Best Anti-Virus?

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

I can't really explain it, but apparently a virus got by and crashed the computer and KIS. Which made it impossible to do any type of scan through KIS. Like you, I've used it for quite some time and will most likely go back to it if MSE doesn't work out. I'm going to check out MSE for a week though and see how things go.

Are you sure it was a virus and not a Javascript exploit or "shellcode" finding its way onto your system via a browser? Even if you take precautions with websites that you visit, there's no way of knowing if a Javascript-based malware exploit was embedded because the source URL was hidden, and this will be missed by just about every virus scanner, not just KIS.

You're free to try other anti-virus software / internet security suites, but keep in mind that there's no silver bullet solution to every virus and malware out there; the best you can do is mitigate their likelihood of happening.

[The_Donster]

Like I said, I'm not sure what it was. All I know is whatever it was the last time it wouldn't let KIS update properly. That other stuff you mentioned has just flown over my head. I have no idea when the last time the OS(?) was updated and I'm on Vista, not Windows 7. The last time this happened I found my reboot discs and took it back to factory condition. Then I just reinstalled all of KIS, my printer, etc. and knock on wood, no problem. All I know is apparently I'm way over my head when it comes to this stuff and appreciate the assist.

[Sad Beautiful Tragic]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc.

You shouldn't use too many things on your system, especially not those "registry cleaners" and "utility"-programs and such,
they can actually mess up your system with their automated configuration stuff.
It's not without reason I use about 2 programs for anti-virus and stuff, then just a couple for performance-maintenance and monitoring.

I mean, I actually have TuneUp installed, but mostly for the "Disk Explorer" that it has,
but I pretty much replaced that feature with Ashampoo's HDD Control, and the rest of TuneUp is not very much in use.
You know how they say "a little goes a long way". Also, like many things, tweaking things manually works out better.
There's no such thing as magically fixing a computer with software. (Not saying this to you Fragile Line, just general advice.)

Also, I highly recommend Diskeeper, just great. Only it's not free.

What automated configuration? I know how to use them. I only scan what I want to scan and what I know to scan. I've never had a problem. I always keep my computer running smoothly. Also, I don't run them all at once. That would be overkill. lol

[arcadeforest]

Originally Posted by Kinsella5

Personally I have been using the free versions of AVG, Malwarebytes and CCleaner and have had no problems. You can find them all on download.com

+1

I've used the same combo for the last few years and have no problems.

[arcadeforest]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

and most computer savvy people will build themselves or have one built that beasts on any mac for half the cost.

I could not agree more - I could not imagine doing anything but building my own pc's now. With that said I believe anyone an build one.

[Damage Inc.]

Originally Posted by Fragile Line

What automated configuration? I know how to use them. I only scan what I want to scan and what I know to scan. I've never had a problem. I always keep my computer running smoothly. Also, I don't run them all at once. That would be overkill. lol

By "automated" I mean those scanners (non-antivirus) that scan your system and pretend to be fixing all kinds of stuff when hit "fix now" or something.
Because in fact they could be ruining things, I've experienced this for years thinking they were doing my computers good.
But instead they started to act worse and worse, and once I stopped using those programs, problems became less.

[squijee]

I use Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes. and my browser is Firefox with no script and adblock plus add ons. Ccleaner is a great program as well to clean up useless files. I would recommend spywareblaster and spybot S&D as well

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Like I said, I'm not sure what it was. All I know is whatever it was the last time it wouldn't let KIS update properly. That other stuff you mentioned has just flown over my head. I have no idea when the last time the OS(?) was updated and I'm on Vista, not Windows 7. The last time this happened I found my reboot discs and took it back to factory condition. Then I just reinstalled all of KIS, my printer, etc. and knock on wood, no problem. All I know is apparently I'm way over my head when it comes to this stuff and appreciate the assist.

What I (and Damage Inc.) are suggesting is that your PC woes may not necessarily be a result of KIS not functioning or updating properly; there are other factors that can contribute to system instability and/or preventing you from performing routine activities that may have nothing to do with viruses (despite what that CleanMyPC.com commercial says ).

