- Jul 17, 2015
- 60
What was your first Anti-Virus/Antispyware program you can remember?
- Thread starter BoraMurdar
- Start date
Probably Boclean. Pest Patrol was used by me long ago.. Then some Anti-Trojan product that was really popular way back, forgot the name. Switched to Ewido when that license ran out.
First main AV I used was Norton way way back. Then I helped launch NOD32 in the USA and later assisted in localization and development of Mks_Vir (Polish AV) into the USA.. Then I moved on to GData and helped them localize it with the USA market under eXtendia AVK brand name and was involved with GData for a few years. Convincing people NOD32 was great was hard. Convincing them GData (eXtendia AVK) was the best AV in the world at the time was very very difficult. Mks_Vir was awesome at the time, but failed miserably in the USA. I still have photos of the original, first prototype english box somewhere around here, and a photo of the first US launched GData packaging.
Later I worked for Starforce, for awhile our copy protection was unbreakable. Then I helped engineer a product that was one of the first default-deny/SRP products of it's type - Safe N Sec. Which still exists and is used in a lot of ATM machine type markets. No machine was ever compromised with SafeNSec on it based on our metrics of the installed units at the time.
Ahh the good ole' days.
First main AV I used was Norton way way back. Then I helped launch NOD32 in the USA and later assisted in localization and development of Mks_Vir (Polish AV) into the USA.. Then I moved on to GData and helped them localize it with the USA market under eXtendia AVK brand name and was involved with GData for a few years. Convincing people NOD32 was great was hard. Convincing them GData (eXtendia AVK) was the best AV in the world at the time was very very difficult. Mks_Vir was awesome at the time, but failed miserably in the USA. I still have photos of the original, first prototype english box somewhere around here, and a photo of the first US launched GData packaging.
Later I worked for Starforce, for awhile our copy protection was unbreakable. Then I helped engineer a product that was one of the first default-deny/SRP products of it's type - Safe N Sec. Which still exists and is used in a lot of ATM machine type markets. No machine was ever compromised with SafeNSec on it based on our metrics of the installed units at the time.
Ahh the good ole' days.
- Oct 25, 2018
- 252
- Jul 1, 2017
- 1,396
Norton for me as well. It was TERRIBLE! Took like 20% CPU constantly. But back then we thought that an AV using a lot of CPU was an AV that was working well 
- Apr 7, 2016
- 568
Norton was the first, and it was terrible. Heavy and not able to defend my computer. The first good AV I used was Kaspersky. Back then I downloadet a lot of MP3 music, and I found out there was trojans because Kaspersky took each and every one. My infections simply stopped, so I also stopped downloading MP3 files with Limewire. After that I startet to look after something just as good as Kaspersky but lighter. NOD 32 a while and Prev X until Webroot bought it.
I remember a spyware scanner called Ewido that was pretty good too, but I think it was an on demand scanner.
I remember a spyware scanner called Ewido that was pretty good too, but I think it was an on demand scanner.
- Jan 28, 2018
- 2,464
Norton for me as well. It was TERRIBLE! Took like 20% CPU constantly. But back then we thought that an AV using a lot of CPU was an AV that was working well
I agree. In the past, there certainly existed a time when slowdown was evidence of high-performance security software. And lightweight software was the subject of suspicion.
- Dec 12, 2013
- 542
@ForgottenSeer 58943
I like very much idea of Safe'n'Sec...but its behaviour is sometime surprising...haha Ok, back to the topic...I think the first AV I met was Mks_vir (due to country if origin ) but from that time I remember Inoculateit and Quickheal also. As on demand scanner that was run from CD was VirusBlokAda.
I like very much idea of Safe'n'Sec...but its behaviour is sometime surprising...haha
Ok, back to the topic...I think the first AV I met was Mks_vir (due to country if origin ) but from that time I remember Inoculateit and Quickheal also. As on demand scanner that was run from CD was VirusBlokAda.
TRS-80
Level 1
- Aug 16, 2019
- 46
If anyone recalls the days of DOS?
Back in the "Dark Ages" prior to Windows 3.1:
My first infection was the "Monkey Virus;" a boot sector infector. It was rapidly removed via 3.5 inch floppy with a simple executable called killmonk.com. It's so long ago I just don't recall the extension, (it may have been .exe.) Would have been an 8086 machine in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Picked up on a Bulletin Board via FIDO NET or similar.
