BleepingComputer.com: Antivirus

I am a Windows XP user, and my Norton Internet Security System will expire in a few days. I would like recommendations for an alternative AV (free or retail). Thank you! - Dan

Norton Internet Security includes firewall, antivirus and antispyware and your question is about antivirus - have you chosen your replacement firewall and antispyware for your Windows XP computer? In other words, do you want to replace the suite firewall, antivirus and antispyware suite with another suite or are you going to build your own "suite"

I would personally recommend Avira Antivir. It is free and the new version now includes spyware/adware detection. It is by far the best anti-virus program I have ever used.

For a firewall I would recommend Comodo

Please note, Comodo also includes installation options for an Anti-virus program. If you are going to use Avira for anti-virus protection, be sure to only install the Firewall portion of Comodo.

What's wrong with Norton? It's a great product.

Although Symantec (Norton) is as good as any other well known anti-virus program, it is known to be a resource hog that can slow down your system. The program requires numerous services and running processes that consume a lot of system resources and often results in complaints of high CPU usage. Further Symantec products can be difficult to remove.

Choosing an anti-virus is a matter of personal preference, your technical ability and experience, features offered, the amount of resources utilized, how it may affect system performance and what will work best for your system. A particular anti-virus that works well for one person may not work as well for another. You may need to experiment and find the one most suitable for your use. There is no universal "one size fits all" solution that works for everyone. Another factor to consider is whether you want to use a paid for product or free alternative. My personal choice is NOD32 Anti-Virus .

I use Avast, it's good free alternative

My personal preference is ZoneAlarm antivirus and firewall. It is not free, but it also is not all that expensive. The firewall is easy to setup and I really like that it has an operating system firewall included in it. I have used it for many years and never even consider changing.

quietman7, on May 20 2009, 08:48 AM, said:

Have you even tried the latest version? Norton 09 is one of the lightest AVs on the market.

Go for AVG 8 free free.avg.com
small, light weight, will never slow down your pc

it has got following features
Anti Virus
Anti Spyware
Email Scanner
Link Scanner
Resident Shield

its provides very small size updates which are suitable for a poor person like me
it doesnt have an anti-rootkit feature so you will have to download the special anti-rootkit tool provided by avg (1 MB in size)
no firewall, windows firewall is more then enough

This post has been edited by sachin naik: 26 May 2009 - 09:23 AM

AVG is heavy on system resources from what I've seen. I installed it for 1 day, and literally uninstalled it that same day, there was a dramatic speed reduction on my system.

Windows firewall is not more than enough, it barely provides basic protection.

I would also recommend cleaning out your registry every once in a while. Here's a couple of useful registry cleaners that I have found helpful in my endeavors.

Bleeping Computer DOES NOT recommend the use of registry cleaners/optimizers for several reasons:

• Registry cleaners are extremely powerful applications that can damage the registry by using aggressive cleaning routines and cause your computer to become unbootable.

The Windows registry is a central repository (database) for storing configuration data, user settings and machine-dependent settings, and options for the operating system. It contains information and settings for all hardware, software, users, and preferences. Whenever a user makes changes to settings, file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in this repository. The registry is a crucial component because it is where Windows "remembers" all this information, how it works together, how Windows boots the system and what files it uses when it does. The registry is also a vulnerable subsystem, in that relatively small changes done incorrectly can render the system inoperable. For a more detailed explanation, read Understanding The Registry.

• Not all registry cleaners are created equal. There are a number of them available but they do not all work entirely the same way. Each vendor uses different criteria as to what constitutes a "bad entry". One cleaner may find entries on your system that will not cause problems when removed, another may not find the same entries, and still another may want to remove entries required for a program to work.

• Not all registry cleaners create a backup of the registry before making changes. If the changes prevent the system from booting up, then there is no backup available to restore it in order to regain functionality. A backup of the registry is essential BEFORE making any changes to the registry.

• Improperly removing registry entries can hamper malware disinfection and make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. For example, removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.

• The usefulness of cleaning the registry is highly overrated and can be dangerous. In most cases, using a cleaner to remove obsolete, invalid, and erroneous entries does not affect system performance but it can result in "unpredictable results".

Unless you have a particular problem that requires a registry edit to correct it, I would suggest you leave the registry alone. Using registry cleaning tools unnecessarily or incorrectly could lead to disastrous effects on your operating system such as preventing it from ever starting again. For routine use, the benefits to your computer are negligible while the potential risks are great.

• Ed Bott's Webog: Why I don’t use registry cleaners
  
• Do I need a Registry Cleaner?