AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 , Eset Nod32 4 or Kaspersky AV 2009 and why?

[plutomaniac]

I had AVG Free 8.5 but I found out that I had some viruses at my computer and AVG just couldn't find them and after I deleted them manually I installed Eset Nod32 4 because a lot of people say it's very good and it's not heavy(that's 100% true!). However I would like your opinion too about which of the following AV's you think is the best and please...why you made that choise...

AVG Anti-Virus 8.5 , Eset Nod32 4 or Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 and why? What about AVG Free 8.5 in comparisson with the other two AV's ? As I already said I was using AVG Free 8.5 for a long time and I loved it(I still do but...it seems that it doesn't protect me as I want...)

Please also vote at the poll above - it's easier to see which is the best with this way!

Also, I know that there a lot of threads about which is the best Firewall to user(free or paid) but since I only work with Windows Vista's Firewall I would like some opinions about this topic too if you can! The only firewall I have ever tested is AVG Internet Security's one and it sucks is my opinion. However I can clearly tell you that I love AVG because I was using the free version of it for more than 3 years! (since version 6 or sth like that...)

Anyway...thank you for reading this. I'm waiting for your answers.

(The reason I stoped working with AVG is this: http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=49273 .Altough now I have fixed and removed almost everything I want to try for some days Eset Nod32 4 to see if it's better - I like it!)

[tashi]

Hello plutomaniac,

Once your malware forum topic is finished, your helper will give program advice.

Anti Virus program or not, users swapping files on P2P are a major source of spreading infections. The malware/spam botnets use them as a conduit for that reason.

A topic that might be helpful to you along with this one. Anti Virus

Cheers.

[plutomaniac]

I have read this thread 2 times, however it's been a long time since the last update there and so I thought it would be better to have here a newer one or sth like that! At this time I have:

Eset Nod32 4 for Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware *****
Comodo Internet Security Firewall Free for Firewall Protection(Only Firewall) *****
Windows Defender for Anti-Spyware which is part of Windows Vista ****
AVG LinkScanner 8.5 for Browser Protection (Toolbar + Safe Search) ***
PC Tools Browser Defender for Browser Protection (Safe Search) **
Microsoft Windows Vista Firewall for Basic Firewall Protection (Not Good) *

I think now I'm fully protected. However I would like to test now the performance of my computer because...the more protection you add, the slower your system becomes...I will restart my pc and see... What do you think of this protection?

[Matt]

Hi plutomaniac,

first of all, you've to accept that NO Antivirus tool can block, detect and delete 100% of all nasties that are circulating.

Kaspersky Antivirus is, according to lots of people, one of the best tools, but you have to pay for it.
The link that tashi has given you, is still up to date.
AVAST!, AVG AntiVirus and Avira's Antivir are still the best free Antivirus programs. I don't know much about ESET, sorry.

My personal opinion:
I use Avira's Antivir Personal Free for about 10 years now and this tool does a very good job. Moreover, I come from Germany... and that's perhaps a reason why I use this German Antivirus program.

Another good German AntiSpyware tool is Spybot-Serach&Destroy. Well, as you see, I trust in tools "Made in Germany".

In the end, it's your decision.
The Windows Vista Firewall is much better than the Windows XP Firewall. Please do not run Windows Vista Firewall and Comodo Firewall at the same time.

Eset NOD32 Antivirus/AntiSpyware and Comodo Firewall are good.
Please be sure that all programs on your computer are always up to date.

[plutomaniac]

I update all my products every day and I now that there is no perfect protection. I don't know...I thought that vista's firewall is the same but since you say it's better...ok...but at the control panel>security is says: Both Windows Firewall and COMONDO Firewall are active. Do I need to disable Windows Firewall? My system takes a little-bit more to start but...it's obvious... Yes, I agree with you that Eset NOD32 Antivirus/AntiSpyware and Comodo Firewall are good.

[Matt]

Hi plutomaniac,

if you keep your operating system and all programs up to date and be carefully with surfing (So how did I get infected in the first place?), then everything is fine.

Happy Safe Surfing!

[plutomaniac]

so you think I will not have any problem running Windows Firewall and COMODO at the same time? Till now everything is ok!

Have a nice day...

[tashi]

Hello plutomaniac,

so you think I will not have any problem running Windows Firewall and COMODO at the same time? Till now everything is ok!

You should not have two firewalls enabled, please give this kind of information to your helper in the malware forum topic.

Cheers.

[honda12]

Personally, I've gone back to AVG because Avira 9 has too many nag screens (although you can get rid of them through registry tweaks, it is against the TOS) and I've found updates to be slow to download. AVG offers a good baseline protection with quick updates and a good detection rate. That's all I need. I can download more specialised tools for areas in which it is weaker (adware, lack of rootkit scanning).

As I've said many times before my first line of defense is common sense . Comodo IMO is slightly overkill and although their antivirus now has 5 million+ signatures, it is still a young program. I think the windows firewall is adequate for most users.

As a cheapskate Kaspersky and Nod32 are out of the question

Finally, I think this age old (well not exactly age old, but you get my point) question of 'which antivirus?' is becoming obsolete. As Matt said no signature-based antivirus solution can catch 100% of viruses and I think ultimately behavior analysis based solutions will become the more economic choice for security vendors.

[Matt]

and I've found updates to be slow to download

Poor you. my downloads are faster than ever

As a cheapskate Kaspersky and Nod32 are out of the question

QFT - in my eyes... there is no reason why someone should pay for an Antivirus program if there are these three good freeware tools out there