Anti-virus software - Which one?!?!?!?!?

[landyman Ash]

Its that time of year when everywhere 5 mins my anti virus softeware is telling me in a pop up that if if I dont renew it the world around me is going to collapse......


....so.  Which one?  Do I stick with Norton or do I swop.  Whats the general trend?

[thermidorthelobster]

I use Grisoft on my PC, because they don't charge you through the nose, and the software seems tickety boo.

I fell out with Symantec a couple of years back when I wanted to reinstall the software, and they told me I didn't own the right to do that - apparently I'd not bought the software from them, I'd paid for the privilege of using it once.  So screw them then!

[TimM]

I fell out with Symantec a couple of years back when I wanted to reinstall the software, and they told me I didn't own the right to do that - apparently I'd not bought the software from them, I'd paid for the privilege of using it once.  So screw them then!

I found them to be totally the opposite, I started off with their Norton antivirus a few years ago when I 'borrowed' ( :oops: ) my Dads disk - it let me install it, never asked for any passwords or authentication, logged me on to the web updates and after a year invited my to renew my subscription for the $ equivalent of £3-4.

I have stayed with them but have now bought legitimate ( :D ) copies and am now running Norton Internet Security 2005. This has antivirus and a firewall and a host of other things which you don't particularly notice that you have, but can rest assured that they are working.

 

[Thrasher]

As a user you might not notice NIS 2005 running, but as a computer techy I despise it - it hogs the processor, slows down the PC and generally messes with the software I write (professionally).

I use Grisfot too :-> Oh and common sense - this stops about 90% of Viri :>

[hobbit]

I use Grisoft on my PC, because they don't charge you through the nose, and the software seems tickety boo.

Agreed here, also when my system went down, and lost my code, one quick email with my name and they sent the replacement code to activate their software again within a couple of hours

[datalas]

I'm not a big fan of Norton either...

I tend to use Grisoft on the machines which run windows, although recent reports would suggest that AVG isn't infallible.  However, a little common sense and steering away from Internet Explorer would seem to help.

Both Firefox (www.mozilla.org) and Opera (www.opera.com) are both Free now,  with Opera apparently having removed all advertising too.

[thermidorthelobster]

also when my system went down, and lost my code, one quick email with my name and they sent the replacement code to activate their software again within a couple of hours

Not hit by a virus were you?  :P

[landyman Ash]

So it seems Grisoft is the general popular choice.

So you dont use IE then?  

Never even thought of changing my browser?  Is it advisable then to change browsers?

I have a fair amount of computer knowledge, enough to get by but thats it

[TimM]

...... Grisoft ......... AVG .............

Grisoft wasn't ringing a bell but now you've called it AVG I suddenly realise that that is the one we now use here (at work) which our technical guru has bought in to outrank the one that we had before (which outranked Norton which was its predecessor) though I can't remember now what that one was called ( :oops: ) - don't care really as the new one is working better.

 :D

[TimM]

So you dont use IE then?  

We now run Grisoft over our network, and on each individual machine, and we all use IE, haven't found any problems with it yet, we are not 'high volume users' or 'technical gurus', but for my pennies worth I vote stick with what you are used to.

[thermidorthelobster]

I've shifted to Firefox, and find it nicer to use (tabbed browsing) as well as being a poke in the eye to Microsoft  :lol:

[ian_s]

moving away from Internet exploder is one of the better things you can do to protect yourself on the internet.

case study number 1:

i am a very heavy internet user, and i roam far and wide to many slightly, *ahem*, dodgy sites. i use firefox. i scanned my PC with an adware removal tool for the first time in a few months, and got about 20 results.
My girlfriend uses IE, doesnt do much web surfing, and only on a limited number of sites to do with geneology and stuff. totally legit, not dodgy in the slightest. i scan her PC with the same adware tool every few weeks, and regularly get 2000+ results. unfortunately, some of the sites she visits dont work properly in firefox, so she refuses to change to change to it. me? i'd just find new sites to visit.

