LIH Prem

Independent A/V testing/ratings - http://www.av-comparatives.org/

-David

cblaisd

After my scare, I'm again looking for an alternative....

It's been 1/2 a year since the last comments on this thread, so I thought I'd seek any recent thoughts.

Criteria:

MOST important: Something I can put on Mrs. cblaisd's computer and which will function seamlessly without popups, blandishments to buy, etc. Particularly when we're not in the same locale, I don't want to increase my remote tech support....

Not bloaty, doesn't force me to use email scanning.

MSE used to be good but its recent scores are awful. I used AVGFree in the past, but ditched it when it got increasingly naggy about buying the full version. Have used Avast and think I would have defaulted to to it if my Thinkpad hadn't come with a year's subscription to Norton Internet Suite with a three-seat license.

Open to buying if could get decent price and two-seats.

pseudoswede

I really do like Avast. The only time it annoys you with buy-up offers is when the program itself needs updating (about 4-6 times a year).

You also just missed out on Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro lifetime licenses for $18 each on NewEgg. I bought three. They have discontinued lifetime licenses model, and NewEgg put some older v1.0 lifetime licenses on clearance (which are grandfathered into the new v2.0). They now charge $25/yr for 3 computers.

How about that. Here are four anti-virus programs on NewEgg available for free after rebate...

http://slickdeals.net/f/7095084-avg-...newegg-com?v=1

Oops. Kaspersky Anti-Virus is now free after rebate (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832355080). Kaspersky Internet Security is now $15 after rebate.

HDQDD

From a hightech redneck who runs windows/OSX/Linux at home, I'd recommend ESet first, Kaspersky second, and nothing after that. Yeah, I said that. All the other AV programs are useless and degrade your experience (bloatware) more than they will ever possibly enhance it.

Truth is: most threats haven't been seen by AV scanners yet, hence the threat...

CPRich

Fortunately, there are folks who put a bit more rigor into the process - The Best Antivirus for 2014 and others.

I've been using Norton since the mid-90's. After a bloatware period several years ago, it's recently been one of the top rated programs every time I've looked. I haven't had a single problem in that period, though I've had a few detections/removals, and the log has recorded several intrusion detection/blocking events. Other than annual renewal reminders, it's invisible.

There are always rebates, upgrade discounts, etc., typically with Tax softwarew every year. I've never renewed at the "renewal rates" - I just buy a new copy and type in the new license key at expiration time - $15/yr or so.

I also had my in-laws install it, after the problems they've had in the past, and they've been fine for years.

From the review listed, AVG is their choice for free software. I know some consider paying for antivirus software to be the work of the devil - I'll pay the $15 to go from a 3 star to a 5 star product (according to the ratings table)

javabytes

I know the original post in this thread is over three years old, but I wanted to comment on its premise anyway. OP was willing to spend a good chunk of change to prevent an infection. As good as any of these security tools are, they don't stop all threats... this is a cat and mouse game. It's just as important - perhaps more so - to invest in recovery. A good recovery solution will make it easy to get back up and running when antivirus fails to do its job. There are two levels to doing this right - data backups (purely files - Word docs, pictures, etc.) and system backups (all the programs and settings installed onto your computer).

I can't think of anybody I know who has never gotten a virus or other infection at some point in their life. The people who paid fifty bucks for Norton or Kaspersky or whatever and ignored backup/recovery solutions endured much more pain than those people who had a good free AV solution and backstopped it with a solid backup strategy. When the latter had their computer infected, they didn't even try to remove it - they just restored a backup and were on their way like nothing had happened.

nkedel

I've never had one that lead to a data loss, and frankly, I know a lot more people who've had a hard drive crap out on them (or other non-malware causes of data loss) than who've had a virus lead to data loss.

A very good, very important point, and from my experience/perspective, backing up your data is much more important than anti-virus software.

(I tend to treat my OS/Windows installation as disposable, and don't back that up regularly, but I realize for many people that's a greater imposition. Even there, it's easier, because in general you only want to do ONE system backup when the machine is newly installed with critical applications as otherwise you're just restoring the mess that Windows becomes over time.)

Amy121

I run SpyHunter on my PC. It can help detect Trojans, worms, viruses, rootkits and also browser hijackers, adware and many other potentially unwanted programs. However, it seems that SpyHunter does not have a good reputation...Anyway, I have it safeguard my PC now. If you don't mind, you can consider using it.