Everyday users are familiar with viruses, but malware is more likely to be responsible for what ails us, as well as bad drivers and buggy software installs / updates. Anti-virus software in general, regardless of publisher, is pretty effective, so even though virusus are still out there and constantly evolving, for the most part, A-V software is usually good at catching and neutralizing them; malware (malicious software) is harder to pick up on because their methods of infiltration are innumerable, especially through web browsers and exploits found in the operating system (hence the need for security update notifications from Microsoft; these patches are intended to address a known security hole within a feature of the operating system). Malware written in Javascript can be embedded in any number of ways, including web pages (even legitimates ones such as Facebook) or web links; they can also be attached to software, even those downloaded directly from publishers' websites.

For the most part, a traditional A-V software program uses a learning algorithm to detect patterns in viruses, which make them easier and more likely to detect; malware isn't conventional in design or operation, which makes detection (by conventional A-V software) harder, if not missed completely. Basically, an A-V program will look for viruses, but not necessarily malware (hence the need for an internet security suite, which is more comprehensive in functionality, and why it costs a bit more).

As internet security suites go, they're basically a "jack of all trades, master of none" product, i.e. there isn't one on the market that does everything well. To some extent, each will offer some form of protection for web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, attempted network intrusions, etc., but each publisher excels in a few areas, but rarely all. You could try installing the best product for each scenario on your PC, but that increases the likelihood of instability because product 'A' does not co-exist well with product 'B' and/or 'C'.

Without knowing the full details of your (supposed) KIS issue, I can only speculate as to what the exact nature of your problem may be. In short, the issue may not be correlated with KIS, but rather, it could be something unrelated or seemingly innocuous that's responsible for your PC's woes. It's also one of the reasons why I advocate a re-install of the operating system at least once a year, to ensure that everything's running at optimum.

[discipline]

Security Essentials from Microsoft. It is fast, does not use a lot of resources, does not bother you unless it is important. And most importantly: it is FREE.
http://windows.microsoft.com/mse

It is also passed the certification by AV-Test.

[PrivatePixel]

The_Donster:

If you believe that a virus is the culprit and you're unable to update KIS or Malwarebytes, try running Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 to disinfect and restore your OS.

[Damage Inc.]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

...Everyday users are familiar with viruses, but malware is more likely to be responsible for what ails us, as well as bad drivers and buggy software installs / updates. Anti-virus software in general, regardless of publisher, is pretty effective, so even though virusus are still out there and constantly evolving, for the most part, A-V software is usually good at catching and neutralizing them; malware (malicious software) is harder to pick up on because their methods of infiltration are innumerable, especially through web browsers and exploits found in the operating system (hence the need for security update notifications from Microsoft; these patches are intended to address a known security hole within a feature of the operating system). Malware written in Javascript can be embedded in any number of ways, including web pages (even legitimates ones such as Facebook) or web links; they can also be attached to software, even those downloaded directly from publishers' websites.

This is why I use 'Spybot - Search & Destroy' additionally.
It's a scanner and cleaner, but it also has a feature that "immunizes" certain locations or sources on your computer.
So that they're protected before they're attacked or infected through a browser or something.

This is one piece of software I've been installing immediately along with COMODO (AV+FW) just to be on the safe side.
And it also gets updates about once or twice a week or so.
Luckily I don't usually find much in the scanning-results of this program anymore, but on older computers I used to find like 10-20 results every time.
Last time I only found 1 result, so something is doing its job...

[supersix4]

I've found the best anti-virus to be not downloading porn

avg and cc seem to do ok, I don't really trust any av as none have seemed to prevent or in most cases detect problems.

[Crimson King]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I've found the best anti-virus to be not downloading porn

avg and cc seem to do ok, I don't really trust any av as none have seemed to prevent or in most cases detect problems.

and just stick to safe websites like here and major retailers, like amazon, bestbuy, etc, and be careful what email you open.

[Crimson King]

is Adaware free anymore?

[Damage Inc.]

