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best free antivirus?
 

offline nacmat on 2004-02-08 11:59 [#01064631]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



I need one

I have been on the verge of disaster today


 

offline thethirdball from Polly Pisspot (Canada) on 2004-02-08 12:01 [#01064632]
Points: 1629 Status: Lurker



Here's a free online scan to get you started.


 

offline Key_Secret from Sverige (Sweden) on 2004-02-08 12:05 [#01064639]
Points: 9325 Status: Regular | Followup to nacmat: #01064631



I use AntiVir (which is free and good)..
check

http://www.free-av.com


 

offline Jazembo from The Earth ball on 2004-02-08 12:07 [#01064643]
Points: 2788 Status: Regular



AVG is fine for me!



 

offline Key_Secret from Sverige (Sweden) on 2004-02-08 12:08 [#01064646]
Points: 9325 Status: Regular | Followup to Key_Secret: #01064639



AntiVir Guard... is the full name


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2004-02-08 12:11 [#01064650]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



No such thing as a good FREE virus scanner. Norton is the
best.


 

offline Key_Secret from Sverige (Sweden) on 2004-02-08 12:12 [#01064652]
Points: 9325 Status: Regular | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064650



Have you tried AntiVir Guard?
Anyway, I can't afford Norton at the moment, and I don't
want to steal it.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2004-02-08 12:14 [#01064654]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker | Followup to Key_Secret: #01064652



I work in IT, and its the general opinion.


 

offline Key_Secret from Sverige (Sweden) on 2004-02-08 12:17 [#01064660]
Points: 9325 Status: Regular | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064654



yeah I know.
But AntiVir Guard is good.
Well I haven't had any problems since I installed it.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2004-02-08 12:20 [#01064669]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker | Followup to Key_Secret: #01064660



You probably don't know about all the viruses it doesn't
detect. The fact that it doesnt report a problem doesnt mean
anything. The label of the Norton box says "Worlds Most
Trusted".....so thats good enough for me ;)


 

offline nacmat on 2004-02-08 12:21 [#01064671]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064654



I ll try to install norton again
I have the 2004 one but last time I couldnt


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2004-02-08 12:22 [#01064674]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



Before doing so, download the removal tool from Symantec,
then reinstall :)



 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 12:33 [#01064685]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to Key_Secret: #01064652



i agree, with you, i use this anti-vir already 2 years and
it is quite good. free updates, good interface, running on
background, i would recommend you this one, too, nacmat

same link as Key_Secret one's


 

offline nacmat on 2004-02-08 12:33 [#01064686]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064674



ok


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 12:52 [#01064704]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064650



Norton is not bad at detecting viruses, mediocre at
preventing and removing infections, and abysmal for what it
does to a computer's performance. I'd almost rather have a
virus than have Norton.

Eset Nod32 has the best detection rates in the industry,
and I know from experience that it can handle virus removal
and doesn't impact computer performance. And it costs much
less than Norton.

Honestly, people use Norton for the same reason they eat at
McDonalds - everyone else is doing it and they don't know
any better.


 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 12:58 [#01064711]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064704



i thought the topic was best FREE antivirus? sure the free
software is not so good than the commercials (okay,
sometimes it is better, example linux -> windows :-)) but
nacmat asked for free antivirus software and here he has the
software. of what you are talking is business solution, i
don't know if he has a company, and as a single pc user he
doesn't need professional protection i think...

btw: the last time i bought software was 2 years ago. there
is high-quaility freeware, too


 

offline eXXailon from purgatory on 2004-02-08 13:03 [#01064720]
Points: 6745 Status: Lurker | Followup to Jedi Chris: #01064669



You probably don't know about all the viruses it doesn't
detect. The fact that it doesnt report a problem doesnt mean
anything. The label of the Norton box says "Worlds Most
Trusted".....so thats good enough for me ;)


How do you know unless you've tried?
And the label doesn't mean anything if they can't back it
up. :)


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 13:18 [#01064738]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to blowfield: #01064711



OK, fair enough - I was replying to Jedi Chris though. I
hate to see anyone being advised to get Norton.

FWIW I agree with you about free software - but if you're
gonna run Windows you better have the best virus scanner you
can get your hands on, and nothing I know of can touch
Nod32, free or not.

Even if you're a home user, it's worth the 40 bucks (30 to
renew) to not be reinstalling Windows and worrying about
your data all the time.

Linux is great, yeah - the vendors and hardware companies
are lining up behind it and I imagine the software companies
will follow suit. It'd be great to have some decent
multimedia apps running on Linux - surely the core of OSX is
sufficiently Unix-ish that porting wouldn't be as much of an
issue as porting from Windows.


