xtacy6909

Ok, so my CA anti-virus is expiring, i baught it for like $35.00 and its expiring in 9 days so i dont want to re-purchase another one, so im thinking of downloading a free antivirus/spyware program.....i've heard avg is the best..but does avg scan spyware too?? And i want answers from someone who actually knows it will work good...i have windows vista......and i kinda need help with something i dont really know if i have a virus or spyware can you help me?

Thnx so much, i hope you can look into this thread and reply asap.

alpinewarrior

aVG isn't the best. It's OK, but not the best. The detection rates of AVG free are a little lower than Avira or avast 4. All 3 are free.

No single AV, free or paid, is the best. Two is always better than one. You only want a single real-time AV program running, but when you do scans, using more than one program to do a scan is always more complete than using just one.

ClamWin AV is another good program that does not have real time protection, but I have used it on multiple occaisions to pick stuff up that my Avast + AVG did not pick up,

tetonbob

Sorry, alpinewarrior, but we beg to differ.

Having more than one AntiVirus installed is NOT recommended, as we indicate in our stickys.

NEW INSTRUCTIONS - Read This Before Posting For Malware Removal Help

PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need?


While this may seem like greater protection, it can cause problems including slowdowns, system hangs or even crashes. This can happen if both AntiVirus applications attempt to access the same file at the same time. This may cause the applications to interfere with each other, or cause the system to lock up. It can also be a drain on system resources, making a machine run slower than it should.


@ xtacy6909 -

For comparisions of free antivirus, see the link in this sticky topic at the top of this forum

Free AntiVirus Comparisons

alpinewarrior is right about the detection rates of Avira and Avast. Avira does not incorporate antispyware. There are very good free antimalware/spyware applications listed in the sticky at the top of this forum.

PC Safety and Security--What Do I Need?

alpinewarrior

I didnt mean having more than one AV program up and running at the same time. I don't see how merely having it installed will cause any issues, if there arent actually any processes or services running? I know I've read plenty of articles on tech sites that talk about having one active AV, and several secondary ones you dont have active, but just use to run scans

tetonbob

I stand by my statement. We at TSF do not recommend having more than one AntiVirus product installed on a machine. I'm not alone in this.

In general, it's not a good idea to have more than one antivirus program installed on your computer. Each program may interpret the actions of the other as viral, therefore giving you false warnings about virus-related activities. Your system may lock up due to both software products attempting to access the same file at the same time.

Online scans are another method of second opinion, and there are no conflicting services or processes. Even those suggest disabling the real time protection of the resident AV while performing the scan.

xtacy6909

soo i saw the comparisons and saw that avira was the best???? What would you guys recommend me to have? AVG or Avira?

tetonbob

I prefer Avira, use it, and recommend it to forum members in need of an AntiVirus.

xtacy6909

wow thnx for the fast reply that helped me soo much well thnx soo much!!! and i will recommend it to others....one more thing does it have a real time scanner?

tetonbob

Yes it does...here's a page which compares the features of the various Avira versions

http://www.free-av.com/en/products/1...antivirus.html

alpinewarrior

Hi,

Not trying to argue or anything. Just trying to learn something new.

I don't understand how one AV can conflict, if it has no processes or services running. I posted that, hoping I could learn how. I understand that two AV process/services running can conflict, and I've never recommended having two of them active at the same time. My thinking has always been, since the best free AV gives maybe 90-92% detection rate, having 2 -- one providing real time, and when you want to do a full scan, you scan with one, close it down, then scan with the other.

But as youre not recommending that either, I'd like to learn why.

tetonbob

This is going away from the purpose of the OP's post, and coming close to a thread hijacking.

Show me a good, modern AV with no running services, or whose processes you can totally kill.

I am not alone in this, nor is TSF. Google "more than one AntiVirus installed" and you will see most responses leaning towards "it's not generally a good idea" from professionals, MS MVPs, and forum helpers.

alpinewarrior

Ok, will do some googling.

Thanks

xtacy6909

ok sooo i installed avira.....the only problem is i get an error when trying to update???? well since that has happened i deleted it and installed microsoft essentials....is this a good one to or no?

tetonbob

That's interesting. I know some folks have said they had troubles updating Avira, but I've not encountered that. Usually, it just means their server for the free version is busy, and trying again typically works.

MS Security Essentials is relatively new, but it tested well in beta, and the couple times I've tried the full release on a test machine it seemed to do well.

blue_fyre

Probably the most effective free product that includes all around protection is Avast! Home Edition (free and includes web-access scanning, which most free products do not have, and a firewall). CA Antivirus detection rate= around 65%.

tetonbob

Depends on whose tests you look at.

For example...Avira tests best here

http://www.pcworld.com/product/testr...&prodid=290845