Anti Virus software for 2007? - Scifi-Meshes.com

**B.J.** · 03-06-2007, 09:20 PM

I'm at the end of my subscription to Norton antivirus, and I want to get rid of it. I'm almost certain it's the cause of my gradual slowdown on my desktop, and the cause of my wife having to reformat her laptop due to it coming down to a complete crawl. In the past, I'd go over to McAfee, but the reviews I've seen for their 2007 offering are horrid. Most professional reviewers are giving Kapersky top marks, but the customer reviews are about 50-50. So, can anyone give some recommendations as to what to get or what to avoid? My home computer is still on dialup, so the internet is not a constant-on thing, if that makes any difference.

Also, I've heard that it can be near impossible to completely remove Norton without some sort of extra utility. Can anyone point me towards one?

Thanks!

**rojren** · 03-06-2007, 11:27 PM

AVG Free Advisor: AVG Anti-Virus Free

It's what we use at work (the pay version) I've been using the free version for years, and I'm happy with it.

**Forcemaster2000** · 03-06-2007, 11:39 PM

I switched to Mcafee about six months ago and haven't had any problems with it and still seem to be quite secure.

I did use the free version of AVG, but they make you re-register for it every 16 months, I believe, and when my time to re-register came up this time I was told that I couldn't renew the free version and had to purchase it.

**Alec Trevelyan** · 03-06-2007, 11:40 PM

Avast!

**Samurai** · 03-07-2007, 12:13 AM

Nod32- you wont even know it's running, and because it updates daily, the downloads are very manageable even for a dial-up connection.

A 1 Year subscription for the download product cost me £20ish iirc.

That one was recommended to me by Tim (Comco) after I also complained about slowdown on my machine. Because it was affecting all machines, I thought it may be a network issue, but on buying a MacBook and seeing it run fine, I realised that wasnt the case. A chance conversation with a customer at work revealed he was having the same issue- the only thing we had in common system-wise was Norton Internet Security.

**Safe@2nd** · 03-07-2007, 12:51 AM

Whoa! And here I thought it was my computer or that I had a virus!

BJ, I'm having the very same problems. My desktop has slowed down horribly and my wife's laptop has almost stopped entirely, it's that slow. I have Norton Anti-virus too and just bought the 2007 which made the slowing down problem worse.

I have the AVG at work too and it doesn't seem to cause this problem. in fact, my computer at work starts up 100 times faster, on initial start up, than my home computer. I'm considering switching now too.

**Viper** · 03-07-2007, 12:57 AM

I hate Anti-Virus software...that's why I don't use any. I do periodically run Panda scanner on it though, but due to a few tricks I learned a few years ago, I never have any virus on my comp.

Dallidas · 03-07-2007, 01:08 AM

care to share those tricks?

**Comco** · 03-07-2007, 10:26 AM

Nod32 is quite simply the best anti-virus program I have come across (and I've dealt with almost all of them over the years). Don't let the fact that it is not instantly recognisable fool you...It is used by a number of major corporations including Canon. It has probably one of the smallest memory footprints of any scanner I've found and scans at an insane speed. Many orders of magnitude faster than Nortons and it ends up picking up more virus infected files while it's at it.

If you don't want to spend the (cheap) cash on Nod, then I highly recommend AVG. The free version is not crippled and is perfectly fine for most home users.

And yes, over the years, Norton has become the a completely bloated and less and less effective program. Problem is that because of its major popularity as one of the biggest antivirus scanners out there, every virus maker worth his salt will check to make sure his virus defeats Norton's heuristics before releasing it. It's the benchmark against whether you release your virus or not. Same goes to a lesser extent with McAfee and PC-Cillian.

**Freak** · 03-07-2007, 10:33 AM

I stay well clear of Norton Anti-virus, it is complete and utter ****. it slow my home PC down to a crawl and when I took it off, everything started to run as it should.

At home I don't use any now, but that is due to it not being on the net. But here at work we use McAfee, and we had no problems with it so far.

03-06-2007, 09:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
B.J. Space Cadet Realname: B.J. Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Age: 34 Posts: 975	Anti Virus software for 2007? I'm at the end of my subscription to Norton antivirus, and I want to get rid of it. I'm almost certain it's the cause of my gradual slowdown on my desktop, and the cause of my wife having to reformat her laptop due to it coming down to a complete crawl. In the past, I'd go over to McAfee, but the reviews I've seen for their 2007 offering are horrid. Most professional reviewers are giving Kapersky top marks, but the customer reviews are about 50-50. So, can anyone give some recommendations as to what to get or what to avoid? My home computer is still on dialup, so the internet is not a constant-on thing, if that makes any difference. Also, I've heard that it can be near impossible to completely remove Norton without some sort of extra utility. Can anyone point me towards one? Thanks!
	B.J. Olejnik 2D WIP: BSG Vipers

