The Ultimate Antivirus/Antispyware/Firewall

[KJS]

I've read numerous threads about what exactly is the best Antivirus, and in the end much of it comes down to personal preference. The list below is what I think is most easy to use, deals with the infection effectively and the detection rates.

----Free Antivirus----


1. AVG Free (http://free.avg.com/)
AVG Free is No. 1 on my list because it is a very well rounded AV, containing protection against most kinds of infections, not including protection from rookits. (which Avira has) The detection rate is slightly behind Avira, but it still a very good AV. Personally, the user interface of AVG is the most easy to use and perfect for users ranging from advanced to beginners. It is the most popular free AV for a reason. I personally used AVG for a long period of time until I moved onto a paid AV.


2. Avira AntiVir Personal Edition (http://www.free-av.com/)

This AntiVirus is behind AVG, is because it lacks Email Scanning and an Anti-spyware. However, if you do get infected by an email Avira will get activated and you will still be protected. One thing is provides in the free edition that AVG Free doesn't provide is the rookit detection. The detection rate from what I have read is the best compared with AVG + Avast!. The user interface is fairly simple, updates are simply activated by clicking the 'Update' button and it is very user friendly. Highly recommended if you can get by the flaws of it not detecting spyware and email scanning, which is possible if you have an additional Anti-Spyware program. (which I will mention later)

3. Avast! Antivirus (http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html)

Avast! is ranked 3rd on my list for various reasons, it's detection rate is the lowest out of the three and has a 'weird' MP3-like interface and it takes some time to get used to it. It's definitely the hardest to use, but if you aren't worried about the interface it is a good AV. It scans for viruses, spyware and also rookits (which AVG doesn't). Also there is email scanning + protection when surfing the net.

------Paid Antivirus-------

In the 3 antiviruses I recommend, they are extremely similar, and it simply comes down to personal preference + price. They all offer the same protection from emails, rookits (unlike some of the free AV's) and scanning rates so there really is no point in ranking them. (I have tried all 3 and the user interfaces are similar and extremely easy to use)

ESET NOD32 Antivirus (http://www.eset.com/)

Kaspersky Antivirus (http://www.kaspersky.com/)

Avira Personal Edition Premium (http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php)

 

[KJS]

---Free Spyware/Adware Removers---

These are the ones that from what I have experienced and what others have experienced as the best. I've used all three, and I'm currently have all 3 on hand. Just make sure to have one active, or they will crash. There simply isn't one that is 100% perfect, so each program makes up for each one's mistakes.

1. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php)

The free edition does not have an active guard, but if you have a Firewall and AV in my opinion, it doesn't really matter. It came first in all my tests, and it is highly recommended by computer security experts. It is again easy to use, offers fast scan times and therefore is ranked No. 1 on my list.

2. Ad-Aware (http://lavasoft.com/)

The original Adware/Spyware remover, and although there has been some complaints of its scanning rates it found things MalwareBytes missed, and also didn't find things MalwareBytes found. User interface is easy to use, good scan rates. However, I recommend having another program because it's scan rates are not fantastic.

3. Spybot Search & Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html)

A solid application that scans your computer for various popular infections, and is very successful in doing so. Again, its scan rates are even lower than Ad-Aware, but it finds things that both MalwareBytes and Ad-Aware will not detect. User interface just takes a bit to get used to, but its again relatively easy to use.

 

[cohen]

1. Double post

2. I thought there was a thread on this

3. It is good one, thanks

4. I use AVG 8.0, i have Zonealarm as my firewall, and i might install Spybot Search and Destroy

 

[tremmor]

its ok. not one detects them all (virus).
the Free avg works fine. (no support).
on scanning like housecall seem to something i do once
a month. (ill check the name). firewall............i use
sygate pro that was bought by symantec (Norton).
My sygate works fine.