Originally Posted by Crimson King

is Adaware free anymore?

I think it is. They revamped their brand and part of their products though.
Last time the final version of Ad-Aware Free didn't update anymore for some reason.
So I removed it and wanted to first get a new download and reinstall it.
But then I came across their BETA-version of the next version, which is actually called 'Ad-Aware Free Antivirus +', but I don't know if I'll keep it.
I mean, this seems to be more aimed at Antivirus, which I already have a different one for.
Don't need multiple programs running...

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

What I (and Damage Inc.) are suggesting is that your PC woes may not necessarily be a result of KIS not functioning or updating properly; there are other factors that can contribute to system instability and/or preventing you from performing routine activities that may have nothing to do with viruses (despite what that CleanMyPC.com commercial says ).

Everyday users are familiar with viruses, but malware is more likely to be responsible for what ails us, as well as bad drivers and buggy software installs / updates. Anti-virus software in general, regardless of publisher, is pretty effective, so even though virusus are still out there and constantly evolving, for the most part, A-V software is usually good at catching and neutralizing them; malware (malicious software) is harder to pick up on because their methods of infiltration are innumerable, especially through web browsers and exploits found in the operating system (hence the need for security update notifications from Microsoft; these patches are intended to address a known security hole within a feature of the operating system). Malware written in Javascript can be embedded in any number of ways, including web pages (even legitimates ones such as Facebook) or web links; they can also be attached to software, even those downloaded directly from publishers' websites.

For the most part, a traditional A-V software program uses a learning algorithm to detect patterns in viruses, which make them easier and more likely to detect; malware isn't conventional in design or operation, which makes detection (by conventional A-V software) harder, if not missed completely. Basically, an A-V program will look for viruses, but not necessarily malware (hence the need for an internet security suite, which is more comprehensive in functionality, and why it costs a bit more).

As internet security suites go, they're basically a "jack of all trades, master of none" product, i.e. there isn't one on the market that does everything well. To some extent, each will offer some form of protection for web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, attempted network intrusions, etc., but each publisher excels in a few areas, but rarely all. You could try installing the best product for each scenario on your PC, but that increases the likelihood of instability because product 'A' does not co-exist well with product 'B' and/or 'C'.

Without knowing the full details of your (supposed) KIS issue, I can only speculate as to what the exact nature of your problem may be. In short, the issue may not be correlated with KIS, but rather, it could be something unrelated or seemingly innocuous that's responsible for your PC's woes. It's also one of the reasons why I advocate a re-install of the operating system at least once a year, to ensure that everything's running at optimum.

I've already ask you about re-installing the OS and told you to break things in layman's term and instead I got a paragraph of techno talk instead. This isn't my field and I don't have a clue what you are talking about. With the exception of you saying it could be something other than KIS that was causing my problem. Offer me up a solution and a map(once again, in layman's terms) on how to look into this and I'll gladly do it. Appreciate the assist, just having a hard time understanding what you are saying. Oh and Six and Crimson, I agree on using safe sites. Nothing like that here. I have a hard enough time getting through threads here

[asrgt]

Hi,

While i wont enter into the debate of safe OS or the use of multiple 3rd party applications to lock down you system it seems your issue is you feel your current AV suit is not providing you with adequate protection. I'm not sure what OS ( operating system ) your running but if its a Win7 based system you can go for MSSE (Microsoft Security Essentials ) works well for minimal system footprint.

While you can go the route of installing multiple security based applications and bloating your process list out to insanity your best protection is to be smart about your browsing habits.

[Alina]

I like avast and avg

[The_Donster]

Thanks asrgt. I've actually uninstalled KIS(Which expired on Sunday) and starting running the MSE on Vista. I haven't added anything else, as it seems to be doing everything I need at the moment. I've been very cautious in the forums and sites I go to from the get go, but appreciate everyone's advice on that too. Anyway, knock on wood I'm doing ok with the free stuff for now. Thanks again everyone

[shikoku86]

I use Avira. I use to use AVG until that became a resource hog.