OT: IT

[G6 at Snook, TX]

I know some of you tractor on the weekend and work with computers during the week. What is the best anti-virus program out there for a home pc?

 

[Bruce (VA)]

6v or 12v, front or side distributor?!!



Seriously, what make/model of PC & what version of MS & browser (assuming it's not a Mac) are you running?

According to the PC guy where I used to work, (and still call on for help) some of the new versions of Norton do not do well on the old versions of Windows. Likewise, if you use Firefox instead of MS Explorer, you get additional compatibility issues.

All that being said........I don't know jack about it; I just email him!

 

[Howard H.]

Google "security essentials" (from Microsoft) or AVG free. Either of those is pretty good.

I don't trust Norton at all. Which is sad, because they were one of the first and biggest AV companies, but their quality control went to pot in the last 5-6 years.

Be sure to remove any old AV program first. Windows doesn't generally like more than one on at a time...

Howard

 

[Nate8N]

Keep in mind that what people use depends on personal preference. Some like to be notified of every single cookie, redirect, and attachment.

Myself I just want the program to let me know if there is a real problem, after it has taken action to stop any damage it may cause.
Personally I run Kaspersky (you can get it at Wally World) on the laptops and the servers that I have.

It is a thorough antivirus scanner that is not nearly as heavy on system resources while running as the other major brands and it stays out of my way until it finds a problem.
I have run all the major brands and many of the “freebies”, which are worth what you pay for them – nothing. Kaspersky works well for me.

 

[Bill(NC)]

I don"t Think you will find any that are 100%. After years of worrying with this question, would you believe that my prime computer is using Windows 7, and the software it provides. Have had no problems so far.

I think the more important aspect of this problem, is to try and not get a virus in the first place. Can you picture someone saying "I"m going to a House of Ill Repute tonight, do you know what is the best Salve to put in my medicine cabinet ?"

 

[Sheltie007]

I agree with Bill(NC) & Nate8N. Great advise. Kaspersky works real good and doesn"t make your system run slower like Norton. If you want free, I"d go with Avast. AVG let some of the bad guys in which is why I went with Kaspesky. Never run more than 1. More is not better.

 

[Hobo,NC]

(quoted from post at 19:53:39 08/14/11) I know some of you tractor on the weekend and work with computers during the week. What is the best anti-virus program out there for a home pc?

I have been using ESET for a few years with no issues... my free trial so far has lasted 2 years with updates :wink:

http://www.eset.com/us/home/nod32-antivirus

 

[G6 at Snook, TX]

I have used AVG (free) for some time, but I was wondering if time had passed it by and it was not what it once was. It was recommended to me by an IT friend who has since left the field due to health issues.

 

[Kevin in MN]

(quoted from post at 14:36:43 08/14/11) I don"t Think you will find any that are 100%. After years of worrying with this question, would you believe that my prime computer is using Windows 7, and the software it provides. Have had no problems so far.

I think the more important aspect of this problem, is to try and not get a virus in the first place. Can you picture someone saying "I"m going to a House of Ill Repute tonight, do you know what is the best Salve to put in my medicine cabinet ?"

Well said! At home I use none. But research has told us ESET is the current leader. And that what I have on our 250+ users at work.

http://www.eset.com

 

[Ed S.]

"What is the best anti-virus program out there for a home pc?"

A Mac?

:lol:

(someone had to say it)

Seriously, though, the advice about "safe surfing" above is spot on. I run WinXP Pro in a virtual machine on my Mac (Symantec AV 11), and it's never been compromised. On the Mac side, I've been using Macs since around 1985, and have seen exactly two viruses (both many years ago under System 6). I do not use AV software at all on the Mac side...

The biggest thing you have to watch out for are "trojan horses," which rely on human engineering to get you to click a link/install software that looks benign, but in actuality is malware that you yourself just allowed full access to your computer.

es

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 18:36:09 08/14/11) "What is the best anti-virus program out there for a home pc?"

A Mac?

:lol:

(someone had to say it)

Seriously, though, the advice about "safe surfing" above is spot on. I run WinXP Pro in a virtual machine on my Mac (Symantec AV 11), and it's never been compromised. On the Mac side, I've been using Macs since around 1985, and have seen exactly two viruses (both many years ago under System 6). I do not use AV software at all on the Mac side...