 

offline nobsmuggler from silly mid-off on 2004-02-08 13:23 [#01064743]
Points: 6265 Status: Addict



norton is crap
a good friend was running norton his pc had slowed down like
it was a 266processor so i installed and run panda antivirus
on it and norton was infected


 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 13:25 [#01064744]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064738



it just needs some time to get more user to linux. i am also
about to switch into a windows/linux pc. it is becoming more
and more user friendly and more and more (good) software is
available for linux, too. companies are also offering
hardware drivers for this os.

for not being off-topic: it depends how... careless you surf
through the internet. i think if you have a firewall, a
anti-virus software and you check if the websites you are
browsing through are trustful, you don't need commercial
products. for computer newbies i think a commercial and more
user friendly product is best solution


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2004-02-08 13:30 [#01064746]
Points: 27795 Status: Regular



everything you said about norton is right. you can also add
that it uses java for visual traces which in effect will
activate what is the easiest place to implant a trojan. the
overall performance is poor, the auto-protect doesn't work,
the softwre is badly written (on par with IE6, too many
small updates), and liveupdate has coaused no end of
complaints from users.

i recommend mcafee AV & firewall - smoother, more stable,
more reliable and more importantly nothing to do with
symantec or norton.


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2004-02-08 13:30 [#01064747]
Points: 27795 Status: Regular | Followup to earthleakage: #01064746



(that was a reply to fleetmouse, sorry i forgot to click)


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 13:31 [#01064748]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to blowfield: #01064744



I've been using Linux on and off since the days of Red Hat
5.1 - I like it a lot but there's no software for it that
comes close to FL Studio or Cubase. Brahms? Jazz++? Don't
make me laugh. Also, getting a slightly unusual sound card
to work is like threading a needle with your testicles.

What I see happening is that something is goign to reach
critical mass - probably business users first, 'cause of
openoffice and just using web frontends to business
databases - and there will be a massive shift. But I no
longer feel the need to torture myself for days trying to do
something in Linux I can do in minutes in Windows.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 13:32 [#01064750]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to earthleakage: #01064746



Dobbin, it's time to take the next step in your techie
education. Blowfield and I are going to walk you through
installing Linux.


 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 13:35 [#01064753]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064750



lol - common earthleakage, no AV software anymore, no
bluescreens ;)


 

offline earthleakage from tell the world you're winning on 2004-02-08 13:37 [#01064755]
Points: 27795 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064750



not if you were the only boy and i was the only girl. ive
only just mastered dos 3


 

offline Mr Toady on 2004-02-08 13:38 [#01064757]
Points: 122 Status: Lurker



A weird question... I used to have Suse Linux about a year
ago on an old desktop. I liked it... though I couldnt ever
firgure out how to get my modem setup, because it was a
"WinModem", so it was f'd up with linux... Now I have a
laptop, and heres my question: Could I install linux onto a
USB harddrive, and have it boot into the computer? It would
be like dual boot, except the comp. hardrive wouldnt change
- I would just install linux to the usb harddrive. Any
thoughts?


 

offline Mr Toady on 2004-02-08 13:39 [#01064758]
Points: 122 Status: Lurker



i guess i shouldve made a linux thread with that post,
sorry:\


 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 13:41 [#01064762]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to Mr Toady: #01064757



i don't know of usb harddrives, but the mainboard of the
laptop you have, does it support booting through usb?
because, my modem is also usb and i recognized it is
available when windows is starting


 

offline Mr Toady on 2004-02-08 13:45 [#01064764]
Points: 122 Status: Lurker



hm, thats a good quetion. im not sure how to check if my
bios can boot usb or not...


 

offline blowfield on 2004-02-08 13:52 [#01064768]
Points: 572 Status: Regular | Followup to Mr Toady: #01064764



make a windows bootdisk and copy all the files on the usb
harddrive. if it is not starting, you should check the
preferences on your bios if there is any entry... check the
website of the mainboard manufacturer, too, maybe there is
more information.

another thing you could do is to google if there is someone
who already made that, what you are about to do.

another thing i doubt is if the usb harddrive is a harddisk
you can change from NTFS to other format which is linux
using or not...

if it boots, i think the rest must be possible..
installation, running... etc :)


 

offline eXXailon from purgatory on 2004-02-08 13:54 [#01064770]
Points: 6745 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064750



I'm willing to try out this Nod32 thing. How good is its
AutoUpdate feature?


