What is the best antivirus and firewall available? For example is ZoneAlarm any good? Why?
NOT interested in:
– Programs that constantly require a ton of RAM or CPU to function!
– Programs that cannot be disabled temporarily (I hate this)
Thank you for reading!
+jAy-
The best antivirus is Bidefender Total Security 2013
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In my experience comodo firewall is best, it will able to block all types of unauthorised access from any website or application..latest version of comodo firewall is 5
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I don't know about best antivirus.
First of all .Thank You for Posting this question.
For AV .I choose Kingsoft .Really Light on resource Excellent protection.
For Firewall Comodo offers great Features .But i like Tiny wall .Again use Tiny wall + Windows Firewall.This is also so light on system resources.
You can also check my reviews on Best Antivirus and Best Firewalls for 2013 for more options.
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In my humble opinion and real-life experience in SE Asia which has filthy (fulll of virus, malware, spyware every kind of nasty-ware) internet- and a slow legal apparatus- I have found the best security suites as equal Kaspersky Mega and then I tried Webroot Secure Anywhere. I found both of them very good.
Webroot is the easier for the non-technci9al minded to operate- very user friendly interface.
Kaspersky is superb- and the pricing is very attractive but probably caters best for the very technically proficient. It has an excellent customer service forum as well/.
In terms of stopping hackers- I honestly cannot tell the difference.
In terms of keeping computer virus free- nothing is perfect you must implement multiple systems and dedicated anti-spyware programs to stay safe as well as properly configuring CCleaner and CCEnhancer to clean all the probable spyware and root-kit installation destinations.
AVG Internet Security ( Paid Version) [or Go, be a pirate.. !]
One stop solution
You can Disable it temporarily.
You can also use alongside with Malwarebytes
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
in paid category kaspersky is best
in free category comodo is best
why dont you just use microsoft security essentials?..its pretty good
I used to use AVG Free several years ago but had bizarre system/application problems that I believe were associated with AVG crop up from time to time on several different systems. I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (with the odd supplemental scan using MalwareBytes Free AV) and haven't had a single problem or instance of malware since. HOWEVER, that was around the same time I began conscientiously using the NoScripts extension in Firefox, and I suspect NoScripts can take most of the credit for my perfect record.
Oh, and for firewalls I just use the NAT/SPI firewall in my routers and the built-in firewalls in Windows XP and Windows 7. I know the XP firewall in incoming only, but I just got tired of dealing with constant alerts. (I used to use ZoneAlarm, and then Sygate, and then Comodo, and then ... basta!)
I now see that MSE has slipped seriously in prevention rankings, so I'm going to give ZoneAlarm Free Anti-Virus and Firewall and AVG Free Anti-Virus a try in Windows 7, and Avira (with popups disabled) and Avast! a try in Windows XP. If they bug me too much, I'll just go back to MSE. I'm a reasonably safe surfer, I'm cautious about what I download and where I download it from, and I'm not a particularly attractive target. Sometimes "good enough" is more practical than "the best."
I've been a computer Tech for over 13 years. I hear this question daily. "What is the best antivirus?" When we are dealing with computers and the internet, nothing is 100% when it comes to antivirus. However I've used them all. The only antivirus I will recommend to my customers is Norton Antivirus (Norton antivirus, Norton 360, Norton Internet security). I do not get paid by Symantec (the company that makes Norton) to sell their product either. Long story short, I want my customers to be happy, and I'm in these fixes for the long term. Remember this: There is a reason why all those free antivirus are free. You get what you pay for. Always remember that. I know there is a lot of people that strongly dislike Norton, 99% of the time they hate Norton because it didn't work for them in the past, what people fail to include in their story about Norton is 9 times out of 10, their computer was already compromised long before they installed the Norton product. You have to make sure your computer is not infected with a virus before you install any antivirus or else it's not going to work up to it's 100% potential. Take it from me, spend the money and get a good product. Get Norton. All the free ones are junk and cause more problems then they fix. AVG, Kasperky, MacAfee and many others all have been known to cause more problems then they fix. This is just from my experience, I've worked on thousands of computers.
