PC Tools Antivirus!

endorphin

I'd also like to add that NOD32 & Kaspersky are NOT SHAREWARE, they are 30-day trials, then they stop working. That is not shareware. Shareware would continue working in a limited degree until you paid for a full license.

prospero

@rand0mCreep: <3 exactly

evangelistc01

i've used all the avtivirus programs on here. i prefer to have my computer run at full speed and be protected. i chose nod32. i have no idea how avast or avg can be considered as anything. they're not in the same league as kaspersky or nod32. free only makes it free, not reliable.

rand0mCreep

I was a big fan of AVG7 because of it's real-time protection that ClamWin doesn't provide. Unfortunately, AVG8 has a feature, called Link Scanner, that drastically slows down browsing and slows google searches to a crawl(because they have to determine the maliciousness of each link).

I don't really need the Link Scanner feature because I already use OpenDNS, [lifehacker.com] to protect me from phishing websites. Unfortunately, when you turn off that feature, your AVG systray icon gets an exclamation point over it. I don't like that because, should you get semi-infected, this is also how AVG informs you that it's having a hard time getting updates from it's server. It's also unfortunate because I've learned to pay attention to red things in the systray, so this constantly distracts me.

So I'll probably stop using AVG in the near future and moving on to a new product. Avast looks promising.

daniel.j.doughty

@iceman7:

I totally agree... you can't compare free to paid commercial applications.

Not only that, but you can't simply ASK people what the best is, you have to do RESEARCH on what actually does it's job the best. The rest is personal preference.

Ondemand detection:
[www.av-comparatives.org]

Retrospective / ProActive:
[www.av-comparatives.org]

I'd vote for NOD32 since it's by far the fastest on-demand scanner. AVG gets my vote for the best free anti-virus.

prospero

ESET NOD32 HOORAH!!! Kaspersky is a fine choice as well. Anything else is inferior. As far as interfaces and protection go, these two are simply the best choices in terms of keeping your computer as safe as possible. I honestly think AVG is a joke, but die hard fans will most likely be telling me otherwise in the comments to come.

evangelistc01

I will have to concur with iceman7 on an academic standpoint that the commercial apps do tend to scan better than the freeware ones, especially when it comes to finding new viruses in the wild (at least in the case of NOD32).

However, in the real world, free does increase a particular software's popularity, even if it is not technically better at what it is designed to do (in this case, scanning and removing viruses, trojans, etc.)

NOD32 gets my vote for the best antivirus scanner

ModemGod

AVG free. But now there's an annoying ad about AVG 8 that keeps popping up. :(

delightt

Its unfair to compare AVG or Avast to Kaspersky or NOD.

AVG and Avast are free and will hence get more votes. Kaspersky, Sophos, NOD.. are all superior to AVG or Avast. But they will still end up with lesser votes because no one wants to pay for software.

iceman7

I've used AVG, Kaspersky, and NOD32 but it's hard to say which one is the best. For a long time though, I loved Kaspersky and recommended it to a lot of my friends. AVG gets my vote though for a free anti-virus (I love free apps that works).

the menace

AVG 8

rdldr1

I don't even see why there's a discussion...didn't we already vote?!?!

@rand0mCreep: @jarhead: jarhead, you are most certainly correct. Random creep, free is generally better for some things. Firefox, rocketdock, AVG, Avast, Launchy (I don't use it), all of the PortableApps, Winamp...I'll shut up now, but I sure as hell won't be using Symantec or Mcafee's products ever again.

DMSaruman

people get viruses? hmmm...guess I'm just careful.

caedus

By the way, I'm a NOD32 user as well...

jarhead

@rand0mCreep: Yeah... Firefox sucks too because it's free... and that free Launchy program Adam is always talking about... what was he thinking?

Free CAN be reliable... hell McAfee & Symantec are NOT free and they suck so much ass plastic surgeons get pissed off...

