I installed McAfee, some say Norton is good, some say AVG. I don't understand which antivirus software works the best in comparision. Can anyone please help me as my system gets infected even though the antivirus software gets updated frequently.

I'm sorry to say that having anti-virus software will not stop you from getting infected. Nor will having a firewall. And forget spyware detection software.

That's because there are many more things that allow the infection to get in than any software can stop, including:

-Windows updates and other software updates not installed.
-Visiting questionable web sites.
-Downloading files using peer-to-peer software.
-Opening attachments with impunity.
-Using a browser that allows web sites to execute things on your computer.
-Clicking links that promise to fix your computer.
The list goes on.

If people could learn to practise safe computing, an antivirus program like AVG, the built-in XP firewall and a hardware firewall like the one in most home routers is all you need to be safe. I use what I just described and I haven't had an infection in years. But the best security suite in the world will not protect you from your own security ignorance. And I mean that in a nice way. The reason McAfee and Symantec make so much money is because they prey on the paranoia and ignorance of the average computer user.

You need a good firewall too.

Only thing I can add is that some Computer repair guys I know said that "McAfee doesn't play well with others", and I tend to agree.

In the past 11 yrs, I've tried them all- I really prefer AVG {pc repair ppl use it too], and Trend-micro [have them on 2 diff. pc's now].

Another thing to consider is that hackers tend to go after the most popular and most used products, from anti- virus software to freeware, to shareware- file sharing places, etc. [Do you download illegal music or movies?]

Do not use more than one anti- virus program at a time- they'll tend to screw up, and inexperienced ones can go overboard. I have one GOOD anti virus program, one GOOD firewall, one GOOD pop up blocker, spam guard, etc.

Good place to learn: Komando.com

Anti-Virus software is designed to help protect you from Viruses etc. They do not completely stop Viruses or Spyware from entering your computer. Every Anti-Virus software works in a different way to protect you. Norton is good, but it takes up too much memory, but apart from this, it works very well. In my opinion McAfee is not very good, but is still a good Anti-Virus. Avg also has very low detection rates therefore it doesn't provide the protection everyone needs. Here are some programs that may help you.

Anti-Virus:

1) Avast

I recommend Avast to everyone out there looking for the best FREE Anti-Virus. There are a few versions, the Professional and the Free edition work well, and Avast free will work just like the Pro version. People using Avg, probably wont realize Avgs detection rates are very low, and it doesn't detect all the latest Viruses made today, so in my opinion it is totally useless.

2) Avira

Avira has slightly better detection rates than Avast, but the FREE version of Avira only has Virus and Rookit protection, so compared to Avast, Avira is very very limited. You must buy the Premium to get full protection.

3) Avg

Avg is my last priority, only use this one if you must. Only use Avg as a last resort, there are others out there, that are much better.

Anti-Spyware:

(If you get Avast Free or Pro, it already has Spyware protection therefore you do not need any of these programs)

1) SuperAntiSpyware

will detect spyware and remove over 1,000,000 pests such as Vundo, ZLob, SmitFraud, WinFixer, VirusRay, and VirusHeat. Repair broken Internet connections, desktops, registry editing, and task manager. The program provides complete and custom scanning of hard drives, removable drives, memory, registry, individual folders include trusting items and excluding folders for complete customization of scanning. Detect and remove spyware, adware, malware, Trojans, dialers, worms, keyloggers, and hijackers. Prevent potentially harmful software from installing or re-installing. First Chance Prevention examines over 50 critical points of your system each time your system starts up and shuts down to eliminate threats before they have a chance to infect and infiltrate your system. Our Direct Disk Access (DDA) technology sees rootkits others miss.

A-Squared Free:

A-Squared Free has saved me more times than i can imagine, it picked up a few Trojans, Viruses etc, that my Anti-Virus did not pick up at all.

SpyBot Search And Destroy:

my Anti-Virus did not pick up at all.

SpyBot Search And Destroy has a few false positives but with all of its features it provides, it is good to have.

Firefox:

Firefox is much safer to use and is much safer than Internet Explorer.

If you need anymore help or information, please do email me.

selwood.ryan@live.co.uk

NO antivirus software will help you if it's not set up properly to get updates on a frequent frequent basis and to scan your computer for infections that might have gotten through before the update.

I've used AVG Free for years and I love it. I have it set up to automatically check for updates every single day. Every evening it is set up to automatically scan every file that changed the prior day. Every weekend it is set to scan every single file on the computer.

If you turn your computer off at night it will NEVER have the time to get updates or to scan (or will attempt to do it while you work, which will slow you down and possibly make you pause or stop the scan).

This is a stupid mistake that many people don't think about. Your computer has to be ON at night to scan at night.

Don't ignore the other advice about firewalls, IE etc. but your question was about which software works so that's what I answered.