I would say Avast. Its free and its really good. Its available for windows, mac and even mobile phones.
I have it installed on my windows computer, my iMac and my android phone.
Check out the results at http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge/results.php
Ten are good for 32-bit systems and four for 64-bit (http://www.matousec.com/projects/proactive-security-challenge-64/results.php).
I tried out Comodo (terrible slow), Outpost (free) Firewall (...) and now I am running Privatefirewall since some minutes. I am almost blind cuz so ugly interface. So these are the programs which I cannot recommend lol
you should use Avast antivirus with Anti-Malwarebytes.
Heyy according to me use Bitdefender Total security 2013...
It is having awsome UI and works like a dream...
According to me its the best one..
Just use it yourself and express your feelings...
thank you...
THANKS!! Each individual here gave an intuitive (yet simply/perfectly written, btw!:) and direct answer...I LOVE it guys!
Most Helpful Site I associate with...MAKEUSEOF!
Thank you all for the actionable intel tidbits! :][
+jAy-
Avast - Antivirus
Zonalarm - Firewall.
Common sense and a little safe practice! :)
A very open and hotly debated topic! I would recommend Microsoft defender & Microsoft security essentials or Avast.
I used to use AVG until my pc got hacked!!!
If you are looking for a set of antivirus AND firewall, try using COMODO Internet Security.
Or use Zonealarm Firewall + Antivirus - one of the best firewalls on the market + Kaspersky antivirus engine - all for free!!!
Lately I used Sophos and works great but too much restriction which blocks some of my programs from running. For me the best of them are, sophos, avg, avast, bitdefender. For spywares, I used super antispyware and malwarebytes. That's it.
Cheers,
Hi all
I am using AVG 2012 (paid) and have been using this for 4 years on the desktop and am used to it although I do run Avast (free) on my laptop and am thinking of trying it on the desktop when my next AVG license comes up.
I also use:
- MS Security Essentials, the standard Windows Firewall
- Malwarebytes - (free) to double check any files I download.
- CCleaner (free) helps with my maintenance
I will check out Comodo.
Anyone using F-Secure?
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Ranked very high in "AV-Test's June 2012 round-up".
http://www.av-test.org/en/tests/home-user/mayjun-2012/
Hi all
I am using AVG 2012 (paid)
I have been using this for 4 years on the desktop and am used to it although I do run Avast (free) on my laptop and am thinking of try it on the desktop when my next AVG license comes up.
I also use Malwarebytes - (free) to double check any files I download.
CCleaner (free) helps with my maintanence
I will check out Comodo
Gizmo Richards Tech Support Alert covers this subject.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/top-freeware-picks-category-editors.htm?page=0,1#Page-Index
ESET!
I've used Norton, Eset and McAfee. Norton was (then) a disaster, it gobbled up my machine and couldn't properly uninstall, so never again. McAfee came with last computer and is irritating in how it works and hogs disk activity at inappropriate times. Eset was great and I'm going back to it. Invisible except when it found something, low resources, easy to turn on/off. Only problem is it's expensive if you have more than one computer. The basic licence should apply to at least two machines for people who keep their old machine running for a while.
Window Security Essentials
I have tried many of the various options. Although I am aware some are concerned with detection rate issues, I am currently using Outpost Security Suite Free. The firewall is good and most importantly it is not slowing down my internet browsing. I experienced slow-downs with both Avast and ZoneAlarm. I have tried Comodo many times, but ultimately I end up disappointed with it. I like AVG free, but it doesn't have a firewall and often doesn't "play well with others." Private Firewall was great and I used it for more than a year. However, recent versions of it became unreliable on my computer. I also tried Roboscan, but as some reviews noted, I agree that the firewall does not function properly. I would consider trying it again if they fix the firewall problems.
I Like Avast!
