The antivirus software installed on our desktop expired a few hours ago. I am now looking for a suitable replacement that will not be too expensive but still provide enough protection. I was wondering if anyone here can offer suggestions and tips. Thanks a lot in advance!
I don't believe in definitive "best" in anything. Most anti-virus software will do a decent job though I don't use any of them. I prefer instead to use Baseline Shield which isn't an anti-virus but keeps my system free of viruses anyway. But since I've used anti-virus software in the past, I could recommend the following: Panda Anti-Virus. Avira. AVG Avast
It all depends on your choice. If you are looking for a good overall package, though, I would suggest you to go for Quick Heal Antivirus. It works best for home PCs. You will have to play for it though. If you are looking for free Anti Virus, you should definitely give Avast a go. I was using it before upgrading to a premium software.
I don't think there is the single best. It all depends on what really worked for you and what has helped you a lot in the past. My recommendation would be either Panda or Kapersky. But if you want something that's free try using Ad Aware it's the one that I've been using for years and I can attest to it's greatness.
There are a couple of very good free anti-viruses such as Avast, Microsoft Security Essentials and Avira. Avast has been the top dog of free anti-viruses for some time now, which you only need to validate your email to get a year-long subscription. Microsoft Security Essentials and Avira have had a lot of bad rep from certain people and forums. However, these two anti-viruses always perform well in performance tests carried out by external verifiers. In terms of paid for anti-viruses such as Kaspersky, McAfee or Norton who all perform well in their individual performance tests against viruses. However, do they do the same job as free anti-viruses? Pretty much. I would recommend Kaspersky and McAfee if you feel like going down the paid route, McAfee have really revived their company name recently as they were a very poor anti-virus back in 2010, but much more recently they have improved their credibility and performance. I would also pair an anti-malware such as Malwarebytes with the anti-virus that you decide to use. An anti-malware is purely used next to an anti-virus to ensure that they keep the security of your computer at a maximum. You cannot pair two anti-viruses together as it will destroy your system in terms of computer memory and will cause a lot of conflict between the two. Malwarebytes is the best anti-malware in the business at the moment and is free to download and install, but also comes with a paid version with extra features.
I feel like Avast is really the best way to go if you don't want to spend money. Avast updates on its and tell you when it is done updating. Also there are features where it can turn off when you want to play video games on your pc when you do not want to be affected by the firewall.
I personally use Microsoft Security Essentials at home, it's free, lightweight and it gets the job done. As for the most "powerful" one, I've hear the IT techs at work exalting the virtues of the ESET Antivirus and a longer time ago I've heard the same about Kaspersky but I think both of those have the problem of being too resource heavy.
I can't really say that it's the best but I have to say Malwarebytes is probably one of the best anti virus program I've use so far. I also would recommend Panda but if you want to stick with the free ones you got Microsoft Security Essentials and AdAware. You can also use Avira but I find it obnoxious somehow.
I think you're better off using AVG, I have been using it for 6 years now and it has not given me any problems at all. It's free too. McAfee is also a good anti-virus, I have used it with AVG simultaneously and it doesn't conflict or give the pc any problems at all.
I would recommend Kaspersky and you can trial if to see if you like it for 30 days. I've used ESET which is good which was what my University uses, but many companies use Kaspersky too. Some do slow down the computer and take time to update and you only find this out when you actually try the product.
Do not use AVG! it's full of ads and other useless stuff they try to sell you, it used to be good but it's just poop now. Malware Bytes is a good free alternative that I've Always used, it's never let me down so far
I also use Microsoft Security Essentials along with an Anti-Malware program called Malwarebytes Anti-Malware that's been absolutely fantastic. I've noticed a good deal in improvement since adding the Anti-Malware program And between those two, I've had absolutely no problems with security on my computer. Most anti-virus software is pretty comparable, but for some programs, you're often overpaying for protection that you don't really need. I'd recommend getting an Anti-Malware program if you can find an affordable product key.
I hate the word "best" in this category because it honestly feels like there is no best. Sometimes to really clear my system I uninstall and reinstall a new once and scan with that one because they all find things the others don't. However, after using a good bunch Avast seems to be the most manageable for me as it seems to be pretty good at blocking bad sites. I just wish I didn't have to turn it off sometimes. Malwarebytes is probly best for malware protection but it's not really an anti-virus program.
Have a look at Avast, it's free and offers decent protection. It also offers a payed version upgrade but I never purchased it. I think that if you're not in the habit of installing software you know nothing about and don't visit shady websites, the free version is enough. Add in the mix AdBlock Plus to kill intrusive ads and pop-ups and you're pretty much safe from viruses and malware.
I recently switched back to AVG (paid version) after using Microsoft Security Essentials for a number of years. MSE recently let several malware/trojans on to my system, so that spurred me to give up on it and look elsewhere. Initially I decided to give MalwareBytes (full paid version) a try, but was immediately disappointed with how limited its options are and how obtrusive it quickly became. In addition, I started getting random warning messages that some features were not enabled when it said they were in the control panel - leading me to believe it somehow became compromised, but I could not tell for sure. One thing I found particularly annoying about Malwarebytes paid version is it's site filtering. There is no way to turn off the alerts whenever it blocks you from visiting certain sites. Also, the program itself doesn't really explain in any detail why the site was deemed malicious. I suspect it flags all torrent and file sharing sites it's aware of as malicious right off the bat. I was constantly, albeit randomly, getting blocked from visiting various sites I knew were fine. Then the icon in my task bar for it started showing a red warning sign indicating that real time protection was disabled. In the control panel I could see that it was in fact enabled. So I did not know if this was a virus/trojan issue or if the program itself was simply bugging out. I didn't like this uncertainty so I got rid of it, and put the commercial version of AVG on instead. Thus far I've been pleased with it, though I opted to not install the email filtering or identity protection features because I find those way too obstructive and interruptive. It's scanning has also improved in terms of speed, and it's firewall isn't nagging me every few seconds about every little thing, which is good.
Interesting, I hadn't really heard of thought of installing new antivirus software in order to properly catch everything, but I guess it does make some sense as they have different virus lists and sometimes something might break through if you only use one. It does sound like a major hassle though, I'll take your word on Avast as clearly you've tested lots of them out.
I agree that there's really no "best". Pretty much all of them are good and it all comes down to having one in my opinion. It's very important to have some version of Anti-virus and I think with so many of them being free it's really not worth it to pay for a subscription. These subscription AVs tend to have large footprints and the protection they provide is no stronger than say Microsoft Security Essentials.
All of my anti-viruses software programs are free. Haven't ever paid for one. They cost too much, and if I am to pay for antivuirus, I want 100% promise that I am not going to get a virus, which we all know they cannot do. The best one - well I used to think that it was - Malwarebytes. But recently I had something compromise my system and I ran Malwarebytes, and it didn't detect anything. But it was clear that something had compromised my system.
I use Norton Security. What I do not like about Norton is whenever it runs in the background, I cannot quickly navigate the web or load pages as swiftly. We all must continue using the Microsoft Security Essentials. I use it at work. However, it did not get rid of those pop-up ads. Currently at work we used, adwcleaner_3.310.exeLog In, to get rid of adware or pop-ups of those pesky ads. I hope my opinion can help.
I currently have Eset Nod32 as my antivirus and I'm totally happy with it. I think I've been using it for months now and it does the job. I love that it looks for all kinds of malicious threats in my computer and cleans it all up. I also love the interface because it looks really neat and easy to use as well.