best anti virus program

Kaspersky is Shareware, not Freeware.

It was discussed earlier in this thread.

 

Oh .. sorry .. didnt saw that
anyways .. Kaspersky is the best AV I ever had ..

also.. check here :
http://www.virus.gr/

they ran some massive AV comparison tests ..

 

Doesnt seem too be very accurate on the %...(eg; ArcaVir and MKS_Vir 2005= Same Engine/Kasperky and eScan= Same Engine) and all of these antiviruses got different % of detection.

 

I unzipped the virus to a file on my desktop and Avast started yelling at me. What was nice is it gave me the option of what to do with it, did not automatically quarantine it or delete it.

 

Just to add to what has already been discussed, I have experience running two AVs at once. I forgot to uninstall Panda, and installed AVG. Panda's real time protection was off, but when AVG scanned, it chewed up Panda, and spit it out.

So realtime protection isn't the only issue that can arise.

 

While we'e on the subject of 2 AV, I had a not-so-amusing discussion with my Dad a while back. He would always send me attachments in his emails, with no text or warning that he was sending me something. I would try to tell him that I just delete these, and tried to explain viruses transmitted in email attachments, etc. He said "Well don't you know it's from me?" I said "That's not the point, a virus will email itself" etc and "Do you have an Anti Virus?" to which he smugly replied "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have 2". I of course knew he should not be running 2, but knew he would never listen to me, since he knows everything. In fact, I was SO TEMPTED to write back and say "ONLY TWO? YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING NO LESS THEN 5!" but I restrained myself...looking back, I wish I would have told him that!
Just thought I'd lighten things up a bit!

 

Hey Eric, only 5? I was thinking more on the lines of 10.

 

It suddenly dawned on me how pathetic I am.

Is this what my life has come to, discussing on a Geek forum what the best AV I've ever had was?

At least I'm not alone, there's safety in numbers!

 

yeah .. theres alot of other major geeks
ha ha .. so you are 100% not alone ..

 

@ Insomniac,

No way could you be considered pathetic - just look at the hair do that your avatar sports - some people would kill to look that cool!

As a lot of the heavy weights have replied to the subject, I would like to add my opinion. There is no single best free AV program, as all perform differently, on different systems while performing the same tasks.

I've tried the majority of the free antivirus apps. and have settled on Avast for my own use, as I like the way that it updates and its interface, and it hasn't let me down yet

 

@ Adrynalyne

Since I noticed that you used to run Panda AV, I was wondering if you were using the one that they have to where you can run with any other anti-virus program. I did think it was interesting that you could run that with another anti-virus program, but I wasn't sure if it would work.

I'm in total agreement that having more than one anti-virus program is a little much and learned when I tried that just once and promptly removed the one I didn't like. It's almost like having 2 firewalls installed.

 

Thanks for the suggestions Insomniac. I'll try Safe Mode. Pocket Killbox looks good, but I'm not sure how to use it. I ran Regseeker to find McAfee, and then I put the full path of file to delete into Killbox but it was too long to fit into the Killbox window so I don't know if I'm doing it right.

 

It should work OK regardless of the file path length.

Just make sure you have "Show hidden files and folders" enabled before you start.

 

OK I searched for files and folders with "mcafee" in them and was able to delete them with Killbox. However now when I run Regseeker to find anything with "mcafee" in it, about 11 entries come up that cannot be deleted with Regseeker. They just keep coming back. They are all located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Why do they keep coming back?

 

This will probably be the last time I respond back too this thread.

Yes, but this is not common with most antivirus programs installers. One I know of is EZ Antivirus...

No, becuase usually two antiviruses will pick up what the other one misses, as that is the benefit of having two. Having 10 you will be over protected and the other eight antivirus programs will not pick up anything and this will waste your HD space.

Yes, thats why once the scan is done you look either at the scan results and see where the infected file etc.. is located and do a search there. Or you could just quarintine the file and email it too the company, and they should analyze it and provide a response about it if it is a false positive or not.

Just to say, Im running right now ArcaVir 2005 with Norton 2005. Norton being active and ArcaVir as backup for its good hueristic scanning. And a problem has not ocurred while running them....As I already know running two antiviruses at the same can can cause system failure, BSOD etc..but this has not ever happend too me.

 

It's your system; do what you want to it. However, running 2 Anti-virus applications is not recommended and telling others it is OK to do so is not sound advice.

