Which anti-virus do you use?

South Africa
May 22, 2010 8:26am CST
I've always been too cheap to pay for anti-virus software, and am always stuck with the free products. At the moment I am using Avast: this has caused me the least hassles out of all the ones I've tried. Which anti-virus product would you recommend people to use, and which products would you suggest people stay away from? Based on your experiences.
1 person likes this
19 responses
• India
22 May 10
I won`t criticize any antivirus software. But, I do recommend using Avast. I have been using avast 4.8 for nearly 2 years and never got my operating system corrupted. Maybe avast is not the best. But, it is the right choice if one wants a good mix of performance and security, because it is very lightweight. Also, on an operating system that has its own powerful security, like vista or windows 7, a lightweight antivirus like avast simply proves handy. Moreover, in this age of heavy internet usage, avast is a good choice coz it is simply a master in script blocking. I case, one does not have a operating system with its own firewall, using a total security solution is better. In that case, Bitdefender and QuickHeal are great choices.
• India
24 May 10
Hi, magtibaygom. Good to see your straightaway response. You are right in the sense that free antivirus software do not possess all the features. That`s why I suggested BitDefender and QuickHeal, in case one needs a total security solution, or needs advanced IP blocking facilities. About Symantac, it don`t have much idea. However, I will stick to the point that if one has a robust and secure operating system like Vista or Windows 7, there is no need to pay for heavyweight antivirus software. Free antivirus like avast do well on such platforms. Also, Avast is quite lightweight in working.
• Philippines
23 May 10
Unlike THEcreationist, I sometimes criticize anti-virus softwares, especially the "free" ones. Most of the time, they cannot compete with the performance of those paid and regularly updated anti-virus softwares. Currently, I am using Symantec Endpoint Protection. I am really satisfied with its performance, although it eats a lot of memory when I am running an active scan. But I like it so much, especially its ability of blocking malicious traffic from certain I.P. addresses, and it being able to detect "attacks".
• South Africa
22 May 10
Yes avast seems to suit Windows 7 very well. The only thing that annoys me is the sound it makes when it finds a virus :P [that whole racket with the siren and the deep voice]. But then again, that means it's doing its job, so it is also a relief.
@richshie (52)
• Philippines
25 May 10
Anti Virus depends on the kind of computer you have, if you have faster computers then you used NORTON, AVAST, AVG, MCAFE, and other anti virus which requires a fast processor... NOD32 is very friendly anti virus, it can detect even autorun and other virus which can't be detected by other anti virus... That's why i prefer to used NOD32.... but i will not discourage people who use other kind of anti virus... all anti virus are almost the same, still virus can get in even they are present in your computer...
• Philippines
28 May 10
Yes... I agree with you.. NOD32 it really light.. it doesn't affect your computer's processing speed that much and i really think you could rely on this anti-virus... :D
@umabharti (3972)
• India
22 May 10
hi,i am using escan as for a year.Many suggested kaspersky and avast however i took escan and its working good .No problems to the work which i am doing online.Before i used to have lot of hurdles and it stoped my work every 15 days.So i took this.
• South Africa
22 May 10
I think I'll take a look at escan, I haven't heard of it before.
@sheanne (440)
• Philippines
22 May 10
Hello mklegg, welcome to mylot. We used to have norton antivirus but as we don't want to renew the subscription we opted with avira this time. It's free and it's cool. Happy mylotting.
• South Africa
22 May 10
I've noticed a lot of people saying that they use Avira, it actually seems to be the most popular free choice these days.
@wahsher (175)
• India
22 May 10
AVG anti virus.
• Singapore
24 May 10
right now we are using AVG antivirus,which is free. It's protecting my computer from all viruses.
