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RE: What's the best Virus protection program?

 
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RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/16/2009 11:19:42 PM   
LarryP


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OK. After testing a few programs, here is what I found:

Kaspersky Trial: I ran this on two different machines, totally different. Even after pausing all actions, file manager and other programs run at a crawl. After turning off each item individually, even the firewall, programs run at a crawl. Scans were OK. Using it was great. Nice interface. I uninstalled it and things are lightning fast once again. Rating = C, Not for me.

Norton 2009 Trial: No Firefox plugins. I use Firefox and always will. Rating = Won't work for me. No grade since I did not use the program, once I saw that the plugins were not there.

MS Security Essentials, FREE: It turned on Automatic Updates and was ready to install a bunch of MS updates I am avoiding, until I caught this in time and stopped it! I turned Automatic Updates back off, disabled it like I always keep it until I am ready to siphon through the good and bad ones myself. There is no way to easily disable virus checking! Right clicking the icon in the TaskBar has one option which is "Open." If I play a game, I have to go in and disable everything in the settings. Scans are OK. Updates are very slow. Interface is childish. Options are few. It is FREE though. Rating = D.

Malwarebytes, FREE: So far so good. Does not stay in memory. Easy to use, updates fast, scans fast. Interface is good. Does not do everything but it's FREE. Rating = A, good so far.

Avast: This so far is the best anti virus for a gamer in my opinion. Easy to disable, updates are fast, does NOT slow down my system, and it's FREE. Interface is great. Rating = A, best so far.

Kaspersky is the only one above that has a firewall. I am back to using the XP firewall which is not a good choice, but I won't use one that bogs everything down. Especially when I turn it off and it still does. Kaspersky did just that. ZoneAlarm Pro also did this, but I have not tried the most recent versions either.

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Post #: 61
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/16/2009 11:29:51 PM   
kingstuart444


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i had avg but wanted to go with something not so hogish.. now i am using avast as av and comodo as a firewall. the comodo download comes with a few different choices (av firewall and soemthing else). i just installed the firewall. so far so good and i do notice a difference.

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Post #: 62
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/16/2009 11:54:14 PM   
LarryP


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From: Carson City, NV
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quote:

ORIGINAL: kingstuart

i had avg but wanted to go with something not so hogish.. now i am using avast as av and comodo as a firewall. the comodo download comes with a few different choices (av firewall and soemthing else). i just installed the firewall. so far so good and i do notice a difference.


A difference in speed? What kind of difference?

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Post #: 63
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/17/2009 12:15:22 AM   
kingstuart444


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for me, seems quicker to boot and get email/ surf . quicker all around. avg had a lot of extras built into the DL come to find out. on their boards they suggested a re install with just what you want on board.

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Post #: 64
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/17/2009 12:43:49 AM   
killroyishere

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LarryP

OK. After testing a few programs, here is what I found:

Kaspersky Trial: I ran this on two different machines, totally different. Even after pausing all actions, file manager and other programs run at a crawl. After turning off each item individually, even the firewall, programs run at a crawl. Scans were OK. Using it was great. Nice interface. I uninstalled it and things are lightning fast once again. Rating = C, Not for me.

Norton 2009 Trial: No Firefox plugins. I use Firefox and always will. Rating = Won't work for me. No grade since I did not use the program, once I saw that the plugins were not there.

MS Security Essentials, FREE: It turned on Automatic Updates and was ready to install a bunch of MS updates I am avoiding, until I caught this in time and stopped it! I turned Automatic Updates back off, disabled it like I always keep it until I am ready to siphon through the good and bad ones myself. There is no way to easily disable virus checking! Right clicking the icon in the TaskBar has one option which is "Open." If I play a game, I have to go in and disable everything in the settings. Scans are OK. Updates are very slow. Interface is childish. Options are few. It is FREE though. Rating = D.

Malwarebytes, FREE: So far so good. Does not stay in memory. Easy to use, updates fast, scans fast. Interface is good. Does not do everything but it's FREE. Rating = A, good so far.

Avast: This so far is the best anti virus for a gamer in my opinion. Easy to disable, updates are fast, does NOT slow down my system, and it's FREE. Interface is great. Rating = A, best so far.

