I'm using a Norton Internet Security 30 Day Trial At the moment because it came pre installed on my Windows 7 Pro 32 Bit.
Once it expires i'm going to need a free Anti Virus what one should i get?
I'm thinking of Avast or Microsoft Security Essentials.
I would go with Avast - Its the only one I haven't had a problem with yet.
Avira is good too Make sure you have a secondary scanning program if you are going with a freebie though, personally I am a HUGE Malwarebytes fan.
Contrarily to a popular myth, free AVs are not worse than paid ones.
Microsoft Security Essentials works well with Windows 7.
Avast is also popular.Perhaps try both and see which one suits you best.
By the way the first scan with MSC takes a while after that it very quick.
MSE works well with the free version of Malwarebytes.
Contrarily to a popular myth, free AVs are not worse than paid ones.
I'm not saying the products are worse, look at Malwarebytes, Firefox, CCleaner, Avast etc. All great free products. The point is freebies generally don't have the most reliable support system. Free programs usually don't have a dedicated support team, whereas paid software usually does.
Well, freebies such as Avast, Avira, etc. have paid versions so they have a dedicated support team - the avast help forum is quite active.
Big Avast fan here....especially Avast 5. I highly recommend it.
Avast and Avira. Pick on what you'll be comfortable with.
I personally use AVG 9.0 which has the ability to scan removable media when they are plugged but I have heard some fair reviews of Microsoft Security Essentials and Panda Cloud antivirus which are probably underrated.
I don't personally trust MSE one bit because after that first initial scan is finished future "scanning" of a system is rather unbelievably fast which of course would indicate it's only doing a Quick Scan. Then on the other hand it's comprehensive Full Scan takes absolutely forever.
For a freeware AV I'd stick with either Avast or AntiVir.
I've tried the newest AVG, and although they've supposedly made performance improvements it's still a bit resource heavy at times for no obvious reason.
It may seem an obvious thing to say, but make sure you remove Norton before you install your new A/V.
There's a dedicated Norton Removal tool available.
Norton Removal Tool 2011.0.0.15:
I seem to remember that this was a tool you simply ran on its own to completely remove Norton, but it seems from all the different links I've checked that it's to be ran after removing Norton normally via Windows "Add/Remove Programs".
Norton Removal Tool runs on Windows. Norton Removal Tool should be used only if you have tried to uninstall the Norton program using Windows Add/Remove Programs and that did not work.
It's almost 6 years since I removed my pre-installed Norton, so I would suggest following the recommended course of action, unless any of the other guys has recent experience of removing a Norton product.
I use Avast but the other day I got my first false pos. It claimed a necessary Mbam file was malware.
There's something wrong with this article...it has been written on May 4th according to the top of the page, yet it states things such as "avast comes with no bundled software", "avast's installer requires e-mail registration", "avast's interface lookis like a media player" - all of those are wrong since avast 5
There's something wrong with this article...it has been written on May 4th according to the top of the page, yet it states things such as "avast comes with no bundled software", "avast's installer requires e-mail registration", "avast's interface lookis like a media player" - all of those are wrong since avast 5
Haha, I couldn't really check. I'm using ESET.
eset?...
thi is about free antivirus...see great results with panda,,also consider free comodo internet security..
after installation reboot many times like 5 to make it feel lighter,,also full-scan..
eset?...
thi is about free antivirus...
I did not reply to the main post when I said "ESET" I was just telling Aethec why I couldn't confirm what the source stated.
I have had my share of infections and Anti viruses.
Basically I have found a couple of free AV that are worth checking out. McAfee and Norton are not really that good for me since they are too resource hogs. Kaspersky is good but they give my the chills when the banshee shouts like hell. Avast and Nod 32 are ok. AVG, they used to be very very good but now they are not picking up that many viruses.
Right now I am running two, Panda's Cloud Antivirus ( Its fast, I do not need to update it and I'm always online )and Malwarebytes ( I use this for realtime protection ( Installs in Minutes and only uses a tiny bit of your resource )
I was impressed with Malwarebytes on how fast it handles things. The only thing that Malwarebytes is not good at are rootkits, that is where I use Cloud AV for.
And if your in really really deep I would suggest you download and use the following to clean up your system.
DrWeb Cure It ( Its slower but it really cleans and ensures your safe )
SuperAntiSpyware ( Sounds like a rouge AV but its not. Its not even an AV, it only removes spyware. Its better that Adaware and Spybot Search and destroy )
For Advance users using XP, I would advise ComboFix.
Cheers.
I have had my share of infections and Anti viruses.
Basically I have found a couple of free AV that are worth checking out. McAfee and Norton are not really that good for me since they are too resource hogs. Kaspersky is good but they give my the chills when the banshee shouts like hell. Avast and Nod 32 are ok. AVG, they used to be very very good but now they are not picking up that many viruses.
Right now I am running two, Panda's Cloud Antivirus ( Its fast, I do not need to update it and I'm always online )and Malwarebytes ( I use this for realtime protection ( Installs in Minutes and only uses a tiny bit of your resource )
I was impressed with Malwarebytes on how fast it handles things. The only thing that Malwarebytes is not good at are rootkits, that is where I use Cloud AV for.
And if your in really really deep I would suggest you download and use the following to clean up your system.
DrWeb Cure It ( Its slower but it really cleans and ensures your safe )
SuperAntiSpyware ( Sounds like a rouge AV but its not. Its not even an AV, it only removes spyware. Its better that Adaware and Spybot Search and destroy )
For Advance users using XP, I would advise ComboFix.
Cheers.
Whoa, never, ever, use ComboFix without expert supervision. If something goes wrong with ComboFix, you're screwed unless you have an expert that is telling you what to do. Panda cloud is a great AV though; I just don't like it's weird interface.