Easy to use AV

Hello

I do a lot of computer work for people who aren't computer literate at all. I need to be providing an effective antivirus which will not use too many resources. It also needs to be either nearly totally automatic or extremely easy to use (prompting all the way!).

Norton would seem to fit the book but whats it like on system resources as of late? I usually install MSE but it seems to just sit there even if there is something wrong (out of date or not scanned for a while)

Cheers

 

Check out the latest performance test from AV-Comparatives and you will see that Norton is at the top as far as resource usage goes.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/comparativesreviews/performance-tests

That's Norton Internet Security, but Norton Anti-virus performs equally in that regard.

 

Paid: Norton, ESET, Panda
Free: avast!, Panda Cloud

 

F-Prot

 

I heard F-Prot isn't all that great.

 

To be honest, nowadays all major antivirus vendors make good and easy to use products. I think you should just read some reviews available on the Internet and try out some of the products which jump to your eye.
Two sites with great reviews:
www.av-comparatives.org, especially have a look at the performance test (tests the impact of the product on the pc performance) and the whole product dynamic tests (this test tests the protection in a real-world scenario).
www.av-test.org, have a look a the tests performed in the first and second quarter of 2011 (under Tests, Test Reports), it tests protection (although the sample size used in these tests a lot lower than the one in AV-Comparatives and therefore less reliable and valid), repair and usability (includes a score for pc slowdown caused by the product).

If you want a free antivirus, I would pick Panda Cloud Antivirus which is very simple to use. If you don't mind paying for it, I would pick ESET; ESET also ranked number two in the AV-Comparatives.org performance test, only 0,1 behind Norton (188,3 vs 188,2) and works fully automatic.

However, it should be noted that if you find some products you like, we can't help you to make a decision. This is because on this forum it is not allowed to have product X versus product Y discussions.

 

Webroot Secure Anywhere is light, fast and does a great job protecting the pc. Requires little user interaction and takes up very little space in your system.