Do you use : No Antivirus , FREE Antivirus , or PAID Antivirus and why?

[vinedrai]

I am using Avast AV free and satisfied. I don't really see any reason to use a paid AV unless you are paranoid. Most of them have similar performances detection wise and it usually comes down to their system load when comparing them for the generic user.

 

[real ace]

I use the free Avast antivirus because
-It uses less RAM
-Has smaller packs of virus definition updates(good for slow speed internet connections)
-Over many years i haven't had a single problem using it
-On a side note its not annoying like Norton

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I used the Norton paid last year and it was real light on resources and ran in the background nicely.

 

[spooky2th]

IMO, Kaspersky Internet Security is the best. Have tried a bunch of others including Norton and have been sticking with Kaspersky.

 

[Dxanders]

Since I switched to W8 I have no antivirus... In Windows 7 I used Microsoft Security Essentials... I think its a matter of awareness of the user at the moment to visit pages, download stuff , use external devices, etc

 

[MarkW]

Do you use : No Antivirus , FREE Antivirus , or PAID Antivirus and why.

I use paid anti-virus because I have used the free ones in the past and was not happy with the protection some of them provided. $23 a year for peace of mind is very cheap vs. losing all my data.

 

[Rapajez]

For those happy with Windows Defender or MSE, just because of the low maintenance and small footprint, a lot of independent security sites rank both extremely low in detection tests. Again, just because you're a knowledgeable user, doesn't make you immune.

http/www.av-test.org/en/news/news-single-view/25-internet-security-suites-are-put-to-the-test-using-windows-81/

Also, speaking of Do-Not-Track plug-ins, check out the Free, Open Source "Privacy Badger". It does a great job and is a pretty cool FOSS project in general.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I like Adblock and Ghostery for browser plugins.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http/www.av-comparatives.org/

Great site to compare ^

 

[Skylyne]

http/www.av-comparatives.org/

Great site to compare ^

I really wish Comodo was in that comparison chart. Would be nice to see how many false positives they would have found, since I had a fair amount with Comodo. Bitdefender looks like the best for protection/false positive ratio.

I recently started using Bitdefender's free version, just to see how much resources it uses, and how reliable I find it to be (does it trigger false positives/etc. during my particular uses). No real complaints, but it does bog my slower computer down a noticeable amount. It's okay, but by no means would I personally use it for anything more than peace of mind. I won't ever trust an AV software for security, but that's for my own personal use.

It looks like TrendMicro has the best overall protection. Bitdefender would come in second; Kaspersky would be in third; Avira and Emisoft would come tied in fourth. The only reason I would place Avira so low is because of their false positives. Depending on how TrendMicro works, I might consider recommending that one in the future. I might just happen to take a look at their free software and check it out soon. I know some people who are in the need for something free and effective. Gotta love incompetent husbands who trust everything the internet says, and then blame it all on the wives! hahaha

 

[Deleted member 1300495]

Avast seems very popular among the FREE versions.

http/www.av-comparatives.org/

Great site to compare ^

I really wish Comodo was in that comparison chart. Would be nice to see how many false positives they would have found, since I had a fair amount with Comodo. Bitdefender looks like the best for protection/false positive ratio.

I recently started using Bitdefender's free version, just to see how much resources it uses, and how reliable I find it to be (does it trigger false positives/etc. during my particular uses). No real complaints, but it does bog my slower computer down a noticeable amount. It's okay, but by no means would I personally use it for anything more than peace of mind. I won't ever trust an AV software for security, but that's for my own personal use.

It looks like TrendMicro has the best overall protection. Bitdefender would come in second; Kaspersky would be in third; Avira and Emisoft would come tied in fourth. The only reason I would place Avira so low is because of their false positives. Depending on how TrendMicro works, I might consider recommending that one in the future. I might just happen to take a look at their free software and check it out soon. I know some people who are in the need for something free and effective. Gotta love incompetent husbands who trust everything the internet says, and then blame it all on the wives! hahaha

I wonder why nobody like windows security essentials as I believe it is the safest, with no download needed. Also, most of these AV programs say that they have a small footprint but in reality are supposed to be monitoring EVERY single part of a system. This is always going to slow down a system but for you guys, it is nothing as you proably own a pc with a 4790K and 2 780tis installed. This would not let any slowness evolve in your computer thus allowing you to download 5 AVs and not noticing it. On a side note, to download almost any computer program, I use ninite as it disables all the bloatware that comes with everything.