@Distrx (120)
• Australia
24 May 10
I currently use no anti-virus program. I used to use AVG Anti-Virus but it started to use up far too much memory for my liking in the newer versions. Risky? You may ask if this is very risky, however, I believe it is not. If you are careful and know your way around the Internet and how to avoid certain things, then no harm will befall you. Make sure you only download from trusted and clean sites. This is one of the major things people do wrong when downloading. P2P file sharing programs are very risky and not an option for me. Far more risk then they are worth. I have no viruses, backdoor trojans, etc. My system is completely clean and running perfectly. I don't suggest others to adopt this thing I call "Common Sense 2010" however. :)
• Philippines
28 May 10
HAHAHA.. try scanning it and you'll be surprised how many malwares you haave.. HAHAHA.. :D
• Philippines
28 May 10
Hm, i use Esset... Its really good... I used Kaspersky, Norton and even AVG but... hhm... i Think its not really good.... I used Esset now because it's too light and doesn't really affect my computer's process that much! And you could also see that it updates its virus signature DAILY! Just try it mate... :D Its free anyway.. :D
@med889 (5941)
1 Jun 10
I have been using AVG free anti Virus for nearly four years and every time I need to download the recent one though so it is not expensive at all, you just got to downloaded and install them in your computer. Do not use Norton I had very bad experience with it.
@ample03 (403)
• India
30 May 10
Hello mklegg, I am using AVG free for a long time. Since it catches the virus well on realtime, and works faster, I trust this antivirus. I think all antivirus programs have pros and cons but the choice should be according to our daily computer usage.
@amko1of1 (69)
• United States
23 May 10
The best anti-virus is Kaspersky, its not that expensive as im pretty sure you can get the basic membership for around 30 bucks maybe even less than that, but it is worth it. The creator of the program has been a virus guru for many years predicting where the threats will come before they have even started. The program is also very light, and what i mean by that is that it wont take up too much of your computers memory. It updates about 20 times a day and each update is usually 15 kb or less, this means that it is downloading very small files so it wont disrupt your daily activities on your computer, also it means that they are the most up-to-date, as they dont wait till once a day or even once a week (yes im talking about you Mcafee). It is the only anti-virus i would use, also i would avoid the free anti-virus programs as many of them leave back doors open (on purpose in many cases) and they dont update frequently as they cant afford to have teams that are updating the software frequently like a program like Kaspersky or even Norton (which is the 2nd heaviest program, so i dont recommend it). Main point here is go out and buy Kaspersky it is worth the money i promise you
• Canada
27 May 10
I use Kaspersky, it's one of the most reliable antivirus ever and compared to northon, it doesn't slow down your computer (except for 1 minute when updating). Stay away from free antivirus, sometimes they are jsut boggus, scams or even viruses. Also many people will try to sell you stuff trough a fake antivirus, be aware of what you put in your computer, sometimes problems you will get will cost you more than a good antivirus, trust me, I tried.
24 May 10
I used Panda Cloud Antivirus and I would like to recommend it. Other free antivirus maybe great but they made my internet connection slow. Thanks to Panda, I got antivirus without sacrificing my internet connection. Its Free and Good.
• Saint Lucia
23 May 10
I'm also too cheap to buy any anti-virus so I use Avast on my laptop but I'm trying out Avira Antivir on my brothers p.c. and it seems to be working ok. I used to use avg but after some virus nearly crashed my system I changed it but I have friends who would die recommending it so it can't be all bad. I have used Norton and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone(I've had a really bad experience with this one). Kaspersky and Panda are the best I've ever used so if you're willing to shell out dough, I'd buy those.
@narcei (4)
• Brazil
26 May 10
Avast its not good, avg is best.
@Baluyadav (3643)
• India
22 May 10
hi,i am using NORTON anti-virus software and it is working well.Mainly,i don't open any mails from unknown members...don't down load something without knowedge...
• China
22 May 10
Right nos i am using Rising anti virus. It's quite good and it's save my computer from virus. And it's totally free. I don't know which one is worst one.
• India
22 May 10
i use avira... its free and very effective
@archon309 (404)
• Philippines
23 May 10
If you don't have a problem with processor speed and amount of memory and if you can afford, go for bit-defender (well I goes you won't go for this). Either Kaspersky or NOD32 is a good choice and affordable. AVG was good specially that they used to have a free version (I'm not sure if they still have). I find avast and avira quite irritating at times and avira tend to report a lot of false-positives. Anyways, I don't rely on an anti-virus alone, I always have an anti-malware as a back-up for my anti-virus. Some malwares seems to be capable of "cheating" some anti-virus programs. For free anti-malware, I recommend Malwarebytes or Spybot Search and destroy. Both are free.
• Pakistan
23 May 10
AntiVir PE Classic One of the best Anti visrus in the world. 100% Trusted