Battle Most Lightweight: Avast Free Antivirus vs Panda Dome Free?

[Wraith]

I am torn between Avast Free and Panda Free. I may be wrong but Panda generally feels lighter on my system. And lately Avast has been displaying too many ads and I've also seen concerns regarding their telemetry. OSArmor will be used alongside the antivirus.

 

[imuade]

Where do you get that? I tried K9. At first I liked it, but about 3 days in it started maximizing my security by blocking everything.

Here Forticlient - Next Generation Endpoint Protection
On installation you can select only additional security --> web filtering

 

[imuade]

Please don't disable Avast Behaviour Shield. Lots of components and responses Avast makes are tied, lightly or strongly, to this specific component. OSArmor is great as a complement but nowhere can replace a behaviour blocker/analyzer, specially at this moment when it's a kind of new product and so vulnerable/weak to executable files. Video - OSArmor vs malware - RoboMan

Avast's strength is the hardened mode and it is available if you install file shield only, so there is no need to install the behavior shield for that.
And I didn't disable it, I didn't select it upon custom installation. This is an old thread, but you can figure out what I mean Use AVAST as a super light and easy to use ANTI-EXECUTABLE (Guide)
You can also check evjl's rain's tests https://malwaretips.com/threads/11-09-2018-17.86648/post-763548
OSArmor can block exe too if you enable the correct settings, but you will have more FP Video - OSArmor vs malware - RoboMan

 

[Local Host]

Hi: Can you specify the names of the drivers left behind by Panda please?

You should check your INF files for detailed information, like this,

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; -- NNSSMTP.INF --
;
; SMTP Parser Driver INF file
;
; Copyright (c) 2017, Panda Security, S.L.  All rights reserved.
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Version]
Signature    = "$Windows NT$"
Provider    = %Panda_Name%
Class          = NNS
ClassGuid     = {0556C19C-FEDD-4EC9-8FC8-D5C858B97668}
DriverVer    = 04/06/2017,1.3.0.167
CatalogFile    = nnssmtp.cat

[Manufacturer]
%Panda_Name% = PANDA,NTx86,NTamd64

[PANDA]
%NNSSMTP_Description% = Install, NNSSMTP

[PANDA.NTx86]
%NNSSMTP_Description% = Install, NNSSMTP

[PANDA.NTamd64]
%NNSSMTP_Description% = Install, NNSSMTP

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Global Sections
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir        = 12    ; %windir%\system32\drivers
NNSSMTP.DriverFiles    = 12    ; %windir%\system32\drivers

[SourceDisksNames]
1=%NNSSMTP_Description%,"",,

[SourceDisksFiles]
nnssmtp.sys=1

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Installation Section
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Install]
Copyfiles     = NNSSMTP.DriverFiles
CopyInf        = nnssmtp.inf

[DefaultInstall]
CopyFiles    = NNSSMTP.DriverFiles
CopyInf        = nnssmtp.inf

[Uninstall]
DelFiles    = NNSSMTP.DriverFiles

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Service installation support
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Install.Services]
AddService    = NNSSMTP,,NNSSMTP.Service

[DefaultInstall.Services]
AddService    = NNSSMTP,,NNSSMTP.Service

[Uninstall.Services]
DelService    = NNSSMTP,0x00000200    ; SPSVCINST_STOPSERVICE

[NNSSMTP.Service]
DisplayName      = NNSSMTP
Description      = %NNSSMTP_Description%
ServiceBinary    = %12%\NNSSMTP.sys         ; %windir%\system32\drivers\NNSSMTP.sys
ServiceType      = 1                        ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType        = 1                        ; SERVICE_SYSTEM_START
ErrorControl     = 1                        ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Copy files
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[NNSSMTP.DriverFiles]
nnssmtp.sys,,,0x00000040    ; COPYFLG_OVERWRITE_OLDER_ONLY

;-------------------------------------------------------------------------
; Strings Section
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Strings]
Panda_Name            = "Panda Security, S.L."
NNSSMTP_Description    = "SMTP Parser Driver"

Is how I managed to find left overs, you can see the drivers Windows loads by running the command,

driverquery

You should put it in a text file to make it easier to read like,

driverquery > file.txt

Zemana Anti-Malware is another Software that leaves drivers behind (even portable version).

