What Antivirus/Antimalware protection would you recommend the most?

Stinicker

As you can see here I fell victim to one nasty trojan, which took down not one but two of my computers. I have just got my Desktop back up and going again after a format and reinstall.

I was using AVG Free 2011, which failed miserably to protect both computers, also Malware bytes actually facilitated the spread of it from my desktop to laptop.

Pay or free I am not bothered, I just want something that actually works.

Any ideas?

Kinetic^

Nod32 or Kaspersky.

Tallon

Eset Nod32 is your only man

PogMoThoin

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Nod32 or Kaspersky.

+1,
Nod 32 is the better one, it just works
Kaspersky nags too often for every little thing

digme

you get most from web pages 99% id say, so why not use noscript.

bhickey

Stinicker wrote: »

... also Malware bytes actually facilitated the spread of it from my desktop to laptop.

I would doubt this very much. When you plug any external drive into a computer, there are all sorts of processes that kick off so you can't just assume that a scan with Malwarebytes was the culprit or indeed that it had anything to do with the infection on the laptop.

chin_grin

Microsoft Security Essentials.

T-Bird

http://www.av-comparatives.org/

Overheal

Im very much a fan of MSE. Norton for a family PC. But ive never used nod32. Avast and AVG annoy me. And looking at Nod 32's site if this graph is to be believed it might well be worth your money. Thing of it is I can get 3-licenses of Symantec 360 for $20. Nod aint cheap, but with good reason.

Dey were Sooted

I use Nod32 on my own laptop and have it on my parents computer at home . I like it a lot because it is easy to use and doesn't seem to be a hungry program. A few weeks back I was dissapointed to find the "Security Tool" virus running on my folks computer - I think it got in through a webpage - I did try to remove the virus through a few routes but it was pretty aggressive. Anyway I ran out of time as I had to go to work. I called back after work armed with some new programmes and a usb drive to try and get rid of the thing. As soon as the comp booted up Nod removed the virus straight away. Good program I have to say.

Biggins

I use primarily use "PcTools Internet Security" - backed up by "Malwarebytes Anti-malware" and "Microsoft Security Essentials" for extreme cases.

Just using "PcTools Internet Security" I haven't been caught by anything for years.

woolymammoth

i'd recommend security essentials. it's not a hog, like AVG, and hasn't missed anything on my PC yet. browsing habits, and watching what you download, copy, etc., play a big part too. Using openDNS can help to protect against web threats, and most modern browsers will tell you if a site is dodge. I've never used eset or kaspersky, nut i've always read good things.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-sites-reliable-antivirus-software-reviews/

http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/17/microsoft-security-essentials-2-available-for-download-now-even-better/

chin_grin

woolymammoth wrote: »

i'd recommend security essentials. it's not a hog, like AVG, and hasn't missed anything on my PC yet. browsing habits, and watching what you download, copy, etc., play a big part too. Using openDNS can help to protect against web threats, and most modern browsers will tell you if a site is dodge. I've never used eset or kaspersky, nut i've always read good things.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-sites-reliable-antivirus-software-reviews/

Also it's just been updated.

http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/17/microsoft-security-essentials-2-available-for-download-now-even-better/

woolymammoth

chin_grin wrote: »

Also it's just been updated.

http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/17/microsoft-security-essentials-2-available-for-download-now-even-better/

lol! snap! just went in to ad that

bhickey

Stinicker wrote: »

Pay or free I am not bothered, I just want something that actually works.

Would it be possible to add a poll to this thread to see what antivirus product people would recommend? Maybe include the following :

Avast
AVG
Avira
Bullguard
ESET (NOD32 or Smart Security)
F-Secure
Kaspersky
McAfee
Microsoft Security Essentials
Norton (360 Internet Security)
Panda
PC Tools
Sophos
Symantec
Threatfire
Trend Micro

Stinicker

bhickey wrote: »

Would it be possible to add a poll to this thread to see what antivirus product people would recommend? Maybe include the following :

I can't add it on as the OP but if the mods could set it up that would be great!

Tallon

No need, I think the thread speaks for itself. Nod32 cannot be competed with

dilallio

5 of the last 7 laptops I removed malware / viruses from, were running AVG Free, so I definately would steer clear from that. The other 2 didn't have any protection.

billymitchell

Agree with the rest of the posters on NOD 32, the only piece of software I have ever bought, and well worth it!!

