what is the best anti-virus program?

[craigmodius]

AVG at home, and NAV Corporate at Work...

With NAV Corporate I can see all the clients and their status, their definition file date, their last scan and the results, who's signed on at the machine their IP, their NAV logs.

I can control them all from my desk such as pushing an install to an NT based machine ( I f****in LOVE that ), setting up logon installs for any windows based machine there's a web page interface for an interactive install. I can set the time that any or all systems should do a scheduled virus scan when and where they should get updated virus definitions. You can config it to email or page or SMS you when something's going down. You can clear the quarentine of the remote system etc.

NAV CE is pure freakin' gold in my book. I have never had much luck with McAffe but I haven't seen a corporate version either.

[meatwad]

Originally posted by Shard92
there is no "best". One you need to do is find one that works for you and does what you want it to do. We can offer as the others have a "GOOD" virus scan though. Personally I use f-prot for windows.... Nice and small, doesn't take a lot of resources and doesn't interfere in MOST things I do!!

I 100% agree with Shard. Everyone is going to like one piece of software over another. I work in a computer shop, and from first hand experience I would NEVER install Norton's or Mcafee's on any of my computers.

We did a test recently and found that Kaspersky's was the best at actually catching and preventing virus infections. But it's not a good choice for 95% of my customers because the interface makes it difficult for them to use. I would say about 90% of my AV installs right now are either Fsecure2003 or Fsecure workstation.

The other 10% I put NOD32 on because they're cheap and the NOD32 interface was designed so a retarded monkey could use it.

[FridayAvenger]

I service all of my computers with at least SOME version of Norton Anti-Virus depending on how old the machine is and it's needs. McAfee is also a respectable brand but I've learned to prefer Norton due to how customizable it is and the built-in POP3 e-mail scanning feature is a huge plus. Norton's a little advanced however and I wouldn't recommend it to someone new to PCs as you'll NEED to change most of the settings around to fit your protection needs or lack there of if you desire minimal security. Also, Symantec offers definition updates once a week on every Friday or the second an epidemic like a new worm that makes it on the news comes out. Plus you get free definitions for a year with each version and after that it's only about $10 or so a year there after. If you upgrade, you get another free year.

On a sidenote, there's a reason why PC World Magazine rates McAfee as second to Norton. Remember that, McAfee is only #2. Why settle for less?

On preference alone, again, I'd pick Norton. I'm a big fan of Symantec's product and their Norton SystemWorks Professional Suite. It's never failed me and has successfully removed every last virus, worm, etc. that I've encountered EVEN ONES THAT I DIDN"T HAVE DEFINITIONS FOR YET. If you don't like Norton, I'd like to recommend an alternative candidate and that's Doctor Solomon's Anti-Virus. All three are very reliable. All a matter of preference.

Out of the three, my order of preference is Norton, Doctor Solomon then McAfee.

My brother on the other had prefers F-Prot and uses it on his laptops. Through my experience however, I would advise AGAINST the use of F-Prot as the versions I've seen lack many settings and are very simplistic to the point that it cripples itself. Time and time again I'd find his machine afflicted with viruses as his stubborn loyalty to F-Prot results in history repeating itself. Always ending with me using my NORTON Anti-Virus Rescue Disks to remove the virus.

[meatwad]

Hey Friday, do you work for Symantec? That's quite the speech.

As far as PCWorld goes, I have trouble trusting a magazine that gives top award to a company that advertises in it's pages. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

[FridayAvenger]

Originally posted by meatwad
Hey Friday, do you work for Symantec? That's quite the speech.

As far as PCWorld goes, I have trouble trusting a magazine that gives top award to a company that advertises in it's pages. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

I wish I did, then I'd be rich. Honestly, I'm just a humble cashier who fixes computers for friends and neighbors on the side for extra cash. I'm pretty experienced with computers, mainly software related issues to the point that I can confidently make such a speech without worry. I've had a lot of exposure to computers. Been working on them since I was about 12 years old tinkering with Windows 3.1 and 95. Back then, I wan't too familiar with Symantec. One of my first PCs came with Dr. Solomon and the other with McAfee. I was never too fond of McAfee and Dr. Solomon grew on me for some strange reason. Eventually I had the urge to get a newer version but got sidetracked when I saw Norton Anti-Virus. It was around version 3 or 4 back then and it was fairly inexpensive so I bought it. All the extra settings and better protection won me over. I've never gone back since but I still like to keep myself updated on the brands since most of my repair clients use other brands. Out of those, I persuased a few to switch to Norton and they loved it.

