Two or more AV programs "conflict"? Myth or fact?

Marco2

New Member
Thread author
Jun 19, 2015
12
I've read many articles about how unnecessary or even bad it is to have more than one AV on your computer, is there any truth to it or it's just AV giants trying to scare their clients off competitors? The more AV programs you install the more resources you consume but apart from RAM/CPU usage, does having more than one real-time protection software have any real disadvantages? Can I have 3 or 4 AVs (Avast free, Qihoo, ESET, MBAM) and keep changing their configuration so I can have only one or two as real-time protection at a time?:D
 
S

SkyJP

One AV is enough for all around protection. By installing 2 or more full security suites in a VM, I saw not only performance degradation (such as different AVs scanning files from across the disk) but also an increase in response time for both AVs. For example, one AV would typically scan and block a file from running before the execution procedure is passed, but with two it seemed that the malware had momentarily executed fully. This brief moment be enough to render your system unusable.
 
H

hjlbx

Emsisoft Antimalware and Webroot are specifically designed to run alongside another AV. Yes, it can be done with others as well.

However, doing so is really a waste of system resources - and may cause system conflicts or other issues... more so on one specific system versus another... and you won't know how any combo will work on your system until you try it out. What works fine on my system may not work on yours.

Through experience I have found the best system responsiveness by sticking to those AV that perform the best on my specific system... and I have also found that any increase in security, if any, is incremental - so not really worth all the configuration hassle and\or problems.
 

WinXPert

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Jan 9, 2013
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It's a myth. Months ago, I disinfected a slow Windows 8 running with AVG and Norton. FWIW those two AVs running at the same time didn't help in blocking a worm. Just a waste of resources. But if you want to feel the nuisance of having 2 conflicting AVs running, go ahead (but I don't recommend it) so you can have a first hand experience of knowing the cons of 2 AVs
 
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Azure

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Oct 23, 2014
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Generally it is advised to only have 1 antivirus in your system, in fact if you have more than 1 Microsoft's action center will tell you some of the problem that may occur.
However there are specialized antivirus, commonly known as companion antivirus, design to work side-by-side your main antivirus. Despite this, it is suggested to add exclusions between the two. There is still danger of conflict and errors even with all of this, so if you aren't willing to take the risk then use only 1.

And yeah, using 2 antivirus will obviously waste more resources.

You might consider having an antivirus with multiple engines instead of having two antivirus since this is the safest way of technically having 2 or more antivirus.
 
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Rolo

Level 18
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Jun 14, 2015
857
Avast free, Qihoo, ESET, MBAM
MBAM is designed to run concurrently with other security software, so it is it's own thing. I run it.
Qihoo already has four engines. I run that also. Note that "quantity" doesn't equate to "quality" and, as @hjlbx said, the improvement, if any, is a small increment.

If you're going to try running more than one product, you must test it thoroughly. Build a virtual machine and build the configuration you think you want and try to infect it. For instance, I found that Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit completely knocked out all my other products (Qihoo, Comodo, MBAM) on my Win10 system.

If you think you need to run another competing security suite, then get rid of the inferior one since you don't think it is adequate anyway. You can never hit 100% secure with automation, so don't try. Pick quality and configure it properly and use good judgement and you'll be fine.
 
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StriderHunterX

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Jan 10, 2015
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Let me tell you from experience:

One time,I tried to clean a system (Windows 7,IIRC) with a corporate controlled Symantec Client.....(It was outdated,due to the user being out of his office for a while and not having VPN connection)

Managed to installed Comodo IS (This was 5-6 years ago..Don;t remember the version) and clean the threat.After that,the system went HAYWIRE! Both AV's were fighting each other and the PC freezed up multiple times.The client couldn't even boot the PC...It slowed to a crawl instantly.

Safe Mode,Uninstalled Comodo...Good to go.Want added protection? Pair the AV with an on-demand Malware scanner(Malwarebytes,Zemana AM..for example)

Unless you have 8GB+ and HDD to spare,no need to overdo it.
 
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jamescv7

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Mar 15, 2011
13,070
I would like to tell from OP to take time to read those links mentioned by @BoraMurdar but here's a brief idea for that:

Theory: Two AV's may conflict to each other due to drivers that may collide and its environment clash of detection capabilities.

Reality: Few incidents happen where computer became unstable but the truth here where totally official to have two pure AV's combine however not a good idea unless considered to be Companion AV (where approve by developers on test exam)

Conclusion: One AV is enough or try multi engines like from Qihoo 360 which design to have maximum protection as possible. Sometimes you need to check your background, how being a user done in internet habits? Because that should measure any requirements needed; unnecessary components makes it useless.
 

Marco2

New Member
Thread author
Jun 19, 2015
12
I think this can be (and should be) tested, guys who test samples here should give it a try! A set of malware samples can be tested on a device with real-time "X" and "Y" AVs, then same samples can be tested on devices with only "X" or "Y" AV. If an AV managed to detect the same number of malware samples (at the same scan-speed) alone and with another AV, then it's only a waste of resources (which is a given).
 
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Kate_L

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Jun 21, 2014
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if it is a joke AV you can't run along other if it is a decent one you can but it is not recommended, keep in mind that the real-time protection can cause some issues.
 

Rolo

Level 18
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Jun 14, 2015
857
You really have to test your security setup on your computer since it will be different than everyone else's and therefore you will have a different potential for conflicts. Now, ideally, you would build your computer, install everything, infect it and see what happens, then scrub it and build the real one but that simply isn't feasible (unless you really, really enjoy it, then go ahead) so simulate as best as you can with a virtual machine.

You could also take the opportunity to try out Win10 and get it for free when it releases.
 

Chromatinfish 123

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May 26, 2014
1,051
What about SecureAPlus?
Some antivirus programs are coded to allow the main antivirus software to go ahead and block it without butting heads trying to fight over it. This means that it can be used as a secondary AV. For example, Emsisoft, Webroot, SecureAPlus, and some other non-name brands specially code this to make it happen.

However, brands such as Bitdefender, Kaspersky, ESET, and pretty much any other antivirus you can find does not work together and instead fights over who gets which virus.

On the other hand, I would not suggest running any AV with another AV because the system performance degrades a lot.
 
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SloppyMcFloppy

Level 13
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Sep 12, 2015
617
Some antivirus programs are coded to allow the main antivirus software to go ahead and block it without butting heads trying to fight over it. This means that it can be used as a secondary AV. For example, Emsisoft, Webroot, SecureAPlus, and some other non-name brands specially code this to make it happen.

However, brands such as Bitdefender, Kaspersky, ESET, and pretty much any other antivirus you can find does not work together and instead fights over who gets which virus.

On the other hand, I would not suggest running any AV with another AV because the system performance degrades a lot.

So does that mean SecureAPlus are not compatible with Qihoo 360?
 

Chromatinfish 123

Level 21
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May 26, 2014
1,051
So does that mean SecureAPlus are not compatible with Qihoo 360?
I think you're understanding me wrong.

If you use a secondary AV (like SecureAPlus) and a primary AV (Qihoo 360) the two will work.

If you use two primary AVs then they will not work.

:)

TL;DR: SecureAPlus and Qihoo 360 will work together.
 
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