03-06-2007, 11:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
rojren just some guy Total Awards: 1 (more» ...) Realname: Roger Join Date: May 2006 Location: 90 degrees to reality Age: 44 Posts: 417	AVG Free Advisor: AVG Anti-Virus Free It's what we use at work (the pay version) I've been using the free version for years, and I'm happy with it.
	"Now is not the time for small plans." -President-elect Barack Obama

03-06-2007, 11:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
Alec Trevelyan Awake and Dreaming Realname: Nate Howe Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston, MA Age: 24 Posts: 1,419	Avast!
	It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive... www.nhowephotography.com

03-07-2007, 12:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
Samurai This time you see Join Date: May 2006 Location: (Northern) England Posts: 4,119	Nod32- you wont even know it's running, and because it updates daily, the downloads are very manageable even for a dial-up connection. A 1 Year subscription for the download product cost me £20ish iirc. That one was recommended to me by Tim (Comco) after I also complained about slowdown on my machine. Because it was affecting all machines, I thought it may be a network issue, but on buying a MacBook and seeing it run fine, I realised that wasnt the case. A chance conversation with a customer at work revealed he was having the same issue- the only thing we had in common system-wise was Norton Internet Security.
	Here comes the water, It comes to wash away the sins of you and I. This time you see- like holy water, it only burns you faster than you'll ever dry.

03-07-2007, 12:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
Viper Administrator Realname: Diogo Vincenzi Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brazil Age: 22 Posts: 1,454	I hate Anti-Virus software...that's why I don't use any. I do periodically run Panda scanner on it though, but due to a few tricks I learned a few years ago, I never have any virus on my comp.
	Personal website (New version up - now web developer oriented) "Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because Chuck Norris only recognizes the element of surprise." Current WIP: Defiant Class - Finished

03-06-2007, 11:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
Forcemaster2000 Blender 2.46 Realname: Chris Join Date: May 2006 Location: Indiana Age: 44 Posts: 863	I switched to Mcafee about six months ago and haven't had any problems with it and still seem to be quite secure. I did use the free version of AVG, but they make you re-register for it every 16 months, I believe, and when my time to re-register came up this time I was told that I couldn't renew the free version and had to purchase it.

03-07-2007, 12:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
Safe@2nd The Scribbler Join Date: May 2006 Location: Canada Age: 41 Posts: 375	Whoa! And here I thought it was my computer or that I had a virus! BJ, I'm having the very same problems. My desktop has slowed down horribly and my wife's laptop has almost stopped entirely, it's that slow. I have Norton Anti-virus too and just bought the 2007 which made the slowing down problem worse. I have the AVG at work too and it doesn't seem to cause this problem. in fact, my computer at work starts up 100 times faster, on initial start up, than my home computer. I'm considering switching now too.

03-07-2007, 01:08 AM	#8 (permalink)
Dallidas SFM Oracle Realname: Kyle Join Date: May 2006 Location: US Age: 18 Posts: 3,561	care to share those tricks?
	WIPS: Infodio Class Destroyer Gallery: Abstract art Gallery

03-07-2007, 10:26 AM	#9 (permalink)
Comco Administrator Realname: Tim Join Date: May 2006 Location: ACT, Australia Posts: 2,781	Nod32 is quite simply the best anti-virus program I have come across (and I've dealt with almost all of them over the years). Don't let the fact that it is not instantly recognisable fool you...It is used by a number of major corporations including Canon. It has probably one of the smallest memory footprints of any scanner I've found and scans at an insane speed. Many orders of magnitude faster than Nortons and it ends up picking up more virus infected files while it's at it. If you don't want to spend the (cheap) cash on Nod, then I highly recommend AVG. The free version is not crippled and is perfectly fine for most home users. And yes, over the years, Norton has become the a completely bloated and less and less effective program. Problem is that because of its major popularity as one of the biggest antivirus scanners out there, every virus maker worth his salt will check to make sure his virus defeats Norton's heuristics before releasing it. It's the benchmark against whether you release your virus or not. Same goes to a lesser extent with McAfee and PC-Cillian.

03-07-2007, 10:33 AM	#10 (permalink)
Freak Project Lead on SFM Film Realname: Dean Join Date: May 2006 Location: London, UK Age: 28 Posts: 8,035 Blog Entries: 7	I stay well clear of Norton Anti-virus, it is complete and utter ****. it slow my home PC down to a crawl and when I took it off, everything started to run as it should. At home I don't use any now, but that is due to it not being on the net. But here at work we use McAfee, and we had no problems with it so far.
	*“Well, I guess wiping out 2 billion people sort of qualifies as a dick move.”* - Guerrilla TH&B Project: Fighter 2 \| Ships of the Naraka Empire \| Ships of the Commonwealth of Solaris

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