AVG free version users

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Westy
"AVG = Avast?"

Not at all.  AVG sucks.  Avast is far superior and IMO (as well as others on the net if you check via"Googling") the equal of, or  better, than the Symantec and McAfee.   McAfee is a resource hog and sucks as bad as AVG imo.
The best "pay" a.v. software is (imo) Trends PC-cillin. And the best "free" program is Avast.
AVG sucks - which IMO can't be said enough.

Err actually McAfee isn't a resource hog. Version 8i runs in 30Mb of RAM, and thats including antispyware and buffer overflow protection (some basic IPS functionality). It also has some nice tweakable settings on CPU utilization and scan times.

AVAST sucks as much as AVG does. Plus AVAST has some nasty file size issues. Trends nice.

[Rolex]

Originally posted by Vulcan
Err why the hell would a MAC address be a problem? No coffee but have you been smoking something?

You do realize your MAC address is usually not visible to anyone on the net?

Have I been smoking something? What kind of comment is that? It's not (usually) visible on the net, but I'm not interested in having a laptop that has logged into any ISP (which you, of all people, know logs the MAC address), therefore having a traceable history other than my own.

[Bogie603rd]

Originally posted by LePaul
I just acquired a used laptop.  I was going to wipe it but thought Id scan it to see what it had on it for viruses/worms.  10 virus/worms

AVG Free wouldnt do a thing about it.  It would merrily scan away yet do nothing.

Spybot Search n Destroy found and tried to delete them

As did Ad Aware.

They all detected but couldnt clean it up.

So I checked the Symantec site.  The online scan confirmed it had 10 issues.  You cant download an evaluation of 2006 but they do have 2007 Beta available to try.  I downloaded that, installed it and it not only found the viruses/worms, it identified them and fixed the system.  Even going so far as to weed the issues out of the registry.

Im still going to yank the hard drive and install a bigger drive.  But it was interesting to see what software packages would identify and actually fix these problems

That is why there is:
http://safety.live.com

and if that won't do anything, check the root location of the virus from the scanners that detected it but wouldnt clean it. Most of the time you can manually delete it. If not, pull up the Registry Editor (Start>Run>regedit) Then press Ctrl + F, and search for the file name. Once you find it, delete the registry key, and try again. Still doesen't work? Keep searching for it and deleting the registry keys until you can't find any traces of the file anymore. (Be sure to use extension in your search criteria, and try to match the key's value to the root location of the virus/trojan.)

[x0847Marine]

Originally posted by fuzeman
Welp, spent the weekend de-virusing my computer.

AVG free version passed it with flying colors and didn't find anything. I did have the current virus definitions.

If you want to try the old version of BitDefender, the #8 version.
http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Main/view/Download-Free-Products.html

Let me know what you think. It found a few things AVG didn't and I for one am considering a change.  It found a couple Trojans and found hgqhp.exe which AVG didn't.

http://www.avast.com - home version free.

[Westy]

I'm just relaying my personal experience Vulcan. I've not tried McAfee in about two years but my PC rana heck of alot fatser when it was gone. And it's been a little less time since I've tried AVG.
 Fwiw the reason I switched (besides being free) is Avast caught viruses on several PC's that had previously had ( as late as this summer) McAffee and Symantec on them (with Symantec had a couple of cases where it saw a problem/virus but could not do anything with it)
 I personally have not a single issue while using AVAST and I've installed it on my 3 pc's as well as 3 neighbors and two neices. No problems at all.
 But IF I had to choose to buy one it would be PC-cillan.


edited: Another tool that is indispensable to help keep your PC clean from nasty infections is Ewido.

[Clifra Jones]

Originally posted by Rolex
Have I been smoking something? What kind of comment is that? It's not (usually) visible on the net, but I'm not interested in having a laptop that has logged into any ISP (which you, of all people, know logs the MAC address), therefore having a traceable history other than my own.

I seriously doubt that most ISP are logging MAC address information. The only ones I know of that even care what your MAC address is are cable companies that don't use PPoE and that's only so they can tie your service to your network card. This is to prevent fraudulent access to thier network. Most cable companies have abandoned this and moved to PPoE or some other form of Authentication because MAC address cloning is a common feature on most Cable/DSL routers.