Kaspersky is the only one above that has a firewall. I am back to using the XP firewall which is not a good choice, but I won't use one that bogs everything down. Especially when I turn it off and it still does. Kaspersky did just that. ZoneAlarm Pro also did this, but I have not tried the most recent versions either.


It's no good being simple an easy and doesn't bog your system down if it's not doing the job. Any anti-virus protection program can just sit there and do nothing it's the ones that actually discover and remove that are the best and you asked for the BEST you did not ask for the ones that don't bog your system down. But, when something fatal happens later on and you're scratching your head why? Just remember this little thread. I'll stick with the childish interface one that actually does something as Microsoft makes the OS it resides on so I'd just as soon have their virus protection scheme and updating system myself. Also the options are hardly few for Microsoft Security Essentials and has been rated top dog side by side with Avira so you're giving out a lot of false info and results on it. It's been tried and tested against some of the harshest viruses and trojans out there. I give it an A easily. Avast and Malwarebytes drop to B's.
The only thing Avast ever did was report malicious sites I don't have a single thing in quarentine from using it and already MS Security Essentials has 3. Malwarebytes came up with too many false positives as well.

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Post #: 65
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/17/2009 1:52:51 AM   
sabre1


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I use Windows Live One Care. I have not had any problems to date, (that I'm aware of).

I have been using One Care for the last two years on my laptop and desktop. YMMV.

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Post #: 66
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/21/2009 3:41:50 AM   
ajhai89

 

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if you are set on free then avira would be your best choice.great detection rates and light on system resources.avast would be my second choice.free avg 8.5 sucks. i don't care what the avg fanatics say.your computer being slow and crashing a lot isn't necessarily a malware issue.i can be but not always.
========================================================
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Post #: 67
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/21/2009 9:45:22 PM   
gunny

 

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Is there something wrong with having two active antvir programs going.
I have Microsoft security essentials and avast running and they seem to operate around each other OK. Once they do their update check I don't notice any slowdowns.

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Post #: 68
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/23/2009 4:54:33 AM   
sujha123

 

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i herd norton was pretty good but everybody has there own opinion on that right ow i,m using a free version of AVG
i really like it an i think in my own opinion that its the best one.i also have zone alarm with it, so together they work great
=======================================================
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Warhammer


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Post #: 69
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/23/2009 9:03:27 AM   
killroyishere

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: gunny

Is there something wrong with having two active antvir programs going.
I have Microsoft security essentials and avast running and they seem to operate around each other OK. Once they do their update check I don't notice any slowdowns.


The word is there can be gunny and can cause some serious stability issues. There's nothing written in stone though you can't, it's just said that you shouldn't.

For instance this one says you can: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5172670_can-run-antivirus-programs.html

This one taken from the wiki pages:
quote:

System related issues
Running multiple antivirus programs concurrently can degrade performance and create conflicts.[22] It is sometimes necessary to temporarily disable virus protection when installing major updates such as Windows Service Packs or updating graphics card drivers.[23] Active antivirus protection may partially or completely prevent the installation of a major update.



So it's a gamble to say the least. I would say if you're going to use more than one be sure and have them scan at seperate times and make sure they don't overlap scan times. I usually just use Windows Live Care (great registry cleaner and virus warning scanner) online services periodically and then Windows Security Essentials is my main protection AV atm. I'd suggest doing a full scan at least once a week and quick scans every other day.

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Post #: 70
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/24/2009 8:00:58 PM   
Jeffrey H.


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It's weird how the spammers join in like this.

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RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/25/2009 6:15:47 AM   
vimal4589

 

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All anti-viruses get rid of viruses. It's a matter of updating your anti-virus. Get Kaspersky it updates very often and gets rid of viruses. It also scan's in the background all the time
========================================================
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RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 11/25/2009 7:48:09 AM   
killroyishere

 

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and this ^ one too Jeffrey

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RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/2/2009 8:21:41 AM   
rhias

 

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i herd norton was pretty good but everybody has there own opinion on that right ow i,m using a free version of AVG
i really like it an i think in my own opinion that its the best one.i also have zone alarm with it, so together they work great
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Nashville Real Estate
fascia boards


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Post #: 74
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/2/2009 2:53:48 PM   
GoodGuy

 

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Did we talk about the weather yet?

