Another Line of Defense?

well Pigman i'm glad you got rid of Avast but that was not the right way to do it. i'm sure the CONTROL PANEL -> ADD REMOVE PROGRAM had the uninstallation link. its unwise just to delete AV softwares. if i were you i won't go after RAM management programs. use a good registry cleaner to clean up your registry. the best bet would be to install AVAST again and uninstall it from the control panel. do the same for AVG too as the left over files and registry entiries will create problems.

Windows ME is not bad. i'm being using it for more than 5 years now. if you keep it good then it'll definately behave nicely.

 

Hmmm...

Let's look at the ups and downs of these AVs.

AntiVir
Good:
- light on system resources
- detects a whole lot of stuff
- no personal info required
Bad:
- slow on-demand scan
- no heuristics for standard viruses/worms/etc.
- few extra features (e.g. mail scanning)

Avast
Good:
- relatively light on system resources (not as good as AntiVir here)
- faster on-demand scan
- apparently good at worm detection (results from one test - milage may vary)
- nice features (e.g. mail scanning)
Bad:
- personal info required (though supposedly kept confidential)
- skins (though you don't have to use them - just don't install them)
- heavier on HD space (something like 22 megs)

I think I'd actually prefer to go with Avast - with AV programs, being even marginally better can make a difference.

Of course, Avast could have spyware on it, in which case I'd uninstall it and run Spybot and Adaware ASAP.

Edit: The one thing I forgot to do in my observations of Avast was to go on the internet. It turns out that it slows down webpage loading by a significant amount, courtesy of its resident protection. AntiVir also has on-access scanning, but it doesn't slow anything down.

 

Just curious AMRX why you advise against using a ram management program? I use one all the time after running programs like Pest Patrol, Spysweeper, A2, & NAV (All these programs knock my ram down to near 0% after using them) It instantly puts my ram back up to any level i want. I have never experienced any problems using one.

 

Hi there!

Just to add something... the most recent version of AntiVir (use the built in updater) now features Heuristics, but it is deactivated on install... you must enable it first.

I have seen no tests on it yet, but it seems AntiVir is finally reaching the new milennium )

Greets
Storm

 

read this Badboy and you'll know
http://www.winnetmag.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/41095/41095.html

oh AntiVir uses heuristic scanning only for detecting bad naughty macros.

 

Negative!

Just get AntiVir and/or use the built in Updater and check for yourself!

They definitely have REAL heuristics now, not only the macro stuff!

Seems the work of Gladiator is slowly starting to shine

Greets
Storm

 

i installed AntiVir 2 days ago, used it and uninstalled it. though i didn't update it as it was updated. whats makes you think it has full algorithmic scanning capability? please explain. i don't want to download this on a dial-up.

 

If AntiVir had heuristic scanning, the company that made it would milk it for all its worth. Good heuristics are very important.

What's good about AntiVir is that it scans for at least as much stuff as Avast, and has resident protection, but, unlike Avast, does not take up much HD space or RAM.

Want heuristics? Use AVG. That, or Panda AV Platinum 7 Personal addition. Be warned, both are RAM hogs, and AVG's installer seems to have bug or something that can crash some computers, including mine. Panda Personal is about as much of a hog as Avast, but also comes with heuristics and a firewall. Like Avast, it comes with resident protection and a load of features; also like Avast, you can only get free updates on it for a limited time. To get free updates after that time, you must join something called the Panda Club (or at least that's what I think the website said). I don't know what that is, but getting in probably requires giving your e-mail, address, telephone number, and at least $20. Then again, I shouldn't speak too soon.

IMO, the best freeware AV combo is AntiVir plus the free DOS version of F-Prot, which lacks resident protection. If you seem to have a virus, but AntiVir can't detect anything, just run F-Prot.

Of course, AVG might be better than AntiVir, but I simply cannot run it. It always crashes on installation, and if the installer manages to get the whole thing in before crashing, then AVG crashes on execution.

 

Wait a minute. Gladiator? That's not the company that makes AntiVir. In fact, IIRC, it's a freeware anti-trojan program. The company that makes AntiVir is H+BDEV or something like that.

 

@Paul

"He did - not anymore ;-)"

I think such comment, if made, should be explained.

 

if you sign up for the Panda promo offer you'll get the Platinum version for free which means a neat AV+Sygate firewall. you don't have to spend a dime for the services and they are very good and quick with replies and analysis. i'm pretty happy with Panda Platinum v7.05.03. i think i'll keep it.

oh for the last 30 minutes i've been trying to get this new full-heur AntiVir PE but the server seems to be down. i tried their mother site www.hbedv.com and found that it went to a beauty parlour recently. it badly needed that. a few months ago i found they were beta testing some sort of spectral analyzer for heuristics. now i don't know what happened to it. i can't download the PE. if someone tests it i'll be glad to read the review.

oh by the way Pigman have you tested the trial version of AVG? the professional version? i believe the latest version is 7.0.241