A new software that is free is Kingsoft anti virus and Kingsoft PC Doctor, both are great
the fastest and most reliable I've found is Microsoft Security Essentials but it really comes down to personal preference, I've tried several and they all work about the same
Avast Free Antivirus + Comodo Firewall = :)
i prefer, avast free and comodo firewall combo......
I would recommend the anti virus which Microsoft provide. known as Microsoft Security Essentials. It's free and uses lot less memory than all of the other similar programs that are in the market. The only thing is that your windows has to be a genuine installation. that's all. and it can be turned off when ever you want too.. I find it very simple but an effective one too. :)
Can't belive this has not been resolved anyway my 5$ worth.
These are free.
AVG, Avast -Antivirus
ZoneAlarm, PC Tools - Firewall
Scanners - CCleaner, PC Doctor,
Just use google and you will find loads or take a look at Major Geeks.
I'd recommend BitDefender. It has awesome features and of course, you can disable it temporarily.
Man I am using Norton Internet Security 2012 and my pc never gets infected by malware like it used to be earlier. Very light weight and allows you disable it temporarily. It has a great firewall. The best antivirus in my opinion.
ESET nod 32 and nortan is the best for all other antivirus softwares...
bahahahah @ norton...
For all you people who run / buy norton, dont you realise your PC slows RIGHT down?
Just stick with AVAST. It's free and only have to 're-register' once every 365 days. takes 7 seconds to enter 3 lines within the program when it prompts you once a year.
Grab from CNET website. For people who want a bit more security and all in one package (live virus scanner and software firewall etc), cant go past Kaspersky. Those russians invented all the viruses, so they know how to stop them all!
Window Security Essential for Window 7 ...free, light and awesome
microsoft sec ess. or kasperski
Good Day Sir/Mam
For me The Best Anti virus is Kaspersky 2013 Because Im the one Users of that Anti Virus Gives me a Best Internet connection Remove All Virus One You Insert a Flash drive Automatically Scan And Not Log My Personal Laptop
kaspersky internet security is best software for pc because when you try run executable file other antivirus move that file into quarantine area but kaspersky try to disinfect first and best firewall is comodo firewall.
I agree with who recommended Avast & MSE, but. if there is a features more you want you may use Comodo
My personal favorite is Avira Free Antivirus, I found it to be very light on resources and has a very good detection rate.
Keep in mind that no antivirus software is 100% effective.
Advanced System Care with Antivirus 2013 and Comodo firewall.
AVG and Avast are both good, however recently I have justed used Microsoft Essentials... It does the job and obviously integrates well into windows o/s.
Avast ! Free Antivirus is best ever .. I am using it for more than 1 and half years and good .. frequent updates keeps your system clean ..
download from here ..
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What I use and would not change it for nothing, it's ESET!
No more slow computer, no more viruses, no more malware...
It's up to you to give it a try or not, but I would really suggest it!
It has a 30-day trial version for you to try...
Based on my recent research (today!) I chose Avira for AV and Comodo Firewall.
I am using the free version of each.
Some links to support this:
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http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-firewall.htm#Quick_Selection_Guide
In these links you will find several other good alternatives. My criteria was:
1) Free, 2) Good track record from experience 3) Performance
Be careful with the false positives with Avira, and their nag screen tends to be annoying, though you can find software to try to get rid of it (www.majorgeeks.com has it). I have used Avira for several years, but have given way to Comodo Internet Security as it is simpler with less false positives (though sometimes it blocks software that I need to use as it uses the same techniques viruses and malware uses). Comodo may not detect as much, but preferences are what matters most to users, and the firewall works well enough to help what the antivirus lacks by trying to block them. Good choice, by the way.
AVG, I call it Anti-Virus the Great after it saved my PC. I dislike Avast cause it messed up sometime ago, maybe they've updated it since.
Would suggest Comodo Internet security Premium. Antivirus, firewall, malware/spyware, keylogger detector, all integrated in one software and it auto-updates. Been a satisfied user for couple of years now.
Avast!
Hi Jay H,
I have tried many Antivirus brands over the years and a few years back I got AVAST Antivirus and have stuck with it.
I used their free version and then decided to actually purchase the full suite.