If it works for you, who cares if it's free or not? When it comes to anti-virus, the first line of defense is using your brain.

jarhead

@iceman7:

Thats why god invented open source software...

teqsun.com

I agree with most users and I use NOD32, simply because it hasn't stopped any virus untill now, and it's inobtrusive. I also like the fact it scans all web pages before they even reach the browser.

arienh4

@prospero: Wikipedia's definition of shareware disagrees with you. Either way, I think ultimately the point gets across—it's software you have to pay money for in the long run.

@iceman7/prospero: Ultimately the Hive Five is a measure of the climate of use taken from a pool of savvy users. Of course it's personal preference in the end, but that's what we're asking for. Price will always be a significant determining factor in use, and despite the fact that the Hive Five asks for a vote-off, the most voted-for app in the poll is just taking a measure of use. The apps that make the top five list are what's most important, and I think these five are an excellent cross-section of both freeware and shareware options.

Adam Pash

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned comodo anti virus in any of these recent anti virus threads. It's in public beta at the moment and it's pretty good albeit a bit of a resource hog.

Nod32 still gets my vote though.

hippytyre

@iceman7: i see no reason why we can't compare free and non-free apps here... polls have never been capable of determining which is best by objective measures... public polls are essentially 'popularity contests', and only point to the 'best' if people collectively already know what the best is (which is highly debatable)...

@daniel.j.doughty: opendns is no replacement for linkscanner... opendns' protection doesn't even do the same thing linkscanner does (check the specified page for known exploits in realtime - like on-access scanning for the web)...

kurt wismer

I meant to say I have *not*

mr_oshodi

I know no1 likes Symantec but I've use my brain along with the Corporate edition under xp and vista respectively...with a 2GB of RAM in both OS env. with no issues... I do see the memory footprint but i have notice any lagging... and it auto updates ofcourse..

mr_oshodi

@iceman7: IMHO, cost is a worthy consideration when determining whether something is "best" or "worst" for one's needs. If I have a choice between A and B, and A is adequate and free, but B is much better in some measure but costs a ton, guess which I pick?

That's the main reason I'm an OpenOffice user, as well. However, I'm a Linux user because I do think Ubuntu really is a much more enjoyable computing environment than Windows.

HeartBurnKid

@daniel.j.doughty: The link scanner functionality in AVG did put me off upgrading from 7.5 to 8.0, but once I installed it I found that it can simply be disabled like any other extension in firefox without AVG complaining (not compatible with 3.0rc2 yet either...). If you don't use firefox or just want to remove it completely then follow these instructions (found on AVG support and other various forums):
1. Find your installer or download the latest from here.
2. Run the installer and when prompted choose the "Add/Remove Components" option.
3. Uncheck the link scanner option
4. Finish the wizard and restart your system.

Hope this helps
David

ScaryDave

I switched our office to NOD32 4 years ago from Trend Micro, and couldn't be happier. The Network Administrative console is a godsend, making "push" installs and config management a piece of cake. It is also nice to have something I can run on the old Win 2000 machines that doesn't slow them down. I also haven't had to remove viruses that somehow always found their way through Trend Micro's crap.

Fuzz

I was just about to mention Ewido as another great AV but when i visted the site I notice that AVG has bought them over.

[www.ewido.net]

Kudos to AVG, they bought a good one there.

hippytyre

Why didn't any Trend Micro products get in the list? In Consumer Reports, out of 12 other products, Internet Security Pro got first place in every single category. I've tried AVG 7.5 Free, and didn't like it at all. But the free ones will of course get more votes.

interficio

NOD32 for lightest footprint on my box.

Chinmay

I am a fan of Clamwin

mysticgeek.htg

Use Avast and it finds everything nasty that I pick up when downloading from nefarious places. (Confirmed by online scans from the expensive/commercial products). Runs light, automatically updates all the time.
BUT I'm more and more coming to the view that virus checkers are pretty nearly useless for a savvy user or a user who doesn't visit nasty places. And however good the program may be - they are all in catch-up mode.
If it cost money or used anymore resources than, say Avast, I'd probably ditch any AV proggie.

idodialog

I agree - AVG7 was better than AVG8. I disabled the link verification system but now the task-tray icon tells me that something is wrong with the system and there's no way to disable the notification. Stupid system but great antivirus.

