TR Forums

rapaz · Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:11 am

I will hopefull have finished building my PC in the next couple days. So I really need to get some virus protection for it.

In my country I only have the following choice of antivirus software to buy:
Norton Antivirus 2006
Norton Intenet Security 2006
McAfee Internet Security Suite 2006

Could you please tell me which is seen to offer the best virus protection and since I'll be doing a lot of online gaming I want something that isn't going to cause me a load of problems when I want to game online.

I know there are some free antivirus programmes out there and also there is Microsofts very own (I will have XP Pro 32bit). If these are preferred over Norton of McAfee then please could you tell me how they are better, thanks

monts · Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:49 am

try avg free for home use

http://free.grisoft.com

Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:48 am

rapaz wrote:
I know there are some free antivirus programmes out there and also there is Microsofts very own (I will have XP Pro 32bit). If these are preferred over Norton of McAfee then please could you tell me how they are better, thanks

Definitely, anything but McCrapie and Hogton (or Not-ton).

Sargent Duck · Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:58 am

another vote for AVG. Stay away from Nortons. I'm a resedential tech at my university (I make house calls), and so many times people call me and say "Nortons on my computer detected a virus, but can't remove it". I go over, install AVG, and problem solved. That, and Nortons is very heavy on the CPU cycles, and costs money to stay updated. AVG is free, updates are free, and I'm gonna step out and say it's the best. (If you want to buy it, they do have a "professional" version you can buy).

LicketySplit · Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:10 am

Definitely AVG Free. They have fixed their updater and scan modules. Very good program.

titan · Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:18 am

Another vote for AVG. You really can't go wrong with free.

rapaz · Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:24 am

Thanks

BTW does AVG update regularly?? And does it keep on top of all the latest viruses?

Would you say that I should also use the antivirus protection that comes with Windows XP?

Free sounds good....almost too good to be true! So I would really only need AVG? (I'm going to start online gaming, which I've never done before. So is there anything I need to watchout for?)

Thanks guys!

LicketySplit · Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:26 am

The free edition updates automatically and scans everyday. You cannot schedule a scan with the free edition. Get a decent firewall to go with and you should be ok.

Joeg_7 · Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:27 am

i've been running norton internet security 2003/2004/2005 the last 3 years. it is a hog on the cpu cycles and costs a bit cause i buy the new version every year, but on the up side i've never had a problem with my computer.

Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:02 pm

rapaz wrote:
Would you say that I should also use the antivirus protection that comes with Windows XP?

"Enhanced Virus Protection" on SP2 is not just for viruses these days. Lots of other malware exploit buffer overflows and this is what EVP is supposed to protect against (XD or NX in other literature). There may be the odd driver or program that may not work with EVP because they dynamically generate code, but I think you can set up exceptions for those. Overall it's not a bad idea to turn it on.

rapaz wrote:
Free sounds good....almost too good to be true! So I would really only need AVG? (I'm going to start online gaming, which I've never done before. So is there anything I need to watchout for?)

If you use IE, be sure to use the pop-up blocker and do not click YES or OK on every pop up dialog that you see. (well, same for anything else I guess). Even if you have the best security software installed, do not fall into a false sense of security into thinking you can do whatever you want and not get infected. Be careful. The tools is just a back up measure in case you miss something or the occasional memory lapse. But security starts with you, not "set it and forget it" like what they want you to believe.

And did I say, "don't open any attachments that you see"?

IntelMole · Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:29 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
And did I say, "don't open any attachments that you see"?

No, so I'll say it for you.

Don't open any attachments that you see :-P

,
-Mole

rogue426 · Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:44 pm

AVG ,it's free and it can be uninstalled easily.I used to be a big suppoter of Norton products,however I will not use them anymore.Norton has proven to be an absolute pain to uninstall and is a resource hog.

rapaz · Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:07 pm

Well AVG is the most popular here!! But if that is only as an antivirus prog then what should I use as a FIREWALL??? To protect the PC as best as I can, do I just need an antivirus prog (e.g. AVG) and a firewall or is there anything else?

Thanks Flying Fox for the explanation. I'll go with your advice and turn on the Windows virus protection too.

(My PC will be new and I'll have to go on the net to download AVG and drivers etc. So how can I protect myself for that period of time before I have finished downloading AVG? Could I download onto a CD from a different PC and then put it onto the new one? Sorry for the really basic questions but I really don't want to make any mistakes.)

cheesyking · Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:55 pm

you'll be fine going on the net for AVG without virus protection, just don't start looking for free porn etc before it's installed.

the windows firewall (on by default with XP service pack 2) will also provide give you good enough protection for that job.

