What is you anti-virus of choice?

[zxscooby]

I have a windows box that came with Norton anti-virus/internet security installed. It constantly annoys me , asking for money
and stating the obvious. I have never really been plagued by viruses/malware but the few I have gotten , I have always had to manually find and remove myself anyway.
What other anti-virus options are available to windows users?
Which do u prefer?

[seanc7]

The top two freeware AV programs are AVG and Avast.

I use Avast on my XP partition and my wife's computers.

[BennyHill]

Nothing I use Linux :)

[kahlil88]

I avoid commercial anti-virus software. I like the free versions of AVG (http://free.avg.com/) and Avira (http://www.avira.com/en/products/personal.html), although they both have their (deliberate) downsides - AVG Free doesn't allow you to schedule a virus scan less frequently than EVERY DAY and while Avira is a bit more flexible and less resource-hungry, it still has this annoying little advert that pops up suggesting you buy the full version. There's an open-source anti-virus program called ClamWin (http://www.clamwin.com/), and although I'm a bit of a FOSS nazi, I haven't used it enough to favor it one way or another.

[molom]

I'm an expert at these thing ;)
I use NOD32, which I find to be the best, Kaspersky is good, but seems to be a bit slower.
I will be using Bitdefender soon, because if you purchase it with 5 licences for 3 years, it can be like $7 a year for each computer, its also rated as the best anti-virus' around. It was very recourse consuming, but the new ones have been fixed

http://www.bitdefender.com/

I don't trust the free ones, they don't offer as much. If you are using it on an old computer that doesn't have anything important on it or isn't connected to the internet, sure use the free one, but if its an important or main computer that you use frequently, get Bitdefender, for one computer license for 3 years, its only US$60 and for 3 PC's for three years its $70 and for 5 PC's for 3 years its $110.

Website - http://www.bitdefender.com/

[volkswagner]

If you have Vista I believe AVG is limited or a no go for free version.

If you have a high speed internet provider some provide commercial versions for free.

Time Warner and Roadrunner provide the CA (computer associates) security suite, EZ Armor. I am more than happy with it. The pre-vista version picked up threats that Norton left behind.

[liquidfunk]

I generally recommend Avast! to people. Even those odd few in PC World or other computer selling shops. If I happen to be passing by them, "Don't buy Norton, it sucks!" Is the general comment I give.

So yeah +1 To Avast!

[zxscooby]

interesting :-k

[LaRoza]

There are several threads on this.

For security, use a firewall (Comodo is a good free one) and a limitted account. If you need anti-virus you are either doing it wrong (think of anti-virus as a minesweeper and your computer as your backyard, if you need to search for mines, something is wrong. Get a good fence and prevent things from happening).

I use ClamWin for scanning things if I have to in Windows. It doesn't slow down your computer like Norton and friends do.

[molom]

Oh yeah, I forgot to say 'Don't use Norton!'

[L815]

Free Av's of choice:

Avira
Avast

Avast seems to impact Vista a bit more than Avira, although there are more features for the free version of Avast than Avira.
Avira is known for very high detection rates, and has heuristis, Avast does not.

[tel93]

smitfraudfix is the only one that works.

[karellen]

Eset Smart Security (so it would be Nod32 )

[Canis familiaris]

Whichever Antivirus you use, ALWAYS KEEP IT UPDATED, I have known a lot of people who just install AVs, feel that their PC is safe and do not even update them.
Avast is a good choice. So is AVG Free and Avira. Steer Clear of the paid AntiVirus solutions.
ALso install an AntiSpyware Software like Spybot, AdAware, etc. and dont forget a 3rd party firewall. As per reviews I should recommend Comodo.

[Naturally]

Do not use Norton or McAfee.

I used Norton and it is a resource hog and missed many trojans that infected my computer. McAfee had many other issues. Many of my devices stopped working because of the excessive policing by McAfee.


I use NOD32 and ESet Smart security nowadays. Very nice and very light on resources. Very highly ranked too.

If you do not want to spend the extra money, then Avast is good.

[cardinals_fan]

There are several threads on this.

For security, use a firewall (Comodo is a good free one) and a limitted account. If you need anti-virus you are either doing it wrong (think of anti-virus as a minesweeper and your computer as your backyard, if you need to search for mines, something is wrong. Get a good fence and prevent things from happening).

I use ClamWin for scanning things if I have to in Windows. It doesn't slow down your computer like Norton and friends do.
+1

Absolutely right. If you need antivirus, you have problems it can't fix.

[Jordanwb]

There's no windows version of /dev/null

[lisati]

I tried comodo once, but it missed a virus that I'd let in on purpose to test it with. Ouch. Need I say any more?

My preference is for AVG Free. If you choose the Linux version, don't forget to read the instructions! (You need to add your user to the avg group, otherwise the updates won't work properly without (gk)sudo)

[molom]

http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

[LaRoza]

I tried comodo once, but it missed a virus that I'd let in on purpose to test it with. Ouch. Need I say any more?


You know, if you take off the best body armour, a bbgun will hurt? A firewall isn't anti-virus, it is a firewall. It is like saying you uninstalled it and it didn't work.

+1

Absolutely right. If you need antivirus, you have problems it can't fix.

Servers would have a use for them (file, web, mail, etc).

[timzak]

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

NOD32 gets their top pick and looks like Avira gets the pick for free versions.

[fiddledd]

I use Avast Free on Vista and XP and I've not noticed a performance hit. Although not exactly on topic, I also use Windows Defender which is nowhere near as bad as people say it is, at least not in my experience. It doesn't just monitor Spyware, it also monitors startup programs and system changes.

[mips]

Avira, Avast, AVG, NOD32.