Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What's the best computer antivirus software these days?

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-22-2012, 11:37 AM:

So, we got a new computer in our office and it didn't come with any antivirus pre-installed. Win7 is bugging me to install something but there are 30 different vendors, many of which I've never heard of.

What's the best way to go these days, antivirus-wise? We had McAfee on the old computer and it was only partially effective.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 02-22-2012, 11:54 AM:

You could start out with Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) - it's free for download and install with Windows 7. Even though it is free, it's been reviewed as being pretty good.

On my new HTPC, I started with MSE. Then a few weeks later it caught a browser hijacker that MSE had let through. After finding the manual solution on www.malwarebytes.org for getting rid of that POS bug (just so I could use the machine again), I added Malwarebytes to my HTPC's protection suite (free download for 30-day evaluation, then pay some nominal fee). I run both quick scans every time I boot the machine, and have had no antivirus issues since then.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 02-22-2012, 12:09 PM:

Posted by David Zylstra (Member # 4230) on 02-22-2012, 01:05 PM:

I use ESET Smart Security with both AV and personal firewall, it runs $45/yr if you buy the 2 year license . . . . it gets cheaper if you license it for more PCs.

They also have an AV only version.

Posted by Jeff Taylor (Member # 443) on 02-22-2012, 01:06 PM:

Mike: Given that Microsoft Security Essentials is free, for goodness sake install it even if you replace it later, but honestly I've found it effective and it's all I use. Also, FWIW, you can have serious problems if you use two anti-virus programs, so if you add another you should disable or uninstall the first.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 02-22-2012, 03:04 PM:

Some anti-virus programs will not install unless you uninstall the one you already have on.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-22-2012, 03:27 PM:

The free version of avast has seemed pretty good to me.

A lot of people use the free version avg, although it's more memory intensive but that won't matter in most cases.

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 02-22-2012, 03:59 PM:

AVG is free and works well for me.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 02-22-2012, 04:17 PM:

Microsoft Security Essentials is very well reviewed by experts I respect. For most purposes, it should be fine. When I'm setting up a system for someone, I usually just install this.

If you want something a bit stronger, I have had very good luck with Norton 360. It installs easily and works in the background. I have had no problems with it since installing.

I had a terrible experience with BitDefender. It was very picky about what other software was installed. It worked well but it just was a pain to update. I had to send a complete list of everything on my computer plus info on the hardware to get it to work correctly. Just too much trouble.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-22-2012, 06:34 PM:

Thanks for the recommendations. I talked to our computer guy and he told me that MS Security Essentials was supposed to already be installed, but it wasn't for some reason. So....it's now installed.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 02-23-2012, 07:32 PM:

I recommend for Windows Users: A combination of AVG For Free & Spybot Search and Destroy. Both are free and both work.

I love the cartoon. As an a Unix guy myself - it's freakin hilarious..

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 02-23-2012, 09:08 PM:

Posted by Tim Asten (Member # 4051) on 02-24-2012, 07:33 AM:

'Avast' anti-virus! Its been very good (XP version) and does not seem to hog system resources like some. Updates automatically. Basic version is free. [Smile]

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-24-2012, 10:23 AM:

AVG-Free is my go-to basic anti-virus. I dislike Norton, McAfee, and Symantic...they seem to cause more problems than they solve.

I've yet to get a virus with AVG installed. Then again, aside from F-T, I don't go to risky sites.

Posted by Victor Liorentas (Member # 5272) on 02-24-2012, 12:32 PM:

AVG for free.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 02-24-2012, 01:58 PM:

Another vote for AVG. I have yet to find a good anti-spyware yet though.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 02-24-2012, 02:22 PM:

I've had trouble with AVG and Windows 7 home edition and seeing the network printer without turning off the firewall. They have been none too helpful with this issue.

No problem with XP though.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 02-25-2012, 05:12 AM:

I used to use AVG, then it become too big and resource-draining, I think the installer was 400MB at the time. Also, I did not like the fact that when they swicth major version number you have to uninstall the old version and download the new one (this is because someone thinks the free version does not exist anymore and they buy the full one).

I switched to the lightest one, avira, but did not have email protection and moved to avast. Found avast light and efficient.
When moved to Windows 7 I did a search again and found that MSE was the best (even though - at that time - the slowest when doing a virus scan). Had MSE since and feel fine.

As others said, I dislike other big names. Stay off NORTON for God's sake, that IS a virus!!! It gets into the very roots of your system and slow everything down. I found that if a computer has a strange issue and Norton is installed, uninstalling it usually fixes the problem! [Smile]

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 02-25-2012, 08:09 AM:

I use Avira Antivirus. There is a free edition and a Premium version (about US$ 25/year) which takes care of malware and spyware in real time.

If you don't want to buy the Premium version, I'd recommend a combination of Avira Personal Edition (free) and running Malwarebytes (also free) once a week.

Avira Antivirus (free)

Malwarebytes download (free)

Posted by Jeff Kane (Member # 6372) on 03-05-2012, 02:47 PM:

Love that Avira calls their scanner "Luke Filewalker". We used Symantec Corporate AV for years but it was neigh useless. Basically it seemed to exist to allow the machine to get infected, then become more of a nuisance than the virus that'd infected it!

Microsoft Security Essentials has been excellent. The one nefarious infection it couldn't clear up I zapped by booting in 'safe mode' and nailing a directory and a few registry keys. And even though it couldn't clean the infection it DID alert me to the infection. Price is right, it's very resource light, and seems to work excellently. Windows 8 has it 'baked in'.