Virus And Spyware Help Needed

[Steven Wagenheim]

Okay tech heads. I need your help.

I finally gave Norton the boot. I couldn't stand how NAV slows your PC to
a crawl, not to mention that it almost destroyed mine.

Prior to that, I used Macafee and it almost killed my PC altogether.

I want to know what the best virus and spyware software is.

It must contain the following:

1. Doesn't slow up your PC
2. Doesn't crash your PC
3. Actually detects problems and fixes them safely.

I don't care what it costs. I just want something that I won't even know is
running...kind of like what I have going on right now since I am not
running anything at the moment.

If such a wonderful piece of software exists, I want to know about it.

I am hoping I am not going to get 10 different people give me 10 different
things. I'm hoping there is actually one thing out there (like Camtasia
for videos or DLGuard for download protection) that is actually considered
top of the line...hands down.

Thanks for your help on this.

[Sean A McAlister]

Steven,

Take it from me I was in the same boat....and had no real clue.

I consulted with several people on line and off and finally purchased

Kaspersky Internet Security.

It was the best $90 I ever spent.

Prior to having this program I was having a computer melt down virtually monthly. My computer sat at Best Buy for over 6 weeks being repaired once

I have been using this for 5 months now and have never been happier. I bought the Software at Best Buy.

I had been searching for a long time and wasted a lot of money on CRAP. This IS THE REAL DEAL! It does not slow anything down and detects harmful things that are trying to invade.

I HIGHLY Recommend it. It is made for guys like us. You put the disc into your computer...hit the install button...and bam!

By the way. My computer had 10 trojen viruses on it when I bought the software...that Norton could not destroy. After installing I was virus free after about 3 hours. (I was tinkering around)

It also has a very nice 'Proactive Defense" system where you can incorporate a lot of firewall type protocalls. It completes auto updates monthly.

Seab

[Fendi Salim]

Steven,

There's no one tool to do 'em all...

But if commercial software is what you need... go for Kaspersky

[JayXtreme]

Avira Antivirus
Adaware
Windows and Internet Cleaner pro

A deadly combination to smack down anythin that wants to attack your machines.. I have these three on all my machines and I don't have any issues..

Norton is the most power suckin AV ever ain't it Steve?

Peace

Jay

[Fendi Salim]

You are right Jay.

Norton is a resource hog. I had a commercial install uninstalled even before it expires 2 years ago...

[Steven Wagenheim]

Sean, I've read about Kaspersky and all the reviews say it's almost as
slow as Norton, plus it kills things that you know are okay but it doesn't
care, it kills it anyway. Yes, it's thorough...maybe too thorough.

Originally Posted by The IM Reporter

Steven,

Take it from me I was in the same boat....and had no real clue.

I consulted with several people on line and off and finally purchased

Kaspersky Internet Security.

It was the best $90 I ever spent.

Prior to having this program I was having a computer melt down virtually monthly. My computer sat at Best Buy for over 6 weeks being repaired once

I have been using this for 5 months now and have never been happier. I bought the Software at Best Buy.

I had been searching for a long time and wasted a lot of money on CRAP. This IS THE REAL DEAL! It does not slow anything down and detects harmful things that are trying to invade.

I HIGHLY Recommend it. It is made for guys like us. You put the disc into your computer...hit the install button...and bam!

By the way. My computer had 10 trojen viruses on it when I bought the software...that Norton could not destroy. After installing I was virus free after about 3 hours. (I was tinkering around)

It also has a very nice 'Proactive Defense" system where you can incorporate a lot of firewall type protocalls. It completes auto updates monthly.

Seab

[Vince Runza Online]

I use Avast! antivirus: avast! antivirus - high security and protection from malware with anti-spyware and anti-rootkit software built in and Ad-Aware. Avast is free for home use and has a reasonably priced license for professional use.

Avast is the fastest running antivirus software I know of. I've used Norton and McAfee, both of which screwed up my computer. Avast competes with the best in the world as far as finding and stopping the bad guys.

[lgibbon]

Can't get much better than this one:
avast! 4 Home Edition - FREE antivirus software - Download
And it's free.

[Richard Tunnah]

Steve,
If you want anti-virus software that doesn't effect your comp then I'd recommend gatekeeper USB plug-in (inbuilt 13 securities on it - anti-virus/firewall/anti-adware included). Not cheap but runs on it's own SD toggle.

Internet Security Solution for Home Users

Rich

[Sean A McAlister]

Well Steven.....

All I can Say is I have never been happier, so consider this one of th favorable reviews.

My computer runs smoothly and fast.

As you know on of the things I do is produce Video's. I was having major problems with effeciencies, nuances and productivity prior to Kaspersky.

