[BML]

Does anyone have experience with F-Secure anti-virus? Is it good? How about Trend Micro, or Macaffee? I'm looking for ideas/suggestions/recommendations/tips on which av program to get.

[blitzkreig]

F-secure is pretty ok.
Don't go for mcafee, its a resource hog, not even trendMicro, it fails at the basic task of stopping malware right at the gate. Anyone here on tsg would always would recommend three security softwares, try and buy anyone of them
1. Botdefender internet security/antivirus/total security
2. Eset nd32 antivirus or smart security
3. kaspersky internet security 2009 (I use this and i am very satisfied, trust me, it maybe a bit overprotective)

[blitzkreig]

for more, plese check this thread
http://forums.techguy.org/general-se...virus-use.html

[BML]

well I have macafee...and I do think it is a resource hog. that's why I wanted to see what other good, popular ones are out there. I used to have norton's a couple years ago and that thing was even more of a resource hog, it made Macafee look good!

[TOGG]

Have you tried the AV Comparatives site?; http://www.av-comparatives.org/ It's always difficult to decide how much notice to take of the findings of 'test' sites, but at least they provide a starting place for the selection process.

The 'Norton is a resource hog' reputation will take a long time to fade away but, from what I have read, it's no longer true of the 2009 products (I don't know if it is any easier to uninstall than the previous versions, but to do its job properly, I assume that any security program has got to hook itself deep into the system it's supposed tp protect).

I've been using NOD32 for nearly five years now and have been very happy with it, but there's no substitiute for trying these things for yourself.

[perfume]

I ditto TOGG's recommendation to visit the A-V comparatives site,not only as a starting point but also will help you decide which is the best out there "IN 2009".

Yesterday's flavour becomes today's odor in the security scenario and the above site gives you an objective analysis of what their findings are!

I use KIS2009 and as TOGG mentioned, what has satisfied me,may be disliked by you! Norton has actually become a lean mean machine in 2009 and McAfee is not all that bad! I surprise myself when i say that! Pro-active defense or"stop at the gate" approach is good but a virus from the wild about which a particular anti-virus has no signature in it's database cannot offer any kind of protection!

I always have a backup in an external hard drive and recently as a test visited a site with a red warning ring by WOT and my PC was zapped! KIS was a mute witness, and i could restore in fifteen minutes and was up and zooming!

So, an A-V is only as good as your surfing habits and since yesterday am using "Geswall" something similar to "Sandboxie". I feel very comfortable and no malware can enter and penetrate the system ( not 100%, by any means) via the browser!

Best wishes!

[BML]

I am now testing NOD32. Is there some kind of anti virus test website that i can go to and see if this software catches it all?

[TOGG]

I don't know of any specific sites but I suppose you could hang out at MySpace or Facebook for a while!! (only kidding - although they can be risky for the unwary who might be persuaded to look at an image their new 'friend' has uploaded).

There is a test file, which is pretty old now and which only tests definitions based software; http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm while the emphasis now is on behavioural analysis which stops things that don't have a specific definition yet.

When I tried to download EICAR my screen turned a lovely shade of red and NOD32 quarantined and deleted it before it got installed.

[perfume]

Originally Posted by TOGG

I don't know of any specific sites but I suppose you could hang out at MySpace or Facebook for a while!! (only kidding - although they can be risky for the unwary who might be persuaded to look at an image their new 'friend' has uploaded).

There is a test file, which is pretty old now and which only tests definitions based software; http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm while the emphasis now is on behavioural analysis which stops things that don't have a specific definition yet.

When I tried to download EICAR my screen turned a lovely shade of red and NOD32 quarantined and deleted it before it got installed.

Dear TOGG,
That's one problem (EICAR) which can be detected and prevented from entering the system, simply because nod32 has the virus signature in it's database.

What A-V comparatives and another objective analysis site(memory's slippin') does is they freeze the A-Vs which satisfy certain criteria in real-time, so that no updates are possible and three months down the line these sites(two) collect all the new viruses caught in the wild and un-freeze these A-Vs and throw the viruses at the programs and see which one gets to identify the virus first, one after another! A very tough test but it seperates the men from the boys!