 

This is now my last post

I was actually told by a more knowlegded antivirus user (more knowledged then you and me) too actually use two antiviruses if you dont think your main antiviruses is picking up everything...as I have seen on most known security forums that most people use two antviruses one for real time and the other one for backup demand scanning(eg; CalmWin, BitDefender Free, etc...since these have no real time scanning module)...As for recommending it here and the systems problems that could happen if you run two at the same time I will stop as most users are novices and dont know...

 

ClamWin is a Command Line Scanner, BitDefender Free is a On-Line Scanner, etc. etc. etc.; none of these are full blown Windows Anti-virus applications.

 

BitDefender Free is not a online scanner even though they do have one it is not. Here is what it is from there site as me explaining it wont help:

As I see now you are saying that an antivirus like Avast is not recommended to run with another antivirus lets say AVG...as by that example you mean that by saying "full blown Windows Anti-virus applications"?? I was trying too refer "running two antivirus programs" as too something like the ClamWin, BitDefender Free, etc..sry I didnt make it clear.

 

Everyone thinks they know best, and as for someone being more knowledgeable than...how do you know? You don't know SPD, you don't know me. Thats a pretty wild guess.

At any rate, my experiences aren't the same as yours. So basically, the advice you are giving in this thread can have the effect of being harmful. You can't deny that, because of my own experience. So as for your friend who is more knowledgeable than all of us...apparently not.



This is a note to anyone reading this thread. There is a definite risk with running two antivirus applications. It is not reccomended.

 

what the hell is going on in this thread, all someone wanted to know was which free av was best. Adrynalyne is definitely right, do not use more than one av app at the same time.

Just pick one of these : AVG, Avast or AV-Personal and you will be fine

 

I once tried running McAfee and Norton at the same time. I was quite busy for a few days. Learned my lesson the hard way. I still like AVG (free) and PC-cillin ($).

Jack

 

yes, back to his/her original question (and my reason for reading all of this)...which is best? I have both AVG and AVAST...which should I uninstall? Feel free to list pros and cons of each. Please

 

Both are good, I found AVG to be a bit more stable. However, I had more problems with the auto update feature of AVG.

 

I tend to like AVG better, but it times out on updates a lot...so I need to do it again. Thanks for the confirmation that I was doing the right thing...I just don't trust myself sometimes

 

I would go with Avast since in my experience with it, it seems too provide a wider range of protection then AVG does...

 

Sophos is best IMHO

 

Sorry to jump back to this, but I get annoyed by someone trying to defend the indefensible!

Brandon, none of us mind being corrected, but it won't be on the "word of a friend" or "I was actually told by a more knowlegded antivirus user ".

Show us where, on a legitimate site, that this information is factual and based on exhaustive tests and I'll gladly adapt.

Personally, I don't care less what you do, but I do feel sorry for newbees who start out on the wrong foot because of incorrect information touted as the gospel truth.

 

i can't believe what I am reading.

 

On a lighter note:
You dont want to meet my girlfriend then, she is always defending me.

 

I'd get two, so one can pick up what the other misses.

And you're wrong, I want to meet her.


Hey Brandon, you sound familiar? Are you a member of any other forums?

 

Nahh, She is not much of a night owl.

Does anyone else think that the voice on Avast! sounds like to robot from lost in space?

Danger!! Danger!! A virus has been detected Will Robinson.

 

The original poster asked which was the best free antivirus software. That was my exact question. After being notified that you should not install two antivirus programs, and Avast, AVG, and AntiVir are the top three free spyware programs in no particular order, I still have some quesitons that could also help the original poster and others viewing this forum.

1) Do all three have resident programs that scans for possible incoming viruses while you are working on your computer and surfing the net?

2) Which one runs the best with Windows XP?

3) Which one has the best removal tools?

4) Which one is better with sending new updates without being hogs in resource and hard drive space?

5) If any one knows, which one sends the best updates that keep the program current resource and hard drive space hog or not.

I am running AVG currently on WinMe, and find it irritating that it seems to only be able to quarentee the viruses it finds leaving me to find out how to remove it. I found out after awhile that I had to delete other programs because of the updates. This computer only has 8 gig of harddrive space, and 98 meg of ram. This is a HP Pavillian about 6 years old. It is going to my daughter in 1st grade so she can play her educational computer games on it. This computer is more than suitable for that.

