Poll: *** The All New Windows AV Thread - Keep All AV Questions in Here ***

[Munimentum]

Quick question, I bought malwarebytes premium back in 2011 when it was lifetime purchase. Does anyone know if that was for 1PC only or if it was multiple? I can't remember and the confirmation emails don't specify.

 

[HazardO]

I've been using bitdefender for several years now, apart from the instance a few years ago when a rogue signature update caused all my DLLs to be quarantined, it's always been reliable.

Oh and the time they started peer to peer updates without making it clear..

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18127441

 

[Elevon]

BitDefender seems the most versatile yet smallest and unobtrusive I have used yet. Really like it for its simplicity but effectiveness. It has over the last few months stopped some compromised legit sites in my browser too. I don't even realise it's running 99% of the time as it just does its thing.

Also forums where someone has a rogue signature get spotted by it whereas with MSE it was just not spotted at all.

I like it.

I avoid Bitdefender free version ever since it kept crashing my ME3 game via Origin,no issues with that with AVG or Avast so I guess YMV with AVs.

 

[Calabi]

I avoid Bitdefender free version ever since it kept crashing my ME3 game via Origin,no issues with that with AVG or Avast so I guess YMV with AVs.

I had that problem with launching a game, had to disable the virus shield. I've never seen such a bare bones virus checker before. There's nothing to it. No options no settings, you get the bare minimum that does what it wants.

I guess the full thing has more functionality, good way to get people to buy, not sure if I trust it enough to do that.

 

[Munimentum]

Bought Bitdefender Total Security from G2A cus it was cheap as nails, gave it a blast and straight away it slowed my computer down to a crawl. My Chrome was lagging to an insane degree also. Uninstalled it, reactivated windows defender and now it's smooth as butter again.

Is there a reason for that slowdown? I might give NOD32 a blast see if that's the same, although Windows Defender + Malwarebytes has been a great combination for me in the past and their impact is pretty negligible on my system,

 

[Willyeckerslike]

Before buying any security suite try a free trial, most of the usual suspects do at least one month, some up to 6 months. Google it

 

[foster grant]

Avast free for me , used it for ages , used to use Eset Nod32 , but I wouldn't pay for any AV anymore

dunno about firewalls though..im not too knowledgeable about those , I was using Comodo free firewall but every now and then it would start locking up my PC and taking ages to boot up too

 

[varkanoid]

MSE is absolutely terrible. Working for an IT company, most of the systems we see riddled with viruses are running it. Remove, install BitDefender 2014, scan and clean.

You can get BitDefender for £7 online. I don't see why anyone wouldn't spend such a small amount of cash to keep their system safe rather than a free AV

http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/windows-7/janfeb-2014/
Very low system resource usage as well, even on older XP machines

Norton is OK, its came on leaps and bounds last few years, but one constant has remained, and that it makes slightly older PCs run like absolute crap. I would choose BitDefender, Bullguard or Kaspersky over it any day.

I agree MSE is awful I have seen countless laptops infected with it installed.

I use Kaspersky at home its never let me down. We use Symantec Endpoint at work and its not brilliant as last week had a laptop infected with a trojan the AV console on our av server flagged it up but still allowed the laptop to be infected.

It was one of those that installs fake registry scanning software too.

To be honest I am the opposite I wouldnt have free av I would rather pay a little for av software. I've had more infections via free av than paid for.

 

[SB118]

Just installed the free avast on a friends win8 laptop as they were in a flap about the news telling them their pc would be part of a botnet and would be cryptolocked and their bank details would be stolen, and once the freebie version is installed it throws up a notification that for £20 they sell a version that will actually protect the pc against the latest threats.

AV paywall? We'll protect you against the low level stuff for free but the stuff in the news needs paying for? Programs asking for a payment to fix their pc is one of the things I warn people against!

 

[Elevon]

I'm trying out the new official Panda Cloud 3.0 version http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/ ,so far seems pretty good on Win8.1 Pro,lightweight etc...