Do you want to get something better than the windows firewall, maybe. AVG does a firewall too, don't know anything about it. Frankly if you're behind a router I'm not sure I'd bother.

rapaz · Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:15 pm

Thanks cheesyking for the advice. Unfortunately I haven't got a router and I won't have one till I move house...so I'm stuck with a really **** USB internet connection (ADSL). I guess the windows XP SP2 firewall should do and with AVG I will feel a lot safer.

Thanks everyone.

(Any advice about protecting the PC while gaming online? Do you have to open certain ports to play online and if so how do you know they won't be hacked? Thanks)

Usacomp2k3 · Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:23 pm

You don't have to open any ports, don't worry. Unless you are hosting a game, which it doesn't sound like you are.

LicketySplit · Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:41 pm

rapaz wrote:
Thanks cheesyking for the advice. Unfortunately I haven't got a router and I won't have one till I move house...so I'm stuck with a really sh*tty USB internet connection (ADSL). I guess the windows XP SP2 firewall should do and with AVG I will feel a lot safer.

Thanks everyone.

(Any advice about protecting the PC while gaming online? Do you have to open certain ports to play online and if so how do you know they won't be hacked? Thanks)

I find that ZoneAlarm catches more traffic than the one thats on SP2(XP). Its free as well.

Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:56 pm

Yet another vote for AVG (not that you needed any more at this point). It is less intrusive than the "big name" AV programs in terms of memory and CPU usage; it is updated regularly; and the autoamtic e-mail attachment scanning even works properly with Mozilla/Thunderbird now (this was a problem with earlier versions).

Get a hardware firewall as soon as it is practical for you to do so. Software firewalls have their place, but there really is no substitute for an external one.

MadCatz · Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:00 pm

AVG Free, Zonealarm Free, and Windows Antispyware work very well together as a team. All recommended.

rogue426 · Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:09 pm

I have used ZoneAlarm in the past and have always had trouble with my network with it,I'm sure it's a user config error on my part,so I don't run it anymore.I'm behind a broadband router now though.

Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:28 pm

I use AVG and/or Avast, and both rock.

Fighterpilot · Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:48 pm

Norton Internet Security and antivirus..set it...forget it...if you have plenty of recources who cares if its a power hog :wink:

tsoulier · Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:56 pm

Norton blows , another vote AVG

Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:58 pm

Fighterpilot wrote:
Norton Internet Security and antivirus..set it...forget it...if you have plenty of recources who cares if its a power hog

But when they can't remove stuff or can't even detect stuff, do you still care? :-?

Joeg_7 · Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:28 pm

Flying Fox wrote:
Fighterpilot wrote:
Norton Internet Security and antivirus..set it...forget it...if you have plenty of recources who cares if its a power hog

But when they can't remove stuff or can't even detect stuff, do you still care?

Joeg_7 wrote:
i've been running norton internet security 2003/2004/2005 the last 3 years. it is a hog on the cpu cycles and costs a bit cause i buy the new version every year, but on the up side i've never had a problem with my computer.

not a problem for me besides the cpu usage. which i don't really care about cause i have it scan when i'm not using it. the firewall is great too.

Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:52 pm

Oh I had stuff missed by Norton and was caught by my work's McCrappie (go figure :roll:

). And then I got called into my boss office for a lecture of "you are not supposed to blah blah blah..." :evil:

paulWTAMU · Thu Dec 15, 2005 2:40 am

My big problem with Norton is that it is a royal PITA to remove. If I can't uninstall something quicky and easily in the "Install/Uninstall Programs" list, I don't like it. The damn thing managed to totally mangle my machine when I tried to uninstall it.

Wajo · Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:43 am

I also had a bad experience uninstalling Norton.. the process somehow managed to damage windows start files and I was forced to format and reinstall... I hate Norton ever since... not to mention is one of the biggest resource hogs ever...

rapaz · Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:55 am

Well I guess I'll be going for AVG and Zonealarm

along with XP's help.

Thanks very much everyone

davidedney123 · Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:01 am

AVG home edition couldn't catch the clap in a whore house, in my experience. The fastest, most reliably virus software with the lowest use of system resources that I've found is Esets NOD32. Apparently Microsoft use it, and I've used it now on loads of sites and it's always far outperformed whatever they've had before. It's also pretty cheap, both for single user licences and volume licensing. The scanning speed is far, far higher than everything else I've tried and it's the only AV software I've used that doesn't kill the "snap" a system has without it - even on dual CPU systems.

Well worth a try.

Dave

TR Forums

New PC - which antivirus software?

New PC - which antivirus software?

Re: New PC - which antivirus software?

Who is online