With 2012 getting closer, and my current subscription to a paid security suite winding down, I thought I'd ask: What are the best programs now? Which programs give the best balance of catching and neutralizing the real bad shit, the fewest false positives and the least over-dramatizing about my having some fairly benign browser cookies, and being the least taxing on system resources? What are the best all-in-one suites for sale, and what are the best free programs, especially the free programs that can be run in concert? Of course, I'll do some other research, but I just thought I'd ask what you guys liked right now. I know the best programs can change a lot over time, as programs that were great can be altered and not for the better, while other programs can be greatly improved or developed anew.
well, to be honest the best "security software" is IMHO "common sence and experience" But i know less experienced people tent to click on a lot of shit the should not. I´d say a Antivirus Software with regular updates and a "scriptblocker" Add-on in your browser are a good start. Add to this Ccleaner and other free tools like Malwarebytes and your Journey is a lot safer. Off course people need to spend some time and learn about these programms. You can not just buy the condom and have it on the desk you need to know how to use it Cube
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Dec 14 2011 : 12:47PM
I've found that avast! and PC Tools Firewall Plus have served me well since AVG went nuts and changed their up-date routine. I also use CCleaner on occasion. All have FREE versions. I have NEVER had a malware problem and both avast! and PC Tools Firewall since to run seamlessly. Rarely do they have an up-date issue. They just seem to roll along providing protection and asking little. One caution, the two or three times I have received warnings that they had detected problems I did exactly what they said and the problems were taken care of. I've been 'surfing' the web for years and this year was the first time I received a message that I was trying to access a web site that was considered "ill-advised." That was enough of a warning for me. I just skipped over that URL and went on to something that wasn't considered a problem. I might add that I don't as a general rule wander around in "undesirable" neighborhoods so my personal experience may not be typical for those who surf the many, many porn sites. Cubesnake's comment "...best "security software" is IMHO "common sense and experience" is extremely sound advice. BTW, the elite at malware protection is MajorGeeks Support Forums ==>http://forums.majorgeeks.com/ Over the years they have saved/recovered many a system.
Take a look at Microsoft Security Essentials; it's what I use on my Windows machines. It is totally free; no "paid" version exists. The only downside is the update process can be slow; Microsoft servers seem to be always overloaded or something. I've learned to let it run overnight or when I plan to be away from the computer for a while, rather than sit there watching it not download.
#SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03
Posted - Dec 15 2011 : 12:55AM
I use the Microsoft one too; haven't noticed any problems or delays in getting the updates. Seems to do the trick, and it runs very unobtrusively. I can't see much point in using something else now. I have one old system that still runs Avast, just because I can't be bothered to change it.
Been using ESET/ NOD32 for several years now since hearing about it here and have had great luck. Seems to protect great and it barely takes any resources. "I do not as a rule seek advice about food from thin people..." - Jeffrey Steingarten
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 3 2012 : 11:43PM
Go with Avira Personal AntiVirus. - It's free. - It's scores really high in AV Comparatives virus tests - Doesn't tax system resources like others Only slight flaw is high # of false positives, but they have done a great job recently in reducing them. I've used almost all major kinds and Avira blows them away. Kaspersky comes in distant 2nd.
the "problem" with avira is ... you have to finetune it a little to be more effective IMHO. And it somehow doesn´t always seem to be able to catch a virus upon arrival. If you scan your system completely then it finds it. One thing i can recomend is the avira rescue cd. What i don´t understand why it seems to not like tools from systernals though Cube Edited by - cubesnake on 1/4/2012 10:57:42 PM
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Kierkegaard 2684 Posts 8/09
Posted - Jan 4 2012 : 11:46PM
Really? I have the opposite? Upon transferring a suspect file or script, Avira always popups and quarantines it before I can open it. I've used almost all AV software (except for ESET/NOD) and love Avira. I would even pay for it if it's not freeware or they start charging. I heard ESET is really good. I used Kaspersky for a while and they are really good (almost at Avira level, but not quite), but are expensive; Avira is free. This is AV Comparative's August 2011 test report.
ok, :) i actually don t look so much at those charts. I use both the free and the premium (on different pcs :) ). In the past i had sometimes a (sleeping ?) Trojan which i only found after a complete systemscan. I had no idea how long he had been on the system nor what he did or scheduled to do. I guess on of the best ways to stay away from browser related infection is to use a sriptblocker like eg. noscript for Firefox :) Cube
^ If you installed Adblock Plus in your browser (Firefox, Seamonkey, Chrome), subscribing to the "Malware Domains" filter at the bottom of this page can also help. I've been using ESET NOD32 for several years on all my computers at home and I've never had a virus.
Anyone with some experience with Avira mind doing a mini review? I'm growing tired of the bloated AVG interface and how I have to be extremely careful when installing it to avoid the toolbar, the search engine takeover, the realtime link-scanner and all that unnecessary crap.
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Apr 4 2012 : 10:19AM
I think avast! gets around that problem by "waiting" for the activity in the CPU to subside. If activity starts up again, then it goes into a wait mode. Then again, I'm not going very fast (low speed DSL). avast! does a daily up-date. I've never been aware of it's activity until a little flag pops up just above my system tray telling me it's completed it's up-date. It also scans everything that comes in and goes out. There is a little orange ball in the system trays that rotates if it is doing a scan. I'm very pleased with it. Unless it gives me a pop-up message or my eye happens to catch the ball rotating, I'm not really aware of it's presence or activity. I installed it a couple of years ago when AVG started to become a pain in the butt. One feature that I believe is unique is called the "sandbox" option. The first time you try to execute a program that avast! thinks may be a danger it asks if you want to run it in the "sandbox" which in some way isolates it from the rest of the system. Home grown programs are treated in this manner. Once you elect to run it as a "normal" program, avast! doesn't ask about it any more. It also notifies you if you are about to load a web page that might contain "infected" code and suggests that you avoid that particular page before it loads. I've never contracted a virus (using AVG or avast!) and have one or two occasions when it quarantined a virus which I then removed. avast! is a German company. avast!
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Apr 4 2012 : 9:43PM
I've always run free versions of virus protection software. Both AVG and avast! Never have had a virus problem. Have had many, many problems with I.E. (replaced that long ago with Firefox) Outlook Express (replaced that with Thunderbird) Quicktime (replaced that with VLC) Adobe Reader/Writer (replaced that with Foxit) Nero (replaced that with ImgBurn) and the list goes on. Over the years, I've replaced many, many major software versions with free software. Then again, I'm not much of a bells and whistles user. My approach is that the more function loaded into software the more likely it is to "break."