I've also used superantispyware in the past as well to clean up some stuff on my machine, found it picked up a lot of stuff that others hadnt

bryaner

dilallio wrote: »

5 of the last 7 laptops I removed malware / viruses from, were running AVG Free, so I definately would steer clear from that. The other 2 didn't have any protection.

Righty then should I give Avg the gate and go with MSE?

bhickey

What Antivirus/Antimalware protection would you recommend the most?

bhickey

Stinicker wrote: »

I can't add it on as the OP but if the mods could set it up that would be great!

Okay so I've set a poll up here.

NOD 32 Antivirus 4.

Nothing i have used has come close, whether its Viruses, Malware or RATs. Nod 32 does the business.

Tallon

Nod 32 all the way

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056121906

the_syco

Overheal wrote: »

Thing of it is I can get 3-licenses of Symantec 360 for $20. Nod aint cheap, but with good reason.

Use BitDefender myself. 5 licences for €50 or €60. Found that Nortons tended to slow down the PC's and laptops too much. Bitdefender doesn't, so have been using it for the past while. Family machine has it set as "novice" and don't see any pop-ups, have my PC set as "expert" so only things that I allow in or out get in, or leave. Any unknown task attempts to connect remotely, I usually block it, and check it before it leaves. Great for finding stuff that shouldn't be on my PC.

Had a problem with my 64bit Windows 7 machine and Bitdefender, but the email support team fixed it

=-=

AVG - you get what you pay for. and since you get the free version, don't bet your system on it - it's great, but meh. Have given it to people, though, whose machines I fix.

Bullguard - avoid like the plague - prefer AVG to it. Also is most often used as in scams - ie: hacked to tell you to download X program to get rid of a vius it put on your system.

Kaspersky - not bad, but didn't like the interface.

McAfee - useless - always seemed to need other software to combat sh|te.

Microsoft Security Essentials - seems to be a good tool, give it to people whose machine I fix, rather than giving them AVG.

Norton (360 Internet Security) - slows everything down, esp laptops.

Symantec - See Norton above.

Bitdefender - use it at the mo. All-in-one package with virus, firewall, etc. Scans emails, tells me what pages are reported as unsafe in IE & Opera, deletes viruses in zipped files, allows me to stop anything from going in or out, alerts me to the fact if a file that is trying to connect to the net has been changed. Sure, lots of alerts, but no viruses for a while. Family machine is relatively virus free - don't have any issues with it. It's okay on the three laptops.

Point to note: father and sister saw a good speed increase in general laptop speed when I switched them from Nortons to BitDefender, and have less problems with BitDefender.

woolymammoth

bryaner wrote: »

Righty then should I give Avg the gate and go with MSE?

you should try them out.

my preference is for MSE.

Back in the day, AVG was almost the standard free AV recommended, because there weren't many other options that were cheap & easy for people. But in the last 4-5 yrs, it's turned into the norton of free antivirus. I avoid it like the plague.

Overheal

the 2009 norton really lightened up and ran super lean, then they added more features in 2010, and even more features in 2011. Its a bit of a hog again alright.

Naikon

Antivirus is a complete waste of money. Why just run Ubuntu or something in a virtualbox for your surfing needs? Unless you audit every single line of code on your system for buffer overflows/segmentation fault causes(Which you can't on Windows), don't fool yourself that some junk in a box can "protect" you. Sorry if I come across as rash, but paid Antivirus software is beyond idiocy imo.

Tallon

Naikon wrote: »

Antivirus is a complete waste of money. Why just run Ubuntu or something in a virtualbox for your surfing needs? Unless you audit every single line of code on your system for buffer overflows/segmentation fault causes(Which you can't on Windows), don't fool yourself that some junk in a box can "protect" you. Sorry if I come across as rash, but paid Antivirus software is beyond idiocy imo.

Words fail me

Naikon

Tallon wrote: »

Words fail me

Please, do go on...

aidan_walsh

Stickied

Overheal

Scratch MSE off the list, a MWB scan says its missing stuff. I don't like that.

Naikon that works splendid for Linux users but the vast majority of people and families and businesses require Windows or Mac to do their jobs. Name one Fortune 500 running Exclusive Linux. They don't and even in a world where 100% of people used Ubuntu, malware creators would know where to direct their attention now wouldn't they. Even Ubuntu is vulnerable to attack given enough consideration.

woolymammoth

Naikon wrote: »

Antivirus is a complete waste of money. Why just run Ubuntu or something in a virtualbox for your surfing needs? Unless you audit every single line of code on your system for buffer overflows/segmentation fault causes(Which you can't on Windows), don't fool yourself that some junk in a box can "protect" you. Sorry if I come across as rash, but paid Antivirus software is beyond idiocy imo.

