Anti virus choice

Hey all. I've been using Avast free anti virus past 3 years or so with no issues but i just built a new pc and noticed the latest version of avast def has an affect on performance.

What anti virus products apart from MS security essentials (i really dont get on with that) is extremely light on resources? I would prefer if it was free but i am not totaly against paying if the anti virus product im paying for is very good and light on resources also would be handy if it had somekind of free trial i could use to test it.

Any recommendations?

Blackmesa8

GFI VIPRE

This one says F-Secure, Sophos and Kaspersky, while this one gives the best scores to Bit Defender, F-Secure, Norton, and Kaspersky.

Based on those two reviews, I would look at F-Secure v Kaspersky for you own needs. Personally, unless running a full scan, I hardly notice Kaspersky being there. Never tried F-Secure. Compare the best 3 or 4 side by side for features, according to your own needs.

Side note re that test I have a suspicion they tested VIPRE using the default settings which funnily enough are not the recommended settings, that is "Scan all accessed files". With that check box disable it only scans executed files, which I find is perfectly fine.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

it only scans executed files

Just to be clear: "executable"?

i use Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 and happy with it.

Security Essentials is fine. You might already have it if you're running Win8. Being cautious and keeping your system patched is way more Important than choice of AV these days. No need to spend any money, the free products are absolutely fine.

No but admittedly poor wording on my part....

It only scans files if they are being launched/executed by the OS, if they are simply being read or written via other means (i.e., a copy and paste), they are not scanned.

This does reduce security a little bit, but not dramatically imho. I use Windows Defender now but when I was using VIPRE was happy with it on that setting.

Edited by Pipexer (Sat 06-Jul-13 16:10:59)

Thanks for the replies. I was already looking into Kaspersky so i may well try that. I'll see if it has a free trial later. I will also research GFI VIPRE and F-Secure.
I wont touch Nortan used them many years ago and it was an insane system hog back then and i cant imagine its got better.
I've also been recommended by a friend Webroot which is said to be extremely low on system resources, however i am unsure how affective it is in detecting/stopping viruses.

I seem to have quite good luck with not getting viruses i do keep my OS and browser and flash upto date so that has probably helped. So far i've not had anya viruses or any serious malware issues (only tracking cookies and such) in over 4 years.
I see Anti virus as more of an insurance policy there watching my system in the background incase i mess up and launch something dodgy. But i would like that "insurance policy" on protecting my system to have as little affect as possible on my performance.

You can get Kaspersky with Barclays, open up an online savings account insert a £1 and get it for free (well almost, though you can at some future date get your pound back ).

I'm using Comodo's Internet Security Premium product at the moment it's free to use and have had no issues using it with Windows XP, so far.

There are free to use standalone antivirus products too.

In reply to a post by blackmesa8:

I wont touch Nortan used them many years ago and it was an insane system hog back then and i cant imagine its got better.

It has! Modern Norton NAV & NIS are no longer system hogs.

An update on my research on this.
I think i am going to give ESET NOD32 Antivirus a try. All review sites and benchmarks and customer reviews seem to indicate that ESET is either the least heavy or among the very least heavy on system resources there is. Alot of there marketing is based on that fact too but review sites etc also seem to support it.
Anyone here ever used ESET or had any experience with ESET?

Indeed. Norton will be one of the candidates when I look around for the next security suite.

Hi
As said Bit Defender is very good however I have been using and testing Webroot Secure Anywhere 8 on both Win 7 and Win 8 systems in both x86 and X64 format and I must say it is surprisingly good !

I have been using it on a 180 day trial ! sorry I have lost the link but I would do a web search for it . You have nothing to loose and there is also lots of 30 and 15 days one out there also

Well i have gone with the 30 day free trial of ESET nod 32. Ill test it for 3-5 days and if it gives no problems pay for it.
After Avast i must say i have def noticed a decrease in boot time and a few large programs loading. Steam games seem to be loading noticeably faster too.
One bad thing so far is full system scans take longer than Avast did but thats not something im really bothered about i am liking its overall system performance increase.
If anyone is interested i can update this post with what i decided and if i encountered any issues in 4 days when i decide if i am going to keep it.

ESET Smart Security here with no problems

I use avast free and cant say that ive notcied any slow downs in performance on any of the 4 windows 7 machines i have it installed on which are all running on different specs

Edited by deleted (Sun 07-Jul-13 01:33:05)

I use ESET anti-virus on ten different machines of varying ages and configurations. It doesn't seem to impact performance.

In reply to a post by camieabz:

Indeed. Norton will be one of the candidates when I look around for the next security suite.

Everytime someone mentions Norton we get the replies on all forums of "it was grim 10 years ago so can't have changed"........people really are strange!

Anyway
Once you are using NIS remember never to renew via the Norton site.
Its far cheaper to buy a new disk/licence Number and "renew" by enteirng up the new licence number into the software when asked.
However note carefully that you need to do this on the last day of the expiry of the old licence as renewing in this way will NOT credit you with the final unused days of your previous subcription. It starts a new year from the day you entered up the the new licence code.

Re Bit Defender - google bitdefender slows interet throughput
have they fixed it yet?

Edited by deleted (Sun 07-Jul-13 10:52:48)

Norton was also slow just a few years back when they claimed it was reformed and was now very efficient at protection. So, I think I will pass indeed!

In reply to a post by caffn8me:

I use ESET anti-virus on ten different machines of varying ages and configurations. It doesn't seem to impact performance.

As an IT consultant/installer to very small businesses of up to 10PCs, ESET Security Essentials is my recommendation and seldom ignored even if free trials are pre-installed on new equipment. Got a configuration or corruption problem caused by self inducement then ESET free instant telephone support is absolutely top notch. Try even finding the telephone number of the competition!

You have the option to try before you buy, if you so wish, and if you have several PCs to protect, then additional licences are discounted. The reviews of the product says it all.

If you bank with Barclays you can get Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 and Kaspersky Mobile Security for free on a yearly renew basis. If you don't, creating a free Barclays current account would enable you to access the Kaspersky deal.

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/Freeinternetse...

edit- seems this deal has already been recommended.

Edited by deleted (Mon 08-Jul-13 20:47:10)