 

[spooky2th]

I'm using Kaspersky 2013, bought the license from retailer. So far so good. I'm satisfied with the performance of this AV. That is why I've been using this AV for like 4 years.

You can upgrade to the latest 2015 version any time as long as your subscription is active. The 2015 version is already out plus they just came out with a newer 2015 version.

Go to kaspersky.com, downloads, software upgrades and choose your software then download it. Delete your old version and your activation code should work on the new version. There are also several options that you might want to use when removing the old software, like keeping your subscription info so you won't have to reactivate the new software after the install.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I am currently using Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 , and it is very light and no false positives so far.

 

[Guest]

I decided to make the switch to Avast! Free after a few comments here.

Fairly good I must say. Completed a full scan with nothing detected, considering I've been using MSE pretty much since it came out then I suppose that's a testiment to the common-sense browsing thing. Providing MSE is as bad as they say.

My gripe is exactly what I disliked about alternative software - Annoyingness.
It takes a good 10-20 minutes to go through all the settings and find out exactly what it can and can't do. Too many 'features' enabled by default that no user should want (Such as, audible notifications).

I've gone through the lot and set things how I want them to be. However, I've also turned on 'Silent' mode. While realising this won't notify me should a virus pop up without my knowledge, it certainly gives me some peace. Guess I'll just do regular scans.

My primary annoyance comes on behalf of its in-app advertising. Bleeding every anti-virus company that offers a free version likes to plaster adverts for the paid all over it. This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't pop up in the corner of the screen periodically...


In short, I guess I'll stick with it. It's really quite disappointing how no company has figured to come out with a free, light anti-virus that doesn't bug you to death.
Bitdefender Free was an option, but I found the interface too limiting.

 

[Skylyne]

I wonder why nobody like windows security essentials as I believe it is the safest, with no download needed. Also, most of these AV programs say that they have a small footprint but in reality are supposed to be monitoring EVERY single part of a system. This is always going to slow down a system but for you guys, it is nothing as you proably own a pc with a 4790K and 2 780tis installed. This would not let any slowness evolve in your computer thus allowing you to download 5 AVs and not noticing it. On a side note, to download almost any computer program, I use ninite as it disables all the bloatware that comes with everything.

http/www.av-comparatives.org/

Great site to compare ^

The reason no one uses WSE is because it's the least reliable. Open the link, and read their real-world protection reviews. The baseline comparison is the Windows AV protection, which is at an 85.5% protection rate... and that's the lowest scorer. You're better off using any of the reviewed AV wares than WSE. For lack of a better way of putting it, Microsoft sucks. I don't know how else to say it. And yes, I'm a Windows user, but not by preferential choice.

As far as having a 'fast' computer, I'm running a Core2 with 4 GB of memory. I don't know why you mentioned having dual high-end GPUs, since those do nothing for overall computer speeds... but I don't even have a 750 Ti right now haha. I run a single AV ware, and my computer gets slowed down significantly. There are also plenty of people out there with dual-core Pentium chips, and i3 chips, which will see significant speed drops with these resource hungry wares. Making a lightweight security software is pretty important to a lot of people.

I'm also surprised people are switching to Avast... it's quite demanding for resources, fails to prevent a lot of infections, and requires the end-user to do frequent scans to make sure they aren't harbouring anything. I've seen plenty of Avast users scan their computers, and have numerous infections that Avast failed to catch. There are better options out there that are much more lightweight, and far more effective.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I agree the AVAST free is a little heavy to run on lower spec computers.

