15 replies to this topic

[Mo007]

Hi,
I heard about the free Virus protection programm AVG. I have no clue how good it is. If someone knows something about it or has an opinoin on it please let me know.

[Valezri]

I've been using it for several years now and always recommend it to friends. It doesn't find every virus in existence, but what Antivirus program will?

I make sure I keep it up to date (scheduled update every day), and run a manual scan once per week. Once per month, I also run at least 2 on-line scans (Trend Micro Housecall and Symantec) just for a second and third opinion

Can't remember the last time I had any viruses!

Edited by Valezri, 26 May 2005 - 06:15 AM.

[dave38]

AVG is very good. It's detection rate is similar to most other Antivirus programs, and it uses a lot less resources than either Norton(Symantec) or Mcaffee.

[ErikAlbert]

I use AVG Free, but I don't consider viruses as a daily threat anymore.
Even when I was lesser carefull on the net I had more infections of adware/spywares/whatever, than viruses.
Most virus writers are now using their skills to write other more profitable malware programs.

There is also no scientific proof, that other AntiVirus softwares are any better or much better than AVG.
All these tests and comparisions, published on the net, can't be trusted, because they always have a different winner and I have many doubts about the quality of the test environment. So AVG is enough for me.
Each time AVG tells me "No Virus Found", I think "And what about the rest, you didn't find ?"

I don't visit dangerous websites, I don't use P2P-softwares, I don't download everything what I see on the net and I ignore/delete all my spam-emails without even opening them.
This has nothing to do with AntiVirus software and is just a matter of discipline.
Being too nosy is dangerous on the internet and most internet users are infected this way.
That's the main reason why my computer is virus-free and AVG does the rest

Edited by ErikAlbert, 26 May 2005 - 11:50 AM.

[bdx55]

Well new around here, first day as a matter of fact, finding some good info must say. I use AVG7.0 when it was not free as yet, so bought it and mus say that I feel really confident about the way it works.

I use the Bat as my emailclient, and only AVG has a mailscanner, which also get's it's updates.

Now it is free of charge, but the paid version get's mail-update, sometimes more than one a day.

bdx55

[ErikAlbert]

bdx55,
AVG is indeed an excellent AntiVirus software.
The best AntiVirus softwares have regular updatings to protect you as fast as possible against new viruses.
New viruses are created/discovered every day and the sooner you are protected against them, the better.
This morning AVG updated itself automatically when my computer was rebooting. The desktop wasn't even finished.
AVG scans also automatically, in case you forgot to run it. So AVG does its job very well.

AVG (free or paid) is highly recommended by SWI and any other Malware Forum/ Security Website.
Many members, including myself, have AVG on their computer and it checks indeed emails.
Emails contain often viruses hidden in email attachments, once you open them you are infected.
There was a time I received infected emails every day and AVG took good care of them without missing one.
AVG also checks your outgoing emails and has a Resident Shield.
What more can you expect from a FREE (or paid) AntiVirus software ?

Edited by ErikAlbert, 01 June 2005 - 05:58 AM.

[marcmeier]

Hi Erik

I use AVG, Ad-Aware and Spybot, with regular updates.

I'd guess that together, they deal to 95%+ of what's out there.

Regards

[ErikAlbert]

marcmeier,

I'd guess that together, they deal to 95%+ of what's out there.

That is a very optimistic percentage.
Some members, including me, think that each scanner removes only a teaspoon from the Malware Ocean.
But nobody really knows how many malwares were written.

Malware expert Eric Howes published a test at this link :
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/050127/
This link shows other percentages and is a bit more realistic IMO.
The test is a bit old, but gives a nice impression of detection ratings.
Pay attention, some of the tested softwares are rogue/suspect.
If you are planning to install a new Anti-Spyware ALWAYS consult this link first.
http://www.spywarewa...nti-spyware.htm
also written by Eric Howes.

If I was you I would install this one too.
MS AntiSpyware Beta1
http://www.microsoft...re/default.mspx
To install this software you need an active internet connection and MSIE6 otherwise
the installation program won't work.

Recently a few members gave somebody a summary of freewares and advices to protect his computer in this link :
http://forums.spywar...showtopic=49388
These softwares are recommended in general by SWI.

Edited by ErikAlbert, 02 June 2005 - 10:11 PM.

[Quantum]

I can't say that AVG is bad, but I prefer AntiVir (also free), I fell more secure with it and also I had a bad experience when AVG got deleted by a virus (AntiVir doesn't seem to be targeted so much).

