Anti-Virus Programs - AVG 7.0 or something else.

[Tiger-Heli]

I have been using Norton AntiVirus CE, but it conflicts with the software for the APC UPS that I got over Thanksgiving, so I am looking for a different solution.

I want something that can scan and prevent scripts, has current definition updates, and doesn't charge yearly renewals.  I don't mind a one-time fee, but free would be better.

I found this program which sounds good, but was wondering what anyone else knew about it, or if there are better options?

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/1/

Thanks in advance!

[RacerX]

I'm a bit skeptical of the free antivirus programs out there.  I could be wrong, but for something that *needs* to have it's definitions updated quite often, I'm hesitant to put that in the hands of someone who is doing it as a "hobby".

I use CA's E-trust.  It does have an annual subscription fee, but it's only like $10.  I can afford that to help keep my machine virus free.  But that's just my opinion.

[Tiger-Heli]

Ok, ran some Google searches at lunch:

Anandtech Users seem to like it.

This review site had mixed but generally positive comments, but one reviewer recommended AVAST.

This is what the same site had to say about AVAST.

AVAST is free, but you have to register it and re-register it anually (for free).  It looks like it's quite likely what I will try first.

Finally, does anyone know anything (good or bad) about PrevX?

[SirPoonga]

I'm a bit skeptical of the free antivirus programs out there.

[Minwah]

I've been using AVG 6 for a long while now, and it's great.  I've been using Norton at work for years and personally I prefer AVG - I'll be moving to v7 pretty soon.

[krick]

Just a warning on AVG7.    Some people are having a LOT of problems configuring the email scanner in v7...

http://forum.grisoft.cz/freeforum/

I installed AVG7 on two different computers that were both running v6 with no problem and it screwed up the email.  I ended up going back to v6 on both computers.

[missioncontrol]

I've been happy with AVG........

[RacerX]

I'm a bit skeptical of the free antivirus programs out there.  I could be wrong, but for something that *needs* to have it's definitions updated quite often, I'm hesitant to put that in the hands of someone who is doing it as a "hobby".

I use CA's E-trust.  It does have an annual subscription fee, but it's only like $10.  I can afford that to help keep my machine virus free.  But that's just my opinion.

It's not a hobby.  Go look at what virus program companies sell.  The personal use home versions of their software is free for home use.  The rest of their stuff is big bucks aimed at businesses.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,28063.0.html

Well, yeah, I realize some companies offer free versions of their software.  That's how I started using CA's stuff (remember InoculateIT Personal Edition?).

But there's a difference between using a free version of software offerred by a reputable company, and something that you just find on a list of freeware somewhere.  If the software Tiger-Heli is referring to comes from a reputable company, I would have no problem using it.

[papaschtroumpf]

The following are free-for-home-use versions of commercial antivirus that are ICSA certifed among other certifications:

AVG
AntiVir
Avast!

My main issue with AntiVir and Avast! is that you have to manually update your signatures rather than have them be automaticlly updated in the background. I can't remember if it's the same for AVG.

I've never used BitDefender but I also believe it's got a free home version


If you don' t want "realtime" protection, a bunch of companies offer web-based scanning for free. I use Trend Micro's scanner at antivirus.com because the URL is easy to remember, but both Symantec and McAffee offer free web-based scanning. Note that the web tools may not always know how to remove the virus they find though.


Also ezTrust (Computer Associates) offers a free one year trial of their combo of their firewall (rebranded ZoneAlarm) and antivirus. Also first a class product.


You can use any of these free products and know you are getting as good (if not better) protection than the Nortons and McAffee out there.

[Minwah]

My main issue with AntiVir and Avast! is that you have to manually update your signatures rather than have them be automaticlly updated in the background. I can't remember if it's the same for AVG.

You can pick with AVG - I update manually.

I use Hotmail so I haven't used the email scanner...

[Tiger-Heli]

The following are free-for-home-use versions of commercial antivirus that are ICSA certifed among other certifications:

AVG
AntiVir
Avast!

My main issue with AntiVir and Avast! is that you have to manually update your signatures rather than have them be automaticlly updated in the background. I can't remember if it's the same for AVG.

Well, that brings up a follow-up question, I never used the automated update (a pain on dial-up), so for Norton, I would d/l an 8M file on a high-speed connection, copy to a zip drive, and update at home.

Avast and AntiVir seems like they might work the same way, but the files are only 2M or so.

AVG has incremental updates with file names as follows - the main file I downloaded today ends in 392.  There are also priority updates labelled 392 and 399 on their support site.

Questions:  If I were to go the the site now, how do I know there wasn't a 396 that I don't have.  If I come back in a couple weeks and they are up to 415, how do I know whether I have 16 updates to install, or only one, or five, etc.

Thanks!

[SirPoonga]

I just installed AntiVir along with my old install of AVG.  Here's the prob I was having with AVG.  When I right clicked on a folder that I knew had a virus and selected "Scan for viruses..." AVG would scan and find it and suggest I run the complete test.  I run the complete test and it wouldn;t find the virus.

AntiVir found it.  Now I know there are viruses that some scanners pick up over others.  It still is competition between products.  I had a virus once that AVG could get rid of but PC-cillin could.

[TalkingOctopus]

I have been a happy AVG 6.0 user, but I get almost no virsuses.  I have it set on full auto mode.  It updates and the scans every night.

[Trenchbroom]

AVG is excellent, and with version 7.0 they finally got the email scanner working with Thunderbird instead of just Outlook.  I a very happy camper.

[Tiger-Heli]

Okay, I installed AVG Free last night.  Found a lot of things I like about it (boot scan, resume scan from where last left off, automatically restarts if disabled), etc.

I have some questions about it, and posted them in AVG's forum here: http://forum.grisoft.cz/freeforum/read.php?1,5326 but if anyone here knows the answers and want to respond there or here, it would be appreciated.

[SirPoonga]

I'm actually liking the combination of AVG and AntiVir now.  I wish AntiVir had the scheduling AVG does.

A note to everyone.  If you get a virus and it is located in, crap, I'm on a w2k machine not as administrator.  The system restore folder.  If a virus is in there you need to turn off system restore, get rid of the virus (scan), reboot, then turn system restore back on.

[Sasquatch!]

Another AVG user here.  The interface is ugly, but it works fine.

[Tiger-Heli]

Just an update, I ended up using AVG.  It works fine.  My only gripe is that there is no way to "unload" the resident shield feature of the program.  Closing the systray icon leaves it runnig.  Running the command center and selecting it and unchecking all the tick boxes disables it, which is good enough, but kindof clunky.

Here are my thoughts from a post on AVG's forums:

Slightly off-topic, I also compared AVG to its two main competitors AVAST and AntiVir, and found I much prefer AVG. AVAST seemed to work okay, but the free version apparently does not have script blocking, which is one of the main features I wanted. The program also SEEMED pretty bloated, although I didn