Emsisoft Anti Malware vs. Avast Free Antivirus

[Cloud9]

Hi everyone, I right now have Avast free antivirus downloaded onto my computer alongside malwarebytes anti malware free and emsisoft emergency kit. I would like to add more on demand scanners to my system and hence i tried downloading emsisoft anti malware but it seems that the software has issues with Avast being on my system. I am trying to make choice on whether i leave configuration as it is or delete either avast and download emsisoft or not download emsisoft in the first place. Everyone's input is much appreciated!

 

[insanity]

Emsisoft AntiMalware and Avast are full antiviruses, so running both at the same time is not recommended, as it may cause conflicts. You have to choose one of them. You probably can leave Avast as your main AV and use Emsisoft Emergency Kit as an on demand scanner. Other options for on demand scanner: Zemana Antimalware Free, Norton Power Eraser, Hitman Pro (paid). Choose those which best suits you. I wouldn't recommend Malwarebytes anymore, as its quality has degraded significantly since version 3 was released.

 

[bribon77]

First of all, Emsisoft is for payment and you need a license, I don't know if you have it.
Secondly, and this is the basic principle is not to have two antivirus in real time.
I think if you don't have an Emsisoft license you stay with Avast, I'm of the opinion that Malwarebytes leaves a lot to be desired, and I don't see it right now.

 

[frogboy]

You could try either EAM with VS free alongside or even just Windows Defender and VS free and be safe I think.

 

[Cloud9]

I see thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I think i will maintain the trio of Malwarebytes anti malware free, Avast free antivirus and Emsisoft Emergency kit. Have been hearing lately a lot about malwarebytes not being good; i shall take this into account and try zemana . if i like it more , malwarebytes will be uninstalled and zemana will replace it.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Both the security softwares are best.But you compare a free product vs paid product.I think you should try each software separately for 30 days to decide.

 

[JakeXPMan]

Avast, but I'm in the minority...

I think the use of Hardened mode and/or features for lightweight securitry all free set it above the Emisisoft bundle.

 

[Evjl's Rain]

default settings, emsisoft is obviously better than avast. Better signatures, better behavior blocker, better scanning speed. Better for users who don't like tweaking
EAM is worse than avast in: web filter (please don't tell me we can add ABC filters), false positive rate

however, with some combination and tweaks, avast may have an upper hand and potentially more difficult to bypass than emsisoft because there are not many things to tweak in emsisoft

for example, avast with hardened mode agressive + smartscreen + disabled windows script host, powershell, java. It's really not easy to bypass. With emsisoft not many options you can tweak to strengthen the protection so it might be a little bit easier to get infected
I'm comparing Avast free and emsisoft AM (paid)

emsisoft consumes a lot of RAM. even with memory optimization, it pushes the memory usage to pagefile/virtual memory, which makes the system swap more between physical and virtual memory in HDD => may slow down the PC. Using more memory is only good if your PC has 6-8Gb of RAM at least. Having 4Gb or less might be a pain and perhaps, shorter HDD/SSD lifespan
avast has very friendly in RAM usage with very small physical or virtual memory usage but this of course will slow down the scanning speed

What is the significance here? I have 8Gb of RAM on my laptop. I was playing fifa 17, 18. My laptop had to work extra hard to swap memory to pagefile causing high disk usage with emsisoft while with avast, it was just enough not to swap anything
therefore, using more memory is not always better, that's my answer if you send me the article on emsisoft website

in conclusion, both are very but you can save your money if you use avast free and learn of to tweak it and combine it with other tools, such as voodooshield, anti-executables, SRP,...

 

[amico81]

EAM:

Pro: best behavior blocker !!!
dual engine with bitdefender signatures
no bloatware

Contra: paid av
heavy for some pc setup's

Avast free:

Pro: free
good signatures
good behavior blocker
guide for tweaks from evjl's rain for stronger protection

Contra: buggy software and laggy gui (my opinion)
some bloatware (optional)

 

[Deleted member 178]

All depend your skills/knowledge, are you a tweaker? knowing how to set many options? if not, Emsisoft AM is for you, it protects efficiently out-of-the-box.
Do you like having alerts/prompts? if not, Emsisoft is for you, most alerts can be hidden or set to auto-resolve.
Do you like lot of secondary features? if not, Emsisoft AM has none, only the strict necessary to cover the main attack vectors.

Sure we are a paid software, but we offer some ways to get an extended license duration for free like the referral program.