 

[Guest]

I wonder why nobody like windows security essentials as I believe it is the safest, with no download needed. Also, most of these AV programs say that they have a small footprint but in reality are supposed to be monitoring EVERY single part of a system. This is always going to slow down a system but for you guys, it is nothing as you proably own a pc with a 4790K and 2 780tis installed. This would not let any slowness evolve in your computer thus allowing you to download 5 AVs and not noticing it. On a side note, to download almost any computer program, I use ninite as it disables all the bloatware that comes with everything.

http/www.av-comparatives.org/

Great site to compare ^

The reason no one uses WSE is because it's the least reliable. Open the link, and read their real-world protection reviews. The baseline comparison is the Windows AV protection, which is at an 85.5% protection rate... and that's the lowest scorer. You're better off using any of the reviewed AV wares than WSE. For lack of a better way of putting it, Microsoft sucks. I don't know how else to say it. And yes, I'm a Windows user, but not by preferential choice.

As far as having a 'fast' computer, I'm running a Core2 with 4 GB of memory. I don't know why you mentioned having dual high-end GPUs, since those do nothing for overall computer speeds... but I don't even have a 750 Ti right now haha. I run a single AV ware, and my computer gets slowed down significantly. There are also plenty of people out there with dual-core Pentium chips, and i3 chips, which will see significant speed drops with these resource hungry wares. Making a lightweight security software is pretty important to a lot of people.

I'm also surprised people are switching to Avast... it's quite demanding for resources, fails to prevent a lot of infections, and requires the end-user to do frequent scans to make sure they aren't harbouring anything. I've seen plenty of Avast users scan their computers, and have numerous infections that Avast failed to catch. There are better options out there that are much more lightweight, and far more effective.

Mind listing a few?
I need something light and out of the way.

I very much dislike the transition period that comes with a lot of these headlining free versions. MSE was perfect in every respect minus one - Its ability as an anti virus.
Need a replacement, not sure which.

 

[Skylyne]

Mind listing a few?
I need something light and out of the way.

I very much dislike the transition period that comes with a lot of these headlining free versions. MSE was perfect in every respect minus one - Its ability as an anti virus.
Need a replacement, not sure which.

Don't take this the wrong way, mate... but have you not been reading what we've been posting? Twice, already, have I said something very specific to help people choose the right AV software. I'm not trying to get snappy at you, so don't take it personally; I'm just surprised you are asking that. The first time was the very last post on the first page (in which I answer your question directly). The second time was in the post that you quoted to ask me what I would recommend.

Please read everything before asking a question. Again, it's nothing personal; but the information you're asking for has already been provided for you within this thread... by me. I don't mind repeating myself in other threads, but not within the same one. Again, nothing personal

EDIT: here's what I meant by "The second time was in the post that you quoted to ask me what I would recommend."... "Open the link, and read their real-world protection reviews." It wasn't that I was intimating you read between the lines. I was getting at the fact I was explaining a way to look up some information to help you make an informed decision, albeit in a different context.

 

[Guest]

Mind listing a few?
I need something light and out of the way.

I very much dislike the transition period that comes with a lot of these headlining free versions. MSE was perfect in every respect minus one - Its ability as an anti virus.
Need a replacement, not sure which.

Don't take this the wrong way, mate... but have you not been reading what we've been posting? Twice, already, have I said something very specific to help people choose the right AV software. I'm not trying to get snappy at you, so don't take it personally; I'm just surprised you are asking that. The first time was the very last post on the first page (in which I answer your question directly). The second time was in the post that you quoted to ask me what I would recommend.

Please read everything before asking a question. Again, it's nothing personal; but the information you're asking for has already been provided for you within this thread... by me. I don't mind repeating myself in other threads, but not within the same one. Again, nothing personal

Indeed I have, but you seem to lack any definitive answers. Although I can see why such a topic would, unfortunately, be a result of that.

I've looked at all the popular free versions listed on this page and the last. I did try Bitdefender Free for a short period this evening. They all seem to be lacking something, hence why I asked, essentially to find out if I've missed something.

I've got to admit. I'm mildly tempted to go back to MSE and live in blissful ignorance.

 

[Skylyne]

Then maybe you're not asking a direct enough question for me to give you a better answer?