_____________________________

"Aw Nuts"
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December 22nd, 1944
Bastogne

---
"I've always felt that the AA (Alied Assault engine) had the potential to be [....] big."
Tim Stone
8th of August, 2006

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Post #: 75
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/2/2009 3:32:01 PM   
LarryP


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From: Carson City, NV
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quote:

ORIGINAL: rhias

i herd norton was pretty good but everybody has there own opinion on that right ow i,m using a free version of AVG
i really like it an i think in my own opinion that its the best one.i also have zone alarm with it, so together they work great
===============================================================
Nashville Real Estate
fascia boards


Spambot.

(in reply to rhias)
Post #: 76
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/13/2009 2:16:20 PM   
GoodGuy

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LarryP

I used ZoneAlarm Pro for a couple of years and had nothing but troubles on two machines with different systems. Never again.


I guess you're still using Windows' firewall and nothing else?
Don't do that.

On a sidenote, until around 3 or 4 yrs ago, ZoneAlarm used to have a few security holes, in particular where ZA wouldn't report/deny outbound traffic from local services and/or apps. ShieldsUp and other pages reported about that. They (ZA) did do their homework, so it had been fixed a while ago.

I'm using a pretty old version (version 2.0.15A from 2001) of "Tiny Personal Firewall", which is an ultra-light firewall. It's almost impossible to find this particular version, so the usual version still floating around (eg. here: http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/internet/23786/tiny_personal_firewall.html) may be 2.1.15 .

Both versions also have a port monitor (right-click -> "FW status window") showing all opened connections on your computer ["localhost"], and even tasks that are "listening" on say port 135. Geez, that reminds me of having to close that sucker. If I could only remember how, now hahaha, hmmm might deal with alg.exe . Oh well, that happens if your brain has to memorize a shytload of tweaks in order to make things safer these days.
Anyway, so this port monitor is almost as good as a stand-alone monitor (eg. "ActivePorts").
Tiny also disables and blocks NetBIOS (packets), which can be used to gain remote access.

Kerio Personal Firewall isn't a bad FW either, actually they tried to include a warning list, and a more simplified approach for less tech savyy people (like in Zone Alarm), while keeping a lightweight structure. Actually, although KerioPF used to be based on the same engine as TPF, newer versions may not have the possibility to restrict apps to certain ports (say firefox to port 80), and I really need/want that feature. It also adds another level of security.

Quite some trojans edit the registry to disable common firewalls. The user won't figure it, as often the icons in the system tray are still active/visible.

There's a neat registry entry you can add to avoid that, and it should work for both, TPF and (older?) versions of KPF (in cases where Kerio uses the same driver/entry "fwdrv")

Under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\fwdrv

just add a new D-Word and name it "AlwaysSecure" (without the ""), then double-click on the new parameter and set it to 1 (decimal).

This will cause your system to shut down the internet connection the second you shut down your firewall engine/driver (or if it had been disabled by a trojan/virus). If you use that switch, it will be active on next reboot. Deleting the D-Word entry or setting the value to 0 (ZERO = off, 1 = on) will disable that feature.

EDIT: I didn't use this registry switch before .... but I just added it, rebooted, and wow, that's neat. Although the DSL status window is still visible, the connection is dead after I shut down the Firewall. Nice ! Trojan programmers can change the value, but this entry shouldn't be targeted by too many hackers, as the FW is old and not really common anymore.

I prefer such dino firewalls to recent "hightech" firewalls, as you are actually the boss, and not some halfassed automated rule-settings thingy.

I recommend that you try tiny personal FW. My old version works on XP like a charm, I'm not 100% sure about 2.1.15.
There is a rare chance that you get a bluescreen (I think it used to deal with XP's SP1 or SP2) , if so you'd have to uninstall it and switch to my version. I could send it to you, if you can't find it, so you could give it a try.

Btw, you should know a little bit about the basics regarding ports and system processes, before using such "simple" but effective firewalls, but ShieldsUp and Google should provide sufficient info, in case a port or EXE file catches your attention.