That's all well and good for you that you want to and can look after your computer. But for the folk out there who never heard of Ubuntu, cannot fathom what virtualbox is, or never seen a line of code in their lives, Antivirus is not a waste of money. The paid options perform very well, and many of the free ones are extremely effective. Your implication that linux is above getting virus' is beyone idiocy, so get off your play horse & grow up! nothing can 100% protect you, but we all do what we can to try.

bhickey

Overheal wrote: »

Scratch MSE off the list, a MWB scan says its missing stuff. I don't like that.

Can you elaborate? I think everything misses something (including Malwarebytes). The new MSE 2.0 (released this week) will hopefuly fill in a few gaps.

James G

Microsoft Security Essentials. I used to use NOD32, but I made the switch. Backing it up with Malwarebytes is a good idea.

Overheal

bhickey wrote: »

Can you elaborate? I think everything misses something (including Malwarebytes). The new MSE 2.0 (released this week) will hopefuly fill in a few gaps.

if theres an MSE 2.0 i dont see it. From a full scan this morning MSE came back clean and MWB came back with 10 adware threats. I like my Antivirus to be Proactive, not Reactive.

bhickey

Overheal wrote: »

if theres an MSE 2.0 i dont see it.

They didn't make a big hullabaloo about it. Google it and you can read all about it. Looks like the main new feature is supposed to be the proactive bit you were looking for.

James G

Overheal wrote: »

if theres an MSE 2.0 i dont see it. From a full scan this morning MSE came back clean and MWB came back with 10 adware threats. I like my Antivirus to be Proactive, not Reactive.

MWB is specialised in catching things that anti virus doesn't usually catch. It's designed to run along an actual dedicated anti virus program.

chin_grin

bhickey wrote: »

They didn't make a big hullabaloo about it. Google it and you can read all about it. Looks like the main new feature is supposed to be the proactive bit you were looking for.

Couple of posts back on here too. (Think on the first page?). Should be there.

Naikon

woolymammoth wrote: »

That's all well and good for you that you want to and can look after your computer. But for the folk out there who never heard of Ubuntu, cannot fathom what virtualbox is, or never seen a line of code in their lives, Antivirus is not a waste of money. The paid options perform very well, and many of the free ones are extremely effective. Your implication that linux is above getting virus' is beyone idiocy, so get off your play horse & grow up! nothing can 100% protect you, but we all do what we can to try.

Yeah, I am coming across as a complete ****. I will admit that. Sorry. I know Linux is supposed to be "more secure" and it probably is, but it does not detract from the fact that no system is 100% secure, and that antivirus protects from a minimal number of threats. Rootkits for example are far more problematic and dangerous, yet you don't here much about them in the media. Hell, openssl in Debian was compromised a while back. No amount of AV software would protect from that. Third party apps and stuff like ActiveX are mainly at fault for most of the nonsense "viruses" out there which may or may not be anything more than social engineering guises.

Sensibility, such as running as a non admin user/not randomly downloading crap exe's off the net and some common sense are better than relying on some random AV product. I mean, whats to stop the AV companies tainting your OS kernel/ libraries, or installing backdoors? Call me cynical, but I doubt the AV companies are working in the favour of the average user. The mere fact there is an incentive for Symantec and others to piggyback on the whole virus brigade suggests someone is not taking the multi user concept intentionally. Linux is nowhere near totally secure by way. No x86 based OS really is. AV software won't protect from issues like this: http://www.links.org/?p=328"

tl;dr - I deeply question the motives of the AV companies, who appear to scaremonger their users into buying their software, rather than inform about common sense security principles. Security does not come in a box imo.

James G

Naikon wrote: »

tl;dr - I deeply question the motives of the AV companies, who appear to scaremonger their users into buying their software, rather than inform about common sense security principles. Security does not come in a box imo.

Sure, common sense can protect you from viruses that are usually downloaded by the victims. It won't protect you against browser vulnerabilities and other such things.

Naikon

James G wrote: »

Sure, common sense can protect you from viruses that are usually downloaded by the victims. It won't protect you against browser vulnerabilities and other such things.

