever unless they want to show off. I know HTML and CSS, nothing more on the web side. I know Bash and Python scripting languages, Python I am still working on.

My coder buddies need something that is 100% flexable. Several of them are known world wide. Tom gets free trips all over the world & makes sick amounts of money to do a small project. He was shipped to Paris & stayed a month 100% free! He ate like a king & travelled all over meeting so many more people. He is the creator of libtom & peekboo 1~3 (I don't remember if 3 was actually released, but I made the icon for it hehehe). Hes written books, & is known as the best in the world for cripto...
I don't know much about that stuff :P