The biggest thing you have to watch out for are "trojan horses," which rely on human engineering to get you to click a link/install software that looks benign, but in actuality is malware that you yourself just allowed full access to your computer.

es

Doesn't matter what OS or AV you have installed - if you click on ANY popup no matter what it says it "means" you are easy meat waiting to be eaten. Can you type TASKMGR into a "run" prompt on a Windows xxx.yyy PC and end any suspicious application?? For a Windows PC Symantec is about as good as you are going to get for AV software and well worth the $$$$

TOH

 

[Bob Harvey]

I agree, I've been using the free Microsoft Security Essentials for a couple of years now - no problems. HTH

 

[Dell (WA)]

Snookie........don't go lookin' fer dirty pictures and you won't catch a virus. Simple, eh? .......Dell

 

[sfurn52]

I use eset on my 5 computers

 

[Fuddy Duddy]

I agree. Get a Mac.
When ever I use my Kids home PC and come to this page and then
scan afterwards for a virus. Seems it picked one up. Anyone else
noticed this?

 

[Ron-MO]

I work in IT for a large corporation, and at work we use Symantec, but for my wife's laptop I use Microsoft Security Essentials, and recommend to others, and price is right. I am not really impressed with the Symantec product and have seen several laptops dead from viruses while 'protected' with the Symantec product. The way I look at it, what better to protect a Microsoft product than with a Microsoft product. A lot of folks badmouth Bill Gates products, but like it or not, he has the best product out there or he wouldn't have gotten where he is today (just my opinion only). I also like the McAfee products, and used those for years with good results.

 

[Bob Purinton]

Some of my machines (computers) Still run AVG 2011 antivirus free edition. Some run microsoft security essentials with nary a hitch. Either one will do. With these antivirus programs I use Malwarebytes antimalware. This is a good reliable malware killer that can be downloaded from www.cnet.com/downloads.

Now the one I do my banking on runs Linux Mint 11. Linux distros are a free download from www.distrowatch.com.

There are about 18,000 virus' out there for Windows. Only about a dozen that mess with linux and, as far as I know, are all in a lab and not out here running around.

good luck.

 

[John in Mich]

Sure wish I had your faith. A "USA Today" article stated that the new viruses are waiting for us when we use the most common search engines, like Google and Yahoo, and we try opening even some of the most harmless looking websites while searching for a particular topic. Then, to ad insult, these things can morph and hide from some of the best protective software. When will they put electric charges in the computers of the varmits designing these things. Maybe they need to be treated like the horse theives of the old west, but with pictures on the internet!

 

[TheOldHokie]

(quoted from post at 19:25:07 08/15/11)

Now the one I do my banking on runs Linux Mint 11. Linux distros are a free download from www.distrowatch.com.

There are about 18,000 virus' out there for Windows. Only about a dozen that mess with linux and, as far as I know, are all in a lab and not out here running around.

good luck.

Well one of those labs must be the Information Technology Lab (ITL) at NIST. I've had more than one infected Linux workstation flagged for network removal by our automated security scanning. Our scans included Linux and Unix machines in addition to Windows for a reason. Here is an interesting discussion of some nasty things you can do to a modern Linux with just a little creativity.

[u:b7cd72e28e]Linux virus in 5 easy steps[/u:b7cd72e28e]

And before you claim foul - that's not really a "Linux virus" but a weakness in KDE/Gnome - keep in mind much of what you get on a Windows box today is not really a "virus" but malware or trojans. Either way it's bad and it lets bad guys take over your machine and compromises the security of your system and your data. Bottom line as I said earlier in this thread - no system can protect itself from users that make poor decisions. And while as a group today's Linux users may be more knowledgable and cautious than Windows users that distinction is clearly eroding as the Linux user base grows and the sophistication level drops.

If you are surfing the net you better be running a good up to date AV/malware scanner regardless of your OS. Surfing "naked" is just begging for a good case of some new and viral ITD (Internet Transmitted Disease). JMO based on almost 40 years watching the Internet become more and more corrupt...

TOH

 

[Ed S.]

Maybe they need to be treated like the horse theives of the old west, but with pictures on the internet!

You've got my vote!

es

 

[oldtanker]

There are several good programs out there so it comes down to personal preference.

The reason there are not many virus that are set up to attack Mac is because Mac only has about 10% of the market. Now if you are going to write something like that to disrupt the computer world who are you going after.....10% or 90%?

Biggest way to be safe after installing a good AV program is to never open pop-ups! 2. never open forwards in your email. 3. be very careful on the free-ware sites.

SIL is compelled to open every forward she gets and then passing em on to everyone she knows. About every 3 months it seems I'm having to wipe her drive and reinstall everything. She will have it to the point it will not even boot! She even downloaded a virus that disabled the AV program. Her 2 brothers use to help her but refuse to now......she is getting real close to the point of paying someone to debug it......getting pretty tired of it......

Rick