Antivirus programs. Which is best?

[Ashlee]

Ok, on my new laptop, it has McAfee already installed.  I guess it is working ok, but I am not completely satisfied.  Everytime I get online it downloads updates, and it makes my computer very slow.

A friend gave me somthing that she had.  She said that it was recommended to her by the "geek squad" and was suppose to be the best.  I just want to make sure though that it is worth my uninstalling mcafee and installing these.  Will they work as well?  Are there any problems with these?

Trend Micro Antivirus is on of them.
The other, is only a spysweeper, Webroot Spy Sweeper.

If anyone has any knowledge on either one of these, please let me know.

[Scott]

Check out AVG

Jerry and Aaron put me on to it and frankly it works as well or better than most

[Ashlee]

I really can't afford to buy anything else right now.  I just wanted to see if the programs that I have are worth keeping.

[Tricia Lea]

I use the avg free edition

[RandyWayne]

I would agree that AVG is perhaps one of the better one... free or not!

If you have your OWN computer that no one else uses I would strongly suggest not putting ANY anti virus junk on for the original reasons stated.  It slows the machine way down and often makes it far less stable to boot.  The only thing I am running is a firewall AND (and this is very important) have a NAT router between my DSL modem and PC.

[Scott]

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/28415/lng/us/tpl/v5

Even if I were the only one on this computer, I'd use anti virus prgrams.

The above link will take you to the AVG web page, it is free and it  doesn't bog you down like others do.

[mini]

I agree with Scott.  AVG!

[Ashlee]

Ok Scott, I followed the link, but I couldn't find it.  lol.  I'm usually pretty good at this stuff, but I'm not doing so well tonight.  Could you please send me a link where I can see the words "Download Now" or something lol. 

I did a search for AVG and downloaded what I thought was the free anti-virus, however with the free one, I could only remove 20 problems at a time.  It found much more than that, and when I tried to run the scan again to remove 20 more, it wouldn't work right.  It just wanted me to buy the program.  Maybe I downloaded the wrong thing though. 

[Ashlee]

Just found it!  It was the same one that I had found earlier.  I must have done something wrong if everyone seems to like it. 

[Scott]

If you have that many virus', you might want to visit Norton.com and search for the free virus scan. Then download each tool to clean it out.

[M‡¢ĦÆŁ Ҝ]

Most AV programs from an established and reputable company are all about the same.  Some may be geared more for the corporate environment and some for the home environment, but they all do a pretty good job of catching viruses.  The debate as to which is the best is the same as the debate as to whether Ford or Chevy is best--they are both good, but many people have strong opinions toward one in particular.  The best advice is to find one you can afford, one you like using, and most importantly, keep the definitions updated as often as possible (daily update checks are best, weekly is good, but don't go monthly or longer).

At home I use Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition because I get it free from work.  Their licensing agreement allows us to bring it home free of charge.  If I was paying for the software, I'd probably go with McAfee.  If I couldn't get free or afford to buy, I'd most likely go with AVG.  But, that my personal preferences.

[Kyle]

I use Symantec AntiVirus Corporate myself on my comp at home.  I wouldn't go with McAfee.  I've had bad experiences with their products but that is just me.  My dad uses AVG Free and we also supply that onto the computers we sell to people.

[Ashlee]

If you have that many virus', you might want to visit Norton.com and search for the free virus scan. Then download each tool to clean it out.

It wasn't viruses that were found, just junk stuff.  Nothing important. 

I have had Norton on a previous computer and I had several problems with it.  I don't really want to use it again. 

I guess I'll just stick with McAfee for now.  It's not too bad, and I do like several of the features it offers.

[Scott]

McAfee was more of a problem than a help, I actually prefer AVG over McAfee.

I suspect you need a Spy Ware program to clean the junk. I use Spybot and Adaware both.

[BroTrey]

i use NOD32 from Eset.  its tons faster than any of the former bignames (Symantec's Norton and McAfee)
i got a free copy as a promo from work and i really like it...... but its 50 for a single user 99 for 3-users....
other than that advast or avg are greeat freebies

[Nerd]

Avast! antivirus is the best I've run across for a long time.


http://www.avast.com/eng/programs.html


Home edition is free.

[Ashlee]

I have a friend who can get that for me.  I guess I'll have to get him to install it on my computer.  I had it on my moms computer, but it messed up some of her programs.  I don't think it works very well with Window 98.

[Nerd]

That one will remove not only all viruses, but some spyware and adware too. I think it's geared more towards XP, although I've used it with about everything.

[LarryTheCucumber]

I run Avira on all my machines since its free, and I've seen it catch a number of cooties that slipped past Norton and McAfee.

if you are going to pay for a scanner, Kaspersky is the best one I've ever tried.

SpyBot Search and Destroy is the malware scanner I've used for some time with good results, but I've been shifting my loyalties more and more to A-Squared.

[dnr1128]

I've been using AVG for several years now, and I've never had a problem with it.  It updates automatically and scans my system every night.  It detects viruses embedded in web sites, and has saved me from those on several occasions. 

I've used both mcafee and norton, and I've found that mcafee has a better engine in it, it is a major system hog.  Norton is easier on system resources, but doesn't always detect everything it should.  AVG is good on both points. 

[Bro Bart]

I also use AVG free edition now,

for firewall I use Comodo firewall pro, also for free

and to top it off I have this rootkit scanner, called skyhawk, also for free.

Its all for free and it does the same job as the expensive packs.

[Cody P]

I use Risining Anti-Virus Free Edition and I Love It ! , I used to use AVG but I kept getting Update errors.