Free anti-virus software vs $ anti-virus software

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I currently use Norton Antivirus. I was wondering if the free antivirus software out there good enough to quit subscribing to Norton's?
While on this subject, what are the best free antvirus software to use if I do stop my subscription?
Thanks!
 
I've been using AVG's free anti-virus for several years and haven't had any hitches with it, even since upgrading to the Vista-fied version a little over a year ago.
 
I used an outdated Norton for a few years with an also outdated ZoneAlarm firewall thing, and I never had any problems, but then I'm careful about what I download and always google extensions I don't recognize and processes that come up. I was going to update my ZoneAlarm, but some other company bought Zonelabs and I just didn't trust them as much.
 
As long as you don't click random links and visit questionable sites, free AV should be enough.

I've used $ versions of Avira, NOD32, and Kaspersky, and they are all great. The free version of Avira usually scores the highest of any free AV software, and it very competitive with the pay for ones. Combined that with Malwarebytes and Super Antispyware for on demand spyware scanning, and you should be in pretty good shape.

Whatever you do, avoid McAfee and older versions of Norton.
 
I've been an AVG free user for a while now, but I've been experimenting with avast free since the newer versions of AVG have developed some bloat and is more of a resource hog than it used to be. I'll probably switch over to avast.

I also recommend using Firefox equipped with the NoScript add-on as your primary browser. This should prevent most drive-by infections from disreputable sites or advertisers.

Finally, no amount of software can protect you from yourself. Keep your brain engaged and don't do anything dumb.
 
Both AVG and Avast suck compared to the new Microsoft Security Essentials imho. MSE is the simplest, least resource hungry free AV I've ever tried.
 
ive used AVG on 4 computers over the last 3 years or so. no problems on any of them. the few files i downloaded from certain sites that ended up having a virus or trojan it had no problem detecting. all 4 machines are running great.
 
AVG uses a lot more resources then Avast. When it upgraded from AVG 8 to 8.5 it caused a lot of the installations to simply remove AVG without the re-installing the upgrade.
 
Which is the least heavy Avira or Avast?

I love Nod32 but do not want to pay for anti-virus anymore after seeing how well these free programs are rated.
 
Ideally, you shouldn't need any real-time scanning anti-virus software. Be educated about do's and don'ts, and then follow through on not doing what you shouldn't be doing. You can be the best anti-virus there is. I've been operating for years using only manual scans, and even then, I don't get infected.

I used ClamWin before (which has no active scanner, manual/schedule only), but now I've switched to the Windows Security BETA. I disabled the active scanning. Can't attest to the quality of either one, as they don't find anything, but I'd like to think that's more my fault than the programs'.
 
Don't listen to Sokkratez. Unless you have a really shitty computer, you might as well have real-time scanning of executables. It takes a split second to check a program on execution. Yes, it's good to be smart enough to not download suspect software in the first place, but the fact of the matter is, mistakes do happen. Perfectly legitimate software has been accidentally distributed, infected with viruses. These are one-in-a-million cases, but it's so easily and painlessly preventable, that there really isn't any reason for it to ever happen.

Anyways, if you are paying for any antivirus software other than Nod32, then you are wasting money.

And if you are using any free AV other than Avira or Avast, you are wasting system resources, and suffering poorer detection rates.

AVG is a piece of shit. Never, ever use it.
 
[quote name='mortalgroove']Please elaborate.[/QUOTE]

AVG is terrible on resources and forces its way into your web browsers with plug-ins/extensions to scan sites, wasting both more of your resources and straining servers.

There was a big enough shitstorm when they first released their scanning of webpages that they drastically cut it back, but I don't know exactly how.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']Don't listen to Sokkratez. Unless you have a really shitty computer, you might as well have real-time scanning of executables. It takes a split second to check a program on execution. Yes, it's good to be smart enough to not download suspect software in the first place, but the fact of the matter is, mistakes do happen. Perfectly legitimate software has been accidentally distributed, infected with viruses. These are one-in-a-million cases, but it's so easily and painlessly preventable, that there really isn't any reason for it to ever happen.[/QUOTE]

I would rather take the million-in-one odds and keep my system resources. My methods aren't something everyone's going to be comfortable with, but I did preface my post by saying "Ideally."
 
System resources? If you have any decent computer at all, a good AV shouldn't be taking much at all. egui.exe (nod32) is taking 2 Mb of memory as I type.
 
The best open source and free Antivirus and Malware detection is Clam AV. There are tons of clients for Clam AV, and it is updated every day. The downside is that it's a traditional scanner, so it's not really memory resident, but then it takes a lot less resources. It does have some plug-ins to email systems to block attachments that may be infected.

This is one of the windows front end clients to Clam AV. http://www.clamwin.com/

I used to use Norton, then McAfee and then some of the free ones mentioned, but they don't do shit with malware detection (spyware, adware, etc) which Clam AV will catch. I have never had a virus to date, but I've been infected with Malware which ClamAV saw and reported, and told me where it came from, which at one point I could not believe it was a yahoo content banner in their web mail. Their system had been compromised and was used to spread malware to all of the yahoo email users that use webmail.

In anycase, I like that it's open source, and all the signatures are also open source, so you can also modify them for your own needs and purposes. No other AV solution has that, especially not FREE.
 
I think avira with firefox no script download will protect me fine. I use zone alarm for my firewall. I think I'm in good hands.
 
[quote name='Moxio']Completely uninstall Norton.[/QUOTE]

Most uneducated answer ever. The correct answer is uninstall any Norton < 2009. NAV/NIS 2009 was re-written from the ground up and is the new standard for $ AV apps. VERY ightweight and excellent detection. Better than the free stuff I use.
 
if we use the computer carefully a paid antivirus program is not necessary i think.dont download everything from the internet. i think.
 
[quote name='Nogib']Most uneducated answer ever. The correct answer is uninstall any Norton < 2009. NAV/NIS 2009 was re-written from the ground up and is the new standard for $ AV apps. VERY ightweight and excellent detection. Better than the free stuff I use.[/QUOTE]


No. Avira still has higher detection rates (99.8% vs 98.7%, according to AV-Test), it uses less than 10 megs of RAM most of the time, and it's still free.

Paying for Norton is stupid. Even if it was exactly as good as Avira (which, granted, it nearly is, in terms of detection rates), it's still a waste of money.
 
Something I'm curious about with the free virus programs like Avira or AVG, do they actually clean a virus if you get one? Or do they force you to upgrade to the paid version to clean the virus?
 
I use AVG 8.0 and have no issues with it.

I understand that it's a resource hog compared to others, and I hate all the shit it puts in my browser, but I need to remotely log into my work pc so I can work from home. It happens to be the one free AV program my company supports.

Also I have a fast, modern desktop and a good internet connection, so the resourse abuse I hardly even notice.
 
[quote name='redline']Something I'm curious about with the free virus programs like Avira or AVG, do they actually clean a virus if you get one?[/QUOTE]


Of course. :)
 
I got a year of Norton for free and was wondering what to do next year when it's up...guess I'll look into Avast and Avira next year. :twisted:
 
Last time I checked on the free vs paid av software is that they all get their updates and stuff from one company/website so basically comes down to the gui and features included with the software.
 
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