Anti-Virus Program Advice

[Xameil]

I know this has been posted before, but I couldn't find the thread.

I am looking for a good anti-virus software. I know there are a few out there that are free, and as good if not better then the pay ones.

Anyone have any advice of any good ones?

[Rudechain]

I have used quite a bit of different vendors through work.

 

Free?  Try AVG or Avast.   I really like Kapersky but you have to pay for it.  Comodo is supposedly better now, but I did not care for it when I tested it a few years ago.  Not sure about their firewall offering  OH, and I absolutely can't stand McCaffee or Symantec.

 

 

But anti-virus is only one thing, you still want some sort of anti-malware.  You would think that one product could handle both virus and malware signatures, but with nearlyl twenty years in IT security I have yet to find one product that can protect you from virus and malware.   So include a copy of malwarebytes and run a scan pretty often.  Your anti-virus should be set to scan everything including mail.

 

I also downloaded a free copy of Sophos bootable anti-virus.   It's pretty good to scan your computer before it gets into Windows and can snag those nasty root kits.

 

Windows firewall has gotten better, but it requires diligence.  There are some more "user friendly" firewalls out there.   Make sure you find one your happy with and can understand.  

 

 

The key to keeping your PC clean is ensuring your anti-virus has the latest definitions.  Make sure your anti-malware has the latest definitions and monitor your activity through the firewall.

 

Good luck.

[Forehead]

AVG and Avast are two free ones that are pretty well regarded. I've used either one pretty interchangeably...though Avast is much more "noticeable" in it's updates; it pops up to tell you every time it's definitions are updated.

[Xameil]

Awesome thank you. I'm not necessarily looking for free, but last thread most people were suggesting the free were just as good, so I figure why pay if the free is the same quality.

Thank you for the advice.

[Dont Taze Me Bro]

Right now I have McAfee Security Center and its fine, I've had zero problems with it.  I have also had Kapersky based off the recommendation from a co-worker in IT.  I liked it, it wasn't as user friendly as others, but once you learned how to properly use it, it was fine too.  

 

I had Norton 360 a while back and it was ****ing horrible, avoid like the plague.  It did something to my registry files that affected my add/remove programs and I couldn't remove any programs.  It also screwed up other various aspects of my system that I can't remember now.  

 

As posted above, I also have Malwarebytes anti-malware in addition to McAfee and I have not had any issues with my computer falling victim to any attacks.  When I bought this PC, it came with a free 2 year sub with McAfee, it worked out really good for me, so I resubscribed to it.  I also went to the full pay version of Malwarebytes after my trial expired.

 

Also, you need to research various brands, read reviews, etc.  And it depends what you want to do with the brand you select.  For example, I'm a huge PC gamer, so I wanted one that offered great protection, user friendly but that would not sap CPU resources or interfere with my games and lag me out.  

 

Kapersky was excellent, once I figured out how to set all the rules, etc. to allow connections to servers, stuff like that.  McAfee is extremely user friendly with their firewall and programs granting access to your PC.  

[Bang]

Always use SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes in conjunction with your anti-virus.

Both free, both awesome, both catch things the others miss.

http://www.superantispyware.com/

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

~Bang

[Xameil]

Thank you very much everyone. I've used mcafee, I liked it, but I hear that it is a huge memory drain and there I'd better out there that isn't as expensive

[Zguy28]

Avg is actually very good and has been known to catch some advanced stuff that big companies miss. Also MS Security Essentials is good. In addition, download Microsoft EMET 3.0 (its free) and set to recommended security. It will stop a lot of bad stuff from executing and is not signature based so it doesn't need regular updates or to scan your pc. Bad stuff will just crash your browser, pdf viewer etc. instead of infecting you.

[JoeWolf990]

MS Security Essentials.

[SoulSkin]

Just an FYI for anyone out there using Microsft Security Essentials: Microsoft is now saying they wouldn't recommend using it. Ha.

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/173291/goodbye-microsoft-security-essentials-microsoft-now-recommends-you-use-a-third-party-antivirus/

 

For any home users, I think free Avast! is the ticket, alongside a paid version of Malwarebyte's anti-malware. The free version of MBAM is an on-demand scanner and does not actively protect you, though it will help you when you update and run it manually. It's a great product that has made my life easier countless times and worth paying those guys for. Wait for a deal on it (techbargains.com will have it listed every so often on newegg for like $15), or you can just pay the full $25. It will catch a lot of stuff that any anti-virus won't.

