Do you use : No Antivirus , FREE Antivirus , or PAID Antivirus and why?

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Skylyne

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Actually, Aviator will save passwords; there's an option buried in there somewhere. At least, that was an option in a previous release. My personal computer has been down for a couple months now, so I wouldn't know what the latest version does/doesn't have in common with the one I was using. Then again, how is not saving your passwords a bad thing? If you use your browser to save passwords, you leave a giant hole in your security; and this browser is designed for security. Aviator isn't designed to baby the user; it's made for people who take security seriously.


That's a faulty argument, mate, and also a poor suggestion. If you have your own server, you tie yourself to a specific web address; and that isn't a smart idea. If you owned a VPN, on the other hand, that might be a bit better. If you were an ISP, that's even better... you can hide your traffic in the traffic that is sold to customers (or through your VPN).

The guy who ran TSR was an idiot; case closed. The reason people get caught is because they make themselves easy to find, catch, or track. If you're on the run, you also wouldn't be looking at this website; that would show a serious lack of computer knowledge, and you'd probably be caught by the time you finished reading a single page (obviously, that isn't meant literally).

Yes, it's easy to be tracked these days; however, that doesn't mean it's impossible to cover your tracks to make it substantially harder. The more proactive you are, the less likely the casual "trackers" will have an interested in watching you (ie: businesses, Google, etc.), as there are always going to be people who just don't give a damn. Basically, covering your tracks for the sake of privacy, and for some security reasons, is a good idea for those who want to do it. For the people trying to run, they either know what to do, and how to do it, or they're screwed. If you're running, you likely don't have the resources to stay hidden, unless you're a real whiz.
 



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I stay away from anything Google. Google has even publicly stated that users cannot expect any reasonable privacy with any of their services. Google was started with CIA seed money. Not so long ago it was discovered that passwords on Chrome were not secure at all. Shortly afterwards Google announce that they had developed a fix for the passwords problem. Well, Google still has not implemented the fix. Guess they think that most people are idiots (an awful lot are) and all they have to do is say they have a fix and everybody will just go back to sleep.

And I do not save passwords with any browser. I remember them and even change them every so often.

Congress Just Signed Away the Little Privacy You Had Left

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtCfdTf8bHQ
 

zthomas

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Eye opening to be sure.. the signed bill.. and done so quickly.. But will Obama sign this Bill?? The radio commentator assumes Obama will to increase his power.. eh.. not sure about that. For some might to think of moving out of country.. Moving has been on my mind for some time.. The whole English speaking world is under surveillance .. UK has been doing this for years.. one very paranoid nation, and should be being so close to Europe's door step.
 

zthomas

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Skylyne

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Why hasn't there been a professional AV tester that's popped his head in this thread? I'm almost willing to pay one of the guys from AV Comparatives to come in here and set the record straight, no matter what that might be. Seems like this has turned into a "this is what I use, and I recommend it with little real substantiating evidence" type of thread. Almost reminds me of a "let's bump our favourite AV software" thread.

When someone asks "Why do you use a particular AV software?" I kind of expect a real answer. Guess I'm expecting a little much from everyone? Honestly, this is frustrating for me; I thought it would turn into a big factual discussion, especially with my persistence. I give up.
 
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hey skyline, most of us just use what we use and don't really question why as long as we feel covered or safe. i am as guilty as the next person. i do on the other hand try and use a lot of different freeware for certain features that it may have over another. we seem to live in a plug and play and instant i want it now and don't care world today. just not enough time to analize anymore. just an old guy opinion. it is still an interesting post.

poorguy
 
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yeah along time ago i used to test every thing but once i found a sure thing i stuck with it and never had any problems or bad happen. lots of good free antivirus suites too many to list and most provide basic protection and that is all.i still use windows and like it and don't get viruses etc. i am happy with avg free and avast free inspite of all the horror stories out there about both of them. myself never had any problems from either one, however they both come loaded with way too much useless crapware that is not needed. but i can't complain because i chose them and the are free. i don't worry about virus anymore as i am back to almost all linux except for my game tower with flight simulator and x plane and i don't have antivirus even turned on when i am flying. the black bird is right no one cares if there antivirus is any good or working until damn it i got a virus.

