Anti-Virus Software

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 7:00 pm

I'm looking for a new Anti-Virus and internet firewall software.

I currently have Norton and it's a resource hog!
Anyone have any suggestions on what software to purchase?

Stormwatch · Post by **Stormwatch** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 7:44 pm

Grisoft's AVG is free, good, and light. Or you could just not use Windows!

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 7:51 pm

Stormwatch wrote:Grisoft's AVG is free, good, and light. Or you could just not use Windows!

I've tried AVG but I wasn't really sure that it was doing a good enough job at protecting me PC.

I've got Suse Linux 10.0 installed on my system but I cant get the internet to work

I've got a BT Voyager 105 USB ADSL modem but I cant seem to configure to work in Linux.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 8:34 pm

AVG does it better than Norton.

FRO · Post by **FRO** » Wed Nov 23, 2005 8:56 pm

mannerbot wrote:AVG does it better than Norton.

As a veteran technology professional, I'll never believe this statement. I believe the adage "You get what you pay for" when it comes to computer products. AVG has a free edition, & they probably make enough money w/ their small business line to make it worth their while. But unlike software coders in it for the love (i.e. emulator authors, etc.) they are in it for profit just as much as the next guy. However, since their margin is so minute compared to a larger organization (such as Symantec) their R&D as well as virus research labs simply can't have the same effectiveness as an organization such as Symantec, Network Associates (McAfee), or Trend Micro.

I'm sorry, but I've been in the business too long & have cleaned off too many PC's that had AVG & were STILL loaded down w/ viruses to believe that it's a worthwhile product.

Davey · Post by **Davey** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:10 am

avast! is another free one. I use it because I'm cheap.

Post by **BulletMagnet** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:24 am

Davey wrote:avast! is another free one.

"Endorsed by Cap'n Ahar!"

Triple Lei · Post by **Triple Lei** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 3:40 am

I keep hearing good things about Spyware Doctor...

(incidentally, I'm using it myself)

-

EDIT: Err... get the other product from PC Tools. Sorry about that.

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:00 am

AntiVir XP is a pretty decent free anti-virus program.

JigsawMan · Post by **JigsawMan** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:19 pm

Symantec Corporate does an excellent job for me. Very hard to 'buy' but there is no activation nonsense.

TalkingOctopus · Post by **TalkingOctopus** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:55 pm

I'd also recommend AVG. You can set it to automatically update and scan every night. Grisoft was recently purchased by Intel.

SheSaidDutch · Post by **SheSaidDutch** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:50 pm

I'll be sure to checkout the suggested programs.

Bah I hate having to shell out £30-50 on such software but what can you do.. (well apart from going to Linux or mac)

and to think I didn't have any protection last year so my computer was in go-commando mode.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 5:01 am

FRO wrote:
mannerbot wrote:AVG does it better than Norton.
As a veteran technology professional, I'll never believe this statement. I believe the adage "You get what you pay for" when it comes to computer products. AVG has a free edition, & they probably make enough money w/ their small business line to make it worth their while. But unlike software coders in it for the love (i.e. emulator authors, etc.) they are in it for profit just as much as the next guy. However, since their margin is so minute compared to a larger organization (such as Symantec) their R&D as well as virus research labs simply can't have the same effectiveness as an organization such as Symantec, Network Associates (McAfee), or Trend Micro.

I'm sorry, but I've been in the business too long & have cleaned off too many PC's that had AVG & were STILL loaded down w/ viruses to believe that it's a worthwhile product.

Norton is tripe.

I'm an IT consultant, and have specialised in systems security for over 10 years. Norton are notorious for releasing definitions in excess of 48 hours later than most virus houses, and ignoring expert advice from world-renowned groups like Kapersky and others (quite typical of large US corporates, I might add).

Norton's glory years were the late 80's and early 90's. During that time they made a great product that was competative and worked well. In the mid 90's they switched CEOs and went downhill from there. They turned away from their main strengths of systems security and only cared about making a buck. The end result is a sub-standard product that is high no resource requirements and low on reliability.

I counter your statement above: I see more infected/destroyed locations supposedly protected by Norton products than any other product. Even McAffee (who for quite some time were just as bad as Norton/Symantec) have recently lifted their game in both the home and corporate arena. That goes for both single users and business locations of all sizes.

"You get what you pay for" doesn't work in software. Pouring dollars into software doesn't make it better. You need more/better quality products to make good quality items, but when it comes to immeterial products like software, it's a whole different ball game.

Norton have followers that believe they are the best because of their reputation from 10 years ago. (The same can be said about Intel too). These are people who fail to objectively review new software, and instead rely on the opinions of yesterday.

Avast and Grisoft have to compete with the legacy of Norton. As businesses this is difficult. How do you convince the mindless masses to turn away from legacy and try something new? Easy: give it away for free.

Both Grisoft/AVG and Avast have restictive licenses: you can only install the product once per location, and do so on non-commercial computers. Non-profits, governments, and educational users are all offered cut-price licenses. Corporates pay full price. Grisoft and AVG are still commercial entities and still make money. They only give away a very small portion of their software for marketing purposes. In fact, it probably costs them far less than Symantec/Norton's advertisements plastered all over every website and magazine you see.

As for the quality of their R&D, well that's where community-based efforts like Kapersky labs, and up-and-comers like the ClamAV team come in. Communal R&D results in lower overheads for companies, faster data access for all, and lower shelf-prices for customers. Again, this is very un-American and anti-corporate, and Symantec/Norton are struggling with such ideas. Their share prices reflect this, as they continue to drop over time.

Beyond that, I'm tired of seeing software utilities from people like Symantec that eat up 30MB+ of system resources. I even hear people telling me they're upgrading their office machines to dual-core so that their applications will perform better when sitting side-by-side with Nortno products! Ludicrousity!

Norton need to lift their game and quality of product. I'm not anti-Norton by any means. If their product improves dramatically, I'll use it. Until then, I'll use something else.

AVG sits on my girlfriend's Windows PC at home, and I am content with. I use Linux, and a Linux-based firewall infront of my home network, so anti-virus and other security worries are a moot point for me.

Yeah... don't get me started on Windows...