 

And just for those people who get nasty bugs on their PCs and just MBAM can't get it off completely. They also make an anti-rootkit utility now. http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/mbar/ . Been seeing a lot more of those over the past year. Other good cleanup programs are eset online scanner and rogue killer.(read the instructions for Rogue Killer if you're going to use it!)

 

http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/

 

http://tigzy.geekstogo.com/roguekiller.php

[JoeWolf990]

Just an FYI for anyone out there using Microsft Security Essentials: Microsoft is now saying they wouldn't recommend using it. Ha.

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/173291/goodbye-microsoft-security-essentials-microsoft-now-recommends-you-use-a-third-party-antivirus/

 

For any home users, I think free Avast! is the ticket, alongside a paid version of Malwarebyte's anti-malware. The free version of MBAM is an on-demand scanner and does not actively protect you, though it will help you when you update and run it manually. It's a great product that has made my life easier countless times and worth paying those guys for. Wait for a deal on it (techbargains.com will have it listed every so often on newegg for like $15), or you can just pay the full $25. It will catch a lot of stuff that any anti-virus won't.

 

And just for those people who get nasty bugs on their PCs and just MBAM can't get it off completely. They also make an anti-rootkit utility now. http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/mbar/ . Been seeing a lot more of those over the past year. Other good cleanup programs are eset online scanner and rogue killer.(read the instructions for Rogue Killer if you're going to use it!)

 

http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/

 

http://tigzy.geekstogo.com/roguekiller.php

welp

thankfully I also use malwarebytes. I may have to go back to Kaspersky after reading this though.

[Rudechain]

MS Security Essentials.

Microsoft recommends you use a 3rd party anti-virus now.   Speaks poorly of Security Essentials 

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/173291/goodbye-microsoft-security-essentials-microsoft-now-recommends-you-use-a-third-party-antivirus/

 

edit:  just saw Soulskin posted the same article.

 

As part of my job, I have to actually release some of these bugs in my lab.  I also simulate attacks to harden networks.   Over the years I think I have seen some very strange things but the bugs today are getting more and more ingenious.

 

Develop a best practices routine, back up your data, keep everything up to date and fully patched and closely monitor traffic/port usage.  

 

 

One other thing you can do is to capture  your windows image and store it.

 

Get yourself Windows AIK (automated installation toolkit free download from MS)

 

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5753

 

Examine your OS drive, find out the size of your OS with all apps and such.   Then either get a Passport or USB stick big enough to hold that image.

 

You will want to create a WINPE USB ( windows pre-enviorment)  Also, when formatting, use NTFS, FAT32 simply will not work for the image as the file size will be to large. 

 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744530(v=ws.10).aspx

 

note:  make sure imagex is also on this disk

 

Sysprep your computer ( note, you have a limited number of syspreps before you have to re-load windows)  and have PC shutdown when complete

 

Boot the computer using the WinPE USB created earlier, you will get command line interface.

 

( hint:  type notepad in the command line, and you can see select file open to verify drives so you know what drive imagex is)

 

now you will want to capture that image. 

 

imagex /capture c:\ c:\my-windows-partition.wim "My Windows partition"  

 

 note the drive letters may differ and the file name can differ  I usually go ahead and capture the image and save it to the same USB drive with WINPE.  This makes for easier storage and ability to apply.

 

 

Once you have the image captured, you can reboot the computer, use it knowing you have a backup copy.

 

 

If you ever need to go back to this image, you can simply boot off the USB as we did earlier, only now you will apply the image

 

imagex /apply d:\imaging\data.wim 1 d:\New_Directory /verify

 

Note: once again, drive letters and file names may differ on your PC.

 

technet has some pretty good articles on this

 

to capture image

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744320(v=ws.10).aspx

 

to apply the image

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766447(v=ws.10).aspx

 

 

I highly recommend capturing your windows image and storing it.  Never hurts to have a copy.  What if your hard drive fails?