Battle Lightest free AV

[brod56]

Hey guys.
I know many of you are a bit tired of threads comparing free AVs, but this one is a bit diferent.
I want to know what you think is the best performance free AV right now, which just has a new contester. I am aware of the detection rates considering the different modules of protection available (probably BDF>KAF>WD) but CPU/Ram usage is what Im looking at.
Compatibility with Voodooshield is also an important aspect for me, as I can't live without this wonderful piece of software.
Any comments (with Task Manager screenshots even better) are highly appreciated.

PS. Please do not suggest Avast or Avira as I had some pretty bad experiences with them in the past.

 

[Faybert]

Here is a light config:

-> Use the Adguard DNS Server. It blocks ads and phishing links etc. But it isn't the best standalone option, because not every ad can be blocked with DNS. Adguard DNS - the free DNS with advanced ad blocking
-> Use uBlock Origin and Https Everywhere for your browser. They secure you and block ads that Adguard doesn't block.
-> (For extra security: Norton Safe Web and Avira Browser Safety)
-> Use Glaswire to control your internet traffic and Process Explorer for processes.

-> Use Comodo Firewall with the @cruelsister awesome settings! It is very light and it will help you with blocking zero-day malware.
-> Here you can download it. Be sure not to install the included internet browser or any Ad-Ware from Yahoo! For more lightness you can uninstall the Internet Security Toolbox after installing the firewall.
Free Firewall | Get Award Winning Comodo Firewall Today
Settings:


Usage:

If the picture doesn't work for you: http://i.imgur.com/fEAnSe8.png

I know you hate Avast, but if you will ONLY install the file system protection module and use @Evjl's Rain settings then you will be very good secured.
Settings:

Good configuration of Comodo Firewall, the only thing that would change there is HIPS, I leave activated.

 

[BigWrench]

Testing Kaspersky Free on a 2.70 usable GB Laptop (alongside ZAM Real Time)..... Will follow up at a later time.

So far, so good.

showing 2 processes,
KAV @ 17.7 MB RAM / 0-1% CPU (jumps to .5 from time to time, with network) / .1-2% Disk
KAV @ 1.8 MB / Bounces around while updating 4-12% CPU / 12-15 MB RAM / 3-5% Disk (30 seconds) Win10 laptop AMD Athlon II Dual core M300
Scanning (full on demand) Slow, as expected....

1) KAV FREE... 10-96% CPU/ 50-320MB RAM/ 18-100% Disk (many spikes) 490k files scanned in 1 hr and 45 min. Win10 laptop AMD Athlon II Dual core M300 (ZAM shut off)

2) KTS Technical Preview.... (KTS 17.0.0.577) 10-90% CPU/ 90-420 MB RAM/ 20-100% CPU... 302k files scanned took 21 min. win7 desktop 7.5 usable ram AMD A4-3400 processor

3) KTS 17.0.0.611(f) 25-95%CPU / 90-560 MB RAM/12-85% Disk....504k files scan took 43 min. Win10 desktop Intel G640 5.91 usable GB ram

Take it "for what it's worth". 3 different pc's, 3 different AV versions.

 

[brod56]

Since nobody has mentioned it yet. Avast is very light too.

Edit: Learn how to read, DeepWeb.

No problem man

 

[brod56]

By my tests, the lightest was Panda, followed by Comodo and then Windows Defender.

Panda? Wow. Last time I tried it, it was pretty heavy. Did they make serious improvements?

 

[brod56]

Here is a light config:

-> Use the Adguard DNS Server. It blocks ads and phishing links etc. But it isn't the best standalone option, because not every ad can be blocked with DNS. Adguard DNS - the free DNS with advanced ad blocking
-> Use uBlock Origin and Https Everywhere for your browser. They secure you and block ads that Adguard doesn't block.
-> (For extra security: Norton Safe Web and Avira Browser Safety)
-> Use Glaswire to control your internet traffic and Process Explorer for processes.

-> Use Comodo Firewall with the @cruelsister awesome settings! It is very light and it will help you with blocking zero-day malware.
-> Here you can download it. Be sure not to install the included internet browser or any Ad-Ware from Yahoo! For more lightness you can uninstall the Internet Security Toolbox after installing the firewall.
Free Firewall | Get Award Winning Comodo Firewall Today
Settings:


Usage:

If the picture doesn't work for you: http://i.imgur.com/fEAnSe8.png

I know you hate Avast, but if you will ONLY install the file system protection module and use @Evjl's Rain settings then you will be very good secured.
Settings:

A bit off-topic, but thanks anyway. I'm already using Adguard DNS.

 

[legendcampos]

Avast

 

[roger_m]

My vote goes to Panda, as in my experience it is one of the lightest antiviruses there is. I find just about all antiviruses (including paid ones) to be too heavy, and I've used over 60 antiviruses in the past 8 or 9 months. I even find Windows Defender and Comodo to be too heavy.