I do remember being locked out of my computer and much pulling out of hair.
I reckon the first RESIDENT A/V was probably PC-Cillin.
Nowadays I tend to rotate between ESET Smart Security or Kaspersky. Malwarebytes, HitmanPro and Zemana are all sitting on my system; one running realtime(MWB,) the others "on call" for multiple opinions. I tend to be targeted quite frequently.
I hope you get a chuckle from that lot.
Back in the "Dark Ages" prior to Windows 3.1:
My first infection was the "Monkey Virus;" a boot sector infector. It was rapidly removed via 3.5 inch floppy with a simple executable called killmonk.com. It's so long ago I just don't recall the extension, (it may have been .exe.) Would have been an 8086 machine in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Picked up on a Bulletin Board via FIDO NET or similar.
I do remember being locked out of my computer and much pulling out of hair.
I reckon the first RESIDENT A/V was probably PC-Cillin.
Nowadays I tend to rotate between ESET Smart Security or Kaspersky. Malwarebytes, HitmanPro and Zemana are all sitting on my system; one running realtime(MWB,) the others "on call" for multiple opinions. I tend to be targeted quite frequently.
I hope you get a chuckle from that lot.
- May 16, 2018
- 1,363
Just barely... I remember having a cheat-sheet of DOS commands... in those days, using a computer was not a good form of relaxation.
And my first browser (at work) was called Mosaic.
TRS-80
Level 1
- Aug 16, 2019
- 46
Wow! @Burrito , Mosaic - That's something I'd forgotten in the fog of time!
So I stay on topic I'll add a program called "Virus Buster" to the list of ancients. I reckon it came with pedals to make it work faster.
DOS wasn't too bad for its time. Yep, the commands were a little convoluted so I can certainly understand the cheat-sheet you mentioned. We managed to get the job done though. Just far less efficiently.
Have a great day/night Mate!
- May 3, 2015
- 1,760
I remember buying a cheat list of DOS commands many years ago... I wonder if it's still in my house somewhere...
TRS-80
Level 1
- Aug 16, 2019
- 46
- Oct 22, 2018
- 591
Pretty sure my first antivirus was AVG in around 1995, on my powerful Leading Edge computer with 2MB RAM, the latest 32mhz processor, AND an impressive 40MB HDD.
- Jul 6, 2017
- 2,392
My brother, who started with computers before me,
I saw him a computer, like a tube with a black screen and letters, and asked him what it was and he told me, this is future.
I saw him a computer, like a tube with a black screen and letters, and asked him what it was and he told me, this is future.
- Aug 30, 2015
- 1,928
I grew up with Avast for a good 10 years at least. It's sadly gotten down hill with data collection and scare tactics.
- Dec 29, 2014
- 1,716
Thought I had the slowest computer at that time, but I was wrong @Chuck57...lol, you actually had a slower computer
Anyone remember staring at those ads in the newspaper for all those upgrades and the top end PCs selling for 3k or 4k with all the graphics and everything? I can still feel the jealousy and rage I felt looking at those ads :devil:. I think the gamers were going with 8, 12, or ideally 16 mb and then a graphics card. Everything was so expensive though.
Think the old barge I had was 486 DX2 50/2 MB/200 MB/2.4 kb
modem /3.1 & DOS for games. $1200 with the monitor. I made it work until around 1997 I guess, then the first Pentium with W95...
Good God, it's like you're discussing the ancient relics from Pompeii or something. Me, it was McAfee bloatware with a prebuilt Hewlett-Packard back in the Windows 8.1 epoch.
McAfee which came with the Toshiba Satellite I'm using replying to this post.I use Defender now.
- Oct 22, 2018
- 591
They cost like ancient relics from somewhere. My Leading Edge, with 14 inch CRT monitor and Windows 3 cost me over $1000 US, which was a LOT of money in 1992. I still remember the stack of 3 1/2 floppies I had for Windows 3 and DOS 5. It was a good thing because I constantly tinkered with it and screwed something up, forcing me to reinstall the OS. I later upgraded to Win 3.1 and DOS 6. Those were the good old days.
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