Antivirus protection

[Exflyboy]

Just tried to post this but got an error.. appologies if it shows up twice.

My Norton antivirus protection has just expired and I do my finances online soo this is not a great idea

Anyone have a recommendation for a low cost but effective antirus protection software?

Frank

[ToeInTheWater]

My wife, who works in IT, is a big fan of the free AVG software

b

[Daley]

You get what you pay for in antivirus software, except when you don't. All the free stuff is pretty rubbish (Avira being one of the least terrible, which is like being king of the rubbish heap - I've seen too many false positives and problems with AVG over the years, Avast is sort of the same way), and even MSSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) has pretty well gone south to the "better than nothing" point now. If you're going to pay for AV software, go either Eset NOD32 or Kaspersky (my choice being Eset)... but the cheapest and best solution is to stop running Windows. ;)

Just be sure to completely remove your old AV software before you switch.

[Bruised_Pepper]

In computer affairs, I usually follow what my computer-expert friends do.  Most of them seem to use AVG, so I do, too.

Hey, I.P., what kind of firewall do you use?

[Daley]

Hey, I.P., what kind of firewall do you use?

pf or ufw depending on the *nix... but that's not what you mean. :p

Windows end? If paid security is in the mix, it's usually just an upgrade taking Eset Smart Security instead of just NOD32. If it's gotta be free, Comodo.

[wtjbatman]

Avast Essential is the current king of the hill for free anti-virus/anti-malware software. And this isn't like the old days where you have to buy software to get good protection for your computer.

[VuwylkOnlezzyen]

Seconding I.P.'s suggestion. Unless you are running software that just absolutely needs Windows, your probably better off with a *nix.  Mint Linux puts out a pretty good product too, in addition to the Ubuntu suggestion.

[Khan]

Make sure you're behind a router, with a firewall on your computer.
Do not install random software from the internet.
Do not install random software from the internet.
DO NOT INSTALL RANDOM SOFTWARE FROM THE INTERNET.
Antivirus is much less important if you follow the above steps. I have it, but I do not run active antivirus(that slows your computer down something fierce and doesn't really do much), and I scan ~once a week. AVG personal is free.

[Home Stretch]

I'm a software developer, so I feel like I have at least some pretend authority here.

There is NO NEED to pay for antivirus protection. I do not even run antivirus software on any of my personal computers. The best combo I have found is having a standard router firewall and running a small application called PeerBlock. It was originally designed to block anti-P2P entities, but it also has the handy feature of blocking incoming web traffic from all known spyware, malware, virus and other nasty IP addresses. Definitely check it out.

 Other than that, make sure you are running the 100% free Microsoft Security Essentials.

Personally I will not use AVG because of the performance impact it has (because it scans every bit of hard drive activity).

[nawhite]

Make sure you're behind a router, with a firewall on your computer.
Do not install random software from the internet.
Do not install random software from the internet.
DO NOT INSTALL RANDOM SOFTWARE FROM THE INTERNET.
Antivirus is much less important if you follow the above steps. I have it, but I do not run active antivirus(that slows your computer down something fierce and doesn't really do much), and I scan ~once a week. AVG personal is free.

Almost as important as "Do not install random software from the internet" is to actually update your software whenever it tells you to. If the Yellow Triangle with an exclamation point appears in the bottom right (system tray), then please click it and say "yes I want to update my computer now." Same goes with updating adobe and java. They will all tell you when they need to be updated, listen to them.

On the AV side, I've always liked Avast for free but for paid, I really like Kaspersky. Every computer nerd has their own favorites, they all have pluses and minuses. Get something for anti-virus, use a home "router" (if you just have a cable or DSL modem and not a "router" don't plug your computer directly in) and keep your computer up to date. After that point, computer security is: Do not install random software from the internet! haha

[Fireman]

Personally I will not use AVG because of the performance impact it has (because it scans every bit of hard drive activity).

This.  AVG is a resource hog.

[GuitarStv]

Once I stopped clicking on the "free boobies" ads and opening the email links received from people I don't know, my computer pretty much stopped having virus problems.

[VuwylkOnlezzyen]

Once I stopped clicking on the "free boobies" ads and opening the email links received from people I don't know, my computer pretty much stopped having virus problems.

