Topic: Free/cheap anti-virus software

OK, so I'm really tired of buying Norton only to have to fork over more dough after a year or so to get updated virus definitions. Anyone come across a free or cheap anti-virus software that doesn't force you to do this? Hell, I don't even care if it's 'cheap', so long as they don't keep forcing me to pay to get the most recent protection.

:::11oh1:::

Antivir or avast.
avast is bad.
Antivir is being tested by me, I like it so far.

I've never used either but I know many inmates use AVG Antivirus and Trend Micro's free House Call. Also, a quick Google search brought up a several other options. It might be worthwhile to evaluate some of them.

I've used AVG for years now and have never had a problem. I like it that AVG will let you set a scan time every day. Even though it's running all the time and set for updating, I still like it to make a scheduled scan. That is one thing that I don't like about Avast. I checked it out and didn't like it. Trend Microsystems about the same IMO. No scheduled scan and you can't (not that I've found) to just scan a single file. With AVG, it ads a right click menu that you can use to scan just one file or folder.

Later,

C:\

AVG all the way. The free version can take some work to find with the new website set up - http://www.grisoft.com/doc/289/lng/us/tpl/tpl01

I've used it for years now. In my experience it has outperformed Norton and Mcafee in just about every way. The interface is not as pretty - but that's about the only downside.

quote:

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I've used AVG for years now and have never had a problem.

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Same for me.

Because I leave my system running 24/ 7 I schedule it to collect new definitions at 3am... and then schedule a scan at 3:15 or so... and that's nightly.

It's the only task I'll let run unattended. Well it's mostly unattended... half the time I'm up when it starts... but ya.... no problems that I'm aware of

___________________________________________________________________________
You'll never have to think outside the box if you don't get in the damn box in the first place.

Another vote for AVG.
As with everyone else, I've been using it for quite some time and couldn't be happier. As DL said, it's outperformed other software, just not as pretty. It's also not as resource intensive as Norton either, which is great for me since my system is a few years old now.

Like NoJive, I leave my system running 24/7 and have AVG scheduled to get new definitions before it does a nightly scan. Since everything is scheduled, I very rarely have to do anything with it. It's definitely been a "set it and forget it" type of deal.

Every once in a while, I have to reset the email scanner, but I think that's a firewall/system hiccup on my part. However, it's not an issue since it alerts me if the email scanner is not functioning.

After using AVG, there's no way I'd go back to Norton or use anything else for that matter.

How's avast bad? It has at least a much better criteria than McAffee :P

__________________________________
Something else

Sexy Demoness cel

does any of you who have an antivirus running all the time and/or a scheduled scan ever found some virii ?

I might have a false impression of security but I don't feel the need for an antivirus : I don't use IE, Outlook, MS Office, MSN Messenger ... my work email is in plain text, my personnal email enables JavaScript and remote images only for the persons in my white list, on IRC I don't click on every single link/file I see, and I never install some shareware/freeware ( beside a few emulators ( Atari, Amstrad, C64, GameBoy ) to code or watch some demos ).

Well I should probably try AVG and see if I'm wrong.

I've not been using Antiviruses for a long time, been using AVG as well.
Got a couple of minor viruses in both situations.

Oh, Alevice, was bad, last time I checked, in terms of virus detection (didn't get them all).
Also, avast caused several problems to me when uninstalling it. Namely, it left part of it's firewall/filtering processes
registered, redirecting some requests to nowhere, and causing network glitches.

But yeah, it's free

Thanks guys, I'm going to give AVG Free a shot.

DL, you're right, they definitely don't make it easy to find where to download that sucker.

:::11oh1:::

i am totally with poi on this one. i am now using computers since 10 years and the only virus i ever had, was one i downloaded on purpose on a testing machine.

really, if you dont use IE and Outlook and you know about suspicious sources, you shouldn't be getting a virus.