My vid software takes a lot of space, and I operate off a laptop most of the time. I have dual hardrives to handle everything.

I was living a nightmare before Kasprsky. Now...ZERO issues.

It is thorough, but if you read the directions (which I bet a lot of the people who are giving reviews did not do...I mean lets face it...how many people really read the directions?....I know that I don't...but in this case I did) you can tweak the softwares sensitivity.

Additionally, as you use it and you encounter non threatening programs that are foreign...Kaspersky will notify you in a pop up window in which you can then add it to your shared list. You can also choose to allow certain programs on a per basis.

After about a month of running with the system, most everything that you use or do as it pertains to your online business will have been added to your shared list.


Sean

[Trader54]

Is this avast similar to the free AVG, is it better?

[Jeff Hope]

Steven,

Look into BitDefender. I've tried pretty much all the others, including free and paid ones, and settled on BitDefender.

Jeff

[Bev Clement]

Kaspersky all the way. Rob checked them all out and that is his recommendation.

Be careful of some of the free ones around, they are good, but they are not supposed to be used for commerical use. If you make money using your computer then you need to have one that isn't just a free home edition.

[Dave OSullivan]

Steven,

Sorry to throw another one in but I use eset's Nod 32

It's not resource hungry at all and has found and sucessfully deleted anything I have come across.

Dave.

[Steven Wagenheim]

Originally Posted by Bev Clement

Kaspersky all the way. Rob checked them all out and that is his recommendation.

Be careful of some of the free ones around, they are good, but they are not supposed to be used for commerical use. If you make money using your computer then you need to have one that isn't just a free home edition.

Bev, why is that? Is it because they don't catch everything that's out there?

If that's the case, then what good are they whether you use your PC for
business or not? If you get hit with a virus, either way, your PC could be
toast. So I don't see how any free service can be rated highly unless it at
least caught what was out there.

Sorry, confused about this stuff.

[KarlWarren]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Bev, why is that? Is it because they don't catch everything that's out there?

If that's the case, then what good are they whether you use your PC for
business or not? If you get hit with a virus, either way, your PC could be
toast. So I don't see how any free service can be rated highly unless it at
least caught what was out there.

Sorry, confused about this stuff.

Hi Steve,

I think Bev is referring to the non-commercial license. The program works the same, but using it for commercial purposes is against the license agreement - so you have to buy it.

[JayXtreme]

Steve.. why do you need one anyway?.. you won't catch much between EZA and the WF

[TheRichJerksNet]

Steven,
Hands down Antivirus Software: Kaspersky Lab - Protection Against Malware and Cybercrime has the best solution out there.. I run a Mac but I also run a Imac Intel also .. I purchased the software and not one single problem on my WindowsXP ..

Edited to Add: The software has never removed anything I have not wanted it too.. My windows on Intel Mac is connected 24/7.. I have been running the software for well over a year ...

James

[preets]

Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim

Bev, why is that? Is it because they don't catch everything that's out there?

If that's the case, then what good are they whether you use your PC for
business or not? If you get hit with a virus, either way, your PC could be
toast. So I don't see how any free service can be rated highly unless it at
least caught what was out there.

Sorry, confused about this stuff.

Hi Steven ,

Just see the difference in Free and paid version

avast! 4 Home Edition - FREE antivirus software - Download

avast! antivirus Home Edition is available free of charge for non-commercial home use ONLY. You can find more detailed information about the product here. If you are not a home user or if you use your computer for business purposes, avast! Home Edition is not licensed for such use. Instead, we offer a wide range of more suitable products which provide higher data security for commercial use, starting with avast! Professional Edition. .

[Asher]

Originally Posted by Dave OSullivan

Steven,

Sorry to throw another one in but I use eset's Nod 32

It's not resource hungry at all and has found and sucessfully deleted anything I have come across.

Dave.

I second that. NOD32 is an excellent one.

Steven, you can try going to Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com and search for
anti-virus and anti-software programs. Whatever comes up, sort
it by Total Downloads or Most Popular

Read the User Reviews and decide from there.

Asher

[derekchambers]

Originally Posted by Asher

I second that. NOD32 is an excellent one.

Steven, you can try going to Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com and search for
anti-virus and anti-software programs. Whatever comes up, sort
it by Total Downloads or Most Popular

Read the User Reviews and decide from there.

Asher

I have been using NOD32 for a number of years, never had any problems, doesnt slow the computer down

the new NOD32 security suite also has a firewall and anti spam feature that works very well

[Louismz]

Hi Steve,

You may want to consider upgrading your computer instead of switching to new anti-virus software. Especially since you said Norton and Macafee almost destroyed your computer? How much RAM do you have and what is your processor speed?

I've had zero problems running Norton/w Windows Vista and XP on both my computers.

