# Anti-virus opinions wanted



## Drakaji (Jun 30, 2008)

Personally just out of curiosity I'd like to know what all the furs here use in terms of virus protection.
Please try to give a reason as well as I'm doing a few personal studies.

Now to start:
I prefer to use Avast! Anti-virus. It has a decently small memory footprint and has a good rate of finding viruses. It's free and updated frequently.
The only downside is I've had a few false positives. However I'd rather have false positives than false negatives.


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## Anonymous1157 (Jun 30, 2008)

I also use Avast!. I'm running Windows XP x64, so I didn't really have much of a choice. Luckily I haven't found a reason to complain. It's caught a few instances of a virus my school's computers had spread on jumpdrives. (Never run Windows without an antivirus. EVER. Even if it'll never be networked.)

Prior to that, I was using an old version of Symantec that DIDN'T suck. The new ones have all this artsy stuff that only succeeds in being ugly and increasing memory usage.


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## Hackfox (Jun 30, 2008)

Vista is my OS. Ad-aware, AVG, Spybot S & D, and McAfee


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## nrr (Jul 1, 2008)

Hey, I'm running Server 2003 on one machine without any form of antivirus software, and I'm doing fine.


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## Wait Wait (Jul 1, 2008)

i don't use anything
macslol


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## Hackfox (Jul 1, 2008)

Lol macs are ok...Gaming challenged my opinion and I just don't like em lol rather play it cool and use Linux OS.


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## Pi (Jul 1, 2008)

Since none of the "free" as in beer avs will run on Server 2k3, I'm stuck using ClamAV, which doesn't do on-access scanning. Oh well.


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## Tomtenizze (Jul 1, 2008)

I use Nod32 mainly becaus of the very low performance impact and it doesn't spam a lot of pop-ups and such that let you know that the anti-virus software is running. It's also nice looking and easy to use.


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## darkdoomer (Jul 1, 2008)

same as nrr. 
CommonSense2008 is still the best.


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## eternal_flare (Jul 1, 2008)

I vote for Nod32, I also use adaware2008 and SPYBOT. And I use win XP. No serious virus problem at all.


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## Krugg (Jul 1, 2008)

I use Kaspersky internet security suite. It's caught a few things before they hit my system, but also likes to pick up on things that aren't malicious.


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## E-mannor (Jul 1, 2008)

i use a mac so it goes with out saying that i have never even needed such trivial programs, i have norton, but only use it for its recovery programs when i need to hide files, ^_^


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## nrr (Jul 1, 2008)

Hackfox said:


> Lol macs are ok...Gaming challenged my opinion and I just don't like em lol rather play it cool and use Linux OS.


No, you'd rather use Linux (as if you really know anything about it) as cruise control for cool.  Get out of my pool.  FWIW, I don't like Macs either, but that's more of a kernel issue (as with Linux) than it is anything else.

I run Windows for games because there is nothing better, and all of you losers are deluded and misled to think otherwise.  "But there's Wine on a free UNIX-like OS!" I hear you all cry out in dissonance.


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## Aurali (Jul 1, 2008)

KDE4 Kubuntu 8.04 without antivirus.
Windows Vista SP1 with Symantec Corporate.


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## WarMocK (Jul 1, 2008)

Avira Antivir on both Win XP and Linux (never really had problems with it).
Spybot S&D on XP as a little backup and to harden the system against possible browser exploits.
rkhunter on Linux (as an additional surprise for the bugs. ^^).


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## Steel Froggy (Jul 2, 2008)

I don't use an antivirus, I'm just smart about what I download and use virtual machines on files I'm not completely sure about.
Other than that, I scan my computer 'bout once a month with both Avast! and Kapersky. Reason would be I've fiddled around with a few of them and I happend to take a liking to them both. Just general favoritism.

Win XP Pro here by the way


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## Runefox (Jul 2, 2008)

We've been installing AVG Free on our customers' computers for a while now, with great success. I personally have had really good success with it, too. Avast works fairly well as well, but its memory/CPU load is a lot higher than AVG's, and AVG now incorporates antispyware into their new free version 8.0. You really can't go wrong with it, and we've been recommending the removal of such software as Norton/Symantec and McAffee in favour of it.

Highly recommended.


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## Drake_Husky (Jul 2, 2008)

I've been either using AVG Free edition, or now which I purchased for a reasonable $60 is Kasperspy which I find does a bang up job compared to Norton or Mcafee.


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## Razrien (Jul 4, 2008)

I gotta go with Avast.   Free, updates easily, stays outta my way, and I hardly notice its there.
Norton is all pretty and shiny, offering alot of different features, but in the end its pretty much just a large, expensive, unwieldy resource hog.

Linux, of course, is always an option.  You never have to use any anti virus programs due to its anal-retentiveness about writing anything to disk.
Politley sips at your ram,  and you can pretty much run anything on it that windows can.
I ... just personally hate having to do everything manually though  o.0
I'm a lazy bastard  XD  I don't do command lines.  I need my program wizards.


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## Capurnica (Jul 4, 2008)

Another paw for NOD32.

You couldn't get me anywhere near Norton these days...too bloated and annoying. I put AVG Free on other people's systems that don't want to pay, just so they have something. I haven't looked into Avast though..


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## Azusis (Jul 7, 2008)

NOD32 if you're willing to pay for it. I think its the best.

Avast or AVG if you want free. ^^


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## Hollud (Jul 8, 2008)

The only niggly bit about Avast is the annual need to re-register your subscription. Otherwise, it's a nice, really customisable piece of software.

Right now, I'm going with AVG. But I had an issue with AVG's fradulent web site checker on Vista. It kept interfering to a point where I had to manually turn it off. Apart from that, everything's fine and dandy.

