Best Virus Protection?

Hell Monkey

Hell Monkey

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So I come home from work. My wife tells me the computer was giving her problems.

So I get on and take a look.

AVG is gone.
System Restore has lost all restore points
I can't type directly into Firefox to go to a website, I have to search it.

It also apparently tried to do a System Dump when she first turned it on, she saw it and powered the system up.

So at this point I need a new virus scan/Firewall. I'm just going to knuckle up and pay for one. What is the best one out there for under $60 or so for Windows Vista?
 
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Honestly, the best virus protection for your PC is to use Ubuntu or some other flavor of Linux. Since I've been doing that for a few years now, I really don't have a clue what the Windows Antivirus market is like right now.

I guess Norton might be a good first place to look, but as long as you are running Windows, you are always going to be somewhat vulnerable. That's just an inescapable reality of the the way that OS's security was designed.
 
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Security Essentials doesn't have an antivirus, so you still need to run one in addition to it. I completely disabled it, it's just a resource suck. I have Malwarebytes and Advanced System Care 3, neither of which I leave running, but I do a scan every few days and everything seems to stay right as rain. Even then, I really only use Malwarebytes for the heavy-duty stuff which I've had to do about twice since I started using it. Interestingly, I tried to switch to Chrome and got two viruses that wiped my disk in the same day.
 
I've been using Norton 360 for a few years now. There's always a good deal that pops up on that software. I really enjoy the cards/logins feature it has with your web browser (similar to firefox, I just trust storing my info with norton safer)
 
The best is proper knowledge. Viruses don't hit you unless you're off the regular internet paths. But once something gets on your system it may be too late, they try to keep you from installing programs to remove it. Malwarebytes and hijackThis are good tools to use to get yourself cleaned up. Since I don't use anything else there's no other suggestions.
 
I don't have one now. I figured out what caused the issues and fixed it. I still want to get a good virus guard as AVG is to glitchy.
 
[quote name='Survivalism']Security Essentials doesn't have an antivirus, so you still need to run one in addition to it. I completely disabled it, it's just a resource suck. I have Malwarebytes and Advanced System Care 3, neither of which I leave running, but I do a scan every few days and everything seems to stay right as rain. Even then, I really only use Malwarebytes for the heavy-duty stuff which I've had to do about twice since I started using it. Interestingly, I tried to switch to Chrome and got two viruses that wiped my disk in the same day.[/QUOTE]

What...? MSE is most definitely an antivirus. I'm not sure what you disabled, possibly MS Live Essentials? Which is in no way associated with MSE other than them being made by the same company.
 
MSSE is also really low-key on resources. I've never noticed it using more than maybe 60-70MB of RAM, and it's never taxing the processor. It's not a resource hog in the least.
 
I use Comodo (firewall), Avast (virus), SpywareBlaster and Malwarebytes (malware) all free versions. The worst I ever pick up is the occasional tracking cookie.

Comodo is sometimes a pain, but I can't argue with its track record.
 
I use Avast, and it seems to work good. I have had a couple of "trojan" attacks or something, but a quick system restore had me fixed. It blocks things once in a while, so I assume it's working :p

I honestly would NOT pay for an antivirus.
 
I've used AVG and Avast, but I'm thinking about switching everything over to MSE. All the tech sites seem to like it and it appears to be light. Best of all, the price is right (FREE).

Then again, AVG has never failed me (Avast was bothersome with notifications I was too dumb to figure out how to turn off).
 
Avira has a free version that isn't as bloated as avg. Honestly though, once you have an infection you can never trust it again. It's time to reinstall windows.
 
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You can prevent most viruses by running AdBlock+ and NoScript in FireFox.

I use AntiVir Personal (free) to scan the stuff I download. Used to use AVG, but it got way too bloated for me over time.
 
I just use ZoneAlarm free firewall and just keep things like java on a prompt rather then always allow. Whenever a website suddenly gives a popup and zonealarm alerts me that java is trying to access the internet I just deny it and close it in task manager. Though I wouldn't recommend this if you're not tech savy it's definitely been working for me. Otherwise I'd go with Norton.
 
i use a combo of malwarebytes pro, sandboxie, microsoft security essentials on my netbook. i use ubuntu on my laptop which is probably your best bet
 
For a purchased/commercial package, I'd have to put in the nod for Norton 360. Does good at a number of items and it's pretty lightweight on system resources. Routinely shows up at Frys.com for $10-$20 after two rebates, as well as Office Depot recently.

For a free solution, I'd have to put in a nod for MSEE as well. It's a decent package, especially for free, and updates itself with Windows Update, so it'll keep on top of updates. Relatively lightweight on system resources. If you don't go with MSEE, then I still turn to AVG. Picking up a firewall between Comodo and ZoneAlarm works pretty well, though I've been using Comodo more than ZoneAlarm these days.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a must-have, regardless if you go with a free or paid product.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']For a purchased/commercial package, I'd have to put in the nod for Norton 360. Does good at a number of items and it's pretty lightweight on system resources. Routinely shows up at Frys.com for $10-$20 after two rebates, as well as Office Depot recently.[/QUOTE]


Has there been a serious software overhaul recently?

I dropped Norton about three years ago at home and at work because of the excessive bloat.
 