[TheNightOwl]

I second preets's post (Not aimed at Steven by the way):

No one here should really be using the free version of Avast (or any other software with a similar license) if they're making money. Their HomeEdition is free for non-commercial home use.

@ Steven... I actually use Avast and I'm very happy with it, but I've been hearing more and more good things about Kaspersky so maybe I should take a peek over there too.

Other things I use:

SpyBot Search & Destroy
The home of Spybot-S&D!
(You can make a donation)

I've also been using Ad-Aware for a number of years now:
Ad-Aware @ Lavasoft - The Original Anti-Spyware Company - Lavasoft
(recently expanded their suite of apps)

And CC Cleaner is a sleek little utility too:
Download CCleaner 2.12.660 - FileHippo.com

Hope you find the solution you're looking for!

Best,
TheNightOwl

[Sean Donahoe]

Hey Steven.

Norton is just a disaster waiting to happen on any system (PC or Mac). So I empathize with your situation. In all honesty I have tested pretty much every combo of security software, as part of my background is in systems and network security. The best all round package that does the job and meets your requirements is ZoneAlarm.

ZoneAlarm has an excellent firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-spam and does not slow down anything. If you are really security paranoid you can also throw in AVG Free and Spybot Seek and Destroy to get the "Doctors" second opinion at no cost, but i have has absolutely no problems with Zonealarm for a good few years now.

[Fendi Salim]

I think Steven is suffering from info overload regarding this...

I would too if i didn't know.

Steven, again there's no one perfect solution - not ever. It depends on the end-user as well as to what websites they surf, what programs they download and run, which emails they open etc, whether you are running your own system or via networks etc...

Having one system only may not be the solution just like the advice of not having your domain hosted by your registrar.

There exist specific solutions for anti-virus software, adware, spyware, scumware, malware, firewall, spam etc... what one can detect the other may not.

In the techie world, this is a long running debate on who's the best... again each user is different.

Btw, freeware does not mean it does not work.

I have to agree Avast is not a resource hog - I use the free version

[D.K. Magnus]

Windows Live One Care, since I switched to to this in the spring it has even stopped those sneaky WIN anti virus viruses.

But it isn't free.

[e-mail2u]

Steve,

Avast all the way never had a problem with it and i have used it for years.

[Harvey.Segal]

Originally Posted by Sean Donahoe

The best all round package that does the job and meets your requirements is ZoneAlarm.
..
..
If you are really security paranoid you can also throw in AVG Free ...

I've been using ZoneAlarm (firewall) together with AVG Free
for some time with no problem.

Then I needed to reinstall AVG and presumably picked up the
latest version. This complained about dll files in
ZoneAlarm and it was not clear how to proceed. But even
worse I was unable to access the Internet. So I removed AVG,
which got my Internet access back.

So now I need an anti virus, and may take Sean's advice and
upgrade Zone Alarm to the full package.


Harvey

[David Neale]

For what it's worth and to be a bit more accurate Anti-Virus is pretty well irrelevant today. When was the last time you even heard about a Virus threat on your home computer?

It's Trojans and Malware that are the big deal these days. The bad guys don't really bother with viruses much anymore.

To prevent every type of malware exploit is extremely difficult, much harder than dealing with the older virus threats.

[GarrieWilson]

AVG Antivirus and Security Software - Real-time protection against viruses, spyware and malicious websites

I use the Internet security edition, on 3 systems, and am pleased with it.

I just scan memory on boot w/ it and do periodic full scans. It catches things from websites and has a good spam filter. I have had a few false positives but am overall pleased.

Garrie

[Harvey.Segal]

Originally Posted by Harvey.Segal

Then I needed to reinstall AVG and presumably picked up the
latest version. This complained about dll files in
ZoneAlarm and it was not clear how to proceed. But even
worse I was unable to access the Internet. So I removed AVG,
which got my Internet access back.

Wait - I've just found that this has been resolved


AVG Detects ZoneAlarm as Trojan - A faulty definition update caused AVG anti-virus to block and quarantine the ZoneAlarm firewall - Softpedia


Harvey

[Steven Wagenheim]

I want to humbly thank everybody for their advice. I guess hoping that
everybody would jump in and name one product was wishful thinking.

I ultimately went with Kaspersky.

Here are the results so far.

1. Upon doing a scan, no viruses found. So I'm okay.

2. The slowdown has been minimal, though it does exist. No question about
it, especially when refreshing this forum. But it's tolerable and I can live
with it. The rest of my PC operation doesn't seem to be affected at all, even
using the most resource intensive apps.

So for the most part, I am pleased with what I see. If something should
happen, I will look into something else. As many have said, nothing
protects you against everything.

Thanks again. This is why I love this place so much.