Good Free Antivirus

[xaero]

whats a good FREE antivirus for personal use that has a GOOD detection rate, something simialr to Free-av.com.. coz the one i'm using, Free-av(Antivir) isnt that impressive like it used to... got a bunch of false alarms.. and the virus detection inst that good either.. what do u reccomend? coz my laptop is due for reformatting and i dont wanna use the same sucky free AV again..

[Sparda]

AVG is a good (as opposed to GOOD) and free (as opposed to FREE) ant virus program. Although I would recommend you upgrade to Ubuntu then you don't need any anti virus software.

[xaero]

yes i do have ubuntu but i stick to dual booting coz of school.. certain softwares and teachin materials form sch isnt linux friendly.. so.. i stll need to secure my windows xp.. thanks for the quick reply.. :D

[digip]

avast..

[VaKo]

AVG...

[deleted]

AVG all the Way.

I may suggest ClamWin but i dont think that had live virus detection, just scanning.

[moonlit]

AVG is a good (as opposed to GOOD) and free (as opposed to FREE) ant virus program. Although I would recommend you upgrade to Ubuntu then you don't need any anti virus software.

I will be hitting you when I meet you...

...but yeah, AVG or Avast, both are good, I use AVG on home machines, Avast on servers (because the trial version of the Server edition is free for 60 days or something...)

[K1u]

Hehe, lol I remember the days where I had to worry about AV software well thats a different topic. On topic - I personally recommend Avast (Personal edition) many AV softwares are known to "hog ram" or be generally "system resource hogs" but this is not on average it takes up about 20-40mbs of Ram. I do not want to stir anything up but its my personal opinion and has been for a while that Windows security is basically a joke. Since you do not have switching to Linux in the future just pick out something like Avast or AVG as your AV and keep updated. No offense towards Windows users.

[moonlit]

Linux *is* vulnerable. That's all I need to say. I don't need to explain why or how. Linux isn't invulnerable just because it's not Windows.

[K1u]

Linux *is* vulnerable. That's all I need to say. I don't need to explain why or how. Linux isn't invulnerable just because it's not Windows.

Well I do not want to start a flame war but Linux is not as Vulnerable not only because there is not as many users. I know that you are saying my statement was very exclusive since I said as if I think Linux is invulnerable which I do not. I do think that it is less vulnerable than Windows mainly because of the smaller amount of users on Linux. I know I sound like a Linux jihadist but I honestly believe that Linux is built better... I am not going to go further because again I do not wish to start a flame war.

[Sparda]

Admittedly Ubuntu/Kubuntu is a little more vulnerable then the average distro. If some one sends you a Linux binary in a archive that preserves fs permissions and they set the +x option, when you click on the file Ubuntu/Kubuntu will open it in xterm.

[rFayjW98ciLoNQLDZmFRKD]

Linux :-)

[moonlit]

[me=moonlit]explodes.[/me]

[bmanice]

nod32?

[Dargor]

You guys should remember that just because there are no or very little linux viruses at the moment doesn't mean there wont be next week, and when there is moonlit will be ready and the rest of us will get pwned.

So what linux av do you use moonlit.

[moonlit]

I don't, because I don't use Linux (at least I don't use it often or on a system I need to worry about).

[cooper]

Well, I do. And I don't use nor so far have needed to use anti virus software on Linux.

There are 2 factors involved with getting your system infected:

- Bad software

- Dumb-ass user

The software I choose to use to interact with the outside world tends to be written with security before features. So if I truly, honestly want to run 'backdoor.sh' that was mailed to me by some friendly chap from Uganda, I would have to save it as a file, give it execute permissions, and then run it. Most of the time a quick tap on the delete button works miracles.

As for the dumb-ass user, well, I don't consider myself a dumb-ass (which is why I do consider myself a minority), and the before-mentioned software forces you to be an exceptional dumb-ass to get infected.

Linux is hard compared to Windows. That also goes for getting infected with viruses.

[deleted]

Linux is Vurnrable but there are few virus's for it as all the Virus Writers are aiming for Windows.

P.S. Moonlit, Have you recovered from that explosion?

[moonlit]

P.S. Moonlit, Have you recovered from that explosion?

[me=moonlit]picks up pieces of his body and begins applying superglue...[/me]

[shadow1100mfp]

well, I don't consider myself a dumb-ass (which is why I do consider myself a minority)

do you mind if i make a shirt with your amazingly awesome quote on it? its seriously one of the best things ive ever heard... well read.

anyway, secuirty in windows IS a joke, especially with p2p programs such as kazza. limewire does a pretty good job at finding corrupt files and deleting them before they infect you, so i find that a once or twice, or even three times weekly scan with mcafee, spybot,  avast, and ad aware does the trick for me (once weekly even if i dont use p2p, twice if i use it moderatly, 3 if iuse it heavily, everyday if i leave it on).

if you don't feel like paying for mcafee, then theres a neat little article on ihack i think that shows you how to get a year long demo for free, full features. thats how i got it on all 4 of my current computers (it wouldn't work on 2 of my computers though because they were too old but they aren't my current computers). mcafee does a somewhat good job at blocking viruses and spyware, but it does slow down your computer considerably, and it makes you wait like 5 or 10 minutes after you start your computer untill you can connect to the internet but after that it works just fine. if your worried about speed though, just shut off all automatic filtering, or set them all to one time, like i do (12pm every sun., weds. and sat.), and it only takes about 30 minutes for all the scans to work through it all, which is perfect for me since thats usually when i'd be working in the garage or going to class). though i strongly reccoment you try to block yourself from every activity that would expose yourself to a virus, such as downloading anything that isn't from a trusted site (such as download.com, hak5.org, etc.) also, i've heard a story that a nasty quicktime video is going around, or it's a quicktime video that gets encoded wrong, and it screws up quicktime and itunes (it happened on my main computer and i still havn't been able to fix it), so be cautious of anything you view and download, if you are youll most likely be safe with just mcafee running, but why not take the extra incentive to keep all your data safe?

