Best anti-virus program?

[Jason]

Hi all,

I have become decidedly unhappy with my current anti-virus software. I have a couple of options - upgrading this one to a newer release, or buying someone else's anti-virus software. I'm not going to tell you which one I am currently using because, as I noted, one of the options is to upgrade to a newer version of this one and I don't want to warp your responses.

At any rate, what is everyone else out there using? FYI, I'm running on Windows 2000, so it has to be compatible with that.

It must be stable (I can't stand virus software that crashes a system all the time), must monitor software on the system, downloaded off the web, received via e-mail, or put in the drives (including the CD drive, since a lot of people send me files that have been burned to a CD). I would prefer (though don't absolutely require it) that it be auto-updating - I don't want to have to think about updating my virus definitions every time a new virus comes out, I'd rather it just always be done.

So...

What does everyone recommend, and most importantly why? Price is not a major factor, though a high-quality low-cost solution is better than a low-quality high-cost solution, of course.

Thanks,

Jason

[Tibbits]

Probably not what you want to hear, but the best virus protection is common sense, and keeping your software up-to-date.
I don't run any virus checking programmes; I never download untrustworthy files, I don't open unsolicited attachments, especially if they have a double extension, I run a software firewall...
If there is a virus released that exploits a new vulnerablitily in software that I am running like IE, Outlook, Windows etc, then I would probably be infected before the virus checker was updated to recognize it.. I've never found it worth giving up my valuable system resources, not since the days of floppy-swapping on the Amiga anyway (and even then, the only virus that spread through my disks came from a magazine coverdisk...)

[manish]

Originally posted by Tibbits:
If there is a virus released that exploits a new vulnerablitily in software that I am running like IE, Outlook, Windows etc, then I would probably be infected before the virus checker was updated to recognize it..

Not true. All AV software have Heuristic scans. So, if you have a virus/worm doing something similar to what an existing virus does, it might be able to fix it. Also, if you have newer versions of the software and if you are connected to the web, you can set the software so it updates the virus lists in the background without any intervention.

McAfee and Norton are 2 big names that come to my mind if you want suggestions....

Manish

[Brian]

Personally speaking I have been pretty happy with Norton. The one thing that annoyed me is the auto update, apparently is only for one year from activation. However, I was pleased to find out the renewal was only a few dollars (although I believe they try to sell you a new version, but searching their site shows the renewal)

At any rate, for the past few years I have always used Norton and been overall happy. However I will state that the last time I tried another name I used McAfee, and was not happy, but that was due to it not having an auto update feature, which I am sure it know has.

Here is a link on Cnet comparing some of the programs out there. Hope it is of some help:

http://www.cnet.com/software/search/...ml?tag=stbc.gp

-Brian

[Rich]

I must admit that I used to take Tibbit's approach. Mostly because nearly all AV software is a bunch of crap.

Norton is junk (All Symantec software is junk in my opinion).

McAfee is junk, too.

I'm currently getting pounded by about 100 nimda-like emails each day. However, there is no payload in them. This means that somebody's AV software only half-cleaned the virus, but left the part that emails everyone.

<edit>That should read 'badtrans-like' instead of 'nimda-like' </edit>

When I was administering NT servers, I ran across Innoculate-IT, which has been my personal favorite ever since. This is produced by Computer Associates.

They have now released a public version for the Windows platform at www.my-etrust.com. This is absolutely, hands down, the best AV software ever written. It's easy. It's clean. It's excellently written by some very good software developers.

Oh, yeah, and it's pretty cheap.

You should run, not walk, to try www.my-etrust.com if you need AV software. You won't be sorry.

Rich

[sheila]

I'm using Innoculate-IT PE (Personal Edition) which I nabbed when it was still free, and they are still providing the virus updates. Seems fine. At least it doesn't lock up my system and hog resources the way Norton used to do (which I uninstalled and deleted).

However, I knew the company that put it out had stopped offering the free version, and had a commercial product instead (which I assume Rich is referring to), so I browsed over to the site and when trying to view the FAQ, I got this:

This Application requires either Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x or Netscape Navigator 4.7x.

[Tatu]

McAffee is complete junk. Norton is actually really good (and yes, I am aware of their unholy alliance).

Sophos has been highly recommended on these boards. Maybe I will switch to it when my Norton update runs out. I'm currently using Norton firewall (stops at least 2 inbound trojans weekly ) combined with antivirus in one product (Norton Internet Security).


Whatever you do, NEVER ever be tempted by Symantec's added system utilities they like to bundle in there more meaty software products. I wouldn't dare install them if they paid me.

[Mandi]

One of the best tools in my anti-virus arsenal, is POP3 Scan Mailbox, offered for download right here at Aota.net. Take a look . . . utilizing this, my anti-virus program has sorta become like the Maytag repair man ! It also has the lovely added attraction of letting you blow away spam right at the server, before you download.

I am using Norton 2000 right now, but also find it to be a VERY heavy footprint . . . I'm interested in Innoculate It, and will be taking a look. I really like Tiny Personal Firewall for further inbound/outbound control . . . there have been a few threads here about that product.

[janderk]

I use McAfee 4.5 on Windows 2000 and are happy with it. It automatically checks for and installs virus updates when I startup my computer and does give me no more problems.

I used to have lots of problems with both MCAfee and Norton on Windows 2000. Running older versions of MCAfee/Norton was a very reliable way to lockup Windows 2000.

My laptop came with McAfee 5.x and I removed it and replaced it with 4.5 as it gave me nothing but trouble and I hated the new interface.

Jan Derk

[Tom]

I just upgraded to Norton Systemworks 2002, which includes Norton AV 2002. It does a great job scanning mail attachments before you get them. One of its new feature this year is to scan outgoing attachments so you don't spread a virus, but the way they implemented it with a popup window is annoying so I turned that off.

Mandi, they've improved since Norton 2000 which did have a heavy footprint. I also turn off all the other utilities - System Doctor, Protected Recycle Bin, etc and only use them when I choose to; mostly Speed Disk.

I disagree with the Brian who didn't like Norton Live Update. I love having it stay updated for me. It's saved my bacon a few times when a brand-new virus arrived and the software was already updated to handle it.

I also respectfully disagree with those who take pride with not having AV software. That virus that embedded itself into web pages caught my attention, and there will be more where that came from. I used to test and review shareware for a living and went for years between virus sightings. Nowadays, there are several a week via email, and they're all quarantined or deleted for me before I even see them. Besides, my wife and kids use this machine and they're a lot less cautious than me.

At work they supply us with McAfee which is okay too I guess, but nearly as elegant and easy to use. I think the IC department likes it because they can push out updates to the tens of thousands of computers in our company.