Also AntiVir has a higher detection rate, and in my opinion uses even less resources than AVG.

I never liked Avast! because of it's strange interface, and it created a number of error messages that took to much time to resolve.

Overall though if you use free or not, AVG or not the main point is having any scanner, is better than NO scanner

Here's quite an old test about the virus scanners, although it might be outdated it will give you the idea of the scanners comparitively.

Also remember even though the percentage findings of the free scanners may seem low an internet scan once a month (or more common), will reinforce your system protection.

(links to the free programs are in my signature)

Edited by Quantum, 03 June 2005 - 05:09 AM.

[Paranoid]

marcmeier,

I'd guess that together, they deal to 95%+ of what's out there.

That is a very optimistic percentage.
Some members, including me, think that each scanner removes only a teaspoon from the Malware Ocean.
But nobody really knows how many malwares were written

95% of 'in the wild' viruses and worms? Yes that's achievable.

Spyware and adware are mutating a lot faster though.

Malware expert Eric Howes published a test at this link :
http://windowssecrets.com/comp/050127/
This link shows other percentages and is a bit more realistic IMO.
The test is a bit old, but gives a nice impression of detection ratings.

This link actually talks about the Howe tests which are about removal not detection.

It's much tougher to remove adware these days compared to detection. But detection is tough too of course.

[LostAccount]

Use AVG alongside Kaspersky. Switched off AVG's real-time protection and it never finds a virus in any of it's full scans (probably because Kaspersky's real-time had detected whatever virus that came to attack me). But it's very fast.

[si62]

Use AVG alongside Kaspersky. Switched off AVG's real-time protection and it never finds a virus in any of it's full scans (probably because Kaspersky's real-time had detected whatever virus that came to attack me). But it's very fast.

Hello to you all,


GData Antiviruskit Pro 2005

Above product enjoys good reviews. I bought it, but it caused my Outlook to crash. Later I discovered the problem has been reported in other forums.

http://www.chip.de/c...threadid=528751

http://www.planet-ou...pic.php?p=3029

I asked GData for a solution but did not give any feedback.
Asked them over and over and over: still no no feedback - I knów they have opened my e-mails, but apparently they give a #@!%

The money is just wasted. Even after a dozen reminders and even after threatening that I would put my story on the Internet: no response.

Therefore, I would recommend: if you are running Outlook - don't buy GData Antiviruskit Pro !!

It is better save than sorry. Maybe with others it will work - they are lucky then. However, it does not with me and not with others (see thread). Therefore, why taking the risk ? Just stay away from this product, just use Norton Antivirus or Bitdefender.

rgds
--

[Trilobite]

Free is generally much better than none! (As long as you update it regularly)

[marcmeier]

Erik

Perhaps I should reword my "95%+" statement.

What I meant by that is that, running all three, 95%+ of the time the computer is in use, no viruses, bots, etc cause me any problems.

I thought that it was fair enough to assume that only 5%- of what's out there was getting to me.

Naturally, I completely agree that the malware total is vastly higher than the number that try to get me personally.

Cheers

[Malleable]

Well, though I have used to use AVG and Spybot, I found that they didnt find everything on my machine. I was told at one time that Panda was the best, and have been using it.
Now others will probably say that NOD32 or TrojanHunter are better, but I have found that Panda found stuff these guys didnt (not false positives either).

I use the Panda Internet Suite (or whatever its called) and find it to be the best overall.

It is resource intensive though, with its Active Armor thingy, but if I end up on sites I shouldnt visit it stops stuff immediately, so I dont have any problems.

Panda, MS Antispyware (though Im trying Counterspy tonight), GhostSurf 2005 Standard, and SuperAd Blocker run on my system normally.

Mal

Edited by Malleable, 03 August 2005 - 02:05 PM.

[hornet777]

One's best bet is and will always be to download, install and configure several and evaluate them for oneself. Likewise, best to use two or more and as scanners only, unless you are prepared to take a big performance hit (we like to get things done with our computers don't we?). If one must run resident, select one package ONLY, preferably the one that takes the least resources and provides the highest detection rate. Also remember: ALL anti-virus products have false positives! A detection is USUALLY a true positive, but not always. Some are better than others in this respect. One can ask all the opinions in the world, consult all the so-called objective comparison sites in the cyber-world, but if the thing won't run on yur puter, or you don't like something about it, none of it matters: putting forth the effort will always pay handsome dividends in the end.