virus protection for xp

this computer is running xp sp3, cant afford new one right now.
it only has 1 gb memory, what is the best antivirus for xp that uses the least amount of resources?
i can upgrade the memory to 2gb,
currently uses mse
thanks

 

I would recommend Avast free anti virus it still states that it works on XP here is the link http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/avast_free_edition.html

 

Honestly, I'd go to something like GNU/Linux if your workflow supports it.

You cannot effectively protect XP anymore with much of anything. Some of the most effective infections lately have been drive bys--they prey on those going to an infected site and having an exploitable machine. In the case of a popular one named RIG, XP is very vulnerable. RIG infections have even been seen on legitimate sites, so its not just a matter of what kind of sites you go to.

http://lubuntu.net/

 

Upgrade your RAM to 2 GB. I run XP and Vista on my machine. On XP, I use Qihu's 360 Internet Security. It uses 3 Virus detection engines including BitDefender which updates it's detections every time I restart the computer or bring it out of Standby. In a test, it was the only freeware security suite that stopped all exploits that target Win XP exclusively. It is light on resources.

 

I'll second mdonah's suggestion. I switched to Qihoo (this is the only spelling I've seen), and it seems lighter on resources than Avast to me, although Avast didn't seem bad that way. Didn't know what to expect, but I like it more than I thought I would. Think it has some sort of anti-keylogging feature, which I hope to find out more about. Might save me installing a firewall on this PC...

If you can find any way do so, I would pay $10 or $20 to bump up the RAM. Twice the RAM is a big difference, especially with vintage PCs...

 

I have AVG (free) on all my remaining XP systems. Works very efficiently.

 

If you check out the link in my post, it takes you to the company's download site. Everything I've seen at MG's for "360" (Total Security is all I've seen listed here) has the company listed as Qihu as well. But, I like the fact that it uses 3 AV engines and Bit Defender updates it's definitions so often and you're given visual confirmation it's doing so in the System Tray icon..

 

Thanks for the information mdonah. I like the USB monitor pop up window. I have a USB drive that I move around and, when attached to this PC, a small window pops up letting me know the drive is being monitored. It stays open which is kind of interesting, but it can be set to close after opening.

3 AV + Bit Defender is impressive. I had no idea about that. It really seems solid to me and also easy to use once a little familiarity is established.

 

I've just installed 360 Total Security and found that it plays well with XP. The optimization features were an added bonus, improving my boot time exponentially. What used to take more than 5 minutes is now down to 2.5 minute boot times. I also like the patching system, my XP is now 100% up to date... which isn't saying much, but it's better than nothing at the moment.

Why isn't 360 in the Virus Software Updates section of the forums though? Seems like most of the common ones have a thread there, but I didn't see anything for this one.

 

Yeah, 360 has been overlooked except for one news article I read quite a while back here at MG's about stopping exploits that specifically target XP. 360 Internet Security (freeware) and Norton (paid) were the only ones that stopped 100% of them.

360 uses Bit Defender for one of it's AV engines and yesterday a new report was published and apparently Bit Defender has slipped. I expect that Bit Defender will be all over this.