Advice for buying an antivirus

[RƎDSPYGENTLEMEN]

Kaspersky Internet Security for me.

 

[GabiCRX]

Guys in the end i decided to buy Trend Micro, but not right now, the problem is money!

 

[enaph]

Guys in the end i decided to buy Trend Micro, but not right now, the problem is money!

The question is: do you really need to pay for security software?

 

[GabiCRX]

The question is: do you really need to pay for security software?

Yes, because free av are not that good.

 

[Striker]

Yes, because free av are not that good.

Free avs like Avast have the same protection leven like any other paid product.

 

[goro]

you can use free AV, and save that money to buy games, gaming gear,...

 

[enaph]

The only difference between paid and free AV is support which you get when you pay but protection levels are exactly the same.

 

[Raul90]

I'd recommend Eset / Emsisoft if your friend really wants to buy. If your friend does "really" know HIPS, BB, SBIE or Cloud then he need not buy but use the freeware ones available. It is how the user will use the AV in tandem with other security setups he has with correct behavior when online. The best advise is for him to try it out himself and from there select what will he favor with regards to his preferences

 

[Edward ST]

The only difference between paid and free AV is support which you get when you pay but protection levels are exactly the same.

Not really.

I've made a list of main problems of free AVs:

1. Lack of firewall - most of free antiviruses does not include a strong firewall, as we have to use a 3rd party firewall. This is probably the worst problem of free AVs. I do not want to say that free AVs must have a strong firewall, but a decent one. I saw that avast! free includes Web protection, but it is not like firewall
2. Lack of NAP (Network Attack Protection) - another problem of free AVs. Those products are optimized to offer
3. Realtime protection - most of AVs are designed to offer maximal protection as on-demand scanning. The realtime protection is offered as web protection and other things, and it's not really like realtime protection of paid AV products.
4. Customer care - agree with you. The CC is different from free to paid AVs. For the free one, it's limited only to forum suggestions and to mail (as as I know). For the paid one, you can be helped by call, live chat, email etc. Also, some free ones offers support between certain hours.
5. Lack of some important modules - some paid AVs integrates only very basic protection modules like file scanner, web protection, update signatures. Paid AVs offer better tools like diagnostics (ESET has SysInspector, a very good tool for advanced users), updates indicator (ESET has too that option) and many others.

I hope this list helps every person in choosing between free and paid AVs.
Note: I do not want you to deliberately choose a paid AVs. I only structured the main differences between free and paid antiviruses.

 

[ForgottenSeer 19494]

I'd recommend Eset / Emsisoft if your friend really wants to buy. If your friend does "really" know HIPS, BB, SBIE or Cloud then he need not buy but use the freeware ones available. It is how the user will use the AV in tandem with other security setups he has with correct behavior when online. The best advise is for him to try it out himself and from there select what will he favor with regards to his preferences

I also recommend Emsisoft or Kaspersky if your friend is an average user. If not, then Bitdefender is the choice. But you are the one who decides, that's just a recommendation.

 

[Venustus]

I also recommend Emsisoft or Kaspersky if your friend is an average user. If not, then Bitdefender is the choice. But you are the one who decides, that's just a recommendation.

Bitdefender is a good product but they removed the firewall option to "ASK" for connectivity for certain programs that you want to block!
Kaspersky has done the same!
I like to control what programs I allow to connect to the internet!
Other than that,they are both good products!

 

[Striker]

Not really.

I've made a list of main problems of free AVs:

1. Lack of firewall - most of free antiviruses does not include a strong firewall, as we have to use a 3rd party firewall. This is probably the worst problem of free AVs. I do not want to say that free AVs must have a strong firewall, but a decent one. I saw that avast! free includes Web protection, but it is not like firewall
2. Lack of NAP (Network Attack Protection) - another problem of free AVs. Those products are optimized to offer
3. Realtime protection - most of AVs are designed to offer maximal protection as on-demand scanning. The realtime protection is offered as web protection and other things, and it's not really like realtime protection of paid AV products.
4. Customer care - agree with you. The CC is different from free to paid AVs. For the free one, it's limited only to forum suggestions and to mail (as as I know). For the paid one, you can be helped by call, live chat, email etc. Also, some free ones offers support between certain hours.
5. Lack of some important modules - some paid AVs integrates only very basic protection modules like file scanner, web protection, update signatures. Paid AVs offer better tools like diagnostics (ESET has SysInspector, a very good tool for advanced users), updates indicator (ESET has too that option) and many others.