The new version includes important improvements in both its FREE & Pro Edition versions:

Entirely new look and feel. More modern, more intuitive. Easier than ever before.
Scheduled scans. One of the most demanded features from our Community. And now it’s available in the FREE & Pro versions!
Rescue Kit. Extremely useful in emergency situations caused by malware infections.
Automatic USB vaccination. This feature, which was only available to Pro users in previous versions, is now available for free!
New Wi-Fi Monitor (only available in the Pro Edition). Find out if someone is stealing your Wi-Fi. The new Panda Cloud Antivirus 3.0 incorporates a Wi-Fi monitor that shows a list of all the devices currently connected to your network, helping you find out if there is an intruder on your Wi-Fi network.
New Panda Account. An exclusive area where you’ll be able to download your products, manage your services, obtain documentation, get technical support through the new Technical Support Forum and, only for Pro users, receive personal VIP support via an online form. Additionally, you will be able to manage all of your Panda Consumer products from this area, as well as your Android devices if they are protected with Panda Mobile Security.
Performance improvements to make Panda Cloud Antivirus lighter than ever.

Additionally, this new version improves protection capabilities. We are continuously evolving our detection technologies to protect you against the latest threats while reducing false positives.

 

[Bony Maloney]

MSE with MalwareBytes and never had any issues.

This

 

[Robot Dog]

I'm trying out the new official Panda Cloud 3.0 version http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/ ,so far seems pretty good on Win8.1 Pro,lightweight etc...

Those tiles seem to remind me of the window 8 look

 

[Elevon]

Those tiles seem to remind me of the window 8 look

Yep but it looks better then the old version of Panda,also you can edit remove some of those tiles,here is mine ,I removed firewall tile which is only available on Pro(paid) version.

Here is Task Manager on Panda(0.1mb PSUAMain and PSUAService vary between 0.1mb and 0.7mb)

It's also nice you can set your own scheduled scans even on the free version.


AVs tested on Win8.1 at AVTEST http://www.av-test.org/en/home/?avtest[type]=3&avtest[platforms]=10-7&avtest[series]=10-7:1396310400.2 ,as usual Microsoft Defender comes bottom.

 

[Liquid_Entity]

This

I've now binned MSE. I downloaded ESET NOD32 and using a trial for 30 days. Scanned and found 4 threats, 2 of which were exe's in normal progams and a couple of temp files. All cleaned and system is 100% again after Malwarebytes scan and 2nd ESET rescan.

 

[mrk]

You can also use ESET's inline scanner too which does the same scan with the latest definitions. I will always use BitDefender Free as resident as it's small and virtually no effort and no nonsense Malware Bytes, Super and ESET Online as second opinions in the monthly pre backup scans.

 

[KingDazza]

I don't run any real-time av. I do however scan every so often with Malwarebytes and Emsisoft Emergency Kit. No probs for a couple of years now.

 

[mrk]

While Panda 3.0 seems very good and AV Comp's May test gave it top marks, it still fell behind BitDefender due to more false positives:

http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/avc_factsheet2014_05.pdf

Reading multiple reviews shows the same story.

I will stick with BitDefender on all workstations.

 

[Stoner81]

Still using Eset Smart Security and still won't use anything else for my anti-virus and firewall, I also use SpywareBlaster (passive protection against nasty cookies) and Spybot (only for the HOST patches) and not had an infection in years.

Stoner81.

 

[Elevon]

While Panda 3.0 seems very good and AV Comp's May test gave it top marks, it still fell behind BitDefender due to more false positives:

http://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/avc_factsheet2014_05.pdf

Reading multiple reviews shows the same story.

I will stick with BitDefender on all workstations.

Still very low,to be fair no AV is false positive proof(and they can vary month to month) not even Bitdefender http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showforum=138 .

End of the day Panda gives me no issues unlike Bitdefender,each to their own.

 

[KingDazza]

Everyone's config and mileage etc will vary of course. But I found Bitdefender Free and the paid version to cause internet slow downs on occasion.

That was 6 months ago when I was trying a load of different ones out again, before reverting back to my usual philosophy of no real-time av. Not a popular stance, nor one I recommend, but for me personally I usually always come to the conclusion that I have too much of an internal debate as to what is actually worse. The virus you're protecting yourself from which may you never get, or the software that is meant to be protecting you.