Always have a firewall but I have the free version of AVG on my computer and I highly recommend it. The program warns me when someone is trying to get my computer. You can download the program from the AVG site. I hope this helps.

The best way to avoid viruses and nastyware like that is to abandon Windows altogether. Use Linux.

I use ZoomAlarm and it's very effective.+4

I am using mcafee. unlike all the others which make you pay to update their software... norton makes you pay to use the software you already bought and because antivirus integrates to deep with the operating system when it shuts down it crashes your system on it's own no need for help from a virus. I had to reformat my harddrive and reinstall from scratch to get my computer fully operational again after letting my norton expire by a day.

actually, you can't just rely on a one software....

if you want to protect your computer from it's deadly foe you must:

1.ensure that you have an antivirus
probably:

a. eset nod32 smart security business edition 3.0669 (for me that's the best version)or bit defender or kaspersky ... any version execept the oldest one.... just the lastest!
b. equip your computer with spybot search and destroy
(this software is free and will protect you from spyware and other wares.. hehehe)

2.download in trusted sites like: www.filehippo.com (that's great! 100% virus free)

3.make sure that no one downloads a porn and mp3 on your computer.

4. last but not the least, have a software called deepfreeze. the great software that can delete any malware,spyware I mean any wares that can probably harm your computer....

take note: deepfreeze 6 is the best version and deepfreeze is very sensitive one.... because deepfreeze deletes not only virus but any changes in your computer....

how does it work???
deepfreeze integrate on you hard drive making it invulnerable to any changes.... if you restart your computer all changes will be undo (specially the virus)
you can unfreeze the software to save... but carefull not to download,browse any sites....

why you should have anti virus, deep freeze is best... I don't need those...

maybe... but if you download any files or insert usb, etc... you might need to scan it before you save or copy any files on that storage device....


hehehe it will never fail you even if you die.... but keep in mind any anti virus are useless without update (I recommend to update everyday) and antivirus are useless if they are only trial version.....


ps: please rate my answer... i sign up just to recieve feedbacks....

and i ihave question plese dont hesitate to answer thanks....

I have Norton and its pretty good

As has been said before... You will never be 100% protected from viruses, so get rid of that idea. The point of anti-virus protection is to limit the number of viruses that can affect your computer to a manageable level.

Here's how I would go...

1. Install and set up a firewall. I prefer to have an external router running my firewall (I use a Cisco Router but others can be just as good) because this avoids the CPU hit that running a firewall on my machine would entail. If you go with a software firewall DO NOT USE THE WINDOWS ONE!

2. Install a good Anti-Virus Program. And ensure you enable automatic updates and daily scans (I set my scans to run every night while I'm sleeping). I use AVG Free but I'm hearing good things from the new Nortons 2009 Anti-Virus and may switch. My chioce is based on background usage and clock cycle hits by the program.

3. Install a good anti-spamware program (or two). I use Spybot and Ad-Aware and scan manually at least once a week. Both are free, however if you go the "bought software" route, Norton's Systemworks and others have similar functionality.

4. Do not use Internet Explorer. It's ability to run questionable scripts is fine until you realize that some of those scripts are "really" questionable. Get Firefox, Safari or Chrome (I use Firefox myself). Keep IE for MS Update purposes only.

5. Don't visit (or at least limit your use of) "risky" sites. This means any Porn sites or Warez sites or Hack sites or any IP address that ends in .ru for that matter. The more reputable torrent sites will allow you to find most of that stuff by torrent.

Another thing you can do to really manage the risk of infection is to switch operating systems. At least 90% of all viruses are written for the Windows OS, switch to Linux or OS X and you can say bye-bye to most of the worst of that bunch. It's radical and if you don't go that route... the above solutions work for me.

Hope this helps.

Choose one suite. If you're going the McAffe route or Norton, get the firewall integrated suite, not just the standalone AV scanner. I've used both and personally prefer Norton Internet Security Pro, but it's double the price of most suites out there.
AVG offers a free version of it's AV software and it does a pretty good job for a free proggie. The downside is the support isn't as good as their paid product and the freebie doesn't have an integrated firewall. If you want that, you can get the Pay for version. If you decide to go with the AVG Free, you ought to also see about getting a free firewall that will work with it. Black Ice comes to mind.
Don't forget, spyware. It's a good idea to put Spy Bot search and destroy as well as Ad aware on your box. They compliment each other well and have no issues being run on the same machine. What one misses, the other will get.

I have Norton which I have used for years also Mcafee because it came with my Laptop. They are both very good and effective , just make sure you run reguler scans and get rid of any bugs that appear.

The honest truth is that there is no BEST AV product to purchase, they all do much the same thing the only thing that makes one better than the other is number of viruses they can pick up and how fast they are to release new updates when an outbreak occurs.

