[Punnisher]

Microsoft Security Essentials seems great but I recently have been experiencing a lot of false positives. Just the act of moving a folder with some network mapping and scanning tools was enough for MSE to flip out.

One was angry ip scanner, which I downloaded years ago but never used. MSE quarantined it. Not a big deal but this kind of behavior could become annoying over time.

I actually installed Windows 7 tonight and will be looking into a program other than AVG and MSE.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Switch over to mac osx and you'll never have to hear about a stupid virus again. =P

... and I get this funny feeling that all the viruses must be written by mac users just to $@%# with the pc users.

 

[Pepsi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... and I get this funny feeling that all the viruses must be written by mac users just to $@%# with the pc users.

You know i wouldn't be suprised if that was true.

 

[zx10guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Switch over to mac osx and you'll never have to hear about a stupid virus again. =P

 

[dj_mocok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... and I get this funny feeling that all the viruses must be written by mac users just to $@%# with the pc users.

mac users aren't capable of doing that kind of smart thing. ooooo.... have to runnnnn......

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pepsi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Switch over to mac osx and you'll never have to hear about a stupid virus again. =P

They get viruses too, just not to the degree of Windows users. They also tend to get caught and patched for very fast.

NO OS is virus free. Not Windows, not OSX, and not Linux.

As for Anti-Virus:

Free: Anti-Vir

Paid: ESET NOD32

Haven't tried Security Essentials myself yet though. AVG and Avast are pretty "meh" anymore.

 

[Bredin]

Macs has a lot of security flaws due to ignorance. It's probably easier to get a virus on a MS operating system, but will a MS operating system be hacked easier than a Mac OS?

 

[CrackBerry9000]

Download the trial for G-DATA and use it for a few days. It uses 2 popular scanning engines simultaniously and it catches everything. It runs great on Vista and 7, it doesn't slow you down like some of the others and its cheap. I believe its 39 bucks for 3 licences. Comming from a few generations of Norton I am very impressed and have had no issues with G-DATA.

 

[Mad Max]

In my experience, it is best to have two virus scanners. One retail one like Kaspersky or something, and one of the very good free ones like Malwarebyte's Antimalware. The two complement each other and will protect your computer very well. Whatever your choice for the secondary scanner, just make sure it doesn't run in the background at the same time as your main one or you may have issues.

I do not recommend sticking to just one scanner, no anti-virus is perfect and detects 100% everything. Again, a regular retail scanner plus a free manual scanner like the one I just mentioned is the way to go.

 

[MaZa]

A good firewall is pretty much all you need if you dont surf around in shady websites. Though website hacking is not unheard of, safe website getting hacked by some dork and you might get crap when you go there. But spyware removers are quite enough. If you want antivirus program, Avast is very good one. So is Antivir but its notifier ads are ANNOYING.

While NAT router and keeping windows up-to-date is enough to block autospreading worms (those that attack your computer by just having an open connection even if you do nothing in the internet), software firewall has one ability that makes it a good thing to have always: Internet connection controlling. If, for reason or another, you manage to get shady trojans, malware and whatever on your computer, you can block its internet access.

 

[DayoftheGreek]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I haven't used any anti-virus/firewall/anti-spyware software in years. I run my computer with as little software as possible. I am more of a power user, so I find myself reformatting a lot anyway to play with other OS'es and whatnot.

 

[Mad Max]

Get some. You have no idea how your computer picks up viruses, trojans, and other spyware/malware when you do not have internet security and antivirus.

 

[MaZa]

But then again isnt Windows Firewall on by default? That is if one uses XP.

 

[Mad Max]

It's not the best. It is on by default if you do not have an internet security program and Windows will bug you if you don't buy and install one.

Edit: That's Vista and Windows 7 that notify you of a lack of proper security. I do not remember if XP does as well.

 

[finoyvoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DayoftheGreek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe I'm crazy, but I haven't used any anti-virus/firewall/anti-spyware software in years. I run my computer with as little software as possible. I am more of a power user, so I find myself reformatting a lot anyway to play with other OS'es and whatnot.

I think you are crazy. I run 10 different anti-virus software. It makes my computer 10 times safer.