Battle Settings for Internet Security on a Core 2 Duo / 4GB RAM laptop?

[mal1]

And to make things worse, internet is very slow too! So I guess cloud-based AVs are out of question.
I have ESET smart security on my other laptop (core i3), and it seems relatively light (I know ESET nod32 is even lighter).
I have tried Avast IS in the past too, and it felt heavier than ESET. But I think Avast free (without Avast FW) is almost as good as the full suite.
I have never tried Avira, but as a signature-based solution, it remains a viable solution.

 

[jelson]

Webroot is really light... and in the past Umbra has said a number of good things about it.

 

[odkurzacz]

360 TSE Cloud only

 

[Sr. Normal 2.0]

Only for complicate you a little more the decision let me tell you about Norton Security Premium. It´s really light, just over 30 Mb of RAM, and is a excellent solution.

 

[BigWrench]

Webroot is really light... and in the past Umbra has said a number of good things about it.

Couldn't agree more. I've got Webroot running on an old laptop,never over 5mb, upgraded to Win10 (64bit), 3gb ( 2.73 avail.) AMD Athlon II dual core M300 2GHz., 54 second boot time....... It's a brick, but runs like a clock!!!

Only for complicate you a little more the decision let me tell you about Norton Security Premium. It´s really light, just over 30 Mb of RAM, and is a excellent solution.

Used the AV only version on this box, also. Not bad. But somewhat buggy and some slowdowns. Webroot is MY clear winner in this application.

as for settings... just install it and run it.

 

[Evandro]

Cômodo Firewall
Forticlient free antivirus
VoodooShield (opcional)

 

[tonibalas]

My laptop is core 2 duo with 4 gb ram.
My suggestions for free av's are:
360 tse withouth BD and Avira. That way it's lite and is using 30-40 mb of ram.
CIS with only a few tweaks.If you change many settings it will be heavy on system.
Avast with File shield only installed.

About paid products my suggestions are:
Norton, good protection on default settings and very lite on system.
Eset Nod32.it's lite but if you tweak many settings it could be heavy.
Webroot, you don't know it's there but some times browsing is slow because of it's web filter.
Emsisoft Anti-Malware. I know many will disagree but on my system it was really lite and default settings offer very strong protection.

 

[ttto]

If you want a free one, I would go for Avira. If you want paid one, I would go for Webroot or Norton, the lightest ones so far.

 

[Exterminator]

What OS are you running?
I have an old core 2 duo desktop running Windows 10 Pro x64
I have 8GB Ram
I can run EIS,ESS & KIS
I currently am running Emsisoft Internet Security without any impact.
I have run ESET Smart Security(version 9)on it also without any impact.
KIS 2016 was a bit noticeable especially on startup but 2017 ran very well.

If you are running Windows 10 I think AVAST Free with Windows Firewall might be your lightest option.
ESET 10 is better than version 9 and ESET Nod32 AV & Windows firewall is also a very light option.
OS aside if I had to pick a combo I would go with ESET Nod32 AV(version 10) alongside Windows Firewall.
If a paid version is a problem then AVAST Free or Avira Free but my personal choice would be AVAST

 

[mal1]

Webroot: It is the lightest AV indeed. I have it running along with ESET on my other laptop ( I have noticed that many people use it as a companion AV), but its license will expire soon, and Webroot promos are very hard to come by.
Norton: Another light solution, but I don't have a license at the moment. And like Webroot, they don't offer any extended trials or promos (By the way, CPU and disk usage is more important than RAM usage IMHO. In my case, Avast IS used only 15-20MB of RAM vs. much more RAM for ESET, but Avast still felt heavier than ESET on disk.)
TSE: I don't use Chinese software.
Forticlient: like Avira, another windows defender on steroids (quoting hjlbx ), but if I had to choose between Avira and Forticlient, I'd go with the former, because of its name recognition, its VPN, security extension and its browser.
CIS: it's for advanced users I think.
I'm running Windows 8.1×64 (how does it compare with Windows 10 here?).
So I was left with free options (Avast free + WF, Avira free + WF), and paid solutions from giveaways (Avast, ESET and Emsisoft are generous this time of the year)

 

[Kuttz]

The free anti virus I suggest is the new Bitdefender Free. According to tests the new BD free is almost as effective as their paid anti virus option. It also doesn't have any kinds of nagging ads popups every now and then. All one has to do is to install the anti virus and register it and it will start functioning immediately.

The other free alternative is the Panda free which is another quality free anti virus but it had one weakness at least to some is its relatively weaker offline protection due to being mostly a cloud anti virus. If you use your laptop mostly offline and frequently use external storage then Panda may not be that good option.

Avoid Avira Free at any cost. Avira Free protection is strictly limited to signature and cloud protection meaning weak Zero day protection. If one encounters Zero day threat, Avira users have the highest chance of getting infected in comparison to other big free anti virus users chance of his system getting compromised.

Paid anti viruses like from Kaspersky and NOD32 are really good.

 

[jelson]

Webroot: It is the lightest AV indeed. I have it running along with ESET on my other laptop ( I have noticed that many people use it as a companion AV), but its license will expire soon, and Webroot promos are very hard to come

Re: Webroot promos... your best bet is Newegg (don't know your location) Typically I see a sale for Webroot every couple of months... as well as deep discounts on other Security suites.

In fact, this week Newegg is offering "Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security Plus - 3 Devices, 1 Year - Download" for $0.99 with a

Spoiler: promo code

EMCFGFJ39

HOWEVER... to apply the "promo code" at checkout, you must be subscribed to their newsletter: you have to input your email address at checkout.

Here's the link to the promotion (expires Dec 21) emailing in question:

promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Dec-0-2016/SeasonBestTech_e001kixbv_15/index-landing.html

 

[nclr11111]

Personally I'd settle for a reinstall and CF configured with Auto sandbox set to "default deny" (See Cruel sisters video if you need for configuring).
A few browser add-ons (u block origin, No-Script and https everywhere.
That's all I'd use!