what's the best anti-virus

[Billy Boy]

hi just looking for some recommendations for some anti-virus,haveing had trouble with norton and mcafee recently,not to happy to go near them again, i'am running avg at the minute, so can anyone recommend something different?

thank's in advance

[blueivy]

hi just looking for some recommendations for some anti-virus,haveing had trouble with norton and mcafee recently,not to happy to go near them again, i'am running avg at the minute, so can anyone recommend something different?

thank's in advance

Now you've opened a can of worms! There are a thousand different virus scanners and you'll get a thousand different answers. It all really comes down to personal taste and cost.

Anybody who works in IT will tell you about the problems people can have with Norton and McAfee (my own experience is more with Norton). If you search the web for something like 'problems with Norton' you'll find thousands of pages (usually forums) with information on the problems people have had. I'd recommend staying away from them.

I'd also recommend staying away from these 'all-in-one' suites too. A number of companies do them. What I try and do is pick the best software from each category and use it (firewall, anti-spyware and anti-virus). It's better p[icking software from different companies that are best in their individual fields that using an all in one that tries to be everything to all people and usually fails.

AVG is a good anti-virus software but you get what you pay for I would say and it's certainly not the best in terms of detection, speed or resources.

Without 'pimping my website' I have a plethora of information on NOD32 on my website. I install it for home, small business and large business clients and have continued to sell it for over two years now as I have never had a problem with it. There are comparisons on the site with the bigger anti-virus software (ie. McAfee and Norton) so you can see the speed, detection, resource differences etc..

I know a number of the posters in this forum use it (as there was a similar thread to this about 2-3 months ago). The website is in the signature. If you're interested have a look at the information on the site.

I operate a business so my site is commercial and has other software and services on there so if that is the kind of site you want to avoid, then please don't visit it.

At the end of the day I'd take the recommendations from here and try them all until you find one that works for you. I haven't (yet) come across anti-virus software that doesn't give you a trial period so you can try before you buy. I'd check out the software works well with your other protection software (firewall and anti-virus) as that is very important.

[DocStone]

www.avast.com

Free for home users, and a very effective program.

As BlueIvy says though, there isnt a "best" anti-virus out there, but there is a "best suited" one for everyone. And stay away from Norton and Mcafee. The cause of a lot of home users problems.

[blueivy]

hi just looking for some recommendations for some anti-virus,haveing had trouble with norton and mcafee recently,not to happy to go near them again, i'am running avg at the minute, so can anyone recommend something different?

thank's in advance

I agree with everything DocStone has said.

If you're interested in stats on what's doing a better job that others, try AV Comparatives. They are an independent tester, have free reports and do different tests each month on 15 different anti-virus software (including Avast, AVG and NOD32 along with Norton and McAfee).

As the site says:

If you plan to buy an Anti-Virus, please visit the vendor's site and evaluate their software by downloading a trial version, as there are also many other features (e.g. firewall, scriptblocker, etc.) and important things (e.g. compatibility, graphical user interface, speed, language, price, update frequence, etc.) for an Anti-Virus that you should evaluate by yourself. Even if quite important, the detection rate is just one aspect that you should consider when buying Anti-Virus software.

Which is what myself and DocStone said already. It's a good site but the reports can be a little long - the summary tables are very useful however.

[newlabeluk]

i like Trend Micro's pc-cillin on my laptop.

[badger]

I used Norton once many years ago and decided never again - did awful things to my computer. Used McAfee for a while as we had Dr Solomon at work so I knew it but after a while found it very user unfriendly. Then my son recommended NOD32 and I've stayed with it ever since. Very reassuring.

[Rheghead]

I use Macafee supported online by AOL. Of course you need AOL but it is up to date and loads automatically. No probs, but my total experience with AOL seems to differ totally with others.

[SeaviewFlowers]

Yea i agree stay well clear of Norton and McAfee, there rubbish..!! I have seen loads of systems that run these and the pc is running like a bag of bolts... It runs so slowwwww....

Having un-installed them i have been putting AVG Free 7.5, its great software, works perfect, easy to update and scan. I recommed AVG Free..