The MAC address (hardware address of your network card) is only sent to your ISP to assign you an IP address. This is destroyed when your IP lease expires. True, most DCHP servers can keep logs but all they would show is this network card received an ip from their server on a specific date.

As far as the HDD there are many forensic tools available that will completely clean a HDD of any data. If you are that paranoid regarding what may have been saved on it.

Seriously, I think you are stressing about a whole lot of nothing.

[Bogie603rd]

Maybe he doesen't want the NSA to find him:cool: !

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Rolex
Have I been smoking something? What kind of comment is that? It's not (usually) visible on the net, but I'm not interested in having a laptop that has logged into any ISP (which you, of all people, know logs the MAC address), therefore having a traceable history other than my own.

Errmm 99% of the time an ISP never sees your MAC address. Only if your ISP is providing you with an ethernet connection to plug into DIRECTLY will they see the MAC address. MAC addresses are a L2 thing, any L3 device in the path (ie Router, Modem, Firewall, L3 Switch etc) will not pass them upstream.

Dunno who you've been talking too but sounds like they're confused.

[Charon]

AVAST sucks as much as AVG does. Plus AVAST has some nasty file size issues. Trends nice.

Don't know about that. It has worked great for me, caught some stuff incoming, always updates itself and my work uses the commercial license for over 300 employees at 3 main locations and various remote telecommuters. IT guy still has his job. Not bad for free home use.

Charon

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by Westy
I'm just relaying my personal experience Vulcan. I've not tried McAfee in about two years but my PC rana heck of alot fatser when it was gone. And it's been a little less time since I've tried AVG.
 Fwiw the reason I switched (besides being free) is Avast caught viruses on several PC's that had previously had ( as late as this summer) McAffee and Symantec on them (with Symantec had a couple of cases where it saw a problem/virus but could not do anything with it)
 I personally have not a single issue while using AVAST and I've installed it on my 3 pc's as well as 3 neighbors and two neices. No problems at all.
 But IF I had to choose to buy one it would be PC-cillan.


edited: Another tool that is indispensable to help keep your PC clean from nasty infections is Ewido.

This gonna sound... ummm... well like I'm being an ahole. Buit for me its my professional experience. I'll be honest, McAfee is a product I actually sell. But I'm reknowned at work for not selling stuff unless I'm completely happy with it. I've seen Avast perform poorly and break a number of times. It just isn't as good as - like you say for example - PC Cillin (Trend).

In fact come to think of it we had virus hit internally last week ( mydoom variant) . It came in via Mac's running Parallels, usually those guys run Avast on their systems. Luckily we're got IPS/GatewayAV between internal segments and I stopped it getting out of the Apple cess-pit.

[wooley]

Originally posted by Vulcan
It came in via Mac's...

Viruses on Mac's. Surely you jest? I've seen the adverts on TV and Apple says only PC's get viruses

[Vulcan]

Originally posted by wooley
Viruses on Mac's. Surely you jest? I've seen the adverts on TV and Apple says only PC's get viruses

Parallels lets them run Windows within a Window. So it was a PC Virus within a PC emulation on an Apple.

[Rolex]

It might be a whole lot about nothing, Clifra, but I still would not take a used laptop through Customs, which was my original point. You are welcome to do it. Customs is a legal black hole where laptops are seized and forensic analysis done without probable cause or legal requirement to have any.

[dmf]

Originally posted by Vulcan
I don't know how many times I've posted here that AVG and Avast are crap.

If you want good AV get either McAfee, Symantec, Trend, or NOD32. These guys always rank well. Between the 4 of them some people like/do not like certain stuff (I hate symantec as its bloated and until recently was 'rootkit'ish).

AVG constantly gets extremely poor detection ratings on indepent AV tests. Whereas the 4 names above usually get within spitting distance of each other.

I always laugh when some AVG loving noob tells me "I've had AVG for 5 years and never had a virus" - my answer is always "how do you know?".... but they don't get it.

Don't know about McAffee, or Trend, but Symantec ( norton) leaft 5 viruses in my system restore files that would have been really bad of my computers health that NOD 32 found before I ever ran the first scan.

[Viper9th]

AVG is one of the best programs, and not all programs can find viruses, except norton cause it sucks, AVG doesn't try and put it in the vault or delete? Cause nothing else (program) wise can lepaul. AVG great program but bit defender, give it a year and there will be something it can't find.