Battle Which free AV for my low-end laptop criteria? (bundles not required/ KPA KPSC BD Panda Nod32)

[JeanCraie]

Hello guys

I found your forum posts making much sense to me than spending hours reading any "top-10" blog comments so i came to ask your opinions free from Microsoft fanboyism and "use common sense" helpless gimmicks

I still do not trust Windows Defender AV despite the continuous improvement, and would like to install a 3° AV instead.

My criteria for this AV:
1- must be FREE (fine as long i can untick bars/stuff prior installation)
2-less intrusive telemetry (fine as long i can untick these settings) - for that matter Avast is not desired
3-good real-time / heuristics, efficient definition updates
4-not too heavy (less than 500mb process), not too battery consuming.
5-just doing real time AV is already enough to me (for ex. i'll use malwarebytes free for one-time scans from time to time)
6- i am ok with tweaking the AV, (so default config doesn't have to be considered in your advices)

Main question:
7>>>>>> Which one to pick between Panda , BitDefender, Nod32 , Kaspersky ?


optional questions:
8> About K., does the free cloud one still have compatibility issues with WD detecting it as a firewall? Also heard the non cloud K.AV is not so good against trojans.
9> Do you recommend me to keep WD on for its others features or should i install other 3° complements (firewall, antiexploit, etc) then just disable WD ? (oo-erasing WD? seems to bring more bugs than anything else imho). Would using ZA free or Comodo as active firewall alongside with WD as first layer ip-blocker be ok?

My laptop configs: -win 10 home 64x (regularly updated) -intel gemini lake (1.1-2.4 ghz) -8gb ram ddr4 (reserving 4-5gb ram for homework tasks) - remaining storage of 100gb ssd

Will use less-corporate internet browsers with proper extension (ublock/decentraleyes/etc) and other lightweight privacy stuff found on Answers to common security questions - Best Practices - Anti-Virus, Anti-Malware, and Privacy Software

Thanks ​

==========
ps: can i duplicate this thread to 1-2 of your other subforums for more visibility?
pps: curious why nod32 being invisible in all these hype "top 10" blogs while seeming a decent option in tech forums?

 

[brod56]

Why not using a default-deny setup? I haven't made the tests, but for example Voodooshield on smart mode, or even in autopilot, should provide good protection with a lighter footprint than most AVs.
My opinion - if you have a good content blocker on your browser (and good habits), the AV becomes way less important.

 

[roger_m]

That's right, all of these AVs are light, but I wouldn't recommend installing 360TS 'cause of the large number of false positives. Moreover, 360TS has now become an "OS optimizer" with a dubious reputation and a lot of bells & whistles...

I get very few false positives with 360TS. When I do get a false positive, I just takes two clicks to whitelist the file.

The cleanup and optimisation feaures work very well. For example, the disk cleaner, finds more junk than most cleaners, becuase it scans for junk files from a large number of third party applications. Thr speedup module often wants to disable some startup items, that I want to disable, but once again it's easy to whitelist them.

I don't like the advertising in the free version, but legit licenses are very cheap on eBay.

 

[BoraMurdar]

Just install Kaspersky Security Cloud Free, tweak it for lightness (you can find some tweaks in this thread Discuss - RoboMan's Light Kaspersky Settings ).
Your laptop's hardware is not that bad and I think that Kaspersky will fit nicely in there.
Comodo Cloud Free is another option...

 

[bribon77]

Well, seriously. I would recommend Comodo Firewall with the configuration of CS), or H_C, or VD. but you have to keep in mind that if you are not familiar with the Default Denial it will be a problem rather than a solution, therefore I suggest Kaspersky Free

 

[stefanos]

That's right, all of these AVs are light, but I wouldn't recommend installing 360TS 'cause of the large number of false positives. Moreover, 360TS has now become an "OS optimizer" with a dubious reputation and a lot of bells & whistles... If you still want to try 360, try 360TSE (Total Security Essential).

360 TS Essential have not many updates. 360 the last year have not many FP

 

[LDogg]

Can try Forticlient, Ccav or Sophos home Free.

~LDogg

 

[Ink]

Hello guys

ESET NOD32 Antivirus is NOT a Free Antivirus - I have changed this in the Poll options.
You can chose to download the free ESET Online Scanner for on-demand scans, but is not real-time security.

ps: can i duplicate this thread to 1-2 of your other subforums for more visibility?

No, duplicate threads are not allowed.

Your thread has been moved to the appropriate sub-forum; Compare Security Software.

 

[Vasudev]

I'd suggest Kaspersky Free.

 

[madman777]

Avira free AV... and common sense not download or open any unknown files or links

 

[TairikuOkami]

ESET NOD32 Antivirus is NOT a Free Antivirus

NOD32 had 30 days free trial and upon reinstalling it, you could get another 30 days and so on, forever and ever. ESET's CEO said, that they did it on purpose, similar to WinRAR's endless trial. Not sure, if it still applies though. It was a well known secret, Slovaks prefer pirating over buying. :emoji_innocent:

360 TS Essential have not many updates.

Because it is "just" AV, but it is using the same signatures and engines. 360TS has updates regarding its premium features, eshop gimmicks, etc.