I have put several friends on to AVAST and had no regrets.
I hop this helps.
I've had to fix too many viruses and malware issues that McAfee lets in to trust that company for anything other than Web of Trust and Stinger scanner. Avast is near the top antivirus for free, AVG has become what Norton once was, decent protection at the cost of resources, but paid software would be Bit Defender, Norton, and Webroot. Kaspersky winds up taking more resources than necessary, and has slightly less protection than Norton. As far as firewalls, ZoneAlarm is tops for free, with Comodo close behind, though Comodo can be as annoying as the Windows User Account Control (UAC) pop-ups. I also use SuperAntiSpyware in conjunction with my antivirus (Comodo Security Suite) and Comodo Dragon web browser (Google Chrome with the security holes and tracking fixed) for a nicely protected computer without having my resources taken up that much. Norton, to me, still likes to conflict with some programs, and Microsoft Security Essentials offers a better than basic protection, but is very user friendly and hides in the background not to be seen much until necessary, and is very light on resources, making it good for basic users. For an excellent stand alone scanner, Malwarebytes AntiMalware does quite well to detect most infections or risky software, and cleans them very well.
http://www.anti-malware-reviews.com/ shows some testing done on the popular antivirus suites and gives detection rates for them. Emsisoft seems to top all, but tests do not mean it actually works best for you, though. These should give you a better idea, but the comments here should also be taken into consideration.
Bitdefender and Norton antivirus has good protection and light on your systems
I have used Vipre from day one of its launch and never had a problem with it. It isnt free but then again the best things in life arn't.
For the best free antivirus, I would recommend AVG FREE. get it at http://free.avg.com/gb-en/free-antivirus-download
Here are some test for your consideration
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403843,00.asp
many antivirus in shareware version have firewall so no need to install a second one unless you have your preferred firewall, so disable the one that come with antivirus.
i got two pcs
One has VIPRE + Comodo
Other has MS Essentials + Windows 7 firewall
Have been using VIPRE for some time now and never ever a virus has ever troubled me...Some may say that updating it, is a problem, not me.
Another MS Essential vote here. I've used it on an old PC box and it runs well. I've since changed because I've gotten a 'better PC.' It's very quiet and light weight and Free.
I've used Comodo as well. It has various levels of security as well as disabling at the tray icon menu.
IMO and as per my 4 year experience with it, ESET Smart Security is the best solution for an antivirus + firewall + real time protection use.
It takes minimal amount of RAM and can also be disabled easily with just a right click on the tray icon.
Also the GUI is great and the interactive mode is awesome if you like to allow & disallow traffic on your terms. You should try the Eset Smart Security 6 Beta before you intend to buy it.
yup,ESET Smart Security is the best choice to go for
Have to agree with most of the commentors about ESET Smart Security. It has been an awesome performer on my laptop for 3 years without any problem. I am also using Microsoft security essentials on my home pc and it is quite good with minimum memory footprint. Both of them allow to disable protection temporarily.
From my use, combination of Avast Free & Comodo Firewall.
Zonealarm is gud but people should have sound knowledge on ports, fire3wall funcationalities.
or else you can use defender
Best for you is
1. Norton
2. McAfee
Silent mode feature is available in these two and did not require more RAM.
Norton can take less than 60secs to install.
McAfee i dont think so. norton is also good
Some might disagree with your choices. I'm among them.
Top Ten Reviews - Bit Defender, Kaspersky, Panda: http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
PC Mag - Norton, Webroot, Bit Defender: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372364,00.asp
Consumer Search - Kaspersky, Webroot (for older slower machines), Norton Internet Security (Best Insternet Suite), AVG (Best Free), Sophos for Mac (best Mac): http://www.consumersearch.com/antivirus-software/compare
nortons is garbage!It doesn't even work,I get viruses all the time.It says it blocks things and lets then right throuh.Seems like a couple times a week or more I get a new virus.
It might be true of all commercial antivirus now. Personally I like Live Essentials with Windows Defenders and Windows Firewall. I just uninstalled Bit Defender to install these. Bit Defender was false flagging things.
