AntiVirus Software

[Gatr]

Well I have been using Avira.... freebee version and love it...  I am trying the Microsoft Security Essentials on my new build and it seems fairly nin intrusive.....
thx Gatr

[Mister Fork]

Microsoft Security Essentials - its free and unfortunately they know their stuff best.

[guncrasher]

just a point to make here, "even the lowest ranked anti-virus is still pretty good and the best ranked antivirus  wont fully protect you unless you know how to surf the net safely."  , that statement was made by consumer reports looking into all the anti-virus programs available.  lots of people dont use internet explorer because of it security issue (I use mozilla firefox) and also have some kind of webite ranking add-on installed along with a script blocker, ad-blocker, etc.

I had nod32 along with malware bytes installed on my computer.  my youngest son came to visit and decided to d/l some songs from a file sharing website that he knows ( have asked him many times not to do it), guess what, my computer got messed up really bad, and that was the 4th or 5th time that he does it.  computer wouldnt even boot at all, I ended up throwing away the hd (I was planing to replace it anyway), and reinstalling everything. but at least he got his 4 or 5 free songs  .

semp

[Fulmar]

I'd avoid Norton like the plague.  I'd only use Mcafee's corporate editions over their retail products.  Avoid Avast, Avira, and AVG - their threat detection is generally pretty bad.  Never tried Microsoft's product yet.  I couldn't stand Kaspersky.

My hands down recommendation is ESET.

[cattb]

I use kaspersky and like it, I am on my 3rd year. Kaspersky has sandboxie in it now.

[DustyR]

If you have a teen at home you need ESET Smart Security Four.  They have a promotion going that you can buy a subscription that covers several computers. 
Seriously the best program that I have used and I have used the 30 day free trial to straighten several computers out.

[TheZohan]

AVAST w/ Malwarebytes is all you wil ever need .. both are free and low overhead. but if you want the 24/7 protection theres a 25.00 lifetime license fee for the malwarebytes. well worth it.


we put this on all our customers computers and stand behind it 100%

[dirtydog]

anyone use CA? I can get for free from brighthouse

[BirdDog]

CA Sucks.  We had it at work.  It passed 2 bugs.  Had to wipe out my HD twice in 2 or 3 years. 
I bought ESET.  Great so far.

[soda72]

I installed Microsoft Security Essentials to try it out and was disappointed that it only allows you to schedule a scan once a week.

[Gatr]

Soda I think you should look again... I have mine set to daily scan....
salute Gatr

[Shamus]

.

[soda72]

Soda I think you should look again... I have mine set to daily scan....
salute Gatr

Ah, I didn't see the 'daily' option in the drop down list, just Sunday through Saturday

[ozrocker]

AVAST
Been using it for ever. FREE and never had any issues, or viruses
                                                                 <S> Oz

[Ghastly]

Personal recommendations on the order of "I use XYZ brand and it works for me" for A/V software are about as meaningless as a politician's promise.

I can run with NO A/V on my system for years at a time and never get a virus or malware.
My son can can't run more than about two weeks to a month or so regardless of which A/V is installed without picking up something, unless I disable nearly all active content (Java, ActiveX, runtime scripting etc.) and block IM, P2P and social networking sites (which eliminates about 90% of why he wants to use a computer in the first place). 

Close to 90% of your vulnerability comes from your browsing/downloading habits on your Windows system.  Close to 10% comes from whether or not you keep your Windows system up to date with all known patches. 

And when you do the math, close to 100% of your vulnerability comes from running Windows in the first place!  (Not that most of us have many realistic options...)

<S>