Battle Free Antivirus hunting (opinions welcome)

[JakeXPMan]

Okay these are my top 4 based on my research,

Forticlient or Lite / AVG / Comodo / Panda

Now, my Modem/Router is firewalled does this mean I have no need for another firewall besides Windows?

I'm trying to avoid bugs, Bitdefender free worked great for a few months, light, effective, caught 2 threats and a site with malware, but! a few missing functions and quick scan went funky on the 13th and stopped its cycle, won't fix. I don't like the SLOW boot time either.

MOST IMPORTANT: Low CPU for old PC processor/Quick boot time/Installer 200MB or less/Medium to Great Detection rate.

Panda is cloud only, is that a big deal? and I read conflicting stories of praise and distain.

Foritclient , I really want to try, but don't know it that well, but sounds good from privacy policy, web block, firewall etc.

RAM use : 0-80 / CPU (I want light on CPU!, RAM doesn't matter)

Comodo, sounds interesting as well, kinda like Forticlient... but worry about interruptions, bloat and complicated setting for this "advanced-basic" user.

AVG Could it be improving in time? How's the boot up, smooth or heavy?

I don't want a China antivirus, and Avast has IP address "collecting" and unwanted extras, without the firewall However, if I'm let down, I could go this direction before Qihoo-Baidu.

Thanks and lets see your votes and talk about your past or present thoughts of using these.

 

[JakeXPMan]

Already in business, caught something in installer from USB stick. a cnet malware, luckly i didn't ever use WinUtilitiesFree.

McShield says clean, but its not

 

[Ink]

Comodo offers a truck full of goods, for a free AV solution.

See my thread, http://malwaretips.com/threads/install-comodo-internet-security-without-bloatware-worries.22480/

 

[Cehson]

None of the listed ones. Avast or Qihoo

 

[maximus]

I used AVG for a year and I was happy with it. Very light and easy to use.

 

[Anti Vir]

I just switched to Panda Free 2015 after reading the stellar review on PCmag (for what it's worth), and also looking at results from the independent labs. I'm happy so far. I used to run Avast, but it seems to have become bloated and it definitely slows down my PC's startup. I had AVG several years ago, but haven't tried it lately. A lot of these programs seem to want to be the center of attention on my PC and tend to slow things down. I want an AV that is mostly unobstrusive, lightweight and yet still effective. Panda seems to fit the bill.

I'm a bit worried by some of the tests I've seen by posters on this site where Panda doesn't do so hot. That's a little puzzling, because most of the labs speak highly of it.

 

[yigido]

I just switched to Panda Free 2015 after reading the stellar review on PCmag (for what it's worth), and also looking at results from the independent labs. I'm happy so far. I used to run Avast, but it seems to have become bloated and it definitely slows down my PC's startup. I had AVG several years ago, but haven't tried it lately. A lot of these programs seem to want to be the center of attention on my PC and tend to slow things down. I want an AV that is mostly unobstrusive, lightweight and yet still effective. Panda seems to fit the bill.

I'm a bit worried by some of the tests I've seen by posters on this site where Panda doesn't do so hot. That's a little puzzling, because most of the labs speak highly of it.

It is a good choice (Pande Free). Please be active on malware packs section.
I wonder its performance.
Thanks

 

[tonibalas]

About eight's post.
Yes paid versions of ZoneAlarm have much more features but anyone can see that Avast and AVG paid versions don't have much difference from the free products.
Again if you want to install a software that the free version has luck of features you should by the paid version as shown
in ZoneAlarm picture.
Thanks for the information about ZA i didn't know that paid versions offers so many features.

 

[jamescv7]

Already in business, caught something in installer from USB stick. a cnet malware, luckly i didn't ever use WinUtilitiesFree.

McShield says clean, but its not

Well if I'm not mistaken McShield design for in related viruses like autorun and others that originally spread in USB; perhaps different from malware that infect from computer itself. therefore it may not be detected.

 

[JakeXPMan]

Well if I'm not mistaken McShield design for in related viruses like autorun and others that originally spread in USB; perhaps different from malware that infect from computer itself. therefore it may not be detected.

Yea I think you're right about that.

 

[JakeXPMan]

First day of using Comodo (default) and it's really good! Surprised how light on RAM it is...
I have 1.5 GB and 1GB still remains unused, with 31 (all XP default) processes w/ Firefox 35.6.


CPU is often at 0%

 

[JakeXPMan]

Current Voting Results (Dec 30th)

Panda (I will try on another machine)
11 vote(s)
40.7%

Comodo (NOW USING AND ENJOY IT+FIREWALL)
8 vote(s)
29.6%

AVG
7 vote(s)
25.9%

Forticlient
1 vote(s)
3.7%

Panda Free leads with 40% percent the votes.

 

[Kardo Kristal]

I would choose Comodo or Panda.

Comodo - better for advanced users because of the configuration possibilities, also many good features for free.
Panda - good for the novice users, few settings, good detection, install and forget.

Regards,
Kardo

 

[riruan]

panda comodo qihoo baidu i dont belive in those chinese companies

 

[Kate_L]

AVG from the list. I use Avast Free.

 

[MalwareT]

panda comodo qihoo baidu i dont belive in those chinese companies

Panda is from Spain
Comodo is from Turkey/USA
Qihoo and Baidu are from China.

 

[eight]

panda comodo qihoo baidu i dont belive in those chinese companies

Panda is Spanish : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Security

Comodo is British & American : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comodo_Group

 

[MalwareT]

A lot of people on YouTube asked which antivirus do i recommend and why, so here's my opinion on free av's i recommend:

1)Avast! -Light, great detection doesn't slow system down and if it's configured well can be strong (hardened mode)
2)360 IS/TS - Light, TS has all in one- speedup and security, and it has sandbox and proactive defense (i'm using it on my PC and works great so far, on laptop i have Avast! Internet Security)
3)Panda - Easy to use, very light, and install 'n' forget

Those are my top 3 recommended AV's.

 

[ddave]

@Malware Test: so avast is the best free anti-virus? better than avg or avira and the all crew?

 

[blueblackwow65]

qihoo360

 

[jackuars]

@Malware Test: so avast is the best free anti-virus? better than avg or avira and the all crew?

This is what MT members think

Personally I prefer Qihoo, it's rock-solid.