Yet Another Thread on Antivirus/Internet Security Software

[Qwynn]

So really, how many of these do you get a day? I have to wonder.

I've been a user of AVG for around four years, if I recall correctly, and I've always been a pretty big fan of their products. I swore by their antivirus, and eventually ended up purchasing their internet security software for a number of years.

I'm now regretting upgrading to their 2013 suite, however.

I can't quite put my finger on what rubs me the wrong way with their current edition, but something about it doesn't sit right. Their Firewall gives me some strange vibes, and from what I understand the AV itself has been getting some rather shoddy reviews for this new term. Not to mention that their latest edition of PC Tuneup has already caused me issues (unlike the previous one, though that's not directly related to the IS suite itself).

So, I'm looking on switching away from AVG (even though I already purchased the license, but oh well). The two I'm eyeing most are Bitdefender and Kaspersky, however I'm more than open to other suggestions. Both of those have been getting some pretty decent reviews. And really, while reviews are all nice and dandy, real world application is more what I'm interested in, hence the thread.

(1) Looking for something with a low footprint, ideally. (Remember reading Kaspersky was a bloat, but that information may be outdated).

(2) Multi device support is a plus, but not all that important. Running a home network with a lot of devices, and I know Kaspersky Pure 2.0 has a feature for locally managing devices/other PCs from a central PC.

(3) Firewall & antivirus, of course.

Other fancy features aren't all that important. I'm already running Malwarebytes, and I was also toying around the idea of avoid a suite altogether, instead doing some mix and match instead. A combination of Malwarebytes, a free AV, and something like Comodo Firewall, for example.

What do you guys think?

 

[cl-scott]

I'm pretty anti-security suite, since pretty much every single one of them entered the feature creep phase of the lifecycle several years ago at least. That is to say that for all intents and purposes, the products are complete, but in order to keep selling upgrades, companies graft on more and more useless features.

There's also the fact that security suites are the one example where code sharing is a bad thing. You get some kind of remote exploit in that shared codebase, you can topple the entire suite. Suites also tend to make people think that all they need to do is have it running and they're protected from all the woes one may encounter on the Internet. In other words, they give people a false sense of security.

The best security is a layered approach. Every layer will have holes, so the idea is that the layer above or below will plug that gap. So I'd say the best solution is to have a firewall from company A (honestly, for 99.99999999999999% of people, the Windows firewall is plenty, or they have a firewall in their router and don't need a software firewall as well), an AV from company B, and then if you need anything else, you get that from company C, etc, etc.

Finally, you also have to recognize that YOU (collective) are the single biggest security threat to your computer. YOU are the one who uses Internet Explorer despite the malware risk. YOU are the one who opens email attachments claiming to be nude photos of some celebrity. YOU are the one who clicks on any link that someone sends you in an email. YOU are the one who does any number of other ill advised things that no security program will protect you from. So the best security suite of all, is you adopting safe(r) computing habits.

 

[Qwynn]

The layered approach was what I was toying with and moving away from suites altogether. The constant update of useless features was certainly one of the reasons, as when it comes down to it, you just don't need all that stuff (crap).

As to the user being the largest threat, that's very much true. Of course, I've been problem free for a very, very long time now, so I am pretty confident in my usage habits. 😉

I think I may end up working with the mix & match approach, as it deals with removing all that aforementioned useless junk. Of course, suites are nice for their convenience factor, too.

Hmm, hum.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Gdata Internet security is low on resources and you get 2 antivirus engines under 1 gui.

 

[silhouttejames]

AVG Antivirus is a very popular free antivirus used by millions of home users around the world. AVG has recently released AVG Antivirus 2013 Free. If you are already using AVG Antivirus 2012, you may be able to upgrade it to the latest version. But if you just want to test the antivirus or you are having problems with already installed AVG Antivirus 2013, you may want to uninstall or remove it from your computer. There are two ways to remove all the files and registry entries create by AVG product.
1- Through Control Panel

Programs and Features 570x141 2 Ways To Uninstall/Remove AVG Antivirus 2013

The first way is to properly uninstall the product from Control Panel. Follow the instructions below to completely uninstall AVG Antivirus 2013. This method can also be used to uninstall AVG Internet Security 2013.

Go to Control Panel –> Programs and Features (Uninstall a program)
Select AVG Antivirus 2013 from the list and click on the Uninstall button
You will be given three options. Speed up my PC, Update my AVG product, Uninstall AVG.
Select the third option.
During the uninstallation process, you will be asked if you want to remove the user settings and virus vault entries. If you do not intend to install AVG Antivirus Free 2013 again, then you can check these options so that all the settings are removed.
Restart your computer to complete the uninstallation process.

2- Using AVG Remover Tool

AVG Remover 2013 570x97 2 Ways To Uninstall/Remove AVG Antivirus 2013

If you are unable to uninstall AVG product following the above method, then you’ll need to use AVG remover tool which will remove all AVG related folders, files, registry entries and services from the system. This tool has been provided by AVG for emergency purposes. The use of this removal tool is like using brute force method of removing all the files associated with AVG Antivirus 2013. You should only use it when the first method fails. Follow the steps below in order to use AVG Remover Tool.

Make sure that you don’t have any file or application open when running the removal tool as the tool will restart the computer automatically after removing all the related entries.
Download AVG Remover Tool from AVG support site.
Accept the license agreement from AVG.
From the next dialog, select “Yes, remove AVG”.
You will see a command prompt windows processing several commands.
When the removal process completes, the computer will restart automatically.

 

[rjoudrey]

This the Bitdefender Total Security package I use, Normally $79.00 now $29.00.

https://store.bitdefender.com/order/checkout.php?PRODS=4559871&QTY=1&OPTIONS4559871=h-3u-1y&CART=2&COUPON=29USD-29Feb2013&AFFILIATE=28041

 

[rjoudrey]

This the Bitdefender Total Security package I use, Normally $79.00 now $29.00.

https://store.bitdefender.com/order/checkout.php?PRODS=4559871&QTY=1&OPTIONS4559871=h-3u-1y&CART=2&COUPON=29USD-29Feb2013&AFFILIATE=28041