On the first point, most of the big vendors (McAfee, Norton, TrendMicro etc) all have a very exhaustive list of viruses they will detect and they all do heuristic searching these days, on the second point, none of the companies are 'consistently' the first to market with major updates, it changes with each outbreak.

The only way to be really well protected is to use a combination of virus scanners, a good firewall client and some common sense. Cracks, dodgey serials, keygens and porn sites will be your worst offenders for dumping viruses onto your computer so avoid those (as best as you can).

you have to manually setup the anti-virus program correctly. I suggest AVG over Norton, Norton doesn't protect as well and only mainly can delete files, why pay to only delete files and not able to uninfect them when AVG FREE does that well.

IF wanting to use AVG go into the resident shield and make sure Scan all files and on-close scanning is checked... by the way If choosing free, you can use online scanners such as housecall and panda activescan onlines scan for free.. :)

yes


mcafees is better than norton.


but if u get"avg internetsecurity" load it.

AVG i love it

An Anti-Virus software is to help stop most of the attacks. An Anti-Virus software can not be 100%, and can not stop every single Virus from infecting your computer. Here is the main software's you need to HELP keep your computer safe.

1) Anti-Virus software

There are loads of Anti-Virus software's FREE and PAID for, and everybody has there own opinion on the product. The best way to decide is too go to the website for "The Best Anti-Virus 2009, Reviews", here is the link.

http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com

As you can see "Bit-Defender" is the TOP PAID for product of 2009. Now, there is no list for the FREE Anti-Virus software's, so i have given you my opinion.

Free Anti-Virus

1) Avast Home.

I am using Avast right now, and i have to tell you, it is the best FREE one available. It includes:

Anti-virus kernel based on certified anti-virus engine.

Resident protection comprising individual modules or "shields", each of which can be individually configured or disabled:

Standard Shield — Real-time protection against viruses and other malware threats.

IM shield — Instant Messaging protection. (Scanning of files transferred through instant messaging applications)

P2P shield — P2P protection.

Internet Mail — E-mail scanning.

Outlook/Exchange — Microsoft Outlook/Exchange scanning.

Web Shield — HTTP protection (local transparent proxy). Version 4.8 also allows the blocking of URLs.

Script blocker — Professional version only; scans webpages for malicious scripts.

Network Shield — Basic protection against well-known network worms. Acts as an Intrusion Detection System.

Anti-spyware capabilities

Anti-rookit capabilities

Virus Recovery Database (VRDB) — Allows repair of malware infected files.

Self-Protection — Prevents malware from terminating avast! processes and damaging avast! files.

Automatic incremental updates — Updates of both the program and the virus database which is used to identify potential threats — avast! updates its virus definitions on a regular basis (sometimes multiple updates daily) and this process is automated by default.

Audible alarms — Vocal warnings and notices such as "Caution, a virus has been detected!" and "Virus database has been updated."

Boot-time scan — Users can schedule a boot-time scan to remove infections that load during Windows startup.

Virus Chest — Quarantine; folder where infected files can be stored. The virus chest also stores vital system files to protect them from damage by malware. Users can also add their own files to the virus chest. Once in the chest, a file cannot be executed; double-clicking the file will instead display information about the file.

Skinnable user interface

2) Avira

Avira has slightly better detection rates, but the FREE version only has Virus Protection and Rookit Protection. So basically only use this if you are willing to buy the Premium or The Security Suite.

3) Avg

Personally, in my opinion, Avg is rubbish, however i would rather have Avg than nothing. Other people seem to like Avg, but they seem to lack the knowledge of its detection rates. The last time i looked at Avgs detection rate was 88%, and i don't think it has changed.

So here is my opinion on what to do.

For a PAID for Anti-Virus, use Kaspersky Internet Security, as it is easy to use, and completely protects you, and it also has Program/Application monitoring.

For a FREE Anti-Virus, use Avast Home, as it has no restrictions, it also has Real-Time-Monitoring, which i think is the only FREE Anti-Virus that does that. It also has 3 Internet Shields, like Web, Network and a Standard Shield. It also includes a P2P-Shield (Limewire, Utorrent shield etc), IM Protection and Internet Mail protection. Now the one thing that is the best thing with Avast is it does a Boot-Time-Scan, which means at Start-up, it will Scan your computer before your computer actually starts, so it scans your entire computer before u login etc.

I hope this helps you, but if you need some more info or help, you can email me.

selwood.ryan@live.co.uk

I have both installed....AVG and NORTON.

If one does not catch the virus, the other one will.

Works great for me.

Use only the Norton Corporate Edition. It has many more features and firewalls.

Trust me bro, the only thing that can save you is Kaspersky Anti virus Pro.I have been using it for years and it has NEVER let me down.

Install ZoneAlarm for extra protection.