looking for good antivirus program
I've just recently got my newer computer hooked up to the internet and now I'm looking for a good free antivirus program. Does anyone have any reccomendations? I've had some nasty encounters with XP antivirus on a previous computer and I'd hate for something like that to happen to this one.
Two good free ones are AVGfree and Avira.
One problem I have with AVG is that is seems to sometimes break itself when it updates, or get errors when downloading updates over a slow connection. You then either have to reinstall or address these errors, which if you're lazy like me, might result in some time with your computer unprotected.
I also tried Avira for a while, and I have heard many people recommend it over AVG. But I got annoyed at the popups it displays every time it updates for the paid version. Popups are something I employ antivirus to AVOID, and so I go with AVG, even though it breaks every few months or so.
One problem I have with AVG is that is seems to sometimes break itself when it updates, or get errors when downloading updates over a slow connection. You then either have to reinstall or address these errors, which if you're lazy like me, might result in some time with your computer unprotected.
I also tried Avira for a while, and I have heard many people recommend it over AVG. But I got annoyed at the popups it displays every time it updates for the paid version. Popups are something I employ antivirus to AVOID, and so I go with AVG, even though it breaks every few months or so.
I use Avast on my computer, that works well for me.
I used to use AVG but I don't think it is very good... just my opinion.
You can get Avast here if you want.
I used to use AVG but I don't think it is very good... just my opinion.
You can get Avast here if you want.
I found AVG really can slow things down - I use Avira - i prefer pop-ups to viruses. Also, i had bad experiences with AVG not performing well... also, use firefox or chrome when browsing da net!
I have used AVG for years now, and generally I was really happy with it. But since I have the new version, AVG has many errors, like being unable to update, make Firefox crash, slowing things down, etc.
I still use it out of habit, but I'm sure there are better alternatives available now.
I still use it out of habit, but I'm sure there are better alternatives available now.
I have Avast and like it - it's easy to use and unobtrusive. It's caught and blocked several things in the act of installing, instead of me having to scan for them. Also has a great voice and siren 
Got AVG on another computer but I'm not so keen on v8. Quite a lot seems disabled from the paid version so you can't set it to do anything automatically for example. No real grumps though.
Don't forget the other stuff like firewalls and anti-spyware! I use Comodo firewall which seems very good but it asks me often about letting things through, I like this but it could be rather annoying to some.
Got AVG on another computer but I'm not so keen on v8. Quite a lot seems disabled from the paid version so you can't set it to do anything automatically for example. No real grumps though.
Don't forget the other stuff like firewalls and anti-spyware! I use Comodo firewall which seems very good but it asks me often about letting things through, I like this but it could be rather annoying to some.
I've used AVG and I loved it until I got that Antivirus XP virus or whatever and it didn't stand a chance against it. I've downloaded Avast, so moving on to Antispyware I guess. More suggestions? And what's the point of a firewall?
I also have Avast. Runs quietly in the background and updates itself. When I got my windows vista, AVG which I had been using up until then started slowing me down, and acting..well stupid.
I have been using Avast for 2 years now (on this computer) and find it works great
I have been using Avast for 2 years now (on this computer) and find it works great
I will also throw in that I've been using avast for several months after I got sick of AVG slowing things down. So far it's stopped at least one web virus.
I currently use Online Armor as a firewall. Firewalls are always good to have as they help protect against remote hackers and can stop trojans from trying to dial out or modify files that they shouldn't be when the virus shield doesn't pick them up.
Essentially, they're an extra and very welcome line of defense. As its protections are often broader, I'd consider a good firewall to be more necessary than a virus shield (although there's a fair bit of crossover nowadays).
I currently use Online Armor as a firewall. Firewalls are always good to have as they help protect against remote hackers and can stop trojans from trying to dial out or modify files that they shouldn't be when the virus shield doesn't pick them up.
Essentially, they're an extra and very welcome line of defense. As its protections are often broader, I'd consider a good firewall to be more necessary than a virus shield (although there's a fair bit of crossover nowadays).
A firewall basically sits between your computer and the internet, filtering out the baddies going in or out.
Anti-spyware, I use Spybot S&D but having more than just that could be better. I've heard MalwareBytes is good. Had AVG anti-spyware but got rid of it because it never caught anything, even when others did.
Anti-spyware, I use Spybot S&D but having more than just that could be better. I've heard MalwareBytes is good. Had AVG anti-spyware but got rid of it because it never caught anything, even when others did.
It's a great idea to limit yourself to just one maybe two virus scanners to prevent conflictions between them - frequent updating is quick n easy; it should be common sense, but alas, it is often ignored.
@ Rabid: that's what happened to me - i then gave up on AVG, which also auto-launches several memory-consuming applications which aren't overly effective anyway
@ Rabid: that's what happened to me - i then gave up on AVG, which also auto-launches several memory-consuming applications which aren't overly effective anyway
One virus scanner, yeah, but no problem with more than one spyware scanner.
