THE best antivirus software?

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DizzySHK

Gawd
Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
657
here is the story. my boss had mcafee on his laptop with the update expired.
and his computer was swormed with virus.
so i did a clean install and bought symantec antivrus corporate edition on it.
one day he comes over and tells me half his his data is corrupted. i opened up the symantec and saw that it successfully quarantined over 200 virus. but obvisiouly some of them got out.
my boss uses outlook 2003 and he HAS to open EVERY email.
i have heard good thing about f-prot.
i am really not worried about how much load the antivirus program puts on the computer.
what do you guys recommend as far as the best antivirus program goes?
thanks in advance.
 
Nortan Anti has done me good for the past 6 years....i like nortan, it works....
 
Yeah same here. I've been using NAV 2004 for a while, and it's working out great.

On my other system I have McAfee installed, but I prefer Norton to it.
 
A lot of people recommend AVG as a free antivirus software.

For paid versions, I hear NOD32 and Kaspersky are the best.

It also depends on your surfing habits (and having a good firewall]). But the antivirus & firewall combo seems to work out best. Your boss needs to learn not to open attachments and suspicious emails.
 
Personally, I love AntiVir (www.freeav.com) for two reasons. One is it's free, and two, it actually seems to pick up more stuff than norton for me. I have to open some questionable emails sometimes as well as I monitor 3 domains with catch addresses, and when going through over 1,500 emails a day, you'd be surprised how often some people will send an email that looks exactly like a virus but isn't.
 
I have NOD32 and prefer it above Norton and [disastrously shitty] McAfee. Like Ice Czar said, it's damn fast!
 
I haven't tried NOD32 until today and I have a question. Is it normal when I look in the control center for "AMON" and it's continuously scanning? Is that causing any lag to my PC?
 
DizzySHK said:
my boss uses outlook 2003 and he HAS to open EVERY email.
Click to expand...

Considering the above, I would stick with Symantec Corporate edition and use it's built in locking mechanisms to lock it down so the boss *cannot* change any of the settings or disable the AV software.
 
AMON is perfectly normal, it's the active monitor and should be scanning when you are running apps. If it's always running and you are concerned, be sure to add any firewall program you are running to the exclusion list. Since the firewall is scanning all traffic and always active, it is the most scanned app by NOD32 on the pc. NOD32 will still scan traffic from a browser and stuff, but doesn't need to constantly scan the firewall.
 
Nod 32 is my first choice. Avast ain't so bad, either.
 
AVG, I got sick of norton, seen a few problems with it and decided to go in a different direction.

McAfee=teh suk :mad:

trendmicro is a nice little site, I've used it for a few people I've helped who didn't have AV or firewall and had a broadband connection!!! :eek:

I'll have to try NOD32
 
Ice Czar said:
NOD32 more Virus Bulletin 100% awards than any other AV
Norton is 2nd, but unlike Norton, NOD32 doesnt tie into your system so tight you need to uninstall it with a crowbar
Its also much lighter on the resources.

editor's choice at Wilders
http://www.wilders.org/anti_viruses.htm
Click to expand...

Ice could you please make a stickie for AV seeing as how this gets asked ~!/week. Seeing as how the original posters don't know how or refuse to use the SEARCH. :rolleyes::mad:

I prefer NOD32. It has caused me only one problem; long load times with Thief 3. Once I made an exception in Anom everything is fine. :)
 
Norton Corp offers by far the best protection I've seen. I would not even consider anything else.

Edit: for a professional environment. At home, use NAV 2004.
 
For networks Symantec Corporate (Norton Corporate) or Enterprise Edition is all I use.
I also use and like AVG and the TrendMicro online scanner "for a second opinion" as stated earlier.

The ability to centrally control, scan, clean and view each system on the network as well as integrate other servers/services like exchange is priceless when trying to minimize management of AV on a network.

I'm going to have to check out NOD32..is this a network product or standalone?
 
relic said:
For networks Symantec Corporate (Norton Corporate) or Enterprise Edition is all I use.
The ability to centrally control, scan, clean and view each system on the network as well as integrate other servers/services like exchange is priceless when trying to minimize management of AV on a network.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more. From an administrator's standpoint, keeping tabs on the health of your network and identifying infection centrally can aid in incident response and threat containment. Standaone AV puts a burden on administration and allows the oversight which enables viruses to fester in the network's weakest link., and eventually degrade shared resources like bandwidth, mail, and network storage.
 
