virus protection

[sankni]

Hi, Can anyone tell me what the best virus protection is? I've tried several
and my pc is still running slow. Thanks

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, Can anyone tell me what the best virus protection is?

You'll get nearly as many differing opinions as you will responses.

I'll start by saying that I don't think any security "suite" is a
good choice. It'd be better to use smaller, less-resource-draining
stand-alone products. And, having had personal experience with
Verizon's business practices, I certainly wouldn't trust anything they
offer. Even if the product/service itself is fine, there'll be hidden
costs and "unadvertised" conditions and limitations associated with it.

I had used, and recommended, Norton Antivirus and then Norton
Internet Security, for many years, on Win98, WinNT, Win2K, and WinXP,
all without any significant problems. I had used McAfee prior to that.
But it's been several years since I've been tempted to try McAfee
products. Their quality seemed to take a steep nose-dive after they were
acquired by Network Associates.

However, when my subscription to Symantec's updates for Norton
Internet Security 2002 came up for renewal (at a cost substantially
higher than the preceding year's subscription), I decided to try less
expensive solutions. I downloaded and installed the free version of
GriSoft's AVG (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php ). It proved
to be easily installed, easy to use, and quite effective. Additionally,
I was pleasantly surprised to see a small but very noticeable
improvement in my PC's performance, once I'd replaced the Symantec
product. Another free (for personal use) anti-virus product is AVAST! 4
Home Edition (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html), which is what
I've used without problems on both WinXP Pro and Vista Business.

For a recent comparison of anti-virus products:

Retrospective / ProActive Test
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

I've tried several
and my pc is still running slow. Thanks

Which should tell you that your PC is probably not "running slow"
because of viruses. How often do you clean out temporary Internet
files? How often do you defragment the hard drive? Have you removed
all unnecessary and/or undesired applications/processes from running in
the background? Have you scan your system for ad-ware and/or spy-ware,
which most anti-virus applications aren't designed to detect?


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Ken Blake]

Hi, Can anyone tell me what the best virus protection is? I've tried
several
and my pc is still running slow. Thanks

Changing your anti-virus software *may* solve your performance problem, but
also may not. Your performance problem may not have anything to do with
which you are using.

Which is best is a matter of opinion, and you are likely to get different
opinions from different people here.

In my view, NOD32 is the best. Alternatively, if you want a freeware
anti-virus program, I recommend Avast.

The *worst* one is Norton, and McAfee is also very poor, only slightly
better than Norton.

 

[Mike Hall - MVP]

Hi, Can anyone tell me what the best virus protection is? I've tried
several
and my pc is still running slow. Thanks

NOD32 if you want to pay for a solution..

AVG or Avast if you are looking for free..

Windows Defender will stave off most malware. Use Malwarebytes to back it
up..

Try using WinPatrol so that you get notification of what is trying to get
into start up..

--
Mike Hall - MVP
How to construct a good post..
http://dts-l.com/goodpost.htm
How to use the Microsoft Product Support Newsgroups..
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=newswhelp&style=toc
Mike's Window - My Blog..
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/default.aspx

 

[Mick Murphy]

Below is a good combo of Security Programs for your computer.
Forget Windows Defender: it misses to much spyware, and slows your computer
down when running XP.

http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Avast Anti-Virus is XP and Vista compatible (32bit and 64bit Versions),
FREE, auto-updating, and a low resources user of your computer.
And, only have 1(one) Anti-Virus installed / running on your computer at any
one time..
Conflicts may occur if you have more than 1(one).

http://www.spybot.info/en/index.html

Spybot Search & Destroy 1.6 is a very good, FREE Anti-Spyware Program.
Download, install, update, and immunize your System with it.
Then SCAN with it.
Update it, and scan your System once a fortnight.

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

SpywareBlaster 4.1 is a non-intrusive, FREE Anti-Spyware Program (no
scanning by you!).
SpywareBlaster prevents the installation of many so-called spyware, adware
and malware programs by disabling the CLSIDs of popular spyware ActiveX
controls, and also prevents the installation of any of them via a webpage
Update it once a fortnight.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

Malwarebytes is as the name says, a Malware Remover!
For the Free version scroll down their page to either download from
Download.com, or Major Geeks.com

Download, install, and update.

 

[Paul Pedersen]

Hi, Can anyone tell me what the best virus protection is? I've tried
several
and my pc is still running slow. Thanks

I have been using NOD32 for a few years, and recommend it. It is small,
fast, very reliable, and unobtrusive.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

What makes you think the problem's being caused by a virus? What AV apps
have you tried?

Help! My Computer is slow!:
http://miekiemoes.blogspot.com/2008/02/help-my-computer-is-slow.html