Also, Tencent PC Manager is very light. But, in my opinion Panda is a better product.

 

[roger_m]

Panda? Wow. Last time I tried it, it was pretty heavy. Did they make serious improvements?

In my experience it is one the lightest antiviruses there is. I can't comment on past performance, as it is one of the few antiviruses I've rarely used until recently.

 

[Faybert]

My vote goes to Panda, as in my experience it is one of the lightest antiviruses there is. I find just about all antiviruses (including paid ones) to be too heavy, and I've used over 60 antiviruses in the past 8 or 9 months. I even find Windows Defender and Comodo to be too heavy.

Also, Tencent PC Manager is very light. But, in my opinion Panda is a better product.

60?

 

[roger_m]

60?

Yes, over 60. It's a very long list. I was trying to find an antivirus which fit my needs, and it was not an easy job. But, I settled on Panda, and it has been working very well for me.

I've got way too much spare time

 

[212eta]

avast has been light...

 

[AlanOstaszewski]

avast has been light...

Yes and no. If you install Avast you can decide about the utilities. If you install only the "Dateisystem-Schutz - File system protection -> real time protection signature scanner" and Comodo Firewall with enabled HIPS and auto Sandbox (@cruelsister Settings) you will be good protected. Avast + Comodo -> under 30MB Ram and 5% CPU

Spoiler

Spoiler

With exceptions you can make Avast more lighter - with quite the same protection ratio. Use the @Evjl's Rain settings:

 

[Atlas147]

Avast is pretty light for me too

Not sure about bitdefender free but when I used their total security is was extremely heavy, brought my laptop to a stand still when it was updating.

 

[Windows Defender Shill]

My total RAM usage numbers are lowest when using WD.

 

[Evjl's Rain]

if you want avast to be bug-free
uninstall web shield and behavior shield, disable virtualization, disable reputation service + the performance tweaks on my video, enable hardened mode aggressive and disable wscript and cscript (to eliminate the weakness of HM). Block avastui.exe so there will never be any ad flying around. >1 year without ads here
avast on my laptop is flying, lighter than ever, really low ram usage

most problems of avast come from behavior shield, virtualization, wifi inspector and game mode, sometimes avast firewall. If these are disabled, there will be bug-free

 

[Evjl's Rain]

My total RAM usage numbers are lowest when using WD.

so you have never been using avast for enough time
you would see avast uses significantly lower RAM than WD

I recently tested WD in Mt hub. I was crying about its performance hit. My HDD nearly died due because of WD especially during WD updates. Opening a folder with full of .exe and documents also caused huge performance impact

 

[AlanOstaszewski]

My opinion: Windows Defender is very good and light because it is a part of Windows. Windows is developed to work extremely good with Windows Defender! In Defender are not so many bugs like in other AV. You can't compromise Defender (keyword: DoubleAgent).

So why you can compromise Avast?
Because it is a program! It isn't a part of Windows! You know what I mean?

 

[Evjl's Rain]

My opinion: Windows Defender is very good and light because it is a part of Windows. Windows is developed to work extremely good with Windows Defender! In Defender are not so many bugs like in other AV. You can't compromise Defender (keyword: DoubleAgent).

So why you can compromise Avast?
Because it is a program! It isn't a part of Windows! You know what I mean?

in fact, I have seen several samples that disabled WD immediately, via registry or group policy, after they successfully bypassed WD. After a reboot, WD was completely off and the system was unprotected then
This is a simple trick but it works
WD is now more widely used so it would be the first target to be disabled

I know what you mean
I think if we want have to compromise avast, we need something a bit more sophisticated
WD can be easily disabled by that way. MS needs to add something in the settings to protect WD from being turned off by registry

 

[HarborFront]

if you want avast to be bug-free
uninstall web shield and behavior shield, disable virtualization, disable ruputation service + the performance tweaks on my video, enable hardened mode aggressive and disable wscript and cscript (to eliminate the weakness of HM). Block avastui.exe so there will never be any ad flying around. >1 year without ads here
avast on my laptop is flying, lighter than ever, really low ram usage

most problems of avast come from behavior shield, virtualization, wifi inspector and game mode, sometimes avast firewall. If these are disabled, there will be bug-free

Frankly speaking, if you disable so many features in Avast then you might as well be better off using another AV.....similarly for any other security software.

 

[AlanOstaszewski]

in fact, I have seen several samples that disabled WD immediately, via registry or group policy, after they successfully bypassed WD. After a reboot, WD was completely off and the system was unprotected then
This is a simple trick but it works
WD is now more widely used so it would be the first target to be disabled

I know what you mean

You can disable Windows Defender. wow
You can compromise Kaspersky and take full control over a PC. WOWOWOWOWOOWOW

Frankly speaking, if you disable so many features in Avast then you might as well be better off using another AV.....similarly for any other security software.

You don't disable functions. You disable crap that slows down your PC.