I like avast! for Windows - it doesn't go crazy and take over your system - you can pretty much avoid ever seeing its stuff if you want, and apparently it keeps track of more thingies than AVG* (AntiVir doesn't count, because it was apparently coded by 13-year-olds).

I hear you can use clamav on Windows these days, though.

So... did anyone have any problems after installing AVG... like, compy sticks on windoes boot screen for eternity?

Maybe that is why it is so free?

WinXP sp1 here.

Some true common sense, you just made my day izzy.

AVG is not even something I usually tend to judge or mention, it's so much of a useless
piece of crap I simply miss the words to start talking about it.

Had -only- problems with it,
never the beginning of a solution, and yes, things as what you describe + viruses as I said before.

Don't wanted to make a tantrum or a debate out of this thread,
but really. I'd rather hammer my hd than use AVG, would make me feel much more safe.

- Side note: Trend Micro products are used by companies like Philip Morris, so I'd definitely opt for housecall,
didn't even know it existed, and am installing it to replace my antivir right now.

(Edited by _Mauro on 06-28-2006 01:58)

quote:

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eyezaer said:

So... did anyone have any problems after installing AVG... like, compy sticks on windoes boot screen for eternity?

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Nope.

I've used on windows 98, windows ME, windows 2000, and windows XP (pre sp1, sp1, and sp2) machines. No problems of any nature, ever.

And sp1? why haven't you updated?

AVG free here since being thoroughly disgusted with the increasingly hungry Norton and McAfee products. Small footprint and it works well.

There is an irritating message it will append to your emails by default config but you can get rid of it in the config options

zaer: get up to date on yer up to dates

Eye, ignore them. I run WinXP with SP1 since two years now on my network.

Runs fine, no problems.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Ditto.
I see no need for that hog of SP2.

Last time i checked, ~3months ago, free AVG sucked - the free version is so hindered it doesnt even detect or remove virus properly. I would like to bold it: it does not [n]remove[/b] virus properly.
Antivir uses too many of the system's resources, and has once allowed a virus to corrupt my system to the point i had to format it. Can't judge it by one occurrence, but until avast fails me...

Avast is more than an anti-virus, and very costumizable. It has several engines, each with it's function, several levels of operability, and it does integrate into the shell. Can't complain about it. The best of the free three.

When i downloaded avast, i casually downladed the pro version. After the install and first update i loved the way it nonchalantly stopped working and said something like: "look, we are providing a free version so people will pay for this, okay? Please go get it instead"

there is is also a-squared, which is also popular and free, but i never used it.


But as a note: none of these will give you true protection. Specially from script running and such. I have come across certain viruses that after installed, were only removable using a specific antivirus. Usually the same one. I would recommend it, even if it is not free.. if could remember the name.

Last time I checked a benchmark, the two top antiviruses were Panda, and Mc Affee.
Both offer free online scanning, with limited features.

One tip that once was available on the internet was: "disable this and that Windows service to enhance security".

Don't. Never do that, please, please don't, just don't.

And take note of the following: antiviruses tend to release really old virus definitions, like 3 years old, which causes your system to be vulnerable
again at some point.

So, as I like to stress, there is no such thing as a perfect protection, but as I said above, PMI use Trend Micro products.
Might as well give the free Trend Micro antivirus a whirl.

All the commercial AV folks seem to be going for monthly subscription, which is even grosser than one-time fee. Whatever, clamav.

quote:

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_Mauro said:
"disable this and that Windows service to enhance security"
Don't. Never do that, please, please don't, just don't.

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Pls explain this one

(Edited by Arthemis on 07-04-2006 08:25)

And for the show stopper in rolls F-Secure

~Sig coming soon~

@Arthemis, yeah, I've read tips recommending to disable a service or another to "enhance" a computer's security.
Even when you know what you are doing with practices of that kind, Windows is pretty unstable - and subject to degradation - as the default.
The idea here is: don't help it.

Services happen to depend on one another, to register informations, etc.

So, playing with the *switches* will most likely prepare your system for an unstable state. It's difficult to give real world examples...

