I think the point the detractors (including myself) are making is that WildersSecurity is a very useful forum for discussing security related issues - these kinds of polls provide no useful discourse and are just a waste of time. It is effectively a way of skirting round the rule that you cannot ask people to recommend an anti-malware solution, as it always leads to argument and annoyances. If the poster of the poll really needs help in choosing an anti-virus solution he should look at the regular poll in which people pick from an entire list - that will tell him how popular each product is and it will at least have a more statistically meaningful result, albeit slightly. I think the moderators should clarify - if this poll stands then the forum could feasibly end up inundated with the indecisive who cannot choose which anti-malware solution to use. And to add, if this forum is supposed to be about sharing knowledge and helping people to make the right choices when it comes to security, then my advice would be do not choose software on the basis of how popular it is.
As the author of the poll has already said he has licenses for all of the programs listed, he must have evaluated them for himself. He therefore has all of the information he needs to make an informed decision, so I can't see the point in asking other people what they think without giving them the opportunity to widen the discussion.
Okay, as I have the windows 7 and the 64 bit RAM as you do and there is some confusion about "choice" I would in YOUR case do the following: On the 64 bit W7 PC use only the security products that have the compatible with W7 official tag. After you remove those lacking the tag, and non-64 bit versions from the table, set them aside for possible use on XP 32 bit machines if any or give them away if legal. Then eliminate any combo of products where you have 2 AV's. Then eliminate any that cause more than 1 real time scanner. Reserve any of these other W7 64 bit tools for on demand usage/ scanning. Pick the "best" remaining product for RT scanning performance based on latest published performance tests (AV comparatives) Then over the the next few months learn how to optimize ALL of the settings and configuration choices. In particular, focus on FW settings and which applications you want to prevent from accessing the www. Your poll question confused members, as 99.9% thought as I did you were asking which I would choose. It also could cause arguing and my product is better than your product posts. In this forum, product X vs product Y threads specifically AV products are discouraged. The problem now is so many AV's are now part of a "suite" in combo with FW's, AV's, ASW's, HIPS, web control and even data blockers for privacy. These factors are the things this forum can help with. In keeping with transparency, I currently use: 1) Outpost Firewall Pro 2009 64 bit version 2) Eset Nod32 V4 64 bit version ( this is my only RT scanner) 3) Keyscrambler 4) Roboforum 5) WPA-2 AES encryption psw 256 bit But for you with too many products, you should do some real work to whittle your list down to a single suite. Then learn how to maximize it's settings. Good luck!
Anyone can get a software license. Evaluation is not a prerequisite. But it does appear that this OP has done some evaluation, so I'd say that he doesn't trust his own judgement, wants other opinions, or enjoys creating polls. His request does not strike me as all that odd. Rather than a thumbs down, simply skip the poll... or pick one and try to help him out.
lol why thank you if its a waste of time for u, dont post, the guy is looking for our advice on the choices HE made, that is why HE made the poll, not you, because it applies to his situation, not yours, either help him in HIS poll or dont as u say "waste ur time". thers a reason this is a poll and not just a regular discussion thread, he wants u to use the poll, otherwise he wuld have put an "other" option... i dont know why sometimes people find it the most difficult thing to help and answer the simple questions, but can go into huge explanations that accomplish nothing to further the thread and the posters question...
I chose Kaspersky but wouldn't want any of these for my primary antivirus solution or firewall. Give me Avast (free) AV and Online Armor (free). Combined with the free versions of MBAM, WinPatrol, Sandboxie, and Macrium Reflect, I have excellent layered protection without spending a penny !
Since you don't include "other" I must say none, since all are at the bottom of my stay away from list. FYI: Eset NOD32 tops my paid list, and Avast! tops my free list.
I understand where you're coming from but the problem with this particular poll, as I see it, is that in order to help him out I'd have to know what he's trying to achieve. If he wanted to create a popularity contest then a free vote would have provided more information. If, on the other hand, he is asking people to compare the pros and cons of the particular programs that he's interested in, in order to help him decide which is best for him, I would guess that very few people are going to have enough information about the alternatives listed to be able to make a meaningful comparison between them and vote accordingly. Given the way the poll has been constructed, what's likely to happen is that those people who don't use any of the alternatives, for whatever reason, probably won't bother voting, and those who do are likely to simply vote for the one they happen to use. I just can't see that anything meaningful is going to come out of this which is why I gave it the thumbs down. I only posted in this thread in the hope that the author would widen the choices in order to make the poll more inclusive, but I respect his right to create the poll in the way that he has even if, from my perspective, it does seem rather pointless.
well i dont use Kaspersky, but i have in the past, along with many of the choices and thats why i chose Kaspersky, the reason to vote doesnt have to be either of the ones uve listed. and its his poll, poster sets his restrictions, live with it. or just dont waste ur time on something that u dont "approve" of, polls typically arent a discussion, thers a reason its a poll, u cant go to an election and pick none of the above, if thats what u believe, u just dont vote...
Don't let a few disparaging remarks get you down. There were many who took the time to respond to this poll, with the intent of helping you. Why not let us know what you have learned (if anything) from the constructive input?
None,I've never had a problem using a free antivirus,so never needed to resort to having a paid antivirus program.
I did win a license for KIS 2010 from Calendar of Updates forums, recently... so my vote goes to them, plus Kaspersky is renowned. P.S. I have yet to try it out...Maybe in an FD-ISR snapshot. Edit: error correction
They usually involve a discussion as well, which is why, unlike elections, on a forum poll there are also posts, not just votes. Edit: clarification
it depends on the content of the poll, discussing the option of nothing isnt a discussion to be held in THIS poll. and my election comment wasnt about it being discussed, it was about all the people saying None...
Hello Page 42! Agreed! If I had been discouraged by "flak" I would never have gone by post 1 after I joined Wilder's. It can be rough here but as long as it isn't seen as personal and in this thread it has been fairly easy or our mods would have shut it down. Here are some additional thoughts I offer the original poster: 1) Please give us some content feedback on the constructive posts people have taken the time to donate to you. I was one of them and I really took some time to post what I would do in your case. I felt an obligation to try to assist because my set up is similar to yours. But so far you have not commented on that work. Why? I now think I wasted my time. That is discouraging. 2) It is your right to work on selecting SW anyway you want even by poll if that is how you do decisions. It is of course your PC. You have received a fair number of votes. The answer is KAV. So you are done! If you don't care for that, the second choice is Norton 2010 as per your signature so that confirms your setup as it is in either case you are done! Where are your thoughts, provide some technical comments! What have you learned?
The negative comments were made for a reason - in my case, it is to try and help the original poster, even though I am not answering his question. I was trying to get across that if he is really having difficulty choosing software, then he will get the best result for himself without using a poll of this nature.
Hi noblelord: I wasn't referring to any specific "negative" comments at all. When I look at the posts everything seems fine! I only used the term as some here "see" some posts as negative. In terms of my posts who knows some may see them as negative but yours no they aren't IMHO negative! I happen to agree with you. I was mearly trying to say okay, I'll think that way using the polls and what do I get? Kav and Norton 2010. OP is done! My own security set up is very different as you may know but if somebody wants to think different so what? I can still chime in and follow his methodology and reach a conclusion using his short list of products. It's not my list but again he can be helped within that set. Everything is cool. I just wish the OP was as active as we are!