 

[Cloud9]

Well to clear certain things first. I do not have a paid license for emsisoft anti malware. i was talking about the free version. second i am not a tweaker in the sense that everyone has been talking about but i am very much willing to learn. i really like customizing , tweaking/modifying things. When i download a new antivirus program i go through all its options and see if people have any recommendations for optimal settings for the software. currently i don't have a decent budget , so obtaining a paid license right now is impossible but i have certainly taken note of the benefits of emsisoft brings. So for now i will be going with Avast free antivirus. btw, i recently heard that a software or program bought by avast has run into issues. I am not sure what the name of the software avast bought is. If you guys think the current version of avast is not great and that there are better free antivirus software out there , please let me know. i am not a software loyalist and am very much open to trying anything new and good. After all we are all trying to find best methods to optimizing our security here.

 

[Cloud9]

@Evjl's Rain I don't have java on my system. As for windows script host and powershell. I shall read about them and see if i can make those changes. if not , i will ask for instructions from you guys. Never really messed with script host and powershell to be honest. These are changes that are recommended in case i have Avast on my system. But can you let me know what you think is the best free antivirus software out there according to your knowledge ?

 

[boredog]

I just tried emsisoft anti malware yesterday in my VM with about 80 malware that were recent, within last week and once it caught every single one.

 

[Deleted member 178]

When i download a new antivirus program i go through all its options and see if people have any recommendations for optimal settings for the software.

So you have the mindset of a tweaker, and with time i'm sure you will be one

 

[Evjl's Rain]

@Evjl's Rain I don't have java on my system. As for windows script host and powershell. I shall read about them and see if i can make those changes. if not , i will ask for instructions from you guys. Never really messed with script host and powershell to be honest. These are changes that are recommended in case i have Avast on my system. But can you let me know what you think is the best free antivirus software out there according to your knowledge ?

if you don't have java, it's good for you because you don't have to worry about it
this is my avast's settings. I copied some from Windows_Security's settings and changed a bit
SECURE - Evjl's Rain's security config

this post is for disabling WSH and powershell
Help Me Decide - Bitdefender Free vs. Avast Free vs AVG Free vs Panda Free

if you are unclear, just post here, I will answer but maybe delay a few days because I'm in another country now

 

[Sunshine-boy]

I vote Emsi because it's not buggy but if Avast was a clean product I would vote avast.
The paid version of Emsi provides the same level protection as avast free.
Btw i hate both if you want to pay then buy Kaspersky

 

[bribon77]

Well to clear certain things first. I do not have a paid license for emsisoft anti malware. i was talking about the free version. second i am not a tweaker in the sense that everyone has been talking about but i am very much willing to learn. i really like customizing , tweaking/modifying things. When i download a new antivirus program i go through all its options and see if people have any recommendations for optimal settings for the software. currently i don't have a decent budget , so obtaining a paid license right now is impossible but i have certainly taken note of the benefits of emsisoft brings. So for now i will be going with Avast free antivirus. btw, i recently heard that a software or program bought by avast has run into issues. I am not sure what the name of the software avast bought is. If you guys think the current version of avast is not great and that there are better free antivirus software out there , please let me know. i am not a software loyalist and am very much open to trying anything new and good. After all we are all trying to find best methods to optimizing our security here.

Hello: The important thing about you is the attitude you have, that will make you learn a lot. no one is born knowing. I have a long way to go to learn that's why I'm on MT, Avast is a good antivirus, many MT colleagues use it and there's a lot of information to adjust Avast. Besides, you're NASA. Jjajajajaj.
Greetings!

 

[ForgottenSeer 67480]

I don't like Avast so much, because sometimes always can be problems with him and system windows can stop work correctly. So i decided to check Emsisoft Anti-Malware and he is much better in ewerything like: Detection Ratio & Protection, Performance and Stability. He even scanning much faster than Avast, maybe is a little bit heavy than Avast, but Emsisoft is much smart and much behaviourable even for players.

 

[Predrag Radjenovic]

Hello: The important thing about you is the attitude you have, that will make you learn a lot. no one is born knowing. I have a long way to go to learn that's why I'm on MT, Avast is a good antivirus, many MT colleagues use it and there's a lot of information to adjust Avast. Besides, you're NASA. Jjajajajaj.
Greetings!

Offtopic: I laughed out loud at jajajajajaja I learned a bit of Spanish from a friend while studying in Austria, so I know it 's hahahaha, but in Serbian jaja means eggs. (lol Don't mind me, it's a terrible day at work, can't wait to get home)

Back on topic: I always got the impression that Emsisoft offered better protection than Avast. Perhaps my opinion is based on old Avast. Anyway, I have Emsisoft AM and I am very happy with it. Doesn't slow down the machine, and has nice features. What I don't like about it is lack of any advanced/tweaking options. I love the price though, it's spot on!

 

[Daljeet]

Avast is more advance AV Avast free is solid protection but some required protection is missing which is required. Avast flagship premium protection with advance settings nothing better than this setup.