best free Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware?

D

Dario D.

Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
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Hi all. I've been searching for a free anti-virus/anti-spyware combo that actually has real-time protection (AVG Anti-Spyware free doesn't - and this is crucial), but can't find anything. Is there a good solution for this? So far, I've only found real-time protection in the pay versions of everything.

I'm working on a video for the net, and am trying to find something to recommend, that preferably doesn't involve having to run 2 different programs.

Thanks.
 
I use Avira. I think it has the best detection rate among free AV progs. It works well and is light on resources. One negative is that it has nag pop-ups whenever it does definition update. It can get annoying, but I've learned to live with it.
 
One negative is that it has nag pop-ups whenever it does definition update.
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Doesn't that make it "ad-ware?" :p

I like avg, although I understand it doesn't have amazing detection rates, and also doesn't have the real time protection you desire.
 
Tried Avast! on my new notebook. Not a fan.
Really have been disliking AVG lately.

About to bite the bullet and buy about 4 NOD32 licenses for home use.
 
Right now I use AVG and Avast. I have a retail copy of Kaspersky somewhere but I haven't bother to install it. I also don't have real time virus protection on either. I only run them on some files I download and maybe a full scan once a month?

There are other ways to keep you safe without having to buy or bother with those type of programs. I am not saying you shouldn't use them, just that you shouldn't have to depend on them.
 
oboyco said:
Nod32 is free?
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Nope.


I like Avast for free, a bit bulky at times, but better than pretty much anything else in that regard besides the Corp versions and NOD32. Easy to recommend to people as well as the site is very user friendly.
 
i am using AVG Free Edition for anti virus and AVG anti spyware at this moment.
 
For spyware there's nothing better than SuperAntiSpyware at this time.

Adaware has gone to the dogs.

Spybot? The man tries (thank you so much!), but he just can't keep up any more :(
 
I use AnitVir for virus pretection, and Windows Defender for spyware. Only been a week or two, but so far im liking it.
 
For spyware there's nothing better than SuperAntiSpyware at this time.
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According to their info page, SAS free version doesn't have real-time protection :( (in other words, it won't prevent a spyware infestation; it'll just try to remove it *after* it has taken over your system)
 
Dario D. said:
According to their info page, SAS free version doesn't have real-time protection :( (in other words, it won't prevent a spyware infestation; it'll just try to remove it *after* it has taken over your system)
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Correct, you must have the pro version for real time protection. If you install the free version, when you update it you will get a prompt to buy a lifetime pro license for 19.99. Not free, but not bad. As far as what you are looking to find free, I have not come across anything with those capabilities. Wouldn't mind if someone else has, people are always asking for free antivirus/antispyware. I send most poeple to AVG free and Spybot S&D. Not the best, but free.
 
http://www.comodo.com/

They have free "mostly everything" and it all seems to work quite well as far as I've seen over several systems / OS over the past year or more.

I used to use AVG, but switched so I could use just one company's products.

For pay stuff, Nod32.

sharp
 
Hmm, Comodo Anti-Virus + Anti-Malware seems really good, except that Comodo Anti-Virus crashes my computer like crazy, and barely lets me boot up before freezing it again. :( Shucks... I was liking it until then. Have you been using the current version, 2.0 Beta?
 
Dario D. said:
Hmm, Comodo Anti-Virus + Anti-Malware seems really good, except that Comodo Anti-Virus crashes my computer like crazy, and barely lets me boot up before freezing it again. :( Shucks... I was liking it until then. Have you been using the current version, 2.0 Beta?
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Well, a Beta isn't really a "current version".

You really shouldn't expect a Beta to perform all that well either, as it is... a beta.

That said, most other companies have things for the most part fairly solid when it gets to the beta stage, sounds to me like Comodo doesn't.
 
Best free AV is Avira AntiVir in terms of detection rates. I remember reading several huge AV threads on antivirus/security forums and it ranked #1 for detection rates. There is an occasion nag screen to buy the full version but it's not that bad. AVG use to be great but apparently has gone downhill.

Best paid AV is Kaspersky, and anything that uses the Kaspersky engine. #2 is NOD32... If I recall correctly it was marginally behind, by like 1-2%.

I personally use NOD32 v2 at home and AntiVir for clients.
 
ZzBloopzZ said:
Best free AV is Avira AntiVir in terms of detection rates. I remember reading several huge AV threads on antivirus/security forums and it ranked #1 for detection rates. There is an occasion nag screen to buy the full version but it's not that bad. AVG use to be great but apparently has gone downhill.

Best paid AV is Kaspersky, and anything that uses the Kaspersky engine. #2 is NOD32... If I recall correctly it was marginally behind, by like 1-2%.

I personally use NOD32 v2 at home and AntiVir for clients.
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I pretty much agree with all of this. The only problem I have had with AntiVir is that a lot of people I have hooked up with it can't stand the nag screen.

Kaspersky tends to be my first choice, I own licenses for it and NOD32. My biggest complaint about NOD32 however is that it is WAY to easy to kill its process. I was searching for software reviews one time, when I hit a site that turned out to be a warez site. Didn't know before clicking the link, but I couldn't believe when the NOD32 tray icon just disappeared and I saw a popup and a toolbar installed itself. I had to load Kaspersky to clean it up. Only thing that I installed that could even detect it. Some form of Vundo. I will never fully trust NOD32 again, but everything fails sometimes.
 
