Anti-Virus and Internet Security Software

Ron Party

WBF Founding Member
Apr 30, 2010
2,457
13
0
Oakland, CA
I've been a Norton/Symantec user since I can remember, and while it does protect all of my computers it seems to slow down performance, particularly on boot-up.

So, for Windows computers, what anti-virus and internet security software is the best?
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
Ron, my wife is a SA at Boeing. They use all Trend Micro and she set up all (7) of my machines with it. I have workstations where I demand systems need to run smoothly. Hasn't failed me yet!
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
1,198
580
Boston, MA
Kaspersky is what I use - been one of the top leaders for a long time, along with Trend Micro
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
Whatever you do, don't get Sophos. We use it here on all the University computers and they freeze up all the time.
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
Kaspersky is what I use - been one of the top leaders for a long time, along with Trend Micro

Yeah with you on Kaspersky.
Not as fast as it used to be compared to its earlier software revisions but still one of the least invasive in terms of performance, and it works well.
Cheers
Orb
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Norton is a disaster when it comes to performance. It is so invasive. I use Microsoft Windows Defender (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-defender). It is free and I never notice it slow me down. I measured it once and it took 1-2% of the CPU or something like it. It runs invisibly and I never see random pop ups from it. In reviews it gets middling ratings but given the performance and free price, I am happy with that :).
 

Mosin

[Industry Expert]
Mar 11, 2012
895
13
930
My favorite is Eset's Nod32. In its basic form, very few system resources are used, which addresses the original poster's dismay with Norton. Unlike Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky and others which update weekly, Nod updates hourly, so you are never exposed for very long. Also, it has never failed to detect a virus in the wild, and that is something none of the others can say.

They have all become much better lately, however. A VB100 rating was once fairly uncommon, but now it is expected.

http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/test?recent=1
 

Ron Party

WBF Founding Member
Apr 30, 2010
2,457
13
0
Oakland, CA
Thank you to all who've responded (so far).

Amir, I was hoping you'd join in. Do you have any knowledge or experience with either Kaspersky or Trend Micro?

I am getting 2 new laptops, one for the boss, errrrrr, wife, and the other for me. I'm thinking I might finally sever the Norton umbillical, hence my question in starting this thread.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
Thank you to all who've responded (so far).

Amir, I was hoping you'd join in. Do you have any knowledge or experience with either Kaspersky or Trend Micro?

I am getting 2 new laptops, one for the boss, errrrrr, wife, and the other for me. I'm thinking I might finally sever the Norton umbillical, hence my question in starting this thread.

I have both Kaspersky and Trend Micro - the first one at home and family computers, the Trend Micro at the job computers. Both are an heavy load on computers, Kaspersky seems to find some nasty virus that Trend Micro does not find. But twice I have found that Malwarebytes - an advice given to me by our Windows PC expert - was able to repair problems that the others detected but could not fix. Please consider that my experience with anti-virus is minimal - I have been very lucky until now! And, with the exception of WBF and some audio forums, I avoid surfing in suspicious sites ...
 

Orb

New Member
Sep 8, 2010
3,010
2
0
BTW how many of you create and use a limited account on XP/etc?
It does not resolve 100% of the weaknesses (also need to disable various services and protocols and even this only removes some of the bigger holes but downside is can make the OS rather finicky).
Cheers
Orb
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
6,455
29
405
HI

I have been using Avast for several years. Minimal impact on resources and stellar performances.
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
I have tried many of them. We have Norton running in the house but it is big and slow. Kaspersky caused me endless start-up and network issues so I dropped it. McAfee caused endless problems and was a major PITA to uninstall, never again. We also had problems with McAfee at the corporate level and it is banned by IT. Malwarebytes sometimes works, sometimes not, in terms of catching and fixing attacks. The last major issue I had it did not help, but WebRoot was able to find and fix my PC.I have tried a few others including some freeware/shareware that did well but I need a well-supported commercial solution for various reasons (among them that if I am to continue using my home PC for work stuff I have to meet their IT standards).

I am currently using WebRoot for AV etc. and Acronis for backup, and have been for several years now. They have their quirks but for me have provided the best performance and reliability so far. WebRoot seems to use less resources than Norton by far, but scans still take 10 - 20 minutes on my old machine. Acronis has saved me several times when a drive died or file was corrupted; it is nice to click and have the drive image restored "like it never even happened".
 

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