Best "Low-resource" antivirus?

[Viegaard]

Hello All!

Some might have seen my other post about BullGuard.

I have following question:

What Antivirus is the one that provides good protection without cloggin up all my resources by running tons of background services that can cause problems when trying to create music / real-time audio recording.

Is it enough just to have MS Esentials? If I dont ever visit dodgy sites? Or do I also need a Firewall on the side?

I get the feeling that BullGuard uses way too many resources.

/ Viegaard.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Bitdefender Paid is the lightest Antivirus I've come across.

 

[Viegaard]

Yeah. Im torn between that and ESET Smart.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart2&year=2016&month=4&sort=0&zoom=2
Great comparisons on this site.

 

[Viegaard]

Well I am mainly looking for a Antivirus with has little background services and minimal CPU/Memory usage. That test doesnt show that.

I dont care about all the other bling bling

 

[Nevigo]

Hello All!

Some might have seen my other post about BullGuard.

I have following question:

What Antivirus is the one that provides good protection without cloggin up all my resources by running tons of background services that can cause problems when trying to create music / real-time audio recording.

Is it enough just to have MS Esentials? If I dont ever visit dodgy sites? Or do I also need a Firewall on the side?

I get the feeling that BullGuard uses way too many resources.

/ Viegaard.

This is a no brainer IMO.
Dont use MS Essentials,it dosent have a good reputation.Try to download Webroots Secure Anywhere antivirus and see for yourself.I promise you will not get disappointed.Here you can see why Neil Rubenking from PC mag.chose it to Editors choice.
http://uk.pcmag.com/webroot-secureanywhere-antivirus-2015/36570/review/webroot-secureanywhere-antivirus-2016

 

[shmu26]

bitdefender and kaspersky in their latest editions feel very light on the system but in actuality use tons of memory and other resources.
The lightest AV in resource use -- also feels very light -- is Webroot SecureAnywhere.

bitdefender free edition might also be a serious contender here, but it is not yet compatible with windows 10.

 

[geofelt]

MSE has lots to recommend it.
1. Free.
2. Updated via windows update.
3. Undetectable overhead.

Yes, it is not that great for new viruses in the wild. MS concentrates on detecting viruses that are more common and likely to impact you.

If you visit known web sites and do not open strange emails, it will do the job.

Regardless, a virus can infect anyone. You need a plan for external backup of whatever you value.

 

[shmu26]

MSE does not feel as fast as some others, although it in fact uses low resources.
and when it does the periodic scan, it can cause a slowdown.
but it isn't bad.

 

[geofelt]

From the link from SR-71 Blackbird, here is the performance comparative.
http://chart.av-comparatives.org/chart1.php?chart=chart2&year=2016&month=4&sort=0&zoom=2
MSE and trend micro would be the best performers.