If you want the best then you should go for GData antivirus they have excellent dectection rate.but they might slow down your pc.so you must try eset nod 32 they too have a good detection rate plus they dont slow down your pc.
Avast! is pretty good and it can be disabled temporary. I use Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and the Windows Firewall and I never get any viruses. MSE can be disabled in the settings. Not as easy as you can disable Avast!, but I don't disable it that often.
the bad thing about MSE is the 100% cpu usage problem
That's weird. I have no issues with MSE. It doesn't come to 50% CPU usage in my Windows 7 SP1 Pro x64...
I would suggest you to go with Comodo. it acts as a good security software to safeguard your pc from all kinds of internal and external malware attacks.
http://antivirus.comodo.com/
I'm a simple guy. I use MS Security Essentials, the standard Windows Firewall, and haven't had any issues so far. The biggest plus for me is that they work so well in the background. (I don't like popups every five minutes.) If you're careful about what you download and avoid less than savory websites, I think these two are excellent options.
Best would be Microsoft security essentials and Avast Internet security as both are lightweight.In Firewall,Commodo is best to have if you don't like Zonealarm.
Completely agree here
I think this comment resumes what do you need.
I use the Norton products (360 or Internet Security). Light on resources, stays out of the way of normal activity (Comodo Firewall tends to be "noisy", especially early on and many people just start allowing everything - including viruses - to run), and both the firewall and real-time protection can be temporarily disabled from the notification area (initially asks for how log before it automatically re-enables it in case the user forgets). Norton 360 can also perform automatic backups for you with online storage (I've got 25GB of space free with mine - special case though). Even going to highly risky sites, it has blocked pretty much everything. (One item (ransomware) made it through a couple of days ago from a respected site but was trivial to remove although Malwarebytes, Avira and Avast couldn't find it either when tested.) I would stay away from AVG since it appears to be getting extremely resource hungry (think Norton back in the late 90s and early 2000).
I think combination of avast antivirus and comodo firewall is best. If you are using any i7 or i5 than you should look up to Kespersky lab and comodo.I have concluded these combination after research of a year.If you don't want to install comodo firewall than only avast antivirus is best.
I used separate program for both antivirus and firewall. For antivirus, I used Avast Antivirus free, I've been using it for 2 years with no problem or virus infections to my computer at all, it works really great. The free version also includes many additional features like auto sandboxing, networking shield, web shield, behaviour shield, script shield, mail shield, P2P shield, and IM shield to protect you from different kinds of malware threat, but don't worry though, you can disable those features if you have no use for them. Usually I disabled Mail, P2P, and IM shield and let the other 5 real time shields on, nevertheless it did not take a lot of my computer resources. And yes, it can be disabled temporarily easily from the tray menu.
In conjunction with Avast free anti virus, I use Comodo Firewall, it is simply the best firewall imho, and it's not that hard to configure. You can also disable comodo firewall from the try menu Give it a try for yourself!
Link:
Avast Free Antivirus:
Comodo Firewall
oops, typo there: "You can disable comodo firewall from the *tray* menu."
agree, among the free chices those are the very best. Paid products ESET or bitdefender
Try using Avast, i use it for home features and it is free besides it meet in what you need. The most i like from avast is boot scan, it solve many problems to me related with virus.
Agree! Avast is a very great antivirus, even the free version have tons of features!
i prefer avast and avg too :)
wait... what? you have two antivirus installed on your computer? :D
Avast is the way to go. The free version is far better than most Internet Suites that cost a bunch
Good Day,
It is a fair question to present, but the possibly most open software question. Keep in mind that there are a fine selection of anti-virus software to choose from that is up to your approval.
Currently, I am using between Avast! Anti-virus and AVG Anti-virus. I find both reliable and secure. The interfaces have their own individual beauty. Security is reliable with quick reaction to any questionable commands that choose to automatically pop-up.
My suggestion is to install Chrome or Firefox and up reviews prior to committing to a selection.