Or? In my case, following some of these recommendations some time ago, I disabled some services,
then got to install database systems, large ones (read: Oracle and MS SQL, the two we use at school), which happened to rely on the mentionned services.

Shoot, they would not start. Tried to re-enable the mentionned services, but my system, in the meantime, had either stored new settings, or got some registry informations
corrupt, which prevented me to re-enable the required services. Turned out I had to format C:\ and start afresh.

A few more details:
- say service a, when started, sets given roles on registry key x, for example, protects it from being written.
- say application uninstaller b tends to remove registry key x, accidentaly or not, if it's not write protected.
- disable service a, run app uninstaller b, uh-oh: reg key x got overwritten.

And this discreet glitch in the "Matrix" will go unnoticed until you use some other application that needed key x.
At this point, good luck to figure out which regkey, which value was associated, and which roles.


As much as you think you know what you do, switching core processes and services on/off in Windows is likely to make the death of your system happen
faster.

Sounds to me like you didn't read enough before you started tweaking. And from the error you got, you probably had disabled the RPC and/or RPC locator service.

I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary to disable some of the services in WinXP SP2 - it used to be in the original WinXP and in SP1. Still, services like secondary logon or universal plug and play, if not used or useful, are better off turned off.

~this is not a signature~

(Edited by Arthemis on 07-05-2006 05:27)

what he^said

I've got a win2k machine running very stripped of services for the last 4 years without a problem. In fact it runs like lightening in this stripped down mode, that's why I did it. I do have a list of the services I've disabled tho (for future troubleshooting if need be) and the machine is used for one specific purpose that is not likely to change.

So never say never

Arthemis, aside of posting a few thousand answers to complicated or undocumented coding questions right here,
I've been a sysadmin for Philip Morris international for a year, in theyre worldly headquarters,
and am currently a senior consultant and project manager for several software development projects: the first having started today for a private bank
(read bank for huge private fortunes).

I have no doubt your home comp connected to your d-link router makes you feel you know what information science is about,
my 8 years of experience, qualifications, torough knowledge of Windows, and the C, Cpp and Java language, as well as some assembler
and many others, is not to be proven anymore - in PMI I was managing 400 comps, and had to perform tasks like planning and implementing
infrastructures for international events - while keeping in mind security aspects to protect the information integrity of a billion dollars company.

Whn you've come that long long way... you feel a pain in your backbone when you care to answer Lambda user and share part of your overview, and Lambda user stupidly
waves back the rpc service he learnt about because of some worm, which in this case had - nothing - to do with my situation.

Why do you bother asking, without knowing or showing respect for my background, only to stupidly instruct me to rtfm? How in the hell
does your brain make so poor connections/assumptions SO FAST, Intel would be interested in such a techy exploit?

Very, very simply, you make me feel like paypalling you a couple of cents - and make me regret any willingness to share my expertise at the same time.

Do me a favor: write down in your braincells the fact you have nothing to teach me
- but would have much to learn from me - and next time, don't ask, or take the time to think about the answer.

Then try to disable a single service on one of the 2000 computers in PMI headquarters, subject to very strict security policies.
And don't come whining RPC when you get badly slapped for incompetency.

...Jesus freaking Christ... for you, and only you, I have a special "gift": I make the choice of never answering a single solitary tech question from you -ever- again
unless you're wanting to make amend for having wasted my time. I -do- sound harsh and it is deserved, don't whine about that either, don't even try, so far you're merely
an annoiance, and it's enough.


I say never: take or leave, but don't wave a home user experience and play it like you "knew it all", you don't, and my time is too precious
for me to accept answering questions that end up in primal "ough! erpeecee" kinds of reactions.

Get a clue, or ask for it, but pay respect and treat gold as what it is.

(Edited by _Mauro on 07-05-2006 19:17)

(And let's make it clearer than crystal: users of LSD Windows and other shitware who think they rule the world and are l33t should rot. Theyre system makes viruses easier to spread
and eventually try to invade mine)