Anti Virus

[Roger]

Originally Posted by Uggy

Roger, thanks have done that so it will be interesting to see if it works! Begs the question, how do you know that stuff?

I test Anti viruses and repair the damage done when they don't work or people go around them.

[NH53]

Daggers, you're not invisibe - There are quite a few PC's in our household, only three of which are really used.

One is the main domestic PC which is running Avira (on Roger's recommendation some time ago on this forum), the other domestic PC runs Avast (as AVG didn't work on that PC - it has a pirated version of XP which may have something to do with it). Finally my work laptop runs McAfee (no choice).

Avast seems to work very well, but I thought I would also use Avira because of:

a) Roger's advice (I don't know him personally, but his advice on this forum always makes sense to me).
b) I only have one e-mail address (Avast requires registration), and I didn't know if one could register more than one copy, and I didn't really want to try and find out (I'm a lazy git....).

Thanks for the advice on XP Home Roger, I'll try that when I've got some time.

Just to complete the picture, my eldest son uses AVG, and it seems to work very well as well (he has got a bona fide copy of XP).

NH

[Roger]

To my knowledge there are three really good free AVs available - Avira, Avast and AVG

AVG takes up the most resources but is known for giving false positives
Avast, less of a hog than AVG, but again a few false positives.
Avira, uses few resources and picks up things even the paid for AV's don't.

I work a lot with live viruses and the only software I would use on my machine is Eset, Kaspersky or Avira. I use Eset but I run a virtual machine with Avira (free version) which I use as a second opinion - and it finds stuff my Eset doesn't.

[Battersea]

Originally Posted by Roger

I use Eset but I run a virtual machine with Avira (free version) which I use as a second opinion - and it finds stuff my Eset doesn't.

Interesting, I've run Eset for years following strong recommendation. Are you saying I could do better by using a freebie now Roger?

[Roger]

Not a straightforward yes or no answer. I pay to use Eset smart security rather that use Avira Free, so I obviously think it has benefits.

I think the big difference is what you don't get with the free software. Eset (the smart security addition) has a good firewall and anti-spyware and email protection. Avira free doesn't. You can get a good free firewall (forget Windows' own firewall, it's piss-poor) and other components but they're not integrated.

So my advice is, if security is the motivation and cost is secondary, get an integrated security package. Eset, Avira and Kaspersky are the best. Kaspersky is probably the pick of the three as it has leading edge technical staff, a research establishment and free tools for analysing and dealing with infections. Avira are also very proactive, the Avira boot disk is very useful when you get a really nasty infection. Eset offers the best performance without system degradation.

If cost is a consideration, at present, Avira Free is streets ahead of the competition, at the moment, but that could change.

[Battersea]

Thanks Roger, I just knew it wouldn't be straightforward.

[Trevor]

Anyone tried this?

Free Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 Genuine License Key For 1 Year

[simo]

Roger- hi. have read through this thread as my norton av has expired, so have just removed it, but not sure where to find the free avira download?
I googled it but there are a few different looking sites and am now worried i will use a dodgey one and get a virus
any link from you or advice maybe?
thanks in advance
simon

[simo]

sorry rog- just read your top post will look there

[Roger]

Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus - Reviews and free Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus downloads at Download.com