# Which anti virus proctection is best



## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

I have a HP Pavilion slimline s3012n PC, running Vista

To say upfront I can't afford to buy anti virus proctection

I am now using AVG free anti virus protection but it slows my computer WAYYYYY down when it's scanning.

Compared to Avast and Microsoft Security Essentials which of the three are best and fastest.

Oh and I also use PC Tools Spyware Doctor.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

IMHO, MSE is one of the better ones out there. I say this not because "I like it" (because I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft) but because it's been highly rated.


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## Pennsyltucky (Oct 8, 2009)

I use AVG too. You need to adjust you settings to scan when you aren't using your computer. Any antivirus program will slow down your system when performing a scan. So, set it to scan, for example, every week at 2:00 am on Wednesday. Remember to leave your computer on Tues. night and you shouldn't be interrupted by a scan again. 

To adjust scan time, double click on the AVG icon in the system tray. (Bottom right in the task bar.) Click "computer scanner" on the left. At the bottom of the screen, click "manage scheduled scans". Click "edit scan schedule". From here, you can adjust your scan schedule and which folders are scanned. Hope this helps.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

NOT McAfee!!


> McAfee update paralyzes PCs worldwide


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2010042...omputersecuritymicrosoftmcafee_20100421233219


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

mnn2501 said:


> NOT McAfee!!
> 
> 
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/2010042...omputersecuritymicrosoftmcafee_20100421233219


You got that right.
Both computers I have gotten new have had McAfee on them. OUT goes McAfee and in comes Norton, which I have used now for over 20 years and still use Norton Antivirus protection on this new IMac.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

I actually run Symantec (NOT Norton) Antivirus on my laptop. But there is a difference; the Symantec Antivirus is mainly focused towards corporate hardware, and doesn't have much of the fluff/overhead that Norton 360 does.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Kung said:


> I actually run Symantec (NOT Norton) Antivirus on my laptop. But there is a difference; the Symantec Antivirus is mainly focused towards corporate hardware, and doesn't have much of the fluff/overhead that Norton 360 does.


I wasn't aware of that. I've been pretty disgusted with Symantec but never tried the corporate software. Besides being bloated, Norton used to modify email settings in a way that made my Internet subscribers not be able to access email, which created a support nightmare for me. I'll take a look at the Symantec corporate version.

But I've found both Norton & McAfee to be bloated to the point of dragging systems down. I've had similar problems with AVG version 8+ too, but the problem seems to be limited to older computers (P3 and below machines).

I'm pretty happy with AVAST! free.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Yeah, there's an obvious difference. I get 'Symantec Endpoint Protection' for free through the Army Reserves; and it is essentially the same thing as Norton Internet Security 2010, I think. (It doesn't have the backup features, which I could care less about.)

I've used both, and while I will admit SEP slows down my laptop a bit, it's nowhere NEAR as bad as NIS would be, or has been on others' computers.

And if you don't want it to scan your email, you just tell it not to. However, while I'm not a huge fan of email scanning, it's been totally invisible so far. 

The BEST part, however, is that believe it or not, I think it's only taking up like 30 Mb or so of RAM. Like I said, and like you said, I'm not a huge fan of *Norton* products, for the same reasons you are; but Symantec products I have no problem with in general (although, of course, I will test run it first to make sure it's worth a darn).


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Nevada said:


> But I've found both Norton & McAfee to be bloated to the point of dragging systems down. I've had similar problems with AVG version 8+ too, but the problem seems to be limited to older computers (P3 and below machines)


I agree with AVG. In general I have no problem with it; HOWEVER, I will say that an update from 8 Free to 9 Free caused a problem in my Dad's computer that could *ONLY* be fixed by formatting and reinstalling Windows. Once you do that, in my book, you've got problems. Obviously we switched.


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## glazed (Aug 19, 2006)

I love Kaspersky.


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## farmerbrian (Aug 29, 2009)

The best AV is careful websurfing and online interaction. 

Corporate IT security is my day job. Millions of dollars spent to secure the enterprise, or a free desktop AV, both are pretty much just smoke and mirrors. 

Not saying a FREE AV solution isnt worth the 5 minutes to install on your PC, but its not worth much more than that. AV you gotta pay for.....no thanks. Kinda fits with the homesteader self reliance philisophy. Virus free computer depends almost entirely on your actions not what software you do or dont have installed.

That said I've used AVAST before, interface is lousy, but performance impact didnt seem too bad. I did read about an update they released several months ago that hosed many windows systems, but my PC was turned off while it was available for download. Theres another good homegrown AV solution...dont turn on your computer!


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## Mr.Hogwallop (Oct 2, 2009)

Avast! is free, its one of the top rated ones. I like it.


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## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

Pennsyltucky, I don't find "manage scheduled scans". would it be under "custom" settings?


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## dezingg (Feb 25, 2010)

I abandoned Norton years ago. Didn't like how it slowed down the system and how it intertwined itself into the system.

Due to new, more positive reports, I tried it again in 2009. I didn't really like it, but it seemed to work well. I bought Norton 2010 to see if they'd made any improvements over the 2009 version. There were some improvements and I am still using it. 

I'd love to find something that has an interface that is much more compatible with a standard Windows program. I find the unique interfaces used by the various anti-virus and security programs (not just Norton) remind me of the old DOS days before there was an interface standard.

I didn't really plan to stick with Norton, but I just haven't found any clear and compelling reason to dump it. I also haven't found any free program that excites me enough to dump Norton which is not free.

I use Firefox (web browsing) and Thunderbird (e-mail) so I can't comment on Norton affecting Internet Explorer or Windows Mail or Outlook. But I haven't had any false reports of HT being dangerous to view with my web browser either.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

As far as Norton goes, if a person just would get Norton Anti-virus without all that other carp, then Norton is fine and dandy at protecting without slowing things up.
Now on this IMac I have just that Norton Anti-Virus ONLY. No norton internet security, no norton 360, nope. Just Norton Anti-Virus Protection plain and simple. 
But what people are getting are a bundled package of Norton, will all sorts of STUFF that slows the putter up.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Agreed, AK. I do have the 'bundle' version, but then again, what I have is Symantec Endpoint Protection. It's essentially Norton Internet Security, but it's for businesses.

And it is *MUCH* better than NIS is. It has maybe half of the overhead of NIS; doesn't slow down my system at all. And I almost NEVER get to say "Norton doesn't slow down my system." 

But yeah, my opinion on computer software is that a jack of all trades is master of none.


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