just my old guy opinion and anyway i learned something from your thread that if i looked hard enough i could find paid antivirus real cheap and that was something i didn't know.

poorguy
 

Skylyne

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That's the real issue here, and it's causing more problems for people than many realise. Honestly, from what I've seen on here, the title of this thread should be 'What AV do you use? Promote it for the hell of it.' Adding "why" to the end of the subject seemed like a nice attempt at first, but it then quickly was ignored, and nobody seemed to bother asking that question much besides me... and from a computer security guy's POV, that's insane.

I think the one of the biggest problems is what Tali Sharot has called "The Optimism Bias," which basically means that most people are far too optimistic, that their personal beliefs contradict reality, believing they are always in the margin of those who always will be 'better off' or 'safe', so to speak in this context. Not trying to derail the thread, but it does segue into my point... Too many people seem to ignore the facts about AV software, and simply want to believe it works... because someone told them it does.

That's the perspective of a guy who's been fixing computers for people (who are just like many of those posting in this thread), and has actually seen many types of attacks happen either firsthand, in videos from hacking conferences, seen the evidence of such attacks, and has dealt with the aftermath of some pretty nasty stuff. Hate to be negative here, but it makes me wish everyone could just get a virus overnight, just to shake them up and realise just how dumb it is to ignore the comprehensive reviews on these wares. With things quickly going all digital, and many security flaws never addressed due to budget cuts, lazy programming, or lack of a security standard in the industry... it's all going to be a black hat's wet dream in a few years if people don't educate themselves. And, quite honestly, it's almost at that point today.

Hell, you can hack into an expensive WiFi security system relatively easily just by using search engines, and a little know how. There was a guy who gave a talk at a Black Hat convention, and he showed the entire hack on the system. There was also a demonstration (don't remember if it was the same guy, or a another one, and if it was BH or at C3), that showed spoofing a live video stream from a WiFi security camera. Just saying... people need to pay a lot more attention to their digital security...


Yup, install and forget; that's the name of the game here. Unfortunately, the creators of this software are never going to be able to protect users from everything (as everyone should know); so, install and forget seems to be a bit naive, to say the least.

I know you test your AV software, but I've always wondered how. Never seen a comprehensive review, or anything along the lines of a testing method. Just curious how you do it.
 
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most people aren't willing to learn the basics of what is needed for safe secure computing or at least around in my world. they just don't care. i have quit removing there viruses because they are just persistent about loadihg them back on again. nobody listens i agree.i have tried bunches of antivirus and have downloaded the virus tests that can be downloaded just for that purpose. and that is why i use the antivirus that i use and i do not leave it set at defaults because sometimes that is not enough for some of the sites that i used to vist. if people want real security then they should lean to use the tools and settings that most routers provide.that would give a little better edge on the wifi. nothing as i have learned is bullet proof as far as computer security. the determined will get in. i have a 128 charactor password for my wifi am i any safer, nope it will just take a little bit more time to hack into me. i hate wifi and only have it for the tablets and one laptop that the other half uses. i only have the long password because most people don't want to enter it which is what i wanted. i do understand what you are saying though. only the few / the smart / and the willig to learn are going to survive. just my opinion again. have a great day.

poorguy
 

Skylyne

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Just seems like this discussion started with great intentions, and then spiraled into a pointless promotional thread. No offence meant to Blackbird, of course; just an observation is all it is meant to be. I really wanted to see a lot more discussion on here... it is one of the better forums I've come across, and yet no one seems to care much about security. It's baffling.
 
#1: I don't use AV because I demand my performance. I still use WinXP Pro because it only uses .Net Framework for those apps that need it. If I wanted a sled, I'd buy one. I won't let my computer be one, so no new OS until CPU speed gets to 20Ghz or better to make up for what an OS that depends on .Net suffers. (or, are you enjoying the cute swirlies that entertain you while you wait for your OS to finish something simple)?