 

[Mahesh Sudula]

Panda BB is pretty weak..though a bit improved over previous but still miles behind, Even signatures are so so..., Anti phishing down from last years declining year by year
Avast is solid (free-satisfies here), Upto date signatures, Good Behaviour blocker (Tied to core modules), Online extension provides extreme robust anti phishing capability> Some telemetry issues(From users)..Will provide you good protection
Have a look at other free Av's as well -> KAF, Bit defender free as well

 

[conceptualclarity]

Here Forticlient - Next Generation Endpoint Protection
On installation you can select only additional security --> web filtering

Is that only for people going without another AV?

 

[imuade]

Is that only for people going without another AV?

If you install the web filtering only, you can use it alongside any other AV

 

[Al-Faqir]

Ive changed my av tons of times, without backup/ clean install. Not that ive had any errors ever with av ex drivers

I have disabled access to registry anyways, but had to delete firefox completely because of annoying extension, same with panda extension wich is PUP

I have always been paranoid when it comes to security products; I think they may leave drivers, cause system issues and slowdowns and even hide something in the system.

 

[roger_m]

Probably not unique to Panda. What this demonstrates is that when you install a security program you need to do it with a traced installation.

Panda and most other well known antiviruses have removal tools supplied by the publisher which will remove any remnants after uninstalling. But for antiviruses which don't have removal tools, then tracing the install is highly recommended.

It's not just Panda. It's sadly quite common for antiviruses to leave drivers remaining, after uninstalling. It's important to clean these leftovers as they can cause conflicts with other antiviruses software, such as slowdowns and even blue screens of death.

 

[Evjl's Rain]

Removal process of panda ALWAYS causes huge memory leak, same for the built-in and the dedicated removal tool
after using both, Panda still leaves some traces behind and some registry keys

Panda has very weak signatures and average behavior blocker but in exchange of extremely low resource usage
Avast is a lot more powerful when combining with other hardening tools and can be almost impenetrable for home users, unless they are hacked by real hackers

avast can be tweaked extensively using my guide and also you can disable on-access scanning (= scan when writing) to make avast even lighter

if you don't mind about avast's telemetry and slight performance difference, I think avast is a much better choice

 

[Wraith]

Well I went with SysHardener and Avast Free. I used SysHardener to lockdown Powershell, Disable Remote Connections, SMBv1 and WSH. I made a custom install of Avast with only the four shields and set Hardened Mode to Aggressive. Thanks everyone for giving your valuable opinions

 

[uninfected1]

Off topic but can someone provide a guide to remove all traces of Avast because when I used to use it I always had huge problems with remnants despite using the official and rezjor's unofficial removal tools. There would still be many registry entries and files left but even after manually removing all that I could find I was still unable to install Comodo Internet Security because it kept telling me Avast was installed.

Regarding what the OP wants, as is so often the case, a lot of posters here are forgetting his requirements and simply saying which of the two AVs is their favourite. The OP specifically says that he wants to know which is the lightest, not which gives the best protection, and the answer is clearly Panda.

 

[johnyjohn]

i had that problem the only way i got rid of it was to download everything software portable tap in avast and delete each entry separately.hope this helps.

 

[Moonhorse]

Off topic but can someone provide a guide to remove all traces of Avast because when I used to use it I always had huge problems with remnants despite using the official and rezjor's unofficial removal tools. There would still be many registry entries and files left but even after manually removing all that I could find I was still unable to install Comodo Internet Security because it kept telling me Avast was installed.

Regarding what the OP wants, as is so often the case, a lot of posters here are forgetting his requirements and simply saying which of the two AVs is their favourite. The OP specifically says that he wants to know which is the lightest, not which gives the best protection, and the answer is clearly Panda.

Cant you backup to time before installing avast?

 

[uninfected1]

Far too late for that. We're talking light years ago (well, about four years ago). People have talked here about Panda not uninstalling cleanly but Avast has always been the most problematic for me (apart from Comodo but let's not go there - I don't want another nervous breakdown!).