[DKTaber]

Having recently had problems with AV updates with both Avira and Avast, I downloaded/installed the trial version of BitDefender today. Have no problem with updates, but do have one issue: If 'Scan incoming' (and I assume, but have not tested, 'Scan outgoing') e-mail is enabled, I have no e-mail connection; can't send or receive. Disable it and e-mail works perfectly.

Anybody else have this problem? Is there something else I need to set to get it to work?

BTW, I am not enamoured with BitDefenders tech support. Tried 3 times to use the chat page, and nothing happened. The box where you first enter your question is big enough to hold probably 300 characters, but after you click next, it tells you you're limited to 128 characters (even though THAT box would hold probably 500). Really poor page design, nothing happens, and nothing tells you something like it's only available from 9pm-4pm EST.

OS is Win XP-SP3 and e-mail client is OE.

[perfume]

Dear DKTaber,
I am wiping my tears away because i bought the three licensed BitDefender security suite recently. I have KIS2009 and their customer service is real slack.

Kindly take a look at the thumbnail as to what i have done,regarding the E-mail settings in KIS

[DKTaber]

Originally Posted by perfume

Dear DKTaber,
I am wiping my tears away because i bought the three licensed BitDefender security suite recently. I have KIS2009 and their customer service is real slack.

Kindly take a look at the thumbnail as to what i have done,regarding the E-mail settings in KIS

Perfume: Not sure I understand. In sentence 1, you say you bought BD, but in sentence 2, you "have" the KIS suite. Which are you using now? If you tried BD and set it to scan e-mail, did it block your e-mail connection? Does KIS block your e-mail connection? In sentence 3, is the last word ("slack") correct, or did you intend to type "slick"?

[perfume]

Dear DKTaber,
i have bought B.D off the shelf and not installed it yet! The KIS2009 is still on my desktop. It was "slack",meaning late, not so useful,etc.KIS does scan and block e-mail with ads, because that's how i confugured it!

[blitzkreig]

looks like all security software vendors offer poor customer service after the product sale, as of now I too use kaspersky internet security 2009, I am waiting for the 2010 edition to release sometime next month, will see if there are other significant improvements, if not I plan to go in for Avira's premium security suite.

[perfume]

Dear Blitz,
The option to install Avira premium is excellent. Let me congratulate you!
KIS2010 has a gamer mode and a Firefox helper as extras (correct me if there are more). I personally don't think FF3 needs any more beefing up. To make it a safe vault install the free GeSWall (Free).

[DKTaber]

Originally Posted by blitzkreig

. . . if not I plan to go in for Avira's premium security suite.

FYI, I had Avira for about 2 years. Only reason I went to BD is because Avira ver. 9 has a major problem. I cannot update the pattern files. It downloads them, then starts the update again, freezes and locks the computer. Cannot "end task" with Task Manager; have to shut down and reboot. Tried un- and re-installing several times (incl. cleaning the registry each time), but still didn't work. Others (per their forum) are having the same problem, and responses by Avira staff don't fix the problem.

Thinking the issue might be because I have a virus or spyware that's preventing the updates, I did online scans with BD, Panda, and Trend Micro. None found any virus, and SuperAntiSpyware and Ad-Aware also find no spyware.

I'd be interested in knowing if you have the same problem after you install Avira.

[perfume]

Dear DKTaber,
Excuse me since i do not know your experience with registry cleaning. I am mentioning this because in your post you mentioned"(incl. cleaning the registry each time)". If you are using any reg.cleaner it will do more harm than good!

I have no personal exp. with Avira but had a brush with AVG. I consider any A-V has to be better than AVG!

[DKTaber]

Originally Posted by perfume

Dear DKTaber,
Excuse me since i do not know your experience with registry cleaning. I am mentioning this because in your post you mentioned"(incl. cleaning the registry each time)". If you are using any reg.cleaner it will do more harm than good!

I have no personal exp. with Avira but had a brush with AVG. I consider any A-V has to be better than AVG!

I know there are opposing opinions about registry cleaning. My main registry cleaner is CCleaner. It has never caused the computer to malfunction after a cleaning, and if it ever does, it backs the registry up before cleaning it, so it's very easy to restore. However, the initial registry cleaning when removing a program is done by Revo Uninstaller. It has multiple levels of "uninstall". If you use level 4, the "deepest" uninstall, it attempts to remove absolutely every reference to the program (but also creates a restore point before doing so). I have found that it doesn't always accomplish that; it sometimes leaves a few keys and/or values, but like CCleaner, has never caused a problem.

I have never tried AVG, but based on things I've read, agree that it's not worth the space it takes up on your HD. Avira, on the other hand, is very highly rated in virtually all the reviews I've seen. I tested several AV programs with EICAR.exe, the EU's fake virus used to test the efficacy of AV programs. Most find it only after a scan, but Avira does not even let it open; blocks it the instant you double-click the file. I wish Avira would (a) acknowledge they have a problem with ver. 9 and (b) fix it so I can reinstall it.

[DKTaber]

Originally Posted by DKTaber

FYI, I had Avira for about 2 years. Only reason I went to BD is because Avira ver. 9 has a major problem. I cannot update the pattern files. It downloads them, then starts the update again, freezes and locks the computer. Cannot "end task" with Task Manager; have to shut down and reboot. Tried un- and re-installing several times (incl. cleaning the registry each time), but still didn't work. Others (per their forum) are having the same problem, and responses by Avira staff don't fix the problem.

I have to eat crow on this one. In the process of trying to fix some other problems with the OS, I discovered that the inability to download most AV programs OR their updates was due to some malady with the OS. I may not have a virus now (online scans from several vendors say I don't), but I'm sure I did, and one of the things it must have done was alter the OS to block the download of AV programs/updates. M$ tech support was unable to solve this or another problem (Windows Installer opening for 5-15 sec. on every boot, and sometimes when applications were opened), so over the weekend, I reformatted the HD and reinstalled Windows, Office, and the MANY other programs I use, plus my working files, and so far, everything works perfectly. I reinstalled Avira, and it works as it should, so I have to say to Avira, "I apologize/Sich entshuldigen"; ver. 9 does not have the problem I described above. My computer was the culprit.