I'm giddy, since I'm getting my christmas present early, a new computer which is to arrive in the mail tomorrow, and was a budget buster. 80 Gig of harddrive, 512mb memory. I know some of you are thinking she is getting excited over that? I feel like I'm going from a horse and buggy to a brand new midsize car. I love the horse, but the car is much, much better.

The virus program will be for the new computer with XP installed. I would like the questions answered if possible.

Thanks

 

@srac,

Hi, and welcome to Major Geeks!

As you have no doubt read the entire thread, then you will notice that different members favor different applications. As for me, I use Avast. It updates frequently, has 6 online scanners, scans email, and does everything that I need in an anti-virus app. Is it the best? This depends entirely on who you ask.

My suggestion would be to try them all, and see which one that you are most pleased with. Just be sure to only use one at a time. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks, any more comments will be welcome.

Halo,

The first thing I was planning on installing as soon as I got online was zone alarm. Then any windows updates, I hope I don't download an update that will mess up my computer. I will be getting Adaware. I'll look into spyware blaster.

I'll be searching around for more useful tips on what I should and should not do, and need for the computers. I have to read up on the microsoft updates. I have had a so/so experience with them so far.

Have a Merry Christmas

 

Im lazy i just use norton because it was already on here when i got it.
I'm sure i could use the others but norton never gives me any problems.

 

i use adware and spybot, but spyware blaster is very good. i haven't cause i am not sure if it will hurt my system having these three and a sbc one that is provided through sbc yahoo shield

 

Hi srac:

I currently use the following trouble free.

My system has a router (Linksys wired Cable/DSL Router #BEFSR41) whose hardware firewall is my first line of defence.

ZoneAlarm v6.1.737.000 software firewall (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ZoneAlarm_Free_d388.html
To catch any malware trying to call out.
MS firewall is turned off.

Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware 1.0.701 (Beta) (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Microsoft_Windows_AntiSpyware_d4466.html
The shields it provides are tuned on.

SpyBot-Search & Destroy 1.4 (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/SpyBot-Search_&_Destroy_d2471.html
Innoculation feature is tuned on.

SpywareBlaster 3.4 (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/SpywareBlaster_d2859.html
A small simple effective shield.

Ad-Aware SE Personal 1.06 (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Ad-Aware_SE_Personal_d506.html

AntiVir Personal Edition 6.32.00.51 (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/AntiVir_Personal_Edition_d955.html
This is the anivirus scanner/remover I rely on.
Also runs as backgound/resident scanner.
It seems to get things others miss.
[I tried to audition Avast which is also highly recommended but it complained
about something ZoneAlarm was doing so I nixed the tryout.]
I’m happy with AntiVir. It is slowish because it is so thorough.

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 (Free)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Mozilla_Firefox_d2248.html
My default browser.
I use IE only when necessary. Downloads from MS and those sites that are safe but aren’t coded for Mozilla.

My browser home page
http://www.majorgeeks.com/
Lets me know if there are updates to any of the above (or any other worthwhile software).
I manually scan with these scanner/removers as they are updated or the appropriate ones if I suspect something.

I seldom get malware on my system and if I do it is detected and quickly taken care of.

Beyond this, sensible care in where you surf, what/how you download and open things (e-mail too) should keep you safe.

Happy trailz,

 

Thanks flea bus. One more question. My computer came with etrust antivirus program. Is this program good?

My husband were having a fight about microsoft and trusting microsoft's products from explorer to their updates. He seems t think everything is peachy keen with microsoft, and I mistrust them eventhough I still use their products.

The last "discussion" we had over this was about etrust and a GDI update. All I can say is my computer is feeling it. Got a tiny dent on the top, but still noticable if you look at it in the right angle. Unfortunatly it is on the crease at the top, and I don't think I can get it out.

 

eTrust is an excellent application, just make sure you have the latest version.

 

Hi srac:

I agree with Adrynalyne. eTrust is excellent. I used to use it as my main antivirus program.
At some point they ceased offering a free version and I looked elswhere.
The programs I mentioned/recommended in my original post are all free.

Going to Microsoft and using Windows Update is safe and something you need to do. When you do so, IE must be used.
Just make sure that you have a working firewall when you do.
If you don't have one, the one MS supplies is good enough to protect you for that.
I trust Microsoft myself but for the people who hack or produce malware, doing their dirty deeds through MS and its products
is the best way to reach to most systems do the greatest damage.
Protect yourself. (See my original post).

Happy trailz,