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, but I would not class these as a major deal. To the normal user, yes, but from an OS perspective, most of these browser problems operate from the context of the user level, so I dunno if I could classify them as a huge deal. It's the browsers fault for letting you run junk like flash and client side javascript in the first place. What if some kernel code on your machine was compromised somewhere? I doubt AV software can read binary and suggest somethings up. Noscript/turning off javascript and removing stuff like flash is my solution to the browser problem:pac: Really, a browser should parse HTML like it's told to, not run arbitrary crap when I least expect. The default policy of all browsers should be to not allow execution of flash and whatnot, unless you want to be possibly screwed over. People should not have to deal with this stuff, especially people who like to use a computer purely as a tool.

</opinionated rant>

Naikon

Overheal wrote: »

Scratch MSE off the list, a MWB scan says its missing stuff. I don't like that.

Naikon that works splendid for Linux users but the vast majority of people and families and businesses require Windows or Mac to do their jobs. Name one Fortune 500 running Exclusive Linux. They don't and even in a world where 100% of people used Ubuntu, malware creators would know where to direct their attention now wouldn't they. Even Ubuntu is vulnerable to attack given enough consideration.

They should direct their attention towards Apache so. Last time I heard, 60% upwards of the www runs on a Linux Apache machine. Dunno about fortune
500's(IBM loves it though) but the fastest supercomputer in the world runs Linux:pac: Low market share for Linux applies only to desktops. Servers on the
other hand.... Anyway, GNU/Linux sucks for alot of stuff. Ever tried screwing around with "sendmail" or having to put with raw Xlib? Nightmarish stuff i tells ya.

Fanny Cradock

bhickey wrote: »

Would it be possible to add a poll to this thread to see what antivirus product people would recommend? Maybe include the following :

Avast
AVG
Avira
Bullguard
ESET (NOD32 or Smart Security)
F-Secure
Kaspersky
McAfee
Microsoft Security Essentials
Norton (360 Internet Security)
Panda
PC Tools
Sophos
Symantec
Threatfire
Trend Micro

Just go to AV comparatives. It's a little more scientific than polling some randomers.

Capt'n Midnight

woolymammoth wrote: »

That's all well and good for you that you want to and can look after your computer. But for the folk out there who never heard of Ubuntu, cannot fathom what virtualbox is, or never seen a line of code in their lives, Antivirus is not a waste of money. The paid options perform very well, and many of the free ones are extremely effective. Your implication that linux is above getting virus' is beyone idiocy, so get off your play horse & grow up! nothing can 100% protect you, but we all do what we can to try.

Please list Viruses that are in the wild that affect non-windows systems



I'm not aware of any mainstream AV product that runs on a non-windows platform which doesn't spend 99.999% of it's time only checking for windows viruses (and I'm including BSD / Mac OSX / non-intel platforms too ). In the non-windows world AV programs exist just to stop you inadvertantly forwarding on something that is inert to it



Prevention is better than cure.

An Antivirus program will not protect against other forms of malware. I personally think is nigh on fraud to charge extra to home users to remove drive by downloads etc, on the basis that according to the original definition of a virus they are not self replicating.

People need to be aware of scams too
People need to be aware of phishing and other risks

If you use public wifi you should use https everwhere too
adblock is great , and noscript won't hurt - not sure if you can run these on IE but IE is a disaster when it comes to security, ( if you compare it to the other browsers ) even if you believe it is resonably secure you still have to admit that stuff like active-X vulnerabilities just doesn't factor with browsers that don't support it.

openoffice doesn't have as many macro exploits as older versions of microsoft office

adobe acrobat has security patches on a regular basis, I don't trust it, and I sure as hell don't want multimedia features vulnerabilites in a package that is only supposed to view (not edit) documents


If you have windows in addition to AV you also need
anti malware
URL checker
sandbox / non-admin account to browse
firewall
protection for hosts files and other system settings
you also need to remove any SONY apps that hide malware in the $SYS folder , and other crappiness like programs that leave an admin password in tempfiles or in the reg

Linux is not secure, but it is orders of magnitude more secure than windows

Stinicker

So in the finish I installed ESET Smart Security, which is essentially NOD32 with a few other gadgets bolted on for extra security. Not too expensive and very light and effective.

I tested it out today with a file and it gave me the option to block a few things it suspected were trouble, yet told me what they were. AVG would normally scream blue murder about these and lump them in as "Generic Trojans", even though they would be something else entirely.

Overheal

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Please list Viruses that are in the wild that affect non-windows systems

...

2007
Sophos discovered an OpenOffice multi-platform macro worm capable of running on Windows, Linux and Mac computers.
The BadBunny worm dropped Ruby script viruses on Mac OS X systems, and displayed an indecent JPEG image of a man wearing a rabbit costume.
The first financial malware for Mac was discovered. The gang behind the attacks developed both Windows and Mac versions of their OSX/RSPlug-A Trojan horse.

