Is there a "BEST" AntiVirus Program?

Discussion in 'Malware Help (A Specialist Will Reply)' started by webgyrl, Apr 7, 2008.

  1. webgyrl

    webgyrl Private E-2

    Hi!

    Long time AVG Free user... just switched to Avast- but alas, today I get a virus or something (in the process of running diagnostics and cleaning per the Malware removal guide)...

    Anyway...

    Last week my boyfriend told me he read a report that Avast was rated higher by people in the tech field. I was a bit skeptical about moving from AVG to Avast, but he said Avast tested higher in blocking viruses than AVG. So anyway, I switched over.

    Everything was OK, then yesterday I downloaded a torrent and scanned it using Avast, nothing popped up. This morning I turned on my computer and at first the Desk Top would not load. So I shut down and started again, it loaded. Then I noticed that on some of the web sites I own, some of my graphics were replaced with what seems like Spyware/Adware... on my computer the graphics are changed w/ links/graphics to other crap... I double checked on my BF's computer and I see that the graphics show as normal, so I must have a virus, Trojan... etc something is definitely on my system. i also noticed that my Wacom tablet won't work. It won't draw anything, thought the mouse works fine.

    Anyway, I'm wondering.... is there truly a BEST antiVirus out there? Or is it all just subjective? If there is a best, what is it?

    I am running
    Avast Latest
    Zone Alarm Fire wall
    a-Squared Background Guard
    Spybot S&D
     
    webgyrl, Apr 7, 2008
    #1
  2. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    There is no clear cut best! Each will find and remove things that another does not. Also each program is constantly going thru updates. So a review one month may be totally different than in another month. Also many reviews are not based upon current malware issues seen every day in forums like ours. If they were, some programs (like the ones from BIG name companies) may not fair too well since they are rather poor at doing the below 3 things:
    1. stopping you from getting the malware
    2. finding malware if it does get on your PC
    3. and removing it
    Other things not frequently considered are how easy an antivirus program is for people to setup and user. Also how easy is it for them to keep it updated. And how much of a resource hog is it.

    Avast does get higher marks in some reviews. But something I have noticed with Avast is that it seems more prone to false positives.

    If you had been using AVG and had not had any malware issues, why change. If it is not broken why fix it.


    Based on the list of software you are running it appears that you never have followed the instructions here: How to Protect yourself from malware!

    You need a realtime antispyware blocking tool. (that is unless you are using Spybot's Teatimer)
    And you should install and use the protection offered by SpywareBlaster.
    Also as mentioned in the above link, avoid P2P and torrent downloading since they are one of the most frequent reasons for people looking for help in removing malware.
     
    chaslang, Apr 7, 2008
    #2
  3. webgyrl

    webgyrl Private E-2

    Hi Chaslang,

    Yes it seems it's difficult to know what is best to use. I actually used Avast some years ago, but did find a lot of false positives. So I ditched it for AVG.

    My boyfriend is very security conscious, so when he came to me and said that AVG was rated low, I just trusted him and went with Avast again. But since I installed it, it seems this is when I had the problem.

    I am not using Spybot's Teatimer. I turned that off as I read somewhere on here to turn it off. I will have to look and see if there is something better for Spyware to use on my system.

    I am getting SpywareBlaster installed now.

    I am downloading Comodo BOClean Anti-Malware now to install also.

    BLUSH.. yes the P2P is bad. But usually when I scan the files manually before unzipping I have no problems. Not this time I guess! I just responded to your other post w/ my logs.

    Thanks for the viewpoint on the AV software.
     
    webgyrl, Apr 8, 2008
    #3
  4. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    It has improved over the last few years but some people still find it to be too resource intensive. And we mainly ask that it not be used in our malware cleaning procedures because it gets in the way of malware cleanup.

    You're welcome.
     
    chaslang, Apr 8, 2008
    #4

MajorGeeks.Com Menu

Downloads All In One Tweaks \ Android \ Anti-Malware \ Anti-Virus \ Appearance \ Backup \ Browsers \ CD\DVD\Blu-Ray \ Covert Ops \ Drive Utilities \ Drivers \ Graphics \ Internet Tools \ Multimedia \ Networking \ Office Tools \ PC Games \ System Tools \ Mac/Apple/Ipad Downloads

Other News: Top Downloads \ News (Tech) \ Off Base (Other Websites News) \ Way Off Base (Offbeat Stories and Pics)

Social: Facebook \ YouTube \ Twitter \ Tumblr \ Pintrest \ RSS Feeds