Best antivirus and/or spyware program

tucker001, tucker001,
What are you thinking? Your buddy and myself, as a IT for a chain of Hotels, can get away with only Windows Firewall because we know not to surf randomly and download free toolbars and cool programs like the Newbies do….

It takes a while, but they finally learn… Hopefully. LOL

Until then, I guess we just have to keep bailing them out….

2OG

 

this might also be useful I have it on my computer for when I have company over it's called Windows Steady State http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx

 

Hey i am not a newbie at this stuff, i was just saying wouldn't it be better to have a good software firewall as well as hardware just to be safe. I know not to do all that stuff, my comp never gets infected with spyware or viruses at all. So if i have router the hardware firewall is good enough to just keep with my windows firewall, cool to know that.

 

As already mentioned, there is no "best" antivirus or protection program; just personal preference. In the antivirus department, I recommend Kaspersky (you need to pay, but incredible detection rates, bit high on resources though - just a bit!), NOD32 (you have to pay, very good detection rates, and so low on resources that most people won't even notice it), or Avira AntiVir (free, best detections and heuristics anywhere, but high on resources and tends to report a lot of false positives).

In the firewall category, definitely Comodo.

For anti-spyware, I would recommend buying SUPERAntiSpyware because of its superb detection rates and lack of (m)any false positives. Otherwise you can use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

Finally, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - don't forget to have the MVPS Hosts file and SpywareBlaster

 

this video clip should clear up all the confusion about firewalls it is a clip from a show that aired in canada that got cancelled a couple months ago http://youtube.com/watch?v=1rsUefv-nlk

 

Kaspersky and NOD32 are the 2 best paid antivirus softwares if you are willing to pay money for them. But nowadays once a virus is on your system antiviruses cant remove them without breaking something in windows because they dig themselves so deep, the only thing they are really good for is to tell you if you have a virus. And the only way to make sure your system is 100% clean after you get a virus is to backup format your drive and reinstall. You won't get viruses if you do the following

1.) Don't open email attachments
2.) Don't download things from sites you do not trust.
3.) Keep Windows Updated as soon as updates are available
4.) Use an Antivirus/Antispyware with the latest definitions to date
5.) Turn on Windows Firewall, and have a broadband router
6.) Run as a limited user

 

Great video, thank you very much.

 

anytime, its just hard for me to explain stuff in forums sometimes

 

Fredil, I disagree strongly. Antivir is extremely low on resources, so low that it almost is a match for Nod32 in that area. Antivir does not report a lot of false positives. Read the latest av-comparative test! Antivir detects very few false positives.

As for the firewall topic, the only real reason one would need a firewall at all is protection against hackers and malware. A router should have a built-in firewall able to block most malware and hackers, and Windows Firewall stealths all ports on your computer so that hackers and malware cannot get in at all. The only lack of protection with this setup is the ability to be pinged (even though some routers do block ping) and a lack of outbound traffic monitoring. As long as you surf safely and don't get infected by malware, outbound traffic shouldn't be worth monitoring after all!

Best Regards

 

cdavfrew: I'll take your word on AntiVir

 

Hi guys,

Help me out ... just got a new laptop with XP SP2 and I want to get the correct "Freeware" Anti-Virus, Anti-Trojan, ... whatever I really need on it. I am Totally Newbie to these stuff ... so, please make your advice "Simple" and to the "Point".

Q1: I hear "Avast!4Home Edition" supposed to be better than AVG8.0? True or not?

Q2: From all the mentioned FREE Anti-Virus protection ... which one? AVG, Avast or Avira AntiVir, ...?

Q3: Should I install Comodo Firewall? Will it conflict with Microsoft Windows Firewall and cause me problems?

Q4: Do I need anything else besides a Good Anti-Virus ... to protect me against Trojans, Spyware, ... etc.?

I would really appreciate if you experts ... like Tucker001 and tehe rest of you folks ... can give a 1, 2, 3 type tip.

For example ... install these ...
1. AVG 8.0
2. Comodo Firewall
3. Spybot
4. Ad-Aware

Thanks,
G!

 

ditch comodo and turn on the windows firewall and get any kind of broadband router

 

true dat dis dat and uh

 

get rid of the realtime antispyware (will slow you down) and instead use returnil anytime your on the internet, "returnil" won't stop virus or spyware but it will seperate your internet from the hard drive. No virus/spyware has been known to defeat/bypass returnil and damaged the hard drive or windows registry.

my system
1.zone alarm firewall
2.avg 8.0 free
3.firefox 3.0 browser
4.returnil
no bloated antispyware software installed (avg antivirus does a good job)

I surf where ever I want with no problems, returnil is my lastline of defense and has never failed. It'll keep your new computer safe.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Returnil_Virtual_System_Personal_Edition_d5702.html

 

Question. I currently use Bitdefender and am happy with its protection but not with the amount of resources it takes up. I am ready to get a new program and really dont know if I should go for the free stuff or fork out the $ for the others. I basically use my computer to shop (amazon mostly w/ payment through paypal), watch free tv (fancast, hulu), sometimes surf randomly and occasionally use bit torrent to dwnload live shows from "trusted" sites such as dimeadozen and bt.etree. I am definitely going to start using my router after reading the other posts but I'm not sure what "limited user" means. Any help is appreciated.

 

Hey jbmcgee

I've used Bitdefender before, and even though it used to be a good antivirus, it just got so bloated I left it alone. Antivir, which is free and uses little resources, is a good alternative with the best detection out there. Remember to use an antispyware app as well.

A limited user basically means the guest account. It protects you in the sense that malware can't operate as well on a guest account with limited functions.

Best Regards

 

thanks for the help. now I understand, I think, what a limited used is but im confused as how to run as a limited user to better protect my comp.

thanks

 

Hey jbmcgee

 

So, running as a limited user simply means to log on my comp as a guest when using internet?

 

I've decided to go with Nod32 but I read a couple reviews saying ver. 2.7 is better than 3.0 and they're both the same $ on Amazon. Anyone have a comment, agree or disagree, on which is better.

Thanks a whole lot