The Trojan posed as a codec to help users view pornographic videos, but in fact changes DNS server entries to direct surfers unwittingly to other websites.
2008
Cybercriminals targeted Mac and PC users in equal measure, by planting poisoned adverts on TV-related websites. If accessed via an Apple Mac, surfers would be attacked by a piece of Macintosh scareware called MacSweeper.

In June, the OSX/Hovdy-A Trojan horse was discovered that could steal passwords from Mac OS X users, open the firewall to give access to hackers, and disable security settings.
Troj/RKOSX-A was discovered - a Mac OS X tool to assist hackers create backdoor Trojans, which can give them access and control over your Apple Mac computer.
In November, Sophos warned of the Jahlav Trojan. Like in other malware campaigns, cybercriminals created a bogus webpage claiming to contain a video. Visiting the site produces a message saying that you don't have the correct codec installed to watch the video - whereupon the site offers you an EXE if you run Windows, and a DMG (Disk Image) file if you are using an Apple Mac.
Controversially, Apple issued a support advisory urging customers to run anti-virus software - but after media interest, rapidly deleted the page from their website.
2009
In January 2009, hackers began to distribute the OSX/iWorkS-A Trojan horse via BitTorrent inside pirated versions of Apple's iWork '09 software suite.
In the same month, a new variant of the Trojan was distributed in a pirated version of Adobe Photoshop CS4.
In March, Sophos reported on how hackers were planting versions of the RSPlug Trojan horse on websites, posing as an HDTV program called MacCinema.
In June, SophosLabs discovered a new version of the Tored email worm for Mac OS X, and hackers planted a version of the Jahlav Mac Trojan horse on a website posing as a portal for hardcore porn videos.
Shortly afterwards, the Twitter account of celebrity blogger Guy Kawasaki had a malicious link posted onto it, claiming to point to a sex video of Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester. In reality, however, the link lead unsuspecting users to malware which could infect Mac users.
Meanwhile, Apple finally began to introduce some rudimentary anti-malware protection into Mac OS X.
Although it wasn't really equivalent to a true anti-virus product (it only protected against a handful of Mac malware, doesn't defend you if you try to copy an infected file from a USB stick for instance, and doesn't offer clean-up facilities), it was still encouraging to see some attempt to offer more protection for Mac users.
2010
The OSX/Pinhead Trojan (also known as HellRTS) emerged.
The backdoor Trojan horse can allow hackers to gain remote control over your treasured iMac or MacBook.
Once again, the malware was distributed disguised as a legitimate application - in this case, iPhoto, the photo application which ships on modern Macs.
More recently, the Boonana cross-platform worm appeared, using a Java applet to target not just Windows computers for infection, but Mac OS X and Linux too.

Sophos detects various components of the attack as Troj/Boonana-A, Troj/KoobStrt-A, Troj/KoobInst-A, Troj/KoobCls-A, Troj/Agent-PDY, Troj/DwnLdr-IOX, and Troj/DwnLdr-IOY. In addition, Sophos's web protection blocks access to the malicious webpages.
Also in 2010, Sophos issued a free home user version of its anti-virus for Macs. We have been protecting business customers who have Macs for years, and now there was a chance for home Mac users to protect themselves against the threat too.
Early reports indicate that there are plenty of Mac users with malware on their computers - some of it is Windows malware, some Mac OS X, and some cross-platform.
There's no doubt that the Windows malware problem is much larger than the Mac threat - but that doesn't mean that the danger of malware infection on Mac OS X is non-existent.

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/11/24/apple-mac-malware-short-history/

aidan_walsh

Threads merged.

kaiser sauze

Comodo, because it does way more than typical AV, it assumes everything is unsafe. The latest v5 of their Internet Security is the only real-time product you need on any XP/Vista/Win7 box.

I have not had a virus in over three years and that is verified by using multiple online scanners to corroborate my own common sense.

Sarn

I once would have said Kaspersky, but I find the latest version repeatedly crashes my machine. It's now got to the stage where I have to reinstall it at least once a month to get my machine working. Apart from that I haven't had any viruses, Trojans etc.

I had the paid version of MS antivirus (OneCare) before it went free and found it poor at picking up viruses compared to Kaspersky. That was a few years ago so I'd hope things have improved with MSE.

stomprockin

As mentioned a few pages back i would vote for Bitdefender also but its not on the poll
Easy on system resources and no annoying pop ups .

Does what it says on the tin. but would not pay for any AV.