Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Now I know that a lot of you may be using Norton or McAfee and it may be functioning very well for you. I however see no reason to pay for an anti-virus when I know for a fact that I can get a free one that works just as well. I find Norton and McAfee overbearing and cumbersome to use. And don’t ever try to get rid of them because it will be a major chore. No…I will stick with AVG (free.avg.com) or Avira (avira.com) for my virus protection. I personally use Avira at the moment but have used AVG in the past. They are both exceptional anti-virus programs with all the bells and whistles that a home user could ask for without taking over like their paid counterparts. I have installed Avira on many clients’ computers and never had a complaint about viruses from then on. Besides being free, both programs can be set to auto update and run a scan on a set schedule. If you decide to install one of these programs be sure to uninstall your current anti-virus first. You do not want two anti-virus programs running at the same time as they will have a tendency to counteract each other. You could however also run a program like Malware bytes (malwarebytes.com) in addition to your anti-virus for extra protection. Malware bytes is also a free program. All three of these programs can be downloaded from their respective sites or from the downloads section at CNET.com.
I had Norton 360 installed on my son's computer and when it started performing extremely slowly, I called Norton as I suspected a virus. They told me that there software wasn't able to prevent ALL viruses and suggested I call iYogi to correct the problem. I did so and they removed quite a few viruses and suggested Microsoft Security Essentials. What do you think of that program?
Great post, and very timely. My Norton expires at the end of the month, and I'm trying other options.
Hi Colleen, I have not used MS Essentials only because I am partial to Avira. In general I am going to say I would recommend Avira or AVG over MS Essentials because Anit-Virus is all they do and they do it well.
Hi Carol, Excellent decision. Hope you find one that works well for you.
Hi Karen,
I have tried them all. When I've brought my pc for repairs though, they all say Malware bytes and MS Essentials are the best.
One of the reasons I brought my pc there was cause I got a complete crash with a virus while I had Norton, completely paid and installed.
Go the free route - we have used AVG and MS Essentials along with Malwarebytes. No problems yet.... never know when something will sneak through so have to be wary at all times.
Mel
Interesting stuff! My brother, a itech guy swears by Kaspersky, I have used Norton and Kaspersky with no problem and then there are a couple agents here who like AVG. As long as you have something, it seems all good to me! :-)
Hi Karen - I use Avira on my laptop as do the kids--seems to do the trick. The desktops run on Norton and it is almost like running Vista. : )
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