My McAfee protection expired a couple months ago. I've been searching online for a suitable replacement but I can't find a brand with consistent reviews. Top 5, Top 10....they all change from site to site. I used to use Norton, but it seemed expensive and resource heavy. I think I remembered liking all the bundled options though. McAfee wasn't too bad, just wondering if there is something better out there.

I'm looking for a program either antivirus alone or a suite bundle, if thats better, that is fast and efficient and not resource heavy.

11/16/2009 10:07:44 AM

Kaspersky or Eset

11/16/2009 10:10:39 AM

Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Windows Defender. Free, a part of your Windows license. Highly-rated, available for download.


/thread

11/16/2009 10:11:39 AM

Ive seen the kaspersky come up in a few results, never heard of eset though. Do you like one over the other?

11/16/2009 10:11:45 AM

i've personally used both and like both. in terms of system resources i believe eset was a bit liter than kaspersky but i don't remember by how much, it's been awhile since using eset. i use kaspersky now on my desktop and it's resource usage is decent, much better than norton or mcafee.

both have free trials so it doesnt hurt to give 1 a go and see how you like it

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 10:22 AM. Reason : trial]

11/16/2009 10:21:23 AM

/thread just isn't what it used to be

Quote :

"Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Windows Defender. Free, a part of your Windows license. Highly-rated, available for download."

11/16/2009 11:24:16 AM

Quote :

"Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Windows Defender. Free, a part of your Windows license. Highly-rated, available for download."

agreed

everything else i've tried has been a resource eating disaster.

11/16/2009 11:28:51 AM

^^. ^ agreed

11/16/2009 11:48:36 AM

Quote :

"Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Windows Defender. Free, a part of your Windows license. Highly-rated, available for download."

agreed.

i'd add Comodo as a decent option as well for both AV & Firewall... free, highly-rated, third-party, etc. Eset & Kaspersky are the best paid options, but MSE & Defender do nearly as well for free.

11/16/2009 12:45:00 PM

My ESET subscription runs out 12/20 and I was given a free 1yr license for Norton Internet Security 2010. In the past I have absolutely loathed anything related to Symantec's crayola colored, resource hogging, consumer based BS but some reviews I have been reading say they're building on unexpected improvements from last year?

Should I wait for another 10.00 ESET deal and use security essentials until then or should I waste this license key on 2010?

12/9/2009 10:56:39 AM

Quote :

"Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Windows Defender. Free, a part of your Windows license. Highly-rated, available for download."

12/9/2009 11:07:41 AM

whatever you do, don't use trend micro

what a massive turd it is

12/9/2009 12:05:52 PM

So you guys really like the Microsoft AV and defender spyware software?

My mom's computer just got hosed by malware and probably a couple of viruses, and she was running the Webroot suite with antivirus, antispyware, and some window-washer program that cleans caches.

It clearly didn't identify any of the crap that was screwing her computer up. Malwarebytes found about 10 infected objects, and upon removal it appears to be working well.

So I'm thinking about wiping out her Webroot stuff and putting something else on. I need to format her drive, but that's not an option right now. I use ESET smart security (AV/spyware/firewall) and was thinking about this for her, but am open to opinions as I haven't kept up with this stuff much.

6/4/2010 8:54:51 AM

Yes, MSE and MS Defender are great and do just fine. But just as with nearly any AV program, if you don't know what you're doing, you can still get a virus. Work on her with preventing these issues.

6/4/2010 9:08:28 AM

^One clarification though. Windows Defender should be disabled automatically when you install MSE. You can uninstall it. MSE will do everything Defender does. No need to duplicate duties.

6/4/2010 10:59:15 AM

running malwarebytes killed my computer ... couldnt access files, deleted some needed files ...

Loaded MSE on another device with the same symptoms, and it cleaned it all up and got it to working order immediately....

+1 for MSE

6/4/2010 12:29:28 PM

i like the idea of making this thread a bit more permanent.


for antispyware, there's an additional tool out there, besides Malwarebytes: SUPERAntiSpyware. it, too, is quite excellent. and NOW it has a 64-bit version:

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/superantispyware-goes-native-x64-that-is/

6/4/2010 5:26:32 PM

All this is well and good, but when trying to kill something, the A1 solution is always (for me anyways) Combofix. I have hit several at work that would recur every few days, even with a full system scan with both Malwarebytes and Superantispyware. One scan with Combofix cleaned the rootkit activity and got the computer back on track. I could clean them with MBAM and SAS and do full scans after the fact and they would come up clean. 3 days later, the same shit was back. Once over with Combofix and I have yet to have to go back to one, yet.

6/6/2010 10:54:36 PM