But they're free!

[Thegoblinchief]

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials, mostly because it has a very low system footprint. I'm mostly ready to jump over to Linux of some flavor, since I use almost nothing that requires Windows anymore. The only Windows machine I *need* is my gaming system. At least until more things get ported to SteamOS.

In my opinion, it's far better to pay for off-site backup of files, Google Drive being my preferred route. Then, should you ever get a virus, it's the NUKE option (reinstall Windows).

I'm only a family and family-run small business employer "IT" guy, not a pro. The few genuine viruses/malware I've run into have circumvented pretty much all the AV vendors and required a reinstall anyways.

But yeah, avoid the boobies :P

[judgemebymyusername]

My day job is information security.

There are lots of myths being espoused here like "all internet software is bad" and "free antivirus is terrible". Please people, stop spreading nonsense you heard from a friend that heard from a friend.

No name-brand antivirus is much worse or better than any other. There are AV tests where the results vary widely based on the month, current malware out at the time, what malware is used during the tests,etc.

Personally I use Ubuntu at home and don't bother with antivirus. If you have Windows, the Microsoft Security Essentials is among the best free AV choices. Throw Google Chrome or Firefox on top of that with addons like Adblock Plus and Ghostery on and you're good to go. Also make sure your Windows Firewall is turned on. Other than that, don't click on anything in a strange email or strange advertisements.

[brooklynguy]

Ally Bank now makes Webroot antivirus software available to its customers to download for free.  And since they have no minimum balance requirements, you can become an Ally customer by putting $1 on deposit (but it's a great online bank and the one I use for my checking and savings accounts).

[marty998]

Chalk me up as another who uses ESET / NOD.

Once I stopped clicking on the "free boobies" ads and opening the email links received from people I don't know, my computer pretty much stopped having virus problems.

When I see an ad with a bikini girl and casino chips I can't work out if it is "free poker" or "free pokeher".

[Daley]

My day job is information security.

There are lots of myths being espoused here like "all internet software is bad" and "free antivirus is terrible". Please people, stop spreading nonsense you heard from a friend that heard from a friend.

And my day job is a spitting distance from your own. What you're claiming has been said in this thread is not entirely what you think you've read.

And I'm sorry, but there's consistent winners and losers across time with AV software. The variance may bobble from month to month, but none of the freebies are worth much at all beyond the illusion of safety... but then, not even the best AV software in the world will protect against stupid behavior. The problem with free AV software comes down to consistently poor detection rates, high false positive rates, and potential data loss/security issues (but those issues are not exclusive to free AV software, most of the paid is equally terrible). Free security software, even MSSE, is only better than nothing in the most strictest sense, and the best AV software is still nothing more than shades of better than nothing on a platform with more security issues than Carter's got peanuts. It's reactive security, not active.

[Spork]

My day job is information security.

There are lots of myths being espoused here like "all internet software is bad" and "free antivirus is terrible". Please people, stop spreading nonsense you heard from a friend that heard from a friend.

And my day job is a spitting distance from your own. What you're claiming has been said in this thread is not entirely what you think you've read.

And I'm sorry, but there's consistent winners and losers across time with AV software. The variance may bobble from month to month, but none of the freebies are worth much at all beyond the illusion of safety... but then, not even the best AV software in the world will protect against stupid behavior. The problem with free AV software comes down to consistently poor detection rates, high false positive rates, and potential data loss/security issues (but those issues are not exclusive to free AV software, most of the paid is equally terrible). Free security software, even MSSE, is only better than nothing in the most strictest sense, and the best AV software is still nothing more than shades of better than nothing on a platform with more security issues than Carter's got peanuts. It's reactive security, not active.

True enough.  And antivirus will protect you from a common/rampant virus only.  A/V is trivial to bypass by stirring the bits around a bit.  (Give me a cgi download interface and I can serve you a nice tweaked version of any code complete with malware.)

IMO Windows main problem is usually the installation: making sure that everyone is admin so it's easy to do everything without some annoying pop-up password prompt.  You *can* do it right if you try -- but few do.  That's generally the one-up Linux has: it defaults to "least privilege".  (And you *can* screw that up if you try, too).   [Linux geek, security geek, windows idiot]