NOD32 Enterprise Edition comes with NOD32 Remote Administrator

Enables an administrator to manage large installations of NOD32 antivirus system in large corporate networks.

Remote Administrator White Paper

Features and benefits:

centralized NOD32 antivirus management increasing antivirus protection effectiveness and reducing corporate security costs
automatic NOD32 antivirus system updates keeping your corporate network secure
fast virus infiltration localization and virus clean-up, thanks to advanced monitoring and reporting tools
remote installation of NOD32 client antivirus systems enabling fast antivirus protection rollout
centralized NOD32 antivirus management of multiple locations and LAN's within your enterprise computer network
automatic and custom report generation giving you an overview on NOD32 antivirus system activities and helping you maintain a high level of data integrity in your network
remote NOD32 client configuration reducing administration and maintenance costs
filling holes in your antivirus protection by searching for unprotected computers in your network
RA server load distribution increasing scalability
multiple remote installation methods for on-line and off-line NOD32 client installation
mobile user features for better mobile user antivirus protection
virus infiltration history helping you strengthen your antivirus protection strategy
Click to expand...

now I havent actually tried it the Remote Administrator, but the "regular" NOD32 is what is supplied to be managed, and factor in its light footprint on system resources times the number of comupters...
 
For networks and business I recommend Sophos.

For home use, Trend Micro's PC-Cillin.
 
I personally use AVG free edition. I've heard time and time again that NOD32 is the best - though I've never gotten a chance to use it :( I organized a group discount for a company that I do tech support for - got a great price on it - then when I went to get approval from my boss I found out earlier that day they had bought norton licenses for all their computers. :mad:

Yeah anyways - Norton and Mcafee both are awful bloatware. I've had to deal with both of them waaaaayyy too much and I don't like either.
 
Sorry to bump this, but i just wanted to ask. What is the best free one? I see that nod32 is not any more and i'm using avast right now.
 
AVG is probably the best free one.

If you want a pay one, but not on the corperate scale then Kaspersky is my personal favourite.

Has detected things that Norton and McAfee never picked up. Less of a resource hog too.
 
well Avast has won more VB100% awards than any other freeware (AVG)
but there are enough trails to last many a typical install lifespan (at least in here where migrating OSs when upgrading is uncommon)

but then once or twice around and you develop favorites you want to buy :p
 
Ice Czar said:
well Avast has won more VB100% awards than any other freeware (AVG)
but there are enough trails to last many a typical install lifespan (at least in here where migrating OSs when upgrading is uncommon)

but then once or twice around and you develop favorites you want to buy :p
Click to expand...

Which one would you recommend. Avast or AVG, I currently have Avast installed and am downloading AVG just to make sure (won't be installing both). Is it worth the bother?
 
XanTHraX said:
Which one would you recommend.
Click to expand...

NOD32 :p

its sort of like asking which would you rather have...
measles or mumps? :p

their effectiveness is greatly tied to your own habits
my habits are fairly risky
(where I go, what I download, what I purposefully run and links I click)

but hypothetically Id say both have an equal chance at winning the next VB100% award
(the rules of which are very simple, no false positives and detect everything in the wildlist for the OS installed)
so no, Id say its not really worth switching
 
Ice Czar said:
NOD32 :p
my habits are fairly risky
(where I go, what I download, what I purposefully run and links I click)
Click to expand...
You sir, need to build yourself a "Warez Warrior" who can go into the jaws of death.
...such as my venerable Asus P5A (She has a personality...I swear.)

My dualie MSI K7D only shudders at the thought of those places. :D
 
The First Part of my sig refects my Grey Hat Special
a KR7A 1800+, and as the song goes
"oh no no no I dont do warez no more, Im tired of waking up on the floor"
there is enough freeware to go around
I seek shall we say badass ware? when underground, and strictly for attacking myself, that has however dramatically dropped since Ive been made a mod and even more since my upgrade I just dont have the time, Im currently trying not to sound like an idiot when discussing the finer points of power supplies which is my "new" forum

PS > my workstation listed in the sig is an internet virgin
shes never even had her browser unbuttoned :p
 
I understand completely. I tend, as I've stated here before, not to try the latest and greatest. I suppose I'm a minimalist, as far as software goes. Less is more to me, so getting Warez programs doesn't interest me. Lean and mean, so to speak. Having said that, I still like to go over and see the darkside now and then. It isn't about software........if you know what I mean.
 
