Solved antivirus opinions sought

xraiderv1

pixel artist
Member
Messages
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I have absolutely no bloody idea...
need a quick opinion on antiviruses.

am I safe using the inbuilt windows defender?

or...

is avast finally stable enough on win 8 that I can give it a shot?

what about AVG? any improvements from the sloth like behavior that prompted me to switch away 2 years ago?
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please, limit the discussion to these three products.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
I use Microsoft Security Essentials on my windows 7 boxes myself and it's fine. With 8, if I were using it, I would continue to use the built in and would consider myself adequately protected. My wife's Vista laptop has run Avast for years without any issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I have been using Avast on win 8 for the last two months
No problems at all. It seems that Defender & AV of win 8
Over emphasizes on malware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 & Win 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X2 245
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
    Memory
    4096 MB DDR2-SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    On bord
keep the opinions coming fellas, I need as many opinions as possible.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
MSE on Win7 here. About as transparent as it gets - runs fine. Defender on 8 (while I used 8) was fine.

-Max
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 17R / Dell XPS 8300
    CPU
    Intel i5 (17R) / Intel i7 (XPS)
    Memory
    8GB / 8GB
I have ESET on my laptop running windows 8 and seems to run fine. I am trying Microsoft security defender on my main and so far no problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    self built
    CPU
    Intel I5-3524 -3.07
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS -NVIDIA
I ran MSE while I was using Windows 7 - still have it on my wife's Windows 7 install - and was happy enough with it to use the built-in AV solution on Windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
I know you only asked for these 3 AV programs but I have been using Vipre for several years and the update to Windows 8 is free I recommend you try the 30 day free trial.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    P5l-mx
    CPU
    pentium 4
    Motherboard
    p5l-mx
    Memory
    4 meg
    Graphics Card(s)
    unknown
I use avast free. It seems lighter than built in defender and more effective in my opinion.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 pro x64
    CPU
    Q9300
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P43 Es3g
    Memory
    8 GB of ddr 2
    Graphics Card(s)
    sapphire hd 6850
    Sound Card
    sound blaster titanium x-fi pci-e
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22 inches
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 2 TB st20001dm001
    Samsung 2 tb sata 2
    Hitachi 500 gb sata
    PSU
    fatality 550 w
    Case
    spike
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    wired A4
    Internet Speed
    ADSL 8 MB / 1 MB
keep it coming.

I'm AV hunting as I think panda cloud's upgrade a few days ago frakked my 8 installation.. I reloaded it 2 and a half days ago(the os).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
Avast and AVG for me, either of these will be fine with Windows Firewall IMHO.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E1-571
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer Type-2
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Sound Card
    High Definiton Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
    PSU
    Generic
    Keyboard
    QWERTY
    Mouse
    ELANTECH Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    12.68Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
will probably load avast.. assuming the computer keeps playing nice(performance issue I hope is resolved).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
I test AV at a large Fortune 10 company and we use Symantec Endpoint Protection at work and almost all of us use Microsoft Security Essentials on Win7 and the built-in Windows Defender on Windows 8. I also use MalWareBytes at home. I cannot recommend any other products based upon our testing, that's really all I can say... My .02 worth...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
alright, avast is in. thanks for the help folks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
Sorry, I didn't realize the article I posted is 4 years old! MaximumPC had it on their site like it was just published!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
Security needs are also dependent on the user of the PC. Give your PC to a teenager, and no matter what is installed for protection, said teenager will infect it. Be careful out there people!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7 home premium 64bit
always.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 64 bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony US-SVE141290X-LBOM
    CPU
    3rd gen Intel® Core™ i3-3110M processor (2.40GHz)
    Motherboard
    unknown.
    Memory
    6gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    integrated
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    1x @500gb
    Internet Speed
    fios 15/5
Any 3rd party AV software on W8 (for home use) is a complete and utter waste of time these days.
Windows defender (silly name because it reminds people of the basically useless worth of Windows defender on W7) is actually a totally re-vamped version of MSE (Microsoft security essentials) which is built into the windows kernel itself and also provides good real time protection too.

Windows updates also update the AV database almost daily -- you don't have to wait for the usual development cycle of a 3rd party supplier -- first being notified that a new threat has appeared, development of a counter measure and then finally shipping out the update to users. A big company like Ms will have a team (at least one) working on this sort of stuff 24 hrs a day 7 days a week and I trust the developer of the OS (Ms) to protect its own kernel better than a 3rd party supplier who by necessity will have to reverse engineer the kernel code or use eminently hackable published Windows API hooks.

Also most 3rd party AV will switch off Windows defender -- this is rather like getting on to a plane where the pilot says we are now testing our OWN air traffic control system so we'll switch off any input from Ground Air traffic control stations including the tower at the airport and do our own thing - and ignore any other traffic. I certainly wouldn't want to be on THAT flight. !!

Security is implemented TOTALLY Differently in W8 --forget ANYTHING you learned about security for W7 -- the methods used in that OS are totally not valid any more -- you do NOT NEED ANY 3rd party product for Windows 8 -- and no amount of statistics taken over a decent period will show that you DO need a 3rd party product.

In any case even if you do read the stats and it says A was better than B -- this is all in the past and a bit like Monday morning Quarterbacking to use an American Football term. A new threat to your computer could arise AT ANY INSTANT so those past stats are 100% irrelevant.

The only case for 3rd party security these days when running W8 is if you have to protect large company wide networs - especially if they span international boundaries -- but I don't yet know of any large company who is even THINKING of running W8 -- most are still transitioning from XP to W7.

Save your money and buy an SSD instead -- much much better value for money. --The Free 3rd party apps anyway are totally pointless for W8 and all they want to do is usually entice you to "Go Pro" I.e PAY.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Some URL addresses that I use frequently were blocked MSE
[FONT=&quot]So I had to install Avast to solve my problem…[/FONT]
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 7 & Win 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
    CPU
    AMD Athlon II X2 245
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
    Memory
    4096 MB DDR2-SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    On bord
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