Free antivirus
- Thread starter JonesJack
- Start date
Rit
Member
OK, would you be able to get away with running only the free anti-vi with no paied software installed?
What if you used 2 or 3, like AVG, Avira, and Avast at the same time; or would one suffice?
I think you will not need as much protection if you stay away from porn and torrents sites, and if you don't do a lot of shopping or bank online.
What is your preferred free version?
What if you used 2 or 3, like AVG, Avira, and Avast at the same time; or would one suffice?
I think you will not need as much protection if you stay away from porn and torrents sites, and if you don't do a lot of shopping or bank online.
What is your preferred free version?
E Money
New Member
Comchip, you should only run one Antivirus at a time. I personally prefer Avast. I have been using it for around 6 months with no problems.
TC your lucky you didnt get chewed to bits. If you use the search function you can find full debates on the best free antivirus programs out there.
TC your lucky you didnt get chewed to bits. If you use the search function you can find full debates on the best free antivirus programs out there.
Ok, after a reading a TON of arguments on the "best" free antivirus, I have come to this conclusion:
AVG: it still has its followers, but has really decresed in popularity, mainly due to its "bloated" size and speed.
Avast and Avira: to the best that I can call, these are the big two. If I had to choose one, based solely on what I have read, I'd have to say that avira is just a shave better that Avast. They both have thier pros and cons; the main ones are:
Avast:
Pro: multiple updates per day
more configuration options
no (obtrusive) pop ups
features anti spyware
Con:
ugly user interface
Avira
Pro:
top virus detection and good filepath following (there is some debate on this, but I heard this claim way more about Avira than Avast)
clean user interface
one "user review" poll had avira ranked slightly higher than avast after about 110 votes. They were the top two contenders on the pole.
Con:
really annoying pop up after each update (this can be fixed; do a Google search)
updates only once per day
some say that it offers no anti spyware protection while avast does; however, I just looked at it on their site and it says it does protect against anti spyware.
no firewall
Although Avira has more cons, they seem to be either easily fixed or inconsequential. It is a really really close race for both of them, but I'm going to have say that I'm going with Avira, simply because I have heard many say that it offers the best detection rates and also that they appear to have added spy-ware protection. I can live with the "no firewall" thing since windows has one built in anyway.
I'm only determining this from what I have read, if anyone else has anything to add, please do. In the end, it looks like you really can't go wrong with either of them.
Now, should/can you run a free malware/ad-ware/spy-ware program if your anti-virus already has one?
AVG: it still has its followers, but has really decresed in popularity, mainly due to its "bloated" size and speed.
Avast and Avira: to the best that I can call, these are the big two. If I had to choose one, based solely on what I have read, I'd have to say that avira is just a shave better that Avast. They both have thier pros and cons; the main ones are:
Avast:
Pro: multiple updates per day
more configuration options
no (obtrusive) pop ups
features anti spyware
Con:
ugly user interface
Avira
Pro:
top virus detection and good filepath following (there is some debate on this, but I heard this claim way more about Avira than Avast)
clean user interface
one "user review" poll had avira ranked slightly higher than avast after about 110 votes. They were the top two contenders on the pole.
Con:
really annoying pop up after each update (this can be fixed; do a Google search)
updates only once per day
some say that it offers no anti spyware protection while avast does; however, I just looked at it on their site and it says it does protect against anti spyware.
no firewall
Although Avira has more cons, they seem to be either easily fixed or inconsequential. It is a really really close race for both of them, but I'm going to have say that I'm going with Avira, simply because I have heard many say that it offers the best detection rates and also that they appear to have added spy-ware protection. I can live with the "no firewall" thing since windows has one built in anyway.
I'm only determining this from what I have read, if anyone else has anything to add, please do. In the end, it looks like you really can't go wrong with either of them.
Now, should/can you run a free malware/ad-ware/spy-ware program if your anti-virus already has one?
I like Avira the best.
salvage-this
Active Member
I haven't messed with Avast or Avira at all but I have AVG Free and it keeps me protected and i have not noticed taking a lot of resources or appearing bloated. I think that you can't go wrong with the ones that you are picking between.
gamblingman
VIP Member
A/v
Well you haven't given us much information about yourself. Like:
*Do you have kids?
*Do you want to block web content (porn, violence, high risk sites, etc...)?
*Do you want an all-in-one package?
*What is your budget?
*What other features would you like to have, such as Email checking, Identity protection, wireless protection, OS change prevention (from infections), etc...
Or do you want the bare minimum?
*What have you used in the past, and why are you looking to change providers?
*Is there already an anti-virus program on the computer? It's best too have only one anti-virus program on a computer.
*What OS do you have? Are you planning to change it in the future?
*What are your computer specs (CPU speed, amount of RAM installed, hard drive free space, Brand and model of computer)
*How proficient are you with computers?
Well you haven't given us much information about yourself. Like:
*Do you have kids?
*Do you want to block web content (porn, violence, high risk sites, etc...)?
*Do you want an all-in-one package?
*What is your budget?
*What other features would you like to have, such as Email checking, Identity protection, wireless protection, OS change prevention (from infections), etc...
Or do you want the bare minimum?
*What have you used in the past, and why are you looking to change providers?
*Is there already an anti-virus program on the computer? It's best too have only one anti-virus program on a computer.
*What OS do you have? Are you planning to change it in the future?
*What are your computer specs (CPU speed, amount of RAM installed, hard drive free space, Brand and model of computer)
*How proficient are you with computers?