I am running avast! free antivirus FTW and im quit happy with it. What are the reasons I should pay for an AV? I dont care about technical support if that's the difference but what else? how good is the avast engine compared to the big sharks like kaspersky, Bitdefender, Trend Micro, and Eset? And for a paid AV, which one would you go for? I had Kaspersky before and it was too heavy on my system even though my system is pretty darn fast. BitDefender caused me a myriad of random errors and crashed even on the v2013, and ESET just gets very bad scores in online tests now they have dropped the ball ever since their reign in the past years when they used to be the lightest / most secure? What would j00 r3comm3end for m3|-| ???
Sorry for being negative about this, but hasn't this question been asked and answered too many times in this and in other forums?! Everybody has his/her favorite AV, try something else and see if you like it. And you already have an answer to this question on AnandTech forums FYI: I use ESET, and I pay for it because I think it's worth paying for.
Well I for one tried a lot of Security Suites, I even paid for 2 of them... Kaspersky and NIS 2013. I regret buying NIS2013 although it was cheap at around 20 $. I currently have KIS 2013 but I'm not happy with it...slows down the PC and the engine is on 32 bit... when I run a 64 bit system also the updates are too slow. I tried also a trial version of ESET and love it , there is even a 64 bit engine. I'm sure the free versions are good but I don't trust the ads in them, nothing is free this days...
I personally don't like Avast. I used to love Avast, till one day my brother was using my computer (11 years old), he downloaded an .exe from a youtube video, and my PC got infected with a worm. My hotmail was hacked since I was logged on Windows Live Messenger at that moment, and Windows started degrading in a time-frame of 30 minutes. Avast didn't even blink, not a single notification, I was in shock an AV I used for so long failed on me so hard (Yes, Avast was updated, both the engine and virus definitions.) I had nothing to do but shut the PC off, and re-installed Windows (Thank God I'm organized and had everything on a backup drive), I still couldn't believe avast didn't catch the virus, so I went back to the video and downloaded the file (Used firefox inside a sandbox inside a ramdisk, call me paranoid), then uploaded the file to 3 online scanners. Most popular antiviruses reported a worm except Avast and a couple obscure AV's noone has ever heard of. Since then, Avast lost my trust completely. Now I'm on Windows 8 hoping Windows Defender keeps me protected. Not saying Avast suck, and I'm not telling you not to use it, I'm just saying Avast failed me and I no longer trust it.
I personally used ESET Smart Security on Windows 7. No matter what reviews say, I am amazed with this software! It works flawlessly without any slowdowns and very few false-positives. Well worth the money. While on Windows 8, I'm pretty happy with the built in Defender. Pretty nifty and provides basic antivirus protection, Which to any advanced user would be sufficient considering we watch what we click .
I use free microsoft security essentials in combination with Tinywall (allows easy config of the build-in windows firewall). I have the impression it's a safe combination.
could have been an encrypted rat which no av would have picked up. in this case i wouldn't blame the av i would blame the 11 yr old user. never dl anything from youtube, this is the first place people put rats to get a bunch of easy slaves. once dl'd and installed its a matter of seconds before they have all ur login & passwords, keylogger, r watching u on your own webcam, and stealing ur identity.
I am using Comodo Internet Security... It is a free anti virus and firewall and works with Windows 8...
I have never had a Virus. I use my brains to prevent virus attacks... I don't have a anti virus installed A free one will be enough. There is no 100% safe AV. You may have to switch regularly. let's say check each half year which is the best free anti virus.
There are 3 free options I can trust which are MSE, Avast and Comodo. I don't use any paid AVs and everything still fine up to now.
It certainly can prevent virus.That is all that we want in our system i.e to be virus-free.Have you tried it?Give it a go!Then you will ask What is 'Virus' and What is 'Antivirus'?You will forget those terms. Any doubts give me an PM.
Only Avast Pro antivirus has a sandbox that you can run on demand.Free version has an automatic sandbox only.You can't run your browser in sandbox in free version.Isn't it?Correct me if i am wrong.Also it is Sandboxie not Sanboxie as you have mentioned.You can search the Google for comparison of both the sandboxes.