antivirus software

[MESA Boogie]

i have a 2 year license for AVG pro 7.5 ... they have released a new version AVG 8 and I upgraded my license ... after installing this new version the computer slowed down considerably and it reminded me of the good old days of Norton ... I finally uninstalled AVG 8 and put 7.5 back on .... they included a spyware thing with the new version and when I did my first scan with the new version I almost fell on the floor ... there were well over 12,000 so called warnings listed for spyware and potential threats ... for the life of me I couldn't figure out what was going on because I knew there was no way that all that stuff was on my computer, and there was also no way that I could delete any of this stuff, the program wouldn't let me ... after doing some reading I found out that all these listed warnings and threats, weren't threats at all, but a conflict between AVG 8 and Spybot .... all this stuff listed was everything that Spybot had immunized ... it is also my understanding that AVG will eventually be fading out the free version 7.5 sometime this year, and going with a free version of 8 ... needless to say, I don't have a good feeling about this ... I am looking for something to replace AVG with ... I have read different posts on here about Avast and AntiVir ... do either of them do scheduled scans in the free version ... and if they don't, is there any harm in not having scheduled scans and having to rely on doing manual scans ... Avg scans everyday, which is a pain in the butt ... is Avast better than AVG ?? ... I know I will get good advice on this from the users on the this forum and thankyou for your help ...

[Broni]

1. I never liked combos. I use single purpose AV (AVG), and single purpose firewall (Comodo).
2. I don't use scheduled scans. What for? I basically don't scan at all. I assume, that since the program runs in real-time, I'm protected. Unless I notice something strange on my computer, but it never happened.
3. Avast, and AntiVir provide real time protection. I'm not sure about scheduled scan, but as I said before, I don't care about it.

[MESA Boogie]

thanks Broni ... between Avast and AntiVir which one would you prefer

[Broni]

I've never used either of them, but Avast! seems to have more fans.

[MESA Boogie]

may I ask what antivirus software you use ...

[Broni]

I use free AVG.

[MESA Boogie]

thanks Broni .. I use the professional version of AVG ... not much difference between it and the free version, just that you can have it check for automatic updates however often you want .... I am really disappointed in the newest version they have put out .... so I hope they don't make us switch over to that anytime soon .... thanks again for all your help ...

[Broni]

Pro version, differs in only two aspects, I believe:
1. Scheduled scan - which I don't care of.
2. Getting updates as often, as you want - free version updates automatically once a day, and this is often enough for me.

[HAN]

Mesa Boogie: Your experience with AVG Pro is one of (IMO) an alarming trend of "anti" programs, where they no longer co-exist peacefully with other "anti" programs. One of the biggest in my mind is a recent post here is that Kaspersky would not function properly with some other well known "anti" apps installed on the same PC. http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...d.php?t=227239 I have yet to be convinced that any one company has got it ALL figured out and can offer the BEST protection in all areas. What happened to the idea that layers provide the best protection? (That must not fit in with some company's marketing plans!!! )

Anyway, mini rant aside, if you are looking for a free AV alternative that has scheduled scans, all three can do it but two of them have limits. Free AVG is locked as once daily and Avast must be manually modified to be able to run a scheduled scan (and some users may not understand how to go about doing this.) AntiVir is the only free AV that truly supports scheduled scans. (But it's big limitation does not have an email scanner!)

So, bottom line is that with the freebies, there is no free lunch. I guess we just need to pick the one that offers the best mix of what we most want...

[Broni]

Your experience with AVG Pro is one of (IMO) an alarming trend of "anti" programs, where they no longer co-exist peacefully with other "anti" programs. One of the biggest in my mind is a recent post here is that Kaspersky would not function properly with some other well known "anti" apps installed on the same PC.

How right you're, but.....nothing beats TrendMicro. Check my post here: http://www.computerhope.com/forum/in...html#msg314229

[MESA Boogie]

I was so disappointed with what grisoft has done to AVG .... I just can't understand why some companies just can't leave things alone ... there was no reason for such a big slowdown on my computer when I tried AVG 8 ... I don't mind paying for something as long as it works ... I just want an antivirus program ... I don't want it to scan for spyware ( I have programs to do that ) ... can anyone recommend an antivirus program that will just scan for viruses and trojans ... thank you

[Broni]

AVG free does exactly that.

[MESA Boogie]

yes I know it does that ... but from the reading that I have been doing
AVG 7.5 is going to be replaced with the new version sometime before the end of the year ...

[HAN]

I'm not aware that any of the 3 freebies mentioned here are anything more than what most of us envision as typical AV's. How they work, setup options and so forth are obviously different but to my knowledge, they will all co-exist with other branded anti-apyware and firewalls.

Mesa Boogie: If you like AVG, go with it for the time being until you see how things shake out. My guess is that Grisoft may not make free AVG 8.x the same as the paid version (when it comes to the anti-spyware part.) Of course, this is just my theory!

[MESA Boogie]

I sure hope they don't make it like the paid version ... I have the paid version right now, and the paid version of AVG 8 is horrible ! .... thats why I took it off and went back to AVG 7.5 ...