anti-virus recommendation

[fresh]

i have been using Norton for years. what antivirus are you using ?

i consider switching to Kaspersky. Hope it may be better than Norton.

How do you think ?

 

it would be better to get a free high quality antivirus from internet..but i dont expect it too much. No free lunch, right ?

 

[Endy0816]

I like the free version of Avast myself.

 

The company uses free users to alert them to coming threats so it is a fair trade.

[fresh]

www.avast.com/‎

 

how good is it ?

[Endy0816]

I find it offers decent protection without bogging down my system.

 

Choosing an AV product is fairly subjective. I've generally found that the top ones are about the same in terms of protection and the rest just comes down to personal preference.

 

Here's a site with more objective comparisons: http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/windows-xp/marapr-2013/

Edited September 14, 2013 by Endy0816

[Sayonara]

I've used the free version of Avast! for years, it's really good. Quick to update, has a pretty low system footprint.

[Externet]

Norton, AVG, Kaspersky, Panda, Avira, PCTools, Avast, McAfee, Defender, Whatever...

Been running 8 years now with none of the above.

 

Jumped to Linux then. Was a dificult adaptation but managed to stay on it. Will never do windows again.

[mathematic]

Avast, AVG, and Avira are the most widely recommended free anti-virus program. Choice depends partly on features.

 

I have two computers. On one I have AVG and on the other (old) I have Avast.

 

Features of interest (to me) in free versions:

 

E-mail check, AVG and Avast

Scheduled sweep, AVG and Avira

 

Avira has one annoyance - daily message asking you to upgrade to pay version.

[fresh]

I like the free version of Avast myself.

 

The company uses free users to alert them to coming threats so it is a fair trade.

http://www.avast.com/int-30-60-is-trial

 

why credit card needed ? it is NOT free.....

"At the end of the 60-day free trial period, your credit card or PayPal account will be billed automatically unless you have canceled during that 60-day period. Price after the trial period is $29.99 for 12-months of protection for 1 PC (with 40% discount applied)."

[StringJunky]

http://www.avast.com/int-30-60-is-trial

 

why credit card needed ? it is NOT free.....

"At the end of the 60-day free trial period, your credit card or PayPal account will be billed automatically unless you have canceled during that 60-day period. Price after the trial period is $29.99 for 12-months of protection for 1 PC (with 40% discount applied)."

That will be a trial of their full version and not the free one.

[fresh]

so no such a free thing.

[Sayonara]

so no such a free thing.

 

Sigh.

 

http://www.avast.com/en-gb/index

 

See the bit where it offers you two products? The one on the left is the lovely free antivirus only package. The one on the right is the internet security suite, which you have to pay for.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I installed Microsoft Security Essentials on my parents' computers a while ago and promptly forgot about it. No nagging about updates and no slowness. But then, previously I had used Norton, which makes anything look good in comparison.

[fresh]

I bought a new desktop, Apple, and was told by salesman that it is not necessary to install any antivirus software for my PC.

I take it with a grain of salt. how do u guys think ?

[mathematic]

As a matter of principle you should have antivirus software. Apple could have supplied one. I would certainly check it out. I have a Windows PC so I don't know much about Apple.

[StringJunky]

I did some reading up on it and it appears to be secure enough, under current conditions, not to need one.

[GiantEvil]

There are many Linux kernel OS's available, for free. I'm not sure why, but Linux systems are considered pretty virus proof. When I ran windows it was always getting blown up by malware and whatnot. I use Ubuntu now, no third party virus protection, been working great. Sometimes my Chrome settings get changed, but that's easy to fix.

[StringJunky]

In Linux you cannot make yourself a root user all the time, like you can in Windows, you have to sign in everytime you want system-level privileges.

[fresh]

Is Apple safe enough for e-banking services without anti - virus ?

[Phi for All]

The free Avast is great. I got Norton loaded free on my newest laptop, and I'll be removing that and installing Avast.

 

Just me personally, but I would avoid Trend Micro Security. I had that installed on a work machine and couldn't uninstall it completely. There was always little prompts telling me I was out-of-date even after being uninstalled. And they pretend not to understand when you complain about it.

[fresh]

As far as i know, Norton is not free, whereas Avast is free and great, how can Avast producer make money from it ?

[StringJunky]

Apple's Unix-based OS is a different beast to PC so I'm not sure AV's are the best route...it might even compromise it and mess it up.The best thing to do is Google the online security advice and apps associated with your bank. Here's bit of general advice:

 

Never respond directly from your email client to any request purporting to come from you bank ,,,always go and login to your bank account your usual way and check or execute requests from them there...if they are there. Never click on any links purporting to come from them that claim to take you to your account or anything else...always go your usual route and check if it's true. If you can, have a wired connection to your router for your banking pc or at least make sure it's WPA2-PSK standard wireless encryption and have a very strong password. Your bank will never request personal or password details via email. In the address bar the address will start https//www.bankname.com...note the extra 's' in https...this means it's a secure connection and if it's not there, stop. It could be a spoofed site.

Edited December 16, 2013 by StringJunky

[Phi for All]

As far as i know, Norton is not free, whereas Avast is free and great, how can Avast producer make money from it ?

 

Norton has a free 30 day trial on many new computers. They figure you'll be too lazy to unsubscribe, so your purchase will happen if you DON'T do anything.

 

Avast and others offer free versions that only offer the basics. They figure it's best to stay in front of you, protecting you minimally, so that if you decide you need something more robust you don't have far to look. Avast makes money from ads as well as upgrades to their free protection.

Apple Is not PC so it's not subject to the same level of paranoia...it is a an inherently safer system like Linux.

 

Is this really the case, or is it because the hackers simply have more of a market with Windows machines? I'm not sure about Linux, but I remember reading once that Apple is safer simply because it's not as prolific a target.

[fresh]

Honestly, i regret buying Apple desktop, for its OS is not user friendly for me and my parents.

how come people are so crazy for apple products ?

[Phi for All]

Honestly, i regret buying Apple desktop, for its OS is not user friendly for me and my parents.

how come people are so crazy for apple products ?

 

User-friendly is usually what Apple is all about, that and connectivity between their products. I always found Apple's OS to be much more intuitive and less clunky than DOS-based Windows, but I haven't had any Apple products for quite a while. Perhaps the best part about Apple is their support, at least in the US. They have genius bars where you can go to ask any question about any of their products any time. They teach you how to use their products for free in a hands-on approach I find pretty refreshing.

[StringJunky]

fresh, on 16 Dec 2013 - 3:52 PM, said:

Honestly, i regret buying Apple desktop, for its OS is not user friendly for me and my parents.

how come people are so crazy for apple products ?

They are hip, cool and expensive.

 

 

Is this really the case, or is it because the hackers simply have more of a market with Windows machines? I'm not sure about Linux, but I remember reading once that Apple is safer simply because it's not as prolific a target.

I've just been reading that a consultant for Sophos uses AV's on his home Macs so that probably answers that. It's really more down to safe practices by the consumer than software ultimately.