Since you said you printed out my collection of tips, I'd say such a lightweight fw should work out for you. Once you've created a few rules (you get popups for each and every access to the internet until you have set say 5 or 10 rules, which is easy) the fw won't bother you anymore, as you will "just" get a few popups once in a while when hackers or automated trojan/worm routines try to attack your computer. You create a rule and deny such attempts, and for outgoing connections you may have to evaluate if you really need that particular service/application to access the net, once in a while.
With this type of firewall, you'll get to know (and you'll be surprised) more about what apps (and what ports) are trying to access the net, as nothing is automated, except for the enforcement of the rules you set.
HOI III's launcher for example tries to connect to a server when you get to the launcher screen, and it will display an Internet Explorer page (funny I am using firefox exclusively) "this page cannot be displayed", if you don't permit the launcher to establish an outgoing connection. If you're offline, the launcher will display the proper image.

A tiny lesson on how to use such ultra-light but powerful firewalls:


  • Deny (check "Create appropriate filter rule" and hit DENY) incoming or outgoing requests dealing with the "Generic Host Process".

  • Deny incoming + outgoing ICMP Echo Requests and IMCP Echo Replies, so hackers/port scanners will think your IP is dead (or firewalled), means they can't PING your computer anymore. Deny any "incoming ICMP".

  • Deny incoming or outgoing connections trying to access "SYSTEM" on your puter. Create a rule (just check the "Create filter rule" option and hit DENY.

  • Reduce access of typical internet apps: eg. Firefox usually only needs to access port 80 and 443 (for SSL secure connections), for outgoing TCP connections. No other ports, NO incoming connection and no UDP protocol needed.

    Check "Create filter rule", then click on "customize rule".
    For such outgoing connections, the local endpoint isn't important (and may vary each time an app tries to access the net), but the remote point's port number: Don't touch the radio button for the IP address, as you don't want to apply the rule to one IP only (in this case at least), then just switch from "Create rule for any remote port" to "Create rule for this remote port only" (say 443 or 80) and hit okay. The neat thing here is that TFP will give you the number of the port each time, so you actually get to know what app is using what port (and what's going on on your system). Once back on the "Outgoing Connection Alert" window, you just hit PERMIT.

  • Install XP-AntiSpy and go through the settings/switches. Using AntiSpy (and setting most of the offered options) will reduce Windows' attempts to "phone home" (ET-style, to Microsoft in this case heheh) to ZERO. It will also turn off bubbles and hints, and - really important - cut MediaPlayer's habit to install (potentially malicious) codecs and DRM without asking the user, as this can't be blocked by a firewall.

  • With all other connection alerts, just go with common sense and check WHO or WHAT is trying to establish an outbound/inbound connection, means keep an eye on the application's name and port, and hit DENY if you're not sure what it is.
    Just check "create rule" and hit DENY and the Firewall won't bother you again. In turn, if you create a rule and hit PERMIT, then make sure you KNOW what application will get a permit. All firewalls depend on the user's level of attention/knowledge.

    If an incoming request tries to access let's say firefox on a port other than 80 or 443, without you having clicked on any link, then there is a chance that someone tries to exploit one of those 80! medium risk security holes in FF (rated indeed as medium risks by experts, IE has less than 40 these days), and there's still a tiny chance that it could be some way of pulling data streams to your puter (like for advertizing or video streams), too.
    But in general, even these kinda connections can be established on port 80, and there's usually NO reason to have a site push content/data to your puter (which you'd then notice as incoming connection alert in your firewall), respectively your browser.

  • All incoming connections on Windows' service ports (port 1024 and below) and "destination unreachable" Firewall events should make you suspicious and double check what's going on. Same with the usual suspects like port 135, 53, 35 for outgoing/incoming connections. Read up on the webby ShieldsUp and other sites why you should watch and deny access to these ports.

    < Message edited by GoodGuy -- 12/13/2009 5:36:34 PM >


    _____________________________

    "Aw Nuts"
    General Anthony McAuliffe
    December 22nd, 1944
    Bastogne

    ---
    "I've always felt that the AA (Alied Assault engine) had the potential to be [....] big."
    Tim Stone
    8th of August, 2006

    (in reply to LarryP)
Post #: 77
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/15/2009 4:50:37 AM   
LarryP


Posts: 3783
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From: Carson City, NV
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Goodguy; Thank you very much for your information! I printed this out.

