[ShadowGorrath]

Try NOD32. Destroys any trojan. At least to me.

[Stormkeeper]

Doesn't the email scanner work for 30days then stop functioning?

Does it ? I never noticed.

[Tyrian]

Do you know that having multiple AV's installed at the same time more than likely leads to conflicts where none of the AV's are able to function properly? Only use one AV at any given time.

That's not always the case.  Most AV's encrypt their sig files so you don't get false positives on them.  (That's what usually causes the conflict.)  However, if you scan with two AV's at the same time, then chances are they will pick each other up, as stepping through the file system looking for certain things (i.e.: malware) is something that malware also does.  Rule of thumb:  You can usually have two AV's on your system at the same time, just make sure only one is running.

Doesn't the email scanner work for 30days then stop functioning?

Avast's email scanner doesn't expire.  I think you're thinking of the Script Blocker.  That is only available with the Pro version.

Try NOD32. Destroys any trojan. At least to me.

NOD32 is amazing.  It's also a little expensive.  It's written entirely in assembly language, so it's memory footprint is way smaller than anything else out there.  Plus, it sits very close to the hardware level, so it's blazingly fast, with a minimal drain on system resources.

[jr2]

I finally fixed my problem... the trojan downloader was hiding in my system restore so AVG couldn't delete it... 

Just incase anyone doesn't know, one of the ways to fix that is to temporarily turn off System Restore, run your AV through again, then turn it back on.

[Stormkeeper]

I finally fixed my problem... the trojan downloader was hiding in my system restore so AVG couldn't delete it... 

Just incase anyone doesn't know, one of the ways to fix that is to temporarily turn off System Restore, run your AV through again, then turn it back on.

Hmmm. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

[S-99]

Having multiple AV's is mighty excessive. Sort of like how having multiple popup blockers is excessive. One popup blocker is just as effective as multiple popup blockers (the other blockers end up not doing ****). When you have multiple AV's, it's only going to be as good as the single best AV program you have active at the same time as your other AV's. This is also sort of like how multiple software firewalls is retarded also.

Get avast. Idk who the **** told it was bad. But, it's really good. Cleans customers machines out every time. Plus avast is free, make sure to register for it (registration is free). When registered you 14 months of usage before you need to get another free registration.

The other thing is get a damn good firewall. Many think that having only AV or only a firewall makes them home free. That's a farce. Get avast antivirus and comodo firewall, or zonealarm (comodo's a lot better, zonealarm and comodo are free).

The other thing is you can't always pay attention to majority. Like i said and other people here have been saying, we don't know where the hell you heard avast was bad. It's the best in my book. Also listening to majority means you can be listening to a majority of stupid computer users such as the people who retardedly layer up on popup blockers.

The other thing is that you need to become a better computer user. If you can't keep your own system clean, and can't figure out how to keep it clean. Then why would people want to bring their computers to you to fix?

It's not hard to keep a windows machine a clean machine. Get one good AV (like avast), get one good firewall (don't use windows firewall), don't use email client software (check your mail every time from a web browser email interface), get extra snippy about what the hell gets installed on your computer (you don't want to accidentally get a virus on your computer from like say a friend who burned a cd for you), and don't mindlessly carouse the net (many people go everywhere on the net and don't give a second thought about it even when they get viruses...questionable websites can put trojans and **** on your computer...questionable websites such as certain porn links and serial key/cracking search engines among other sites). And of course keep your **** updated. Latest service pack, updated firewall and AV (avast does that automatically).

Same for mac users.

Avast is very good, that boot time scan is very powerful from what people have already said, also avast updates itself automatically, and avast is just awesome at picking up dirty stuff as soon as the moment it gets on your computer. If you install avast (which you really should do), turn off the skins, those really make the avast interface difficult to figure out as opposed to without the skins which is what makes the difference.

[Kosh]

Every anti-virus I've ever used to try to remove anything from someones computer always has turn off system restore as the first instruction.  I don't think any of them can delete stuff from there if it's on.

Maybe because system restore is a popular hiding place for viruses, frankly it should never be turned on to begin with.

Best AV software I've used is Kaspersky.

[Stormkeeper]

.. How do you turn off system restore in XP ?

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Right click on my computer, got to properties, then to the system restore tab. 

[Scooby_Doo]

Hmmm it also seems AVG 8 has gotten bloated big time 

[Fury]

[Most AV's encrypt their sig files so you don't get false positives on them.  (That's what usually causes the conflict.)  However, if you scan with two AV's at the same time, then chances are they will pick each other up, as stepping through the file system looking for certain things (i.e.: malware) is something that malware also does.  Rule of thumb:  You can usually have two AV's on your system at the same time, just make sure only one is running.

Yeah, if you have multiple AV's installed, only one should have real-time scanners enabled. Unfortunately the usual punter won't know the difference and has everything enabled just to be on the safe side. The thing is though, how certain you can be there won't be any conflicts even if you disable real-time scanners? Very little. So when you get infected, multiple AV's may work against you anyway because they aren't working properly due to conflicts.

avast's developers are working on their own firewall by the way. I really hope their firewall will be very competitive just like their AV is.

[Hellstryker]

Every anti-virus I've ever used to try to remove anything from someones computer always has turn off system restore as the first instruction.  I don't think any of them can delete stuff from there if it's on.

Maybe because system restore is a popular hiding place for viruses, frankly it should never be turned on to begin with.

Best AV software I've used is Kaspersky.

