Multiple computers, multiple AV choices

[truoc]

If after reading this it needs to be moved elsewhere, please feel free. We have a total of 4 PC's in the household and I'm wanting some opinions on what you guys think is the best AV to use for all 4 PC's. I'm a little OCD in the fact that I want the same security programs on all of the computers. Here's the low down:

Desktop PC #1 - Windows 8.1 and will have Malwarebytes Pro, EMET, Zemana Antilogger Free, and WinPatrol. Used for everything. Gaming, Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Desktop PC #2 - Windows 8.1 and will have Malwarebytes Pro, EMET, Zemana Antilogger Free, and WinPatrol. Used primarily for Facebook, Email, surfing the web, and bill paying (I know not the greatest idea).
Desktop PC #3 - Windows 7 and will have Malwarebytes Free Edition, EMET, Zemana Antilogger Free, and WinPatrol. Mainly used for surfing the web.
Laptop PC - Windows XP (I know, I know) and will have Malwarebytes Free Edition, EMET, Zemana Antilogger Free, and WinPatrol. Not used very much at all, but still want same AV as all the others.

So right now we have Comcast internet (thinking about switching due to problems lately) so we have access to the Comcast Norton Security Suite that is basically a rebranded Norton 360. I'm not sure if that would be a good idea to install on such an old Windows XP laptop, but my other choices of AV's I'm looking at would be Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, Avast Free, or MSE. I'm not too inclined to install MSE due to support for it expiring next year. Even though I say these things about Norton and MSE I'm really wanting to get opinions on which AV you think would work best in this scenario to install on all four PC's. Please vote and explain why if you could. Thanks!

 

[Littlebits]

On Windows 8.1, third-party security products can cause major problems especially with network drivers on firewalls.
That is why it is best to just use Windows built-in security features (Windows Defender +Windows Firewall + SmartScreen and UAC "never approve anything unless you know that it is safe").

On your other systems, Avast Free, Avira Free, MSE, Panda Cloud and AVG Free would all be good free options.
Of coarse on your XP system avoid MSE because it is no longer supported.

We have several members here who have had bad experiences with BitDefender Free including myself, so I don't recommend it.
If you have careless users on these systems who like to click and download files without knowing what they are doing then no security product will be able to protect them. So I recommend "Limited User Accounts" for those kind of users with a light AV.

I haven't tried Norton in awhile now due to its high false alerts. I'm not sure if the problem even got solved.

Enjoy!!

 

[Deleted member 178]

my advices:

Pc1 aka Gaming PC: only Win8 built-in security ; you need all the responsiveness and resources possible to gain max FPS for games.
PC2 aka Business PC: Zemana is ok , always Sandboxie while you surf.
Pc3 aka Surfing PC: just Sandboxie
Pc4 aka XP PC: Shadow Defender on boot if you can afford it; since you have no fixes updates anymore on XP, your clean system will be reloaded at each boot

 

[truoc]

Dang, I was kinda hoping someone would say "use x antivirus on all 4 PC's."

 

[Deleted member 178]

Dang, I was kinda hoping someone would say "use x antivirus on all 4 PC's."

I gave you the optimized choices but if i was you (and because you want one product):

win8 built-in security + SD on boot on each but after you will have to get out of it everytime you update important stuff

 

[Ink]

I was going to suggest, create an avast account at my.avast.com, use the recommendation link from your account to download avast free to other computers and install. Link all avast installs to your newly created my.avast account. Once linked, the computers will appear under the My Devices tab and you can monitor the status, subscription, last infection etc.

On Windows 7 and 8.1:
Enable UAC and Windows Firewall, additionally for Windows 8.1 enable SmartScreen.

A custom install for Avast Free Antivirus without Tools.
Link all Avast installs to your my.avast.com account.

On Windows XP SP3:
Avast Free Antivirus with Hardened Mode on Aggressive and DeepScreen.
EMET on XP is limited compared to later versions.

Remove Zemana Anti-Logger Free - will improve boot time, and not required if you don't install untrusted software.
Install Unchecky, in case of accidental software installs, uses less than a megabytes in background.

Malwarebytes Pro/Premium doesn't really add any benefits, only complimentary real-time protection.