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 14:19 [#01064782]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to eXXailon: #01064770



Flawless. If you're online, it pings the server once an hour
and downloads any updates it finds. Or you can just do
manual updates if you're on dialup.

Basically the new version's installer is idiot proof. Just
install and click yes, yes, yes and you're done. Then if you
go in and look at what it did, it used the options I would
have used... no nonsense, but all the control is there if
you want it.

It also has a corporate frontend to roll out the
installations onto multiple desktops and keep them updated.
Haven't had to look into that yet as most of our clients
don't have that many systems...


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 14:20 [#01064783]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to earthleakage: #01064755



At least you've got it right that I'm the boy in that
situation.


 

offline Anus_Presley on 2004-02-08 14:30 [#01064788]
Points: 23472 Status: Lurker



AVG


 

offline eXXailon from purgatory on 2004-02-08 15:07 [#01064802]
Points: 6745 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064783



Alright, sounds good enough. I'll check it out one of these
days :), thanks.


 

offline nacmat on 2004-02-08 15:58 [#01064833]
Points: 31271 Status: Lurker



what do you guys thing of:

eTrust EZ Antivirus


 

offline big from lsg on 2004-02-08 15:59 [#01064834]
Points: 23727 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064738 | Show recordbag



how often you'd have to renew: their at the fourth version
since '98 i read, so that's reasonable?, does that even
matter for staying updated considering protection..

what does the AVG deal mean concerning that you cant install
on computers in a network: not even if i have a network at
home with my roommate?


 

offline Oddioblender from Fort Worth, TX (United States) on 2004-02-08 16:18 [#01064853]
Points: 9601 Status: Lurker | Followup to big: #01064834



i think it's free as long as you don't use it in PUBLIC -
meaning like in a business or something. i think if you just
use it at home, for home purposes, you'll be fine.

anyways, nacmat, i recommend AVG as well. good stuff.


 

offline big from lsg on 2004-02-08 16:30 [#01064869]
Points: 23727 Status: Regular | Followup to Oddioblender: #01064853 | Show recordbag



yes, that's prolly it. just wanted to make sure so i wouldnt
go feeling all guilty..


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-08 17:06 [#01064902]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to big: #01064834



It's a yearly subscription deal.


 

offline big from lsg on 2004-02-09 06:05 [#01065308]
Points: 23727 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01064902 | Show recordbag



ok, ill think about it


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-09 06:24 [#01065333]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to big: #01065308



Well jeez, try the one month demo first. It won't fuck
anything up as long as you uninstall any other antivirus
products first. It uninstalls cleanly.


 

offline big from lsg on 2004-02-09 06:29 [#01065337]
Points: 23727 Status: Regular | Followup to fleetmouse: #01065333 | Show recordbag



i just dont wanna think about virusses, i wouldnt know
wether it'd be good anyway, because i just wouldnt get
infected.
i've macced for years without wanting to think about that
kinda stuff, now my imac doesnt work anymore


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-09 06:35 [#01065344]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to big: #01065337



Heh, I hear ya - I used Linux for a few years before I got
into music making and had to switch to Windows... when I
went back to Windows the virus and popup and spyware
situation had gotten a LOT worse...


 

offline big from lsg on 2004-02-09 06:41 [#01065348]
Points: 23727 Status: Regular | Show recordbag



im wondering wether my mac caught something


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-09 06:43 [#01065349]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to big: #01065348



Why, did it start sneezing? :^)


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-02-09 07:33 [#01065373]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker



AVG & sygate personal firewall for me.

seems to be pretty good so far.

i think suse 9.0 has gotten better about working with
winmodems mr toady.


 

offline fleetmouse from Horny for Truth on 2004-02-09 19:05 [#01066223]
Points: 18042 Status: Lurker | Followup to epohs: #01065373



Yeah I like Sygate. I run it every once in a while to see if
my software is spying on me - most of the time I don't
bother because I'm behind a NAT router.

(I can hear elusive chortling to himself as I type that last
bit)


 

offline epohs from )C: on 2004-02-09 19:40 [#01066266]
Points: 17620 Status: Lurker | Followup to fleetmouse: #01066223



yep, sygate seems like a really good firewall. can't beat
the price, and it gives me more info on individual programs
& plays nicer with my machine than ZoneAlarm did.

you know anything about the grisoft AVG anti-virus
software?

i'm not very prone to viruses cause i don't download a whole
lot of software, and they seem to update their definitions
pretty quickly. so, i figure they're good enough for my
needs.


 


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