Recommendations for antivirus s/w?

[alcina]

Hi. I'm transitioning from a Mac to a Windows (8.1) notebook, and I need to get an antivirus program. I've read a few reviews, and Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Symantec seem to be the top paid programs, but Kaspersky seems overly complex (for me, at least). As well, most of these programs have features I probably wouldn't use, eg, cloud backup (I backup to a separate drive), password management, and possibly even the firewall (reviews say the one in Windows 8.1 is good).

I'm also not clear on how these work on an ongoing basis. Are they always scanning my machine remotely? If so, does this affect performance? They also offer add-ons for spyware removal and "optimization." Seems to me, if the programs worked, you wouldn't need to pay to have the spyware removed. But maybe I'm naive....

I've never really had to worry about this before; but the more reviews and articles I read, the more worried I become! So any thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[NYC_SKP]

1. Good luck with Windows. I never used anything but Malwarebytes, free virus checking.

I have almost all Macs, but the one laptop with Windows XP never had anything on it and the one time I needed to remove something I used Malwarebytes.

I'm sure a good DUer will provide advice but if you ever need something remember malwarebytes.

[alcina]

2. Thank you!

I just read some reviews -- the vast majority of which were great -- and several of them said things like "I only had my new laptop 2 days and Malwarebytes already found 4 Trojans."

Greeeeaaaaat.

[JayhawkSD]

3. I use Avast free version

Malwarebytes is a tool for scanning for the existance of malware, but it does not offer ongoing protection. You need one that runs in the background continuously and serves as a barrier to keep viruses from coming in. Ones like Norton are huge, use up a large amount of your computer's memory, and tend to make your computer run slowly.

I use Avast, the free version, and it has served me very well. It has a small "footprint" in memory, does not slow down my computer, and I have not had any kind of infection since I started using it. It has a good reputation on the computer community, and has almost daily updates which it retrieves automatically.

[teach1st]

4. The paid version of Malwarebytes offers real-time protection

I use Malwarebytes Premium and wouldn't be without it. The paid program does offer ongoing protection. But Malwarebytes doesn't offer complete protection. It should be run alongside an anti-virus program.

I use Emsisoft after Avast Premium conflicted with some of my most used programs, but Emsisoft might be too complicated for a casual user. I never have problems with Avast Free on my classroom computers.

[JayhawkSD]

5. Good point, but I was going for free versions.

I will pay for premium versions when there are no free versions that will serve my purpose, but I see no need to do so when the free versions are getting the job done. Might be a different matter on a business computer, particularly a large business, but...

[alcina]

6. Thank you, JayhawkSD and teach1st

More things to consider....

[Denzil_DC]

7. Kaspersky's effective,

but it can be a resource hog.

By effective, I mean I can't remember the last time it let a virus through (touch wood), which is more than I can say for other paid AV programs I've used over the years. It offers a full range of protection - the usual AV functions plus system file integrity checking, online scanning etc.

By resource hog, I mean on an oldish Windows XP laptop with a fair bit of RAM, I sometimes have to wait for scans to complete when opening files (you can set it up to ignore certain folders etc. if you're confident they don't contain nasties). Updates are supposed to take place in background, but sometimes temporarily slow down the system too.

I can't tell you how well it would perform on Windows 8.1 (it likes a lot of RAM to play with, so if your notebook's well specced it should be OK), but I'd generally recommend it if security is important enough to you to make it worthwhile putting up with minor inconveniences (I depend on my laptop 100% for work, and any downtime loses me money).

I've been impressed with Malwarebytes when I've used the free version in the past (I keep it on my system as an occasional double-check and a reserve in case one day something hits that Kaspersky can't handle).

[JayhawkSD]

8. That has been my experiance too.

Kapersky is good but is a memory hog, and I have seen it sort of bog down Windows 7 machines too.

I use Malwarebytes free version in the same manner you do.

[alcina]

10. Good to know about the memory issue

The notebook isn't super fast as it is, so that's probably a dealbreaker right there. Thanks for the warning!

[Earth Bound Misfit]

9. Another vote for Avast Free...

Download from Avast (Direct): http://files.avast.com/iavs9x/avast_free_antivirus_setup.exe
" from FileHippo: http://filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus
Don't D/L from CNET, contains Adware.

