Anti Virus Programs

[Vulcan]

Eset NOD32 is the lightest-weight product out there, and it very good for a gaming rig.

Or mcafee *enterprise* if you have access to it. IIRC McAfee have an AV @ home program which costs businesses ~$2 per seat. 8.7i is like nod32+threatfire imho   (mcafee were doing what threatfire does long in their enterprise product before threatfire came out)

[moot]

Apparently NOD32 is weak on detecting (incl false positive) Crypto viruses.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Apparently NOD32 is weak on detecting (incl false positive) Crypto viruses.

Apparently NOD32 has scored top or won in every reliability benchmark so far so I wouldn't be concerned.

And this comes from someone who stoped using AV about a year ago completely following Skuzzy's example. I have to say all my computers run much snappyer now and my 8-year old has only managed to snag spyware once which I had to clean.

I do use online scans now and then and regularly check the connection for any unauthorized traffic. Running without AV is by no means for computer beginners.

[moot]

Yes that's my pov as well. I wasn't concerned either till I somehow got one of those old (99) versions of a crypto that NOD32 never detected (full scans every other night) till it had already infected some System Volume Information files.  When I scanned one of the folders it had infected, NOD failed to see it.  It would only catch it when infected apps (notepad, IE, explorer, etc) showed the virus signature.

[Skuzzy]

Running without AV does require a discipline.  I have been on the net since the DARPA days and have yet to see any of my computers get a virus and yet I have never used an AV program, except on test systems to see what damage the AV program will do.

[SKJohn]

Running without AV does require a discipline.  I have been on the net since the DARPA days and have yet to see any of my computers get a virus and yet I have never used an AV program, except on test systems to see what damage the AV program will do.

What is the discipline that keeps you from getting viruses?  How does one go about that in this day and age?  Ideas please?

[Masherbrum]

What is the discipline that keeps you from getting viruses?  How does one go about that in this day and age?  Ideas please?

No Porn, No Flash, etc

[Wingnutt]

Ive seen more problems caused by McAffe Antivirus, than I have seen caused by actual viruses... true story..

I run Avast now, used to run AVG before it turned into bloatware.

[Ghosth]

No activeX controls, no .net framework, no downloading files from unknown sources.

And if you absolutely have to open an unknown file, you do it on a seperate machine from the one you need.
Any old slow pc laying around will work to unzip or unpack an unknown file so It can be checked.

Ohh and knowing skuzzy, probably a VERY good hardware firewall.

[Skuzzy]

Ghosth and Masherbrum pretty much hit the nail on the head.  Also no Java or AJAX.  I do allow javascript for trusted sites.  I also have an automated tester (runs on Linux) for those trusted sites to insure they have not been infected with something.

The Internet is like a tool to me.  I use my tools when I need them and only use what I need.  Most people would be very frustrated with my configuration.  What, no Facebook!  What, no Youtube!  What, no Myspace!  HOW DO YOU LIVE?!?!  Yada-yada-yada

[Enker]

Do any of the aforementioned security software happen to work on Macintoshs? Or should I just leave my Mac OS X and Mac OS be?

[Masherbrum]

Do any of the aforementioned security software happen to work on Macintoshs? Or should I just leave my Mac OS X and Mac OS be?

Leave it as is.   

[Vulcan]

Leave it as is.   

Dunno bout that, there's some nasty stuff floating around for the mac now, not much. But enough to be a worry.

[Vulcan]

Ive seen more problems caused by McAffe Antivirus, than I have seen caused by actual viruses... true story..

I run Avast now, used to run AVG before it turned into bloatware.

Yeah well I've seen avast let through plenty of malware. I run mcafee on half a dozen machines, nod32 on a couple of others. My main gaming rig runs mcafee 8.7i and it's sweet.

If I were to say perfect setup, I'd say nod32 + threatfire + a sonicwall tz210

Mcafee 8.7i is pretty close to the nod32+threatfire setup, but I think nod32 has a slightly better signature pickup.

[daddog]

I signed up for Bit Defender and am very happy with it.
http://www.bitdefender.com

Have done Norton, Mcafee, AV, and one or two others over the years.

Bit Defender has a ton of bells and whistles. I particularly like the encrypted partition I can set up that does not show up unless I unlock it. The parent controls are very nice too esp if you have several systems in one house you want to keep an eye on. It has antispyware, gamer mode, parental controls, etc. Works for me.