My question is what firewall do you recommend for Vista? Tiny won't work with Vista. My laptop runs Vista Home Premium. My two desktops run XP. I am using Sunbelt now but I would like more control over individual rules.

< Message edited by LarryP -- 12/15/2009 3:43:10 PM >

(in reply to GoodGuy)
Post #: 78
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/15/2009 3:30:21 PM   
LarryP


Posts: 3783
Joined: 5/15/2005
From: Carson City, NV
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Jeffrey H.

It's weird how the spammers join in like this.


I had another word for spammers, but I agree.

(in reply to Jeffrey H.)
Post #: 79
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/15/2009 4:53:52 PM   
GoodGuy

 

Posts: 1506
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From: Cologne, Germany
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: LarryP

Goodguy; Thank you very much for your information! I printed this out.


You're welcome .

quote:

My question is what firewall do you recommend for Vista? Tiny won't work with Vista. My laptop runs Vista Home Premium.


Do you want to try my older TPF-version? It may work on vista.

quote:

My two desktops run XP.


Install TPF on your desktops as long as you use XP on them.

quote:

I am using Sunbelt now but I would like more control over individual rules.


That's the Kerio firewall, right?

http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/documents/sunbelt_personal_firewall_user_guide.pdf

Page 57:

"Network security" -> APPLICATIONS tab:
-> "Packet Filter"
"Networky Security - Advanced Packet Filter"-window will open
(I hate the menus of the new versions, kinda confusing naming there)

Highlight the application/service in the large window on the right, then hit EDIT. This should be pretty much like the list you get if you click on ADVANCED in Tiny PF. The Sunbelt/kerio FW should have a similar window for each ruke, where you can set ports, etc. Make sure you double check stuff before you hit apply.

Btw, if you hit the START button, then "RUN", then type cmd, then enter "tasklist /svc" then you'll get detailed infos about who/what is using vital system tasks (eg. svchost.exe). Reminder: Just like Windows' taskmanager, it does not show all processes on your puter, you need a stand-alone monitor to see all tasks. Helps to identify malicious processes (I recommend hijackThis though. :P), sometimes - though.

From Sunbelt's FAQ:

quote:

QUESTION: I have a firewall in my router, do I still need a software firewall?

ANSWER: Yes, for instance if you want to know if any malware is trying to "phone home" from your PC and steal your personal information. A software firewall like Sunbelt Personal Firewall will inform you about that attempt, but a firewall in a router will not. There are many other reasons, but this one illustrates the point.

Many people still think a hardware firewall will protect them. It usually does not block outbound traffic, and most default settings will allow everyone and his mom to try and access your puter on say port 80 by using holes in your browser. So, even though such FAQ's may sound like "get our product and you'll be safe"-promotion crap, that part of their FAQ is actually spot-on.

< Message edited by GoodGuy -- 12/15/2009 5:08:30 PM >


_____________________________

"Aw Nuts"
General Anthony McAuliffe
December 22nd, 1944
Bastogne

---
"I've always felt that the AA (Alied Assault engine) had the potential to be [....] big."
Tim Stone
8th of August, 2006

(in reply to LarryP)
Post #: 80
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/19/2009 9:12:17 AM   
theja

 

Posts: 3
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his would purely be a question of opinion.

My laptop came with a trial version of Norton antivirus. In my experience, however, it guzzled a lot of my system's resources. After it's expiration, I switched to AVG Free edition. I found it on a website as a free download.

I also recommend Avast! Home free edition.
======================================================
coco in fishnet
chicago limo


(in reply to LarryP)
Post #: 81
RE: What's the best Virus protection program? - 12/19/2009 2:44:37 PM   
LarryP


Posts: 3783
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From: Carson City, NV
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quote:

ORIGINAL: theja

his would purely be a question of opinion.

My laptop came with a trial version of Norton antivirus. In my experience, however, it guzzled a lot of my system's resources. After it's expiration, I switched to AVG Free edition. I found it on a website as a free download.

I also recommend Avast! Home free edition.
======================================================
coco in fishnet
chicago limo




Spammer!!!

(in reply to theja)
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