I'll be the to admit, it does use a decent amount of system resources (especially if you set auto-protect to scan All Files and not Program Files Only) but its worth and honestly. In an era where everyone and their grandma (except me. lol) uses a new PC with Windows XP Pro, resources aren't even an issue anymore.

Apologies for this being so long but I'm pretty talkative. On a totally unrelated topic, if you know a lot about hardware (I'm still a little shaky on it), can you check out my topic about PCI slot and card versions. It's in the Tech-To-Tech section. I need some help and I'd appreciate your input.

[geoscomp]

I'm pretty much of the opinion that Mcafee is a problem for a lot of end users, since about 60% of the machines that I get for cleaning have it installed in one version or another, and I sell NAV2003 to customers that want it, but personally I sell and use a lot of Panda Platinum for home users and Sophos Enterprise for corporate and server users.

[FridayAvenger]

Originally posted by a d e p t
I tend to switch around every few months to see what's available and what's new.

I've been using McAfee now for the past 2 years and have never had a problem with it. We used to have it deployed in a hospital and never came across any problem other than installation issues on Novell.

The fact that it covers my Palm is a plus in my book.

Norton Anti-Virus 2002 came with a PDA version as well that I believe also covered Pocket PCs but I'm not too certain. I haven't touched the PDA edition ever since I lost my Palm VII while moving.

I haven't gotten around to purchasing the 2003 edition yet to see if it comes with a PDA version as I had to replace parts left and right on these used machines people gave me for free. Software has offically taken a backseat in my priority list. Damn parts being so expensive.

[coolmandingo]

thanks for the replies all, I just got a version of Norton Antivirus 2003 and I am very happy with it so far. thanks!

[BIGGS]

to check customers machines i usually use pccillin's free online scan @ www.antivirus.com for realtime protection i've trusted nortong antivirus for about 4 years now

[Shard92]

Like i said ( and thanks to Meatwad for agreeing! ) there is no "best" Find the one you like and stick to it. Nothing is perfect.... anyone telling you the av is perfect is either trying to decieve you or themselves. But I'm glad you found one you like.

Friday... i understand what you are saying but at the same time... i can say the exact same thing about Norton, Mcaffee and pccillian not finding something that f-prot did. Is f-prot for everyone? Certainly not, but it works well for me.

A lot of it boils down to knowing HOW to use your Av program as well. How often you update and what you require it to do....

Anyway.... Again Mandingo I hope it works well for you...

[G Man]

I prefer McAfee simply because it just sits there and does it's job and once a week i install the update with no cost whatsoever. Ever.

[The Computer Valet]

Just something I've noticed with NAV....

On older systems -- WIN95, for instance -- I've seen NAV kill disk access to the point where the PC becomes literally unusable. This is simply the auto-protect. I've chosen other packages that stamp a little less hard on the system.

m

[Shard92]

Originally posted by The Computer Valet
Just something I've noticed with NAV....

On older systems -- WIN95, for instance -- I've seen NAV kill disk access to the point where the PC becomes literally unusable. This is simply the auto-protect. I've chosen other packages that stamp a little less hard on the system.

m

I have seen this as well... Although I've never been clear enough to know for sure if it's just NAV or if its the norton system works, utilities or what that actually causes this.

I've also seen it "lock" the recycle bin so you cannot delete stuff. I had some real marathons trying to delete some virus that Norton was "protecting".. Until I realized what was going on!

[meatwad]

Originally posted by G Man
I prefer McAfee simply because it just sits there and does it's job and once a week i install the update with no cost whatsoever. Ever.

Once a week is terrible.

[ilovetheusers]

Originally posted by G Man
I prefer McAfee simply because it just sits there and does it's job and once a week i install the update with no cost whatsoever. Ever.

It's great until one of their updates cause the machine to not boot or give a black screen at boot or cause errors or.....