Make sure you select "Custom Installation" & uncheck the boxes lower left for Chrome browser & Toolbar (unless you want it of course)



Uncheck whatever "bells n whistles" (eye candy to me, others may disagree) you don't want; personally I only select file & web shields & rescue disk:



HTH

[alcina]

11. Thank you for the graphics

I have , sadly, become quite the Luddite. Visuals help.

And thank you, also, for the warning about CNET. I'm probably going to use Avast and there's a good chance I would have downloaded it via CNET. So good to know about the adware.

A question about the rescue disk. Does it have to be an actual disk, or can I create this on a backup drive? I don't have a CD writer.

Thanks!

[Earth Bound Misfit]

12. "Luddite" gave me a good chuckle, TY & you're welcome.

The rescue disk can be created as a CD/DVD, bootable USB or ISO file and save it wherever you like. The rescue disk should be updated periodically due to new definitions & such.



Alternatively you could use other AV rescue disks like Kaspersky, ESET, AVG, Avira etc.

One thing I've read is that the "Software Updater" option is causing problems (high CPU usage) on many user's boxes. If you decide to go with Avast & need help with configuration (it will "pester" you to upgrade unless you disable certain settings, etc) stop back & ask.

Another lightweight Free AV is Microsoft Security Essentials, pretty much set it & forget it:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download

Good Luck.

[alcina]

13. Thanks again

USB will work just fine. And I might very well check back at some point. I'll have to look into the Avast software updater issue, as well as do a little research on MS security essentials. Somehow, though, I have this nagging feeling that the more stuff I download directly from MS, the more likely I am to get a virus. Probably just latent prejudice.

[Denzil_DC]

14. From what you've been saying,

and what I've gleaned from reading around, Avast or MS Security Essentials would probably do you fine, with Malwarebytes on your system for a weekly/fortnightly/whatever non-realtime scan just to be sure.

I've also heard very good things about Eset NOD32 (free trial here) over the years, both in terms of effectiveness and being light on resources, but for one reason or another I've never tried it - computer geeks I used to know used to swear by it, though I'd be interested to hear from anyone with more recent experience as many of these programs change over the years and too many developers keep adding bangs and whistles that make what was once a good AV program a dud (I'm looking at you Mr. McAfee ... and Kaspersky may not be on my subscription renewal list next year if it doesn't shape up).

It doesn't sound like you're entertaining the idea, but I'd steer clear of Norton - unless it's changed radically in the last few years (and if so, I'd imagine someone will pipe up to defend it here), it can be a REAL system hog, to the extent of being a liability, and also a right old pain to uninstall.

[alcina]

15. Seems there are almost as many AV programs as there are viruses!

Thanks! Yet another AV program I hadn't come across. Though if Eset NOD32 is geek-preferred, it might be a bit much for me. I notice there's some focus on social media and gaming, neither of which is something I spend much time with. But I'll read up more on that and the other two. I'm still using my Mac while I figure out the AV thing, but I really need to switch over soon. The poor little Mac is having a hard time waking up these days, not to mention its increasing tendency to just give up mid-process.

[brett_jv]

16. I'm kinda old school ...

1) Take regular backups
2) Know how to re-install Windows and have the necessary media to do so
3) Don't keep anything you care about on the C:\drive (not ONLY there at least)
4) Don't be dumb

Since MSE is reasonably lightweight and free, I go ahead and run that, and I do the quick scans when the icon turns yellow, but apart from that ... the above constitutes all the 'protection' I've needed for years and years.

If I had kids or depended on my personal computer to earn a living (and even then, I'd never only have 1) it might be different, but personally I feel nearly all AV programs are basically crap and none are really are substitute for just simply knowing what you're doing, where you're going on the web, and just generally 'paying attention'.

Sorry if that sounds snobby, but ...

[Denzil_DC]

17. There's something in what you say,

and a number of years ago, I'd have agreed with you (as well as not running an Administrator Windows account for everyday use).

But it all came to a head a few years ago when my partner's laptop repeatedly picked up malware (that got past a few programs) just from her visiting news sites and blog links (OK, some were just this side of seditious, but even so), meaning I had to waste time dealing with it.

My job also entails online research, so it helps if I can relax and get on with it when following authors' links or chasing up information or references they haven't figured out properly (depending on the subject matter, I sometimes boggle at what the security services might think about our search records).

[alcina]

18. I've got 1, 3, and 4 down

But I don't relish the idea of having to reinstall Windows. Haven't done that over 10 years.

So while I totally agree with you about being careful, I think having AV software running will reduce my daily stress level. At least, that's the plan.

Thanks!