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Yes, scarily enough, Norton has gotten better since about 2008 or 2009. It's no longer the huge resource hog that it once was.
 
Spybot is also good to have and run. I've used spyware blaster in the past. Currently Antivar seems to do the trick and its free. I'll have to look into that no script for firefox. Something like that could have prevented that Java script virus I got this summer from Slickdeals....
 
[quote name='kube00']Spybot is also good to have and run. I've used spyware blaster in the past. Currently Antivar seems to do the trick and its free. I'll have to look into that no script for firefox. Something like that could have prevented that Java script virus I got this summer from Slickdeals....[/QUOTE]

I've read recently that Spybot is no longer good, based on the methods it uses to detect. I switched over to Malwarebytes because of concerns that Spybot is just outdated now, despite having a terrific history. I used it for years.
 
As was mentioned, if you've gotten bit by malware, the only way to be certain it is gone is to wipe and restore the HD.
Don't surf as administrator.
Don't use Warez, game cracks or anything sketchy. What scans clean today may be tomorrow's problem.
Purge your HD of old downloads and files you don't need. Today's viruses can attach themselves to other files and go undetected.
AVG free is no guarantee. Avira AnitiVir is a good freebie.
AdAware(free) goes a long way for protection and catches stuff others might miss.
Yep Norton seems to be much better than it used to be. Grab Norton 360 for cheap where you can. It better protect you, it's Norton after all :)
 
bumping for future reference. I believe I had contracted a trojan virus, keylogger, and some other virus that rendered all the .exe files on my comp useless.

I had done a random google search (on how to disable a malfunctioning fire alarm off of yahoo! answers) and that's where my problems started almost immediately.

I was able to find most (if not all) of the bad/corrupted files and it's been running fine since.

Been using avast, spybot, and ad-aware. Will be sure to get MSE and malwarebytes.
 
I've stopped using Spybot in most cases, same for Ad-Aware. Ad-Aware has gotten very bloated over the years. Malwarebytes is quick, fast and much better with the 1.5.x versions on slower systems than it used to be.

[quote name='blindinglights']Has there been a serious software overhaul recently?

I dropped Norton about three years ago at home and at work because of the excessive bloat.[/QUOTE]I've been using the Norton home products over the years, and there was a definite dip in the 2007 and 2008 versions for stability and system resource use. Once the 2009 products came out, things changed for the better, and the 2010 and 2011 weren't close to the resource hogs they used to be.

I use NIS on a couple of systems (older Win XP Pro system and a new Win 7 Ultimate system) and system resource use with NIS 2011 is quite a bit better than it used to be. Another laptop at my house uses Norton 360 and that's been a relatively lightweight product that's a jack-of-most-trades solution. 1.0 wasn't that great, 2.0 was passable, 3.0 was pretty good, 4.0 is even better and 5.0 just came out. Used Norton 360 on an older Win XP Home system and a new Win 7 Pro system without much system slowdown, plus other systems I "administer" that aren't at home.

Frys.com routinely has NAV, NIS and Norton 360 in their weekly ad for $0 - $20 after two rebates and with NIS 2010 and Norton 360 4.0, they let you upgrade to the next version as long as you have your subscription valid. Office Depot has been doing that as well for Norton 360 a couple times this past month. The company that handles their rebates is one I've had little to no issue with and I've had them handle dozens and dozens of rebate submissions of mine. The occasional issue they take care of quickly as long as you have copies of everything you sent them and can fax it or scan+email it to them.
 
I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) back when it was in beta in 2009 when I had a POS computer that was slowed majorly by McAfee. I've stuck with it ever since. I don't really understand the thought process behind anyone who used paid antivirus when MSE is available.

It leaves me alone. It's free. It uses minimal resources. I haven't had anything bad happen to me in almost two years.
 
[quote name='Nogib']Microsoft Security Essentials[/QUOTE]
This.

If it wasn't in the name, I would never think this is a M$ program.
 
[quote name='blandstalker']I've read recently that Spybot is no longer good, based on the methods it uses to detect. I switched over to Malwarebytes because of concerns that Spybot is just outdated now, despite having a terrific history. I used it for years.[/QUOTE]

Spybot is still awesome for it's passive protections against known-bad websites. The way it works, it doesn't step on the toes of other active anti-virus or anti-malware products, so using malaware bytes plus spybot is completely viable, so why not use both and just disable teatimer?

As far as pay AV goes, I would suggest kaspersky or Nod32. For free AV, I'd use avast, AVG or Microsoft security essentials.
 
I've used Avast! for years.

The latest versions require a lot of settings customization in order to really 'secure' your PC, but it is one of the best FREE antivirus programs available.

It's also a good idea to keep the free version of Malwarebytes on your PC as well. It doesn't offer real-time protection like Avast, so you have to run a manual scan. Its great at finding anything Avast may have let slip through.
 
[quote name='nCogNeato']I've used Avast! for years.

The latest versions require a lot of settings customization in order to really 'secure' your PC, but it is one of the best FREE antivirus programs available.

It's also a good idea to keep the free version of Malwarebytes on your PC as well. It doesn't offer real-time protection like Avast, so you have to run a manual scan. Its great at finding anything Avast may have let slip through.[/QUOTE]
The paid version of Malwarebytes does offer real-time protection. I know you mentioned the free version, but just wanted to let the OP know.
 
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