changing a browser is a good step, but you still need a firewall (Windows XP has an ok one, but i'd use zonealarm) You also still need anti virus ( i use mcafee(free from work :))). and last, but by no means least keep you PC software up to date with the latest versions and patches. New exploits are being found all the time and are also being fixed all the time. and only by keeping up to date can you reduce the risk of being infected

[landyman Ash]

Thanks for all your advice guys, very useful.  Fell as though Ive been on a PC course!!!  :D  :D  :D

Shame they dont do an anti virus for my Land Rover.  Dam thing is constantly breaking down!  :twisted:    :shock:

[strapping young lad]

personally

mcafee v8
lavasoft ad-aware
microsoft antispyware
kerio personal firewall

nowt gets through

[muddyweb]

For my money (on the Windows PC at least) :

AVG Free edition
Windows XP Firewall  (not Zonealarm.... eurgh)
I tend to use Firefox on Windows, but Internet Explorer gets plenty of use too when testing


On the Mac I use Firefox, because let's face it, it is the only Mac Browser that is anything near usable :roll:   Safari  and MacIE for testing purposes only ;-)

On the Linux boxes, Firefox again because the developer tools are nice, with a spattering of others for testing
Local Firewalls on the machines, ClamAV for viruses


and, almost as important as all the above...  Windows Update turned ON, MacOS system updates turned ON, Linux Updates done daily !   There is nothing worse than an unpatched OS... no matter who wrote it.


Aside from that.. we have a pretty effective "proper" firewall protecting us from the evils of the interweb too....   even with all the above... a foolish click on the mouse can bypass the lot...   as someone said... Common sense is by far the best defence :-)[/img]

[Manicminer]

I have a 3 year old AMD Athlon XP 2400+ ,512MB DDR.
Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2.

I have Windows Firewall turned off, and have the McAffee one running instead, and Norton 2005 for Virus protection. For home use I don't notice them running at all.
 However, for professional use I'm sure they would become very obvious and would slow the system down no end, as would a smaller processor.

I run IE and OE with absoloutly no ill effect.

[johnniep]

i have found that panda anti virus works well and it hasnt let anything througha dn the part i like about it is that it has lots of little facts and stuff about how many its bocked etc etc,
i use msn explorer but it doesnt hurt wen you do use explorer.
cheers
j.p

[datalas]

personally I wouldn't recommend running internet explorer just at present.  Now there are a plethora of arguments about whether IE is targetted more because of it's popularity or because of a whole host of other reasons.  To be honest it's all an utterly moot point,  at present there are more known, and frequently used exploits against both Internet Explorer and Outlook and I would avoid using them if possible until that changes.  (a new version of Internet Explorer is expected early 2006 and rumours persist that it is being written as a web browser rather than a remote password server ;) )

If you are required, obliged, or otherwise prefer to usethese sorts of things might I recommend that you do invest in a good AV program, take a look at technologies such as chilton preview and invest (or otherwise) in a good firewall.  

The one built into XP SP2 isn't too bad although I am not overly impressed with it,  I personally don't rate "personal" firewalls mcuh to be honest and have had some concerns with the little DSL NAT boxes in the past.  For reasons of morality I can't suggest which firewall I would recommend ;)  but there are several other, dedicated firewalls which are regularly updated.

Regular updates are *vitally* important.  This is not just "bug fixing" and a case of "it should have been done right the first time", I only wish it was.  There is a battle between security companies and the hacker / criminal fraternity at the moment and an ever increasing array of complex and innovative attacks are constantly bombarding computers, if your machine hasn't been updated recently (this goes for the little black flashy light boxes too) it will be suseptible to something.

My biggest concern is that Viruses, Exploits, Trojans and most things of that ilk are highly visible because the notoriety of being a "l337 hax0r init!" is the ultimate goal.  However, if this changes and someone decides to produce an exploit with no visible effect....