Kaspersky is damn good but it uses a rather large amount of memory...

[ShadowGorrath]

I told you people- NOD32 . If you can't afford it, then use a torrent. But make sure that the company doesn't bankrupt from that.

Warez is not allowed here.

[Hellstryker]

I told you people- NOD32 . If you can't afford it, then use a torrent. But make sure that the company doesn't bankrupt from that.

If you find one that works, feel free to PM me. 

[MP-Ryan]

Personally I prefer avast! over any other AV out there, including AVG.

Seconded.  In terms of efficiency, it's superior to AVG, Norton, and MacAffee.  Combined with a router with NAT and the Windows firewall (the only time a more complicated one is needed with NAT is if you want to control outbound traffic by software application) you can't go wrong.

Don't know who's been saying Avast! is crap, but I'd love to hear why.  I've tried nearly every mainstream AV solution out there at some point or another but Avast is the one I actually use now.

[Jeff Vader]

With AVG, or at least the previous version, the automatic updates were a bit so-and-so and usually updating recquired user input at least once a day. Antivir spills out advertisements during updates, which is a bit annoying. Tolerable, but annoying. Avast! is fun because the automatic updates actually work. It doesn't advertise itself all the time. There are localisations (easier for the parents with not-so-great foreign language skills), and the only nuisance is the need to reregister every 14 months.

Dunno about the differences between virus detections of each software, but in terms of other variables, avast! takes the first place. Coupled with Comodo Firewall 3, I feel constantly safe when using my rig and scouring the Interwebs.

[S-99]

Dunno about the differences between virus detections of each software, but in terms of other variables, avast! takes the first place. Coupled with Comodo Firewall 3, I feel constantly safe when using my rig and scouring the Interwebs.

That's all a human being needs No multiple AV's, you only need one. Multiple AV's will only be as strong as the best one you have installed and running along with the others (having avast, avg, and mcafee, avast is going to take precedence over the other ones in the list if they're running at the same time, that's because avast rocks).

Anyway, very good setup of AV and firewall you have there

[Jeff Vader]

Anyway, very good setup of AV and firewall you have there

Why, thank you. Back when I actually stopped using F-(in)Secure products and switched to Comodo and avast! it was as if a whole new world had opened to me. No more payments on IT security software. No more doubts about whether they'll work today or not. No more wasting half the computer resources to the security software. Ah, bliss.

[Tyrian]

When I first attempted to use Comodo firewall v3.0, it had major stability problems on my machine.  (CTD on boot 50% of the time.)  Judging my the number of complaints they got, I wasn't the only one.  As a result, I rolled back to v2.4.  But I'm wondering, did they ever fix v3.0?  I don't want to go through the hassle of installing it, only to find that it's still broken.

Second, when I wrote about running multiple AVs, I didn't mean that should be done as part of a normal protection scheme.  When I clean out other people's machines with avast!, I usually install my tools alongside their existing protection.  When I do this, I don't get conflicts because only one is running at once.  Then I take my stuff off their machine, unless they want me to upgrade their security to my package.  Then I rip off their junk. 

Third, for people who are afraid of drive-by downloads on the Internet, I recommend Sandboxie.  If used on your web browser, it prevents the cache from being permanently saved to the hard drive.  If you happen to pick up something while on the 'net, just close your browser, terminate sandboxed processes, and empty the box.  The infection will be erased.  And since nothing is permitted to leave the sandbox, you know that your system is still clean.  If you want to download a file, it's downloaded to the sandbox, then you just copy and paste is to its new path once you've used your AV to verify that it's clean.  I use it regularly, and saw the amount of malware I was getting drop from about a dozen every six months down to two pieces of generic adware total since I last reformatted my machine a year ago.  (I tend to go through "security" sites fairly regularly.  Some of them are less than friendly to visitors...)

[MP-Ryan]

When I first attempted to use Comodo firewall v3.0, it had major stability problems on my machine.  (CTD on boot 50% of the time.)  Judging my the number of complaints they got, I wasn't the only one.  As a result, I rolled back to v2.4.  But I'm wondering, did they ever fix v3.0?  I don't want to go through the hassle of installing it, only to find that it's still broken.

Second, when I wrote about running multiple AVs, I didn't mean that should be done as part of a normal protection scheme.  When I clean out other people's machines with avast!, I usually install my tools alongside their existing protection.  When I do this, I don't get conflicts because only one is running at once.  Then I take my stuff off their machine, unless they want me to upgrade their security to my package.  Then I rip off their junk. 

Third, for people who are afraid of drive-by downloads on the Internet, I recommend Sandboxie.  If used on your web browser, it prevents the cache from being permanently saved to the hard drive.  If you happen to pick up something while on the 'net, just close your browser, terminate sandboxed processes, and empty the box.  The infection will be erased.  And since nothing is permitted to leave the sandbox, you know that your system is still clean.  If you want to download a file, it's downloaded to the sandbox, then you just copy and paste is to its new path once you've used your AV to verify that it's clean.  I use it regularly, and saw the amount of malware I was getting drop from about a dozen every six months down to two pieces of generic adware total since I last reformatted my machine a year ago.  (I tend to go through "security" sites fairly regularly.  Some of them are less than friendly to visitors...)

If you weren't aware, Avast does pretty mucht he same thing as Sandboxie, blocking active infection attempts from sites containing malware.  It doesn't block ad-ware and spy-ware of course, but anything really malicious it stops in its tracks.