#2: I run all downloaded programs in a VmWare virtual machine with that machine having a virgin copy handy in case of infection. After installing and running downloaded programs, I run Kaspersky virus removal tool to sniff out trouble, if clean I'll install in main computer.
I do use BlackICE firewall, despite it being quite old, hasn't let me down yet.
 

zthomas

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Hey whatever works for you.. its just, I like my stuff watched by a pay service that doesn't bother me while I'm online. I run win7 and love it, I get updates from Microsoft pretty regular.. I read xp stopped doing updates.. heck I used xp up until win7 came out.. I was happy as a clam back when also.. was running just free stuff.. tho my puter was in the shop about every six months for a Trojan cleaning out.. Not once with Norton and Win 7.. its been 4 year since building my present machine.
 
Basically at this point Windows 7 is the new XP. Lot of folks staying on that until they see what the next version is like. That said, I don't agree with not running AV. Worked on a few machines where people hadn't, and you clean 2000+ different things off, they understand a little better. I said it before, but I would recommend Avast. It seems very lightweight to me, and the protection is not too bad. But on systems I've run it on, it does not seem to bog down performance too much.
 

zthomas

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Yeah I heard that xp-win7.. and just recently too.. I tried Avast service.. there tech support was dang slow.. they had something called the sandbox.. that kept popping up.. I had paid there 40 something service fee.. and got there CD.. but had to yell to get it.. After three weeks or so.. I dumped the Avast program and went back to Norton..

 
I don't mess with their tech support, I just use the free one, and I turn off the secure line tool, and one other option I turn off. Don't really need a cd. you can download the installer from download.com. But if you look under the settings, and in the tools section, you should be able to turn off the sandbox feature.

As far as Windows XP=Windows 7, I've been saying that the last year or so. XP is old tech, Windows 7 is still familiar enough for people to pick up and has a few years of support left. Windows 8 isn't bad actually, but I got tired of the interface and put classic shell on it to make it act like 7.
 

zthomas

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Avast .. funny thinking back to what had transpired.. of why I dumped the anti virus program .. sure I did try the free one first.. amazed to see how many downloads it had in cnet opposed to norton.. thinking several hundred thousand really like the program.. Just the Avast program just in my face to many times... and blocked me from going to places.. no shit, yeah I found out how to turn stuff off.. Norton also has annoying popups.. but not as many as Avast, the threat assessments were not worth my time. I wanted the program not evolve me each time a threat occurred.. geez was a pain in the ass.. Zone alarm was really good at one time too.. but then got into anti virus crap.. and became almost useless.. made a great fire wall.. but not a great anti virus program.. man it was full of bugs.. to bad.. zone firewall saved my ass many times..
 
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see this is what i don't understand i have used avast free and avg free and have never had any issues with either one of them. no slow downs no resoruce hoggoing and my only complaint is all of the extra usless crap that they add to it that i never use.that could be why i don't have issues with it. these two have always worked flawlessly for me. both of these may give some false positives now and then but at least i know that it is working. always wonder why some seem to have problems with them. i don't know.

poorguy

poorguy
 

zthomas

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yep those add ons can sneak in on you have had it happen to me. i have never seen any time limits on the free antivirus but have seen them on the trial versions. yeah some of the bells don't work in the free antivirus but i have never really needed them. just the basic virus protection is all i want to install. that is all they really provide anyway. with that and common sense and safe web habits you should be fine.

i have had very good results on these two free antivirus and some others that i have tried, but like these the best. i do a custom install and only download the very bare essentials and try to leave out the crapware parts of them. don't want there running tool bars etc.also don't need them to tell me that i have outdated software or don't have the lastest graphics card drivers etc. crapware hate it.

you should be able to go into options and then search settings in firefox and change your search engine from yahoo to whatever you want it to be, at least i can on my firefox.

poorguy
 
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