im not sure about linux though, but on hak.5 they said something about phando or something that was a weird name, and it lets you run windows programs in linux? maybe try some of those antispyware programs for windows that are mentioned on this thread through that?

also just to throw it out there, who cares if your os is not at risk for viruses? it could be tomorrow or the next day, or even a year from now, but i know id sleep better at night knowing all my bills, my identiy, credit cards,5000 songs, 8000 photos, hundreds of movies, all files, emails, etc. are safer because i took the incentive while i could and while it was free. not to mention, just having a/v software could prevent you from getting a virus that will fuck up your entire system, so not only are you protecting your data but your also protecting all your hardware. (its like a condom for computers! haha, you can thank a friend of mine for that part, he said that when i tried explaing what a/v software does)

[Dargor]

maybe linux users feel safe without AV because they can usually fix there system if it gets fucked.

[xaero]

ok guys i got it, thanks for your opinion!  8) AVG then... i'll grab a copy when my laptops due for reformatting.. :D

(would it hurt no have more than one antivirus running on your system?--will it like confilict with one another?)

[shadow1100mfp]

ok guys i got it, thanks for your opinion!  8) AVG then... i'll grab a copy when my laptops due for reformatting.. :D

(would it hurt no have more than one antivirus running on your system?--will it like confilict with one another?)

not at all. well it might if you have them running at the same time, idk, but if you only have one running constantly, and then once a week or so run scans with several av programs at once to remove anything you might have gotten then it should would perfectly, it is when i do it. as someone on here said, a/v applications tend to be ram hogs, they can really slow down your system (which is ironic since they are supposed to get rid of spy ware to speed up your system right? lol) though make sure you have all your settings correct if your only running the one program, because if it lets one things through and you don't catch it because you don't scan with other programs, that one thing could be the thing that does in your computer (trust me, i know this from experience  :???:) but if avg is as good as people are saying, you should be all set if you set your preferences right. i still advise to keep a couple extra programs like spybot ad aware avast and mcafee though, (i keep them on my spare usb drive and on my computer, just because if i get a virus that does something to those programs i can still attack with the usb drive... i have alot of sensitive data on my computer, so i want to be covered from as many angles as i can lol) just in case because if you do get some spy ware or Trojans, they do a good job at getting rid of them for the most part, and i think mcafee will disconnect you from the network if it detects a Trojan that is spread over the network? (you don't have to get it from your own network, but it can automatically spread to all computers on your network)

also, ill be trying out avg too, to see how that compares speedwise with mcafee, if its faster and of equal quality to mcafee ill be sticking with it =] if not, oh well. just another scanning/removal program i can use lol

[VaKo]

The reason I recommend AVG is that its free, fairly lightweight and most importantly, pretty much idiot proof. If you know what your dealing with, that and the other stand alone programs will catch 99% of it. And even if you don't, the warnings don't leave much to the imagination. The stuff you have to pay for, dunno. Never used it because I'm happy with the tools I currently use. If it does something worth paying for better than AVG et al, then I'll use it over AVG.

Also, DO NOT INSTALL MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS USING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS, IT *WILL* FUBAR.

[shadow1100mfp]

The reason I recommend AVG is that its free, fairly lightweight and most importantly, pretty much idiot proof. If you know what your dealing with, that and the other stand alone programs will catch 99% of it. And even if you don't, the warnings don't leave much to the imagination. The stuff you have to pay for, dunno. Never used it because I'm happy with the tools I currently use. If it does something worth paying for better than AVG et al, then I'll use it over AVG.

Also, DO NOT INSTALL MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAMS USING THE DEFAULT SETTINGS, IT *WILL* FUBAR.

agreed. the only reasons i use mcafee is because i got 3 years of it with my new computer last year and becuase i get it for free now (not only because of the hack on ihack, but because a guy my mom worked with and was friends with was also a computer tech and i took my computers to him for a cleaning, and he told me how he could set up mcafee for me and give me a ten year demo of it with free updates, so i jumped at that opportunity lol)

but yes, it is totally agreed that at default settings that only one antivirus should be installed at one time along with x number of programs just to scan at your own will. that would be more than enough for an average user. the warnings though, those are the things that make or break a program for me. they are stupid warnings like "scan commencing now" "scan would like access" "scan found 4 items" "scan complete" ---> I DON"T NEED THESE WARNINGS, all the programs i have play a sound when it's done, thats good enough for me.

would avg be a good program to keep on a usb stick for when you're fixing someones computer and need a quick tool to clean up the system? right now i have all the programs i mentioned before, i use spybot to do a quick cleaning then i go in with mcafee, avast, ad aware, ccleaner (i know this isn't a spyware thing, but it can take an unbelievable amount of unused data off the hard drive and cover your steps, first time i ran it it took about 15gigs off of my hard drive, all history, recently used documents, etc.) and i think i have one other but the name escapes me. using all these tools, especially on an older system, can take some time though, which is why im looking for some alternatives to get the job done that much quicker. even on a new high end computer, they can still take a good 2-3 hours.