On a sidenote, I do have Norton Internet Security installed on a XP machine. With sufficient RAM, it's running fine. You just need to have it run a full system scan every now and then to keep it happy.


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## Drakkenmensch (Jul 8, 2008)

AVG all the way.

Also, remember that a huge part of antivirus protection is located between the keyboard and the chair. What you do and what websites you go to have a lot to do with how many viruses you will run into.


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## nrr (Jul 8, 2008)

Razrien said:


> Linux, of course, is always an option.


Sure, if your time isn't worth anything.



			
				Razrien said:
			
		

> You never have to use any anti virus programs due to *its anal-retentiveness about writing anything to disk*.


Emphasis mine.  What do you mean here?



			
				Razrien said:
			
		

> Politley(sic) sips at your ram,  and you can pretty much run anything on it that windows can.


Sure, if your time isn't worth anything.


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## ZentratheFox (Jul 8, 2008)

I used to not use anything, but I use AVG AntiMalware 7.5 currently. I also recommend Spybot S&D, but don't use it personally. For a firewall, get a good router.


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## Runefox (Jul 8, 2008)

Spybot isn't a resident shield, and it's good for removing malware of the spyware type, so I recommend it, too. It also includes a bunch of goodies in the Advanced section of the program that are fairly useful, though really, something like Autoruns is a lot more effective if you're diving that deep.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'd agree with either of the statements of Linux here in this thread... It can be both simple and difficult to use, depending on which distrubution you use and what you use it for, and it can be efficient or a memory hog, again, depending on which distribution you use and what you're doing. There haven't been practical viruses attacking it in a long, long time, but then, Mac users aren't being targeted right now, either. The point is, I save myself a lot of time with Linux in some cases, where some people might fumble around and never get used to it. As far as efficiency and user-friendliness goes, it depends on your personal definition and what you're comfortable with. I wouldn't recommend Linux to most people, but power users or users who never need to modify their system config or run many Windows programs will find it to be rock solid. Casual users should stick to Windows unless curious (and even then, dual boot it).


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## nrr (Jul 8, 2008)

Runefox said:


> (Linux) can be both simple and difficult to use, depending on which distrubution you use and what you use it for, and it can be efficient or a memory hog, again, depending on which distribution you use and what you're doing.


Only if your time means nothing.  This is coming from someone who ran GNU/Linux for 12 years, 10 of those with it as the principal OS in use.  Before that, I used IRIX.



			
				Runefox said:
			
		

> As far as efficiency and user-friendliness goes, *it depends on your personal definition and what you're comfortable with*.


Emphasis mine.  If you're comfortable wasting copious amounts of time fixing things that shouldn't be broken by a simple upgrade of certain packages, by all means, use it.



			
				Runefox said:
			
		

> I wouldn't recommend Linux to most people, but power users or users who never need to modify their system config or *run many Windows programs* will find it to be rock solid. Casual users should stick to Windows unless curious (and even then, dual boot it).


Emphasis mine.  Run many Windows programs?  Where does Linux even come into this?

Get this.  I'm your definition of a "power user," and I run a recent version of NT.  What's the logic behind your statement?


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## Eevee (Jul 9, 2008)

someone with a grudge against linux vs someone who has never run it

truly this is a battle for the ages


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## delFur (Jul 9, 2008)

AVG under XP.... Can't beat the small footprint it has.


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## ZentratheFox (Jul 9, 2008)

delFur said:


> AVG under XP.... Can't beat the small footprint it has.



Truth.


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## Adrimor (Jul 10, 2008)

Hmm. I used to use AVG, but then upgrading from 7 to 8 caused my system to crash and just generally slow down...so I ditched it and slapped in ClamWin. Worked great, until the power cut out during a sweep...****ing circuit breaker >_<#


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## Hollud (Jul 10, 2008)

AdriNoMa said:


> Hmm. I used to use AVG, but then upgrading from 7 to 8 caused my system to crash and just generally slow down...



There is a fair bit more in 8 compared to 7 (e.g anti-spyware, phishing link scanner, etc). But I will agree that with the fancy interface, it feels a bit more rough around the edges than I would have liked it.

The phishing filter, for instance, didn't seem to play well with IE. It took me quite a bit to find the option to turn it off, which annoyed me. I preferred the old 7's interface where it was just a couple of clicks. This had menus buried upon menus...

That said, it is quite a piece and is installed throughout my Windows environments.

I do, however, have a place in my heart for Avast. Compared to AVG, which feels as cheap as it is free, it has options for IM scanning, file-sharing scanning, network, e-mail, web... Gosh! If only they didn't make it look like a CD player, had a smaller footprint and didn't require me to reset the key code every year, I'd willingly take the trouble to install Avast on all my computers.


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## gliengul (Jul 10, 2008)

delFur said:


> AVG under XP.... Can't beat the small footprint it has.



What size is the RAM/CPU footprint? (disk footprint is not so relevant)
NoD32 is ~28MB in RAM here. Nothing has gotten past it so far(and I don't play safe in terms of avoiding 'dangerous' sites)


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## Armaetus (Jul 10, 2008)

Common Sense


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## delFur (Jul 10, 2008)

gliengul said:


> What size is the RAM/CPU footprint? (disk footprint is not so relevant)
> NoD32 is ~28MB in RAM here. Nothing has gotten past it so far(and I don't play safe in terms of avoiding 'dangerous' sites)


 
Avg has several processes running that I can see. The main app is at 25MB and climbs a bit with each web page accessed. CPU spikes at about 10% on accessing a website. It has a few options for scanning, and I'm not sure how much RAM and CPU it chomps then. I think your Nod32 has this thing beat on system resources. I'll have to look into it.


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