Avast! with SUPERAntispyware has served me good, nothing they cant remove and not a single bad thing to say :D
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
Kaspersky tends to be my first choice, I own licenses for it and NOD32. My biggest complaint about NOD32 however is that it is WAY to easy to kill its process. I was searching for software reviews one time, when I hit a site that turned out to be a warez site. Didn't know before clicking the link, but I couldn't believe when the NOD32 tray icon just disappeared and I saw a popup and a toolbar installed itself. I had to load Kaspersky to clean it up. Only thing that I installed that could even detect it. Some form of Vundo. I will never fully trust NOD32 again, but everything fails sometimes.
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That's a crazy experience. How long ago did this occur? Was it with Nod32 v3 beta or Nod32 v2?
 
Best free solutions that I've found;

Anti-Virus: AVG Free Edition
Anti-Spyware: Spybot + Ad-Aware

...I'd really recommend buying a NOD32 license though...that is my anti-virus of choice overall.
 
Forgot to mention that SUPERAntispyware is fantastic for anti-spyware. Ad-aware/Spybot have gone downhill.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
My biggest complaint about NOD32 however is that it is WAY to easy to kill its process.
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Under XP logged on as an Administrator- yes. And this is only on the requirement that there was something pre-existing on the system to kill it (otherwise, NOD32 would detect it ahead of time).

Once again, this is a fantastic area in which Vista's UAC helps protect not only the OS but other programs... Being you need Administrator rights to kill that process, UAC will stop it.

You can shut down the UI from a restricted account, yes. But not the engine itself.
 
Decepticon said:
Best free solutions that I've found;

Anti-Virus: AVG Free Edition
Anti-Spyware: Spybot + Ad-Aware

...I'd really recommend buying a NOD32 license though...that is my anti-virus of choice overall.
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Can it use with Vista OS ?
 
ZzBloopzZ said:
That's a crazy experience. How long ago did this occur? Was it with Nod32 v3 beta or Nod32 v2?
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It was probably about a year ago. It was with v2.

TechieSooner said:
Under XP logged on as an Administrator- yes. And this is only on the requirement that there was something pre-existing on the system to kill it (otherwise, NOD32 would detect it ahead of time).

Once again, this is a fantastic area in which Vista's UAC helps protect not only the OS but other programs... Being you need Administrator rights to kill that process, UAC will stop it.

You can shut down the UI from a restricted account, yes. But not the engine itself.
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This was on XP. Received a popup and then I saw the NOD32 icon disappear. Next an IE window opens with a new toolbar. This is also easier than you think. Over at Wilders there was a thread about how easily you could rename the NOD executable, kill the process, and that was that. http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=191629&highlight=rename
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
This was on XP. Received a popup and then I saw the NOD32 icon disappear. Next an IE window opens with a new toolbar. This is also easier than you think. Over at Wilders there was a thread about how easily you could rename the NOD executable, kill the process, and that was that. http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=191629&highlight=rename
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Exactly. I'm just saying though, if you are running as Administrator anywhere, it is obviously an issue (Administrator has all authority, obviously).

Vista just has the advantage of UAC to stop it...
Take a look at Task Manager in Vista. The UI process is there, and running at the user level, but the engine requires Administrator permissions to get to.
 
I was using Kaspersky's suite, but it slowed down my browsing pretty bad. Comodo's firewall is absolutely TOP NOTCH, but their AV and spyware are seriously lacking. Right now, I'm using Avira paid (3 month trial) and Comodo, with the paid SuperAntiSpyware. I was going to go with NOD32, as I loved it in the past, but their HTTP filtering uses a proxy, which basically kills your firewall's application control.

As for the best free services:

AV - Avira. I've tried them all, and Avira just rocks.
Firewall - Comodo or OnlineArmor free. Both come with HIPS, work wonderfully. OnlineArmor is a bit simpler, Comodo more versatile.
Spyware - LOVING SuperAntiSpyware, but if you absolutely have to get a free version, I'd just use the HIPS included with Comodo, or use ThreatFire free version to add HIPS to your current firewall/AV combo.
 
After I got a nasty virus with Symantec anti-virus installed (don't laugh), I dumped it in favor of AVG. AVG free ed has been good to me so far. For anti-spyware I have windows defender, but it hasn't detected anything.

My DS3R came with Kaspertey - I never opened it. Maybe I should???

I'll give super anti-spyware a try.
 
Just wanted to say thanks for those who posted in this thead. Been using AVG recently, and it really has started to suck. I might end up buying a NOD32 lisc, but i'll test out Avira first.

Now I know that Norton and McAfee get a lot of hate for being such resource hogs, but when it comes to their virus protection, how does it stand up to say, AVG or NOD32. Anyone have any experience with that?
 
MrCoffee said:
Just wanted to say thanks for those who posted in this thead. Been using AVG recently, and it really has started to suck. I might end up buying a NOD32 lisc, but i'll test out Avira first.

Now I know that Norton and McAfee get a lot of hate for being such resource hogs, but when it comes to their virus protection, how does it stand up to say, AVG or NOD32. Anyone have any experience with that?
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Nothing beats NOD32.
Hands down the best AV out there.

As for Norton versus AVG, I really don't think there is much of a difference, other than Norton will bog your system down like it's dripping with honey.
 
MrCoffee said:
Just wanted to say thanks for those who posted in this thead. Been using AVG recently, and it really has started to suck. I might end up buying a NOD32 lisc, but i'll test out Avira first.

Now I know that Norton and McAfee get a lot of hate for being such resource hogs, but when it comes to their virus protection, how does it stand up to say, AVG or NOD32. Anyone have any experience with that?
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Can you elaborate on why AVG sucks? It's been better than norton in my experience.
I turn off the scheduled updates and get that done manually. i find it nags too much if left at its default settings.
 
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