I hope this list helps every person in choosing between free and paid AVs.
Note: I do not want you to deliberately choose a paid AVs. I only structured the main differences between free and paid antiviruses.

All os versions over xp have a decent inbuild firewall. no need for extra bload and a whole security suit if only a light av with windows firewall is enough. if u need some control over the firewall programs like TinyWall or Windows Firewall Control 4 are nice for in and outbond control. And to part 3, free avs like avast have the same realtime protecion/updates, steam updates as the paid version or any ohter paid products. u have a big choice between nice free avs with cloud there always up 2 date.

 

[spaceoctopus]

1. Gdata is a twin engined product, excellent protection but quite heavy on resources.
2. Trend Micro offers good protection but relies heavily on the cloud. So when you'll be disconnected from the internet, its efficiency will be affected negatively.
3. Norton is a very well designed product, high detection rates and has a good combination of signature database and cloud technology(its not perfect)

• You also have other good products which are very light on the system and offer top-notch protection such as:
• Avast Premier, Avg internet security, Eset smart security, Avira Antivirus pro. These products are not perfect, but if you are searching a product that is light on resources, effective, stable and at a good price, these 4 products are excellent.
• to finish add Malwarebytes Prenium as a second layer of protection Hope this helps!

 

[zeusc4]

within your options , I would buy NORTON. install & forget it. good & best AV for average user

 

[ForgottenSeer 19494]

within your options , I would buy NORTON. install & forget it. good & best AV for average user

I like the fact that Norton is very light and it is basically a very easy product for use. It doesn't have the best signatures really out there but it has the best reputation service and Sonar is quite awesome. One of my favorites. It's Intusion Detection system is very good at blocking exploits. But don't think that Norton's IDS is a HIPS. It's actually quite different and doesn't block just every change but relies on IDS signatures and something proactive inside it.

 

[soccer97]

I recommend Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 (buy it from a legitimate online retailer, not their site, and you can get it for a reasonable price, many times with a mail in rebate). It has a gaming mode option, and is probably the best protection out there. It can use up some resources, but the 2015 version is better than the 2014 version. It uses less resources and provides excellent protection. 6GB of RAM is more than plenty, and you should barely notice it. KIS also provides good protection from those really nasty Cryptolocker like viruses going around, and webcam protection.

Second recommendation is ESET or maybe Emsisoft.

I have had poor results with Norton and Webroot personally. I would not recommend free software.

Please let us know your final choice and we can hel you configure it for best protection/performance.

 

[ForgottenSeer 19494]

I recommend Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 (buy it from a legitimate online retailer, not their site, and you can get it for a reasonable price, many times with a mail in rebate). It has a gaming mode option, and is probably the best protection out there. It can use up some resources, but the 2015 version is better than the 2014 version. It uses less resources and provides excellent protection. 6GB of RAM is more than plenty, and you should barely notice it. KIS also provides good protection from those really nasty Cryptolocker like viruses going around, and webcam protection.

Second recommendation is ESET or maybe Emsisoft.

I have had poor results with Norton and Webroot personally. I would not recommend free software.

Please let us know your final choice and we can hel you configure it for best protection/performance.

Better Emsisoft for second choice. You're true that Kaspersky offers better protection but the differences are not so big. He just can't go wrong with either choice.

Off-topic: does Malwarebytes uses more than 120 MBs of RAM on your systems? I'm talking for the Premium version 2.0.2.1012

 

[vrb93]

What did I heard? Pay for Bitdefender products?
Oh guys c'mon, with all these BD giveaways we could be covered for years

 

[soccer97]

Better Emsisoft for second choice. You're true that Kaspersky offers better protection but the differences are not so big. He just can't go wrong with either choice.

Off-topic: does Malwarebytes uses more than 120 MBs of RAM on your systems? I'm talking for the Premium version 2.0.2.1012

Agreed on Emsisoft for 2nd choice, good check.

 

[GabiCRX]

Thankyou guys, i had decided to buy Emsisoft 2 PC's for 3 years, because we save more money compared to GData!