Quickpaw
New Member
Obviously everyone uses something different to protect and maintain their pc's, and this forum is no exception. I've seen many different suggestions here for what to use to keep a machine infection-free.
I work as a repair tech in a big box store and have computers come in with viruses all the time, so I'm no stranger to viruses, AV programs, etc. And actually in my time working there I've found that most of the customers I deal with suffering from virus issues are running free antivirus software.
I can't be the only person seeing this trend. Programs like AVG, Avast, Avira, ISP security suites such as Bell Internet Security, are what I find on infected machines 95% of the time. Occasionally I do see BitDefender, Kaspersky, McAfee and other paid antivirus programs as well, but what I've found interesting is that in almost 3 years at my job, I have never seen a computer with an active, updated Norton program come in with virus issues. Also, aside from Malwarebytes, I have never found a free program that is able to do much more than give you a heads up about a present infection, if that.
Of course this may just be the luck of my area but the numbers do make me wonder why a tech would recommend anything other than the current Norton utility. I do understand that price is a factor, but sometimes these victims are the ones who get a virus, and a "microsoft rep" calls them and they end up paying $150 to scam artists.
TLDR; Why do you guys choose to use/recommend antivirus programs other than Malwarebytes/Norton when in 3 years I have never had any success with anything else? Stories/examples of situations you have encountered are encouraged.
I work as a repair tech in a big box store and have computers come in with viruses all the time, so I'm no stranger to viruses, AV programs, etc. And actually in my time working there I've found that most of the customers I deal with suffering from virus issues are running free antivirus software.
I can't be the only person seeing this trend. Programs like AVG, Avast, Avira, ISP security suites such as Bell Internet Security, are what I find on infected machines 95% of the time. Occasionally I do see BitDefender, Kaspersky, McAfee and other paid antivirus programs as well, but what I've found interesting is that in almost 3 years at my job, I have never seen a computer with an active, updated Norton program come in with virus issues. Also, aside from Malwarebytes, I have never found a free program that is able to do much more than give you a heads up about a present infection, if that.
Of course this may just be the luck of my area but the numbers do make me wonder why a tech would recommend anything other than the current Norton utility. I do understand that price is a factor, but sometimes these victims are the ones who get a virus, and a "microsoft rep" calls them and they end up paying $150 to scam artists.
TLDR; Why do you guys choose to use/recommend antivirus programs other than Malwarebytes/Norton when in 3 years I have never had any success with anything else? Stories/examples of situations you have encountered are encouraged.