 

[stefanos]

NOD32 had 30 days free trial and upon reinstalling it, you could get another 30 days and so on, forever and ever. ESET's CEO said, that they did it on purpose, similar to WinRAR's endless trial. Not sure, if it still applies though. It was a well known secret, Slovaks prefer pirating over buying. :emoji_innocent:


Because it is "just" AV, but it is using the same signatures and engines. 360TS has updates regarding its premium features, eshop gimmicks, etc.

 

[TairikuOkami]

...

Interesting, I guess you were right after all.
It seems they push TS version to earn more money.

 

[stefanos]

Interesting, I guess you were right after all.
It seems they push TS version to earn more money.

This is true. I use 360 ts many years. I know very well this antivirus. With windows 8.1 it was easy to stop the ads. With windows 10 i can't stop the ads now. Just for earn more money. That's why I stopped using it.

 

[alakazam]

Why not Avira's free security suite or ZoneAlarm's free antivirus or even Huoron'gs free security suite (even though the latter is kind of new)?

 

[Wraith]

NOD32 had 30 days free trial and upon reinstalling it, you could get another 30 days and so on, forever and ever. ESET's CEO said, that they did it on purpose, similar to WinRAR's endless trial. Not sure, if it still applies though. It was a well known secret, Slovaks prefer pirating over buyiing

You can't do that now. NOD32 now requires you to have an activation code which is sent to your email when you sign up for the trial version. The code has a validity of 31 days.

 

[stefanos]

Why not Avira's free security suite or ZoneAlarm's free antivirus or even Huoron'gs free security suite (even though the latter is kind of new)?

Avira free is nice. Have good signatures but not behavior blocker. And many ads. Zone alarm have good protection. Kaspersky signatures and firewall. But is very heavy on system. Huoron'gs free security suite?????????

 

[LDogg]

Why not Avira's free security suite or ZoneAlarm's free antivirus or even Huoron'gs free security suite (even though the latter is kind of new)?

1. Avira I wouldn't touch with a barge poll, even it's VPN is bloat on the system. Avira installs it's own PUP which takes up even more CPU usage and something I would stay clear off, but this is just a personal annoyance of mine when I have tested this product in the past.
2. Zonelarm's Free, features for the AV is limited, barely any protection for phishing type attacks and their Firewall is very heavy at 150MB when compared to Comodo's equivalent
3. Huorong's suite is a new product and I wouldn't even test this as a MWT user myself until there is enough suitable knowledge to know about this product, however there is a thread detailing bits and pieces about this product, it's worth a shout..

With my suggestions, it falls in line with your light thesis and they have good protection.
1. CCAV: Can load your web browser within a sandbox, great solid protection, also has in built settings you would to enable that would stop sandboxed processes from connection to the internet, stopping personal data from escaping.
2. Sophos Home Free: Great signatures, Sophos also own Hitman Pro! Did fantastic in tests I did against this.
3. Forticlient: Has an in built App Firewall, fantastic web browser based protection, even for phishing, something I would recommend! Many companies also use Forticlient, so you can be sure the signatures can be great too!

~LDogg

 

[oldschool]

2. Sophos Home Free: Great signatures, Sophos also own Hitman Pro! Did fantastic in tests I did against this.

The problem with Sophos Home Free is that it has all premium features' processes running even if you disable them during the free trial. They appear to no longer have a true free standalone AV. Someone correct me if I am wrong please if you can find Free without the trial.

 

[stefanos]

The problem with Sophos Home Free is that it has all premium features' processes running even if you disable them during the free trial. They appear to no longer have a true free standalone AV. Someone correct me if I am wrong please if you can find Free without the trial.

And huge ram usage.

 

[stefanos]

1. Avira I wouldn't touch with a barge poll, even it's VPN is bloat on the system. Avira installs it's own PUP which takes up even more CPU usage and something I would stay clear off, but this is just a personal annoyance of mine when I have tested this product in the past.
2. Zonelarm's Free, features for the AV is limited, barely any protection for phishing type attacks and their Firewall is very heavy at 150MB when compared to Comodo's equivalent
3. Huorong's suite is a new product and I wouldn't even test this as a MWT user myself until there is enough suitable knowledge to know about this product, however there is a thread detailing bits and pieces about this product, it's worth a shout..

With my suggestions, it falls in line with your light thesis and they have good protection.
1. CCAV: Can load your web browser within a sandbox, great solid protection, also has in built settings you would to enable that would stop sandboxed processes from connection to the internet, stopping personal data from escaping.
2. Sophos Home Free: Great signatures, Sophos also own Hitman Pro! Did fantastic in tests I did against this.
3. Forticlient: Has an in built App Firewall, fantastic web browser based protection, even for phishing, something I would recommend! Many companies also use Forticlient, so you can be sure the signatures can be great too!

~LDogg

Avira you can install now only the antivirus and is very light on system with low ram. The bad is the ads only. For CCAV and Forticlient agree with you. Sophos Home free very huge ram usage. If i remember good the last time i tried it is aboot 300, 350 MB!!!