since we are walking right up to the fence and "spitting over it" :p
I think its important that I point out that the "badassware" I gather is generally freeware
(if its created with any license at all), and is not illegal to have,
but could be used illegally, which I dont do.

if I where to refer to those aps in specific, that wouldnt be allowed
and so I dont, anyone reading, mark this boundary,
it took me a long time to learn them all ;)

the first time I was admonished by a mod was because I had linked such a power tool
(which was actually fairly pedestrian) but it was hosted by a very bad site :p

I took the warning with grace and to heart
 
Ice Czar said:
since we are walking right up to the fence and "spitting over it" :p
I think its important that I point out that the "badassware" I gather is generally freeware if its created with any license at all, and is not illegal to have, but can be used illegally
which I dont do.

if I where to refer to those aps in specific, that wouldnt be allowed
and so I dont, anyone reading, mark this boundary,
it took me a long time to learn them all ;)
Click to expand...
Well said.
My interests are more about the why, than the how. ;)
 
Kaspersky, FYI maintanence pack coming out next week for 5.0. Pretty light and has a solid installer. Should take care of most of the issues since the release of 5.0. You can download a 30 day trial from www.kaspersky.com has an extended database option which allows you to download signatures for adware, pornware and a variety of riskware.



Ice Czar said:
NOD32 more Virus Bulletin 100% awards than any other AV
Norton is 2nd, but unlike Norton, NOD32 doesnt tie into your system so tight you need to uninstall it with a crowbar :p
Its also much lighter on the resources ;)

editor's choice at Wilders
http://www.wilders.org/anti_viruses.htm
Click to expand...


NOD32 is fine if you also want to buy another program like BoClean, TDS3, ProcessGuard or Wormguard to protect you against non-viral threats. Not to mention its lack of unpacking support, no http scanning in IMON, no heuristics in AMON and lack of non-viral signatures are all are signs that Eset has been sitting on their laurels for far too long looking at their VB Awards. The days of a plain old AV have gone by the wayside and NOD32 is playing catchup these days

Guys at Wilders are great, but there's a NOD32/DiamondCS bias there. So I wouldn't say they are the end-all when it comes to opinions. Wilders is the home for the official NOD32/DiamondCS forum, that has to make you go hmmm based on proximity alone. I do have a lot of respect for Paul though, he runs a tight ship.

LOL Norton 2nd. "Go away before I taunt you a second time" *Monty Python voice.

VB doesn't mean much these days, nor does their record. Good example, BitDefender is a solid AV app, didn't pass in the last round of tests because it had a false-positive. Something that I don't consider a bad thing. Rather have an AV that errs on the side of caution than not. Apps change over time. I think that VB isn't accurately reflecting the current threat environment in their tests, which is markedly different.

I'm not seeing stellar NOD32 performance on the following 3 tests.

www.av-comparatives.org click on comparatives, then review February/May results.

Nice roundup, impact on system is the last few rows:
http://www.rokop-security.de/main/article.php?sid=693

Free AVs, you get what you pay for. If you get a virus don't bitch.

Avast isn't bad, tested on AV Comparatives and here...
http://www.rokop-security.de/main/article.php?sid=757


*************If you want to try something out that has some potential:
http://www.mks.com.pl/english.html

Polish company. Seems to have been around for a while.

You can download a functional trial. Can only be installed once, when you uninstall, can't reinstall, can't udpate. Demo has signatures up to the day you download it.

Pretty cool stuff. Seems to have adv heuristics like NOD32 and Sandbox like Norman.
 
Glyphic said:
I love my pc-cillin.....
Click to expand...

Might want to read the February/May results from the av-comparative link. Performs worse than some free AVs.
 
kjm2003 said:
Nortan Anti has done me good for the past 6 years....i like nortan, it works....
Click to expand...


Same here, i have used them now for ages............. i think...... about 5 years.

I have tried old versions of mcafree... and did not like it.

I usually just wait for a big sale........... so that way it comes up free for me.... because a company will usually offer a good price, a company MIR(mail in rebate), and symantec always has their upgrade MIR.... which i use........... so it comes up to a free upgrade every year.

Did your boss have Norton AV scan incomming/outgoing e-mail ? i have found that to be a very good feature at times.

Then of course you have a company like F-secure.... but i have never bought their products. And lastly we have free software like AVG. But your boss might want something that auto-updates to stay up to date..... seeing how he has a past "track record" of getting viruses.

~Hope this helps
 
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