What's The Best Free Virus/Trojan Protection?

[duncan228]

I know some names, Norton, Spybot, Ad-Aware, AVG, Malwarebytes.

Any opinions on those?

What are you guys using?

Are free ones okay or should I buy one?


While I'm asking things, anyone have experience with Virtumonde?

[balli]

On my xp machines I run a combo of the freeware version of AVG and malwarebytes. I rarely run malwarebytes, but I once got an infection that nothing else would take care of and that got it, so I keep it around. I like Ad-Aware too, which IIRC also comes as freeware.

No matter what (and everyone will say this)- do not install Norton, or McAfee.

I wouldn't buy or download a retail version of anything, but maybe there's some advantage to doing so that someone else can explain?

If you don't have a good cleaner program it'd be worth your time to install CCleaner which is also free.

[baseline bum]

I use GNU/Linux. Works great!

[duncan228]

Thanks guys.

balli, I thought Norton was no good, that's why I'm asking. Norton came on my new laptop. AVG was on my old one and it seemed great but I didn't see a free one. I'll look again.

And I had the same experience with Malwarebytes, it got rid of the Virtumonde when nothing else would.

What does CCleaner do that others don't?

[Libri]

I know some names, Norton, Spybot, Ad-Aware, AVG, Malwarebytes.

Any opinions on those?

What are you guys using?

Are free ones okay or should I buy one?


While I'm asking things, anyone have experience with Virtumonde?

I'm wondering if you get a free one with your ISP?

[balli]

What does CCleaner do that others don't?

CCleaner isn't really an anti-virus program, it just finds and deletes all your junk files, left over files from old apps, temp files, internet history files, cookies, etc.

Not really all that necessary because you can get rid of all that stuff in other ways, but it's a quick and easy one step solution. My 2 cents is that it's small enough to make it worth having, but meh, plenty of people get by without it.

The CNET review:

4 out of 5- Although it lacks a few of the bells and whistles found in other PC-cleaning applications, this free program offers more than enough features to make it a worthy download. CCleaner's interface is logically designed and makes it easy to wipe away your tracks from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome from various Windows system areas, and from some third-party applications.

CCleaner doesn't support the large number of extraneous programs that some compe ors do, but it can erase traces from such popular programs as Spybot - Search & Destroy and WinZip. CCleaner now offers secure file erasing along with a Registry-cleaning utility that quickly scans for invalid entries before removing them. CCleaner can even back up your Registry before removal, in case it accidentally removes a crucial component, and the download includes a rudimentary feature for uninstalling any program on your machine.

Since this free application handles the majority of PC-cleaning chores and offers a nice extra, we strongly recommend CCleaner to all users, except those who need robust tools to remove supersensitive data.

http://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/

http://www.ccleaner.com/

If you end up going with AVG- http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Vi...-10320142.html

[duncan228]

Thanks for the info balli. I'm pretty good about cleaning junk out, but I'll keep the cleaner in mind.

I really appreciate the free AVG link. I don't know why I didn't find it. Thanks.

[balli]

Hope all stays well with the new laptop.

[Cry Havoc]

I use AVG + Spybot.

I've heard Avira is really excellent as well, and it's free.

[koriwhat]

a² and kaspersky av together are great.

norton, mcafee, etc... suck!

[TwAnKiEs]

I once got that popcorn adware ans was a pain in the ass. I found super anti spyware (www.supersanitspyware.com) which is free and cleaned it up fast. I heard AVG is really good also.

[ElNono]

AVG Free is available here:
http://free.avg.com/

That's what I used to run when I had XP at home. My experience with Norton is that it causes more problems than it solves, not to mention it's a resource hog.

[Heath Ledger]

Trojans with lubriderm/spermicide does it for me. Extra Large.

[jacobdrj]

AVG seemed to decrease in quality and increase in obtrusiveness when they upgraded the version from 7.5 to 8. I don't use it anymore. I have been trying to use a combination of AVAST and Malwarebytes, along with CCleaner and Spybot SD, with occasional installs of AdAware, but there are some problems that none of these seem to be able to fix.

I would ALWAYS recommend Spybot. Even if it isn't catching spyware, it has a file shredder that works great for when you are targeting a pesky virus file on your hard drive.

I am thinking of switching over to a virtual machine for basic web surfing and word processing, and having a separate console for dedicated graphics/video work.

I'll make a new thread about it when I actually get around to it.

At this point, I would actually say to ditch XP if possible and get Windows 7 as soon as you can. It should reduce many of these problems. XP is just so freggin insecure.

[jacobdrj]

Trojans with lubriderm/spermicide does it for me. Extra Large.

We want to be protected from the Trojans, and still be virus free, not use a trojan and spiff it up... Think before you post...

[duncan228]

Thanks everyone.

I'm going with AVG and Spybot, keeping Malwarebytes on board for anything nasty that may show up.

I really appreciate the info, you guys are the best.

[koriwhat]

spybot did nothing for me on my mother's computer let alone for yrs on my old pc. when i first got spybot back in like '04 or whenever it was i thought it was great but it has since become obsolete in my book atleast. a² beats the out of any other spywhere/malware software there is. i've used it twice now and it's done it's job! it doesn't just go through the motions and spit out a log so you can read it and get back to scanning again because it did nothing, no it scans, fixes, spits a log out so you know it did what it was supposed to do unlike many other software out there that makes such claims.

try it out duncan228. it's free btw.

as for avg, it's never worked for me. kaspersky is well worth the dough spent plus there's plenty of coupons online to get anywhere from 20%-40% off the software.

and here's the best solution of them all.

[velik_m]

I use Avast+Comodo, and i run Ad-aware from time to time.

[stretch]

avast and spybot for me

[Libri]

It's not free but I have used BitDefender. Compared to others that I used, it was excellent and it didn't slow down my computer.

[koriwhat]

bitdefender is pretty good... used to use it but went with kaspersky here at work and at my mother's and it's great. i'd say bitdefender is right up there with kaspersky.

[spurster]

OpenBSD is probably the best, but Linux is good.

Anyone who uses Windows is toast, and that includes me when I have to use it.

[ElNono]

and here's the best solution of them all.

+1
My Mac Mini completely agrees.

[jacobdrj]

Apple is a band-aid solution, but with every new mac user, there will be a higher demand for related viruses. That might not happen any time soon, but it should be kept in mind. Linux currently has a smaller user base, and should stay relatively virus free for a bit longer, and the cost is much less. I don't use either myself, but have recommended them to customers when necessary.

I have a new client interested in migrating over to Virtual Machines. In theory, it should be practically impervious to infection. A true long term solution.

[koriwhat]

i don't mess with virtual machines... not worth it in my opinion. the drag is just too much for me.