Is Avast Home/Pro 4.5 right for me?

Hi

I want new anti-virus software to protect my notebook computer (IBM R40, Pentium-M 1.3 GHz, 256 MB of RAM, Windows XP SP1) so resources are prior concerned.

I want an anti-virus software that use reasonable resources, not impact on performance at much, not cause an unacceptable slow down, offer good protection and the ability to automatically update itself as soon as when a machine goes online because my notebook connect to the internet via wirelass LAN at my office and via dial-up modem GPRS through mobile phone when I'm outdoor.

I've heard so many good things about Avast http://www.download.com/3000-2239-10019223.html especial its pretty damn good small-fast auto update but a friend of mine says Avast is a bit resource hog and can cause a slow machine slows down at much, is it true? before I give it a try experienced users of Avast please shed me some light.

I've tried so many anti-virus software such as NOD32 but it causes a machine takes too long to shut down, AntiVir but its update is a real pain for dial-up modem and AVG but it seems not to reliable as others.

Your advice are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

F-prot runs very light and has good detection rates you can check it here

bigc

 

NOD is lighter than Avast. However, you should give Avast a try. I've been using Avast for over 3 years without any infection. Best thing you can do with that PC is to shut down ALL non-essential programs in SERVICES. Remove all items in MSCONFIG's STARTUP TAB except for the AV and FW. Use the Classic Start Menu. Select NONE for background screen saver. And disable indexing service.

F-Prot may take longer to update with a dial up account.

 

Thanks bigc73542 for quickly reply. I also have additional question.

The following are security software that currently running on my machine.

- a squared 2
- SpywareBlaster
- Ad-Aware SE personal
- Windows XP Built-in firewall

I've used Opera instead of IE so spyware aren't my problem I don't visit and download software from obscure site so viruses via e-mail seem to be my main threats.

So, from the security experts' opinion like you guys, what are the additional secutity software do I need.

Thnaks.

 

Your situation is very similar to mine. Running WXP Pro with 600 MHz PIII with 384 MB RAM. I don't run full-time AV scanner...only the email scanner. Virus def. is updated manually by me (about 20 seconds with Avast). Make sure you disable OE's preview pane. You should also read all messages in plain text.

Finally, send yourself an Eicar test file to make sure that your email AV scanner is functional.

 

I have been using Avast Home for awhile and it is great for a freebie. If there is an update, it will take place right after u sign on. Regular scanning of ur computer is done manually and can be done offline, however, a thorough scan can be lengthy. Any viral email is picked up & announced during download - the infected mail is identified in the subject line of the mail. It does use higher resources than some other AV programs but well worth it, in my humble opinion.

As suggested, if u use Outlook Express, be sure ur Preview Pane is closed. U can always put a Preview icon on ur taskbar if u feel u need it for certain tasks.

 

Yes, iAVS update of avast! is excellent it performs amazing fast update on slow internet connection and in avast! pro you'll be benefited from the Push iAVS update too.

Yes and No, it depends on many factors avast! is not the lightest AV and it is not the resource hungry AV too. In my opinion, avast! does acceptable slowdown when it runs on an old machine.

The best way is try avast! yourself and see how it works.

In your case, I have to say NO.

For real-world usage, AVG is a good AV it runs very smoothly on an old machine without noticeable slowdown. For common viruses/worms/trojans and today's most dangerous malware AVG can offer you a good protection. No hype for non-existence threats. IMHO

If you are concerned about malware get through e-mail you can use attachment filter in AVG EMS to block all dangerous file extension before it gets in your mail box.

 

Hi Maeng,

If you want to try a free AV, the best choise for your computer is avast! Home Edition. It takes some RAM but doesn't be a recource hog, great support and will work very well on your computer.

If you want to pay, then I advice you the NOD32. Is more light than avast!, very quick scan, very good config, have very good support...

 

Well for low end systems i recommend using only Standard Shield and Network Shield providers (+any mail provider if you use POP3 based mail).
If you use only web based,then you don't need any extra modules.
This way protection won't be compromised,and memory usage not too high.

Also,low end NT based systems work better with avast! than low end Win9x machines. I guess due to true multi-threading and better memory management system.

 

Hi all,

After trying Avast Home for a while this free anti-virus is great, feature rich and its auto update works great as advertise, I installed only standard shield, internet mail and network shield. But it seems too obtrusive and cause Windows a bit slow down when launching some applications it takes too long to open. Nothing wrong with Avast but seems that it doesn't fit to my machine.

Now I'm back to AVG 7 Fee and try to learn about it enough, AVG works great as Avast but AVG runs very very nice no slow down at all and even though it isn't feature rich as Avast but that's enough for me. I'm started like this anti-virus If in the long run it doesn't cause any problems I would buy AVG Pro.

Thaks for all replies.