CapitalC

@Adam Pash: Wikipedia is not meant to be the end-all definition of something, hence why the shareware page is flagged as needing citations and verification, read the discussion about it. Today's usage is inaccurate (in part because people refer to Wikipedia as a "source") it should be considered "trialware". But you might as well call it commercial, since they demand money after 30-days or it stops functioning all together. Sorry for this post being OT.

If you are looking for what's best in terms of personal opinion then I'd say NOD32 hands down. If you want to look at who's the best anti-virus based on actually catching viruses, I'd vote for AntiVir PE Premium or NOD32 again.

prospero

@iceman7: you have a point, but its also not like NOD32 and Kaspersky are "forced" into costing money. Most non commercial antivirus programs are providing free versions for home consumers since most of they're revenue comes from business. I'm also surprised clamwin didn't get on the list, I remember when AVG 8 first came out and had no free version, a bunch of people panicked and switched to clamwin. Are they still getting sued by Trend Micro?

Swizzler121

symantec corporate edition all the way. yeah it's not perfect (big memory foot print, might require a few registry hacks). but i feel a lot safer using a something that's been around for a while and will continue to be around. i've had it installed on my two home pcs and havent had it bother me.

what i really like about it is that unlike a lot of the consumer AV software symantec corporate doesn't comes with a lot of extraneous crap. i dont need another firewall, or a spyware checker, nor do i want to join your mailing list.

putch

@ScaryDave:

That's not an option to remove, from what I can see (looking at it now). You have to install their dopey link scanner, or you get the evil red exclaimation.

I think its pushing me to go anti-virus free, finally! (Haven't had a virus in a decade).

downstairs

For free, I like Avast. AVG always detected small stuff but wouldn't pick up the big ones. *shrug* honestly, I don't see many viruses now since I haven't signed up for random sites in a while and stopped download a lot of questionable material. lol NOD32 wasa nice while it lasted. =/ It's the eset suite now. Meh. I mighg buy a new subscription some day if I start being the little "what's this thing do" clicker I once was..
@prospero: shareware doesn't mean free, it's more of a try it then hope you buy it.

Megan Fox iz Hot ^-^ -ph15h

AVG is trash. It's detection rates are so poor, and the free version is worse.

Eigtball

Where do you disable the pop ups in Avira AntiVir? I couldn't find that option

xxdesmus

I think these days the best antivirus is going to be the one with the best heuristic scanning. New viruses get created every day and like idodialog said the AV companies are all on catch-up mode.
Kaspersky used to be very very fast at adding new viruses to its bases/definitions but that alone isn't enough.

I know this is an antivirus topic but anyone wanting a bit more protection should try looking at things like these.

[www.prevx.com]

[www.diamondcs.com.au]

Not much can get past those two unless you allow it.

hippytyre

I've been using AVG for years after finding it on Tech Support Alert website, but after reading this article (below) a from the same site ive changed to Avira. Avira seems to be doing a great job so far at far less the memory cost. So im happy.

[www.techsupportalert.com]

Braffe

kaspersky is excellent software though i haven't used it much beyond 7.0. i've never had a problem using it compared to other antivirus applications i've had to pay for. it's always managed to keep my pc secure.

as for free software, i like avast. it's easy to use and has a simple, but intelligent UI. avg isn't too far behind avast as far as i'm concerned though.

ultrasur1

I find it hard to decide between NOD32 and Kaspersky, both very capable.

kli6891

"The lightweight AVG Free..."

Lightweight?! v8 is 45MB of bloat! Antivir is 21MB.

That's partly why I switched, but also the detection rate with Antivir is better - proved for me when a scan with Antivir detected a trojan that AVG missed.

DavidONE

So far I have used AVG (but it was some years ago), NOD32, Kaspersky and Avast. To be honest, Kaspersky was the one that for some reason made me feel safer, but it was slowing down my PC a little bit. NOD32 was my favorite for a long time, because it is lightweight and seems to be efficient enough. At the moment I use Avast, because I wanted something free, and so far I don't have problems.

Anyway, my vote goes to Kaspersky if we talk about the best and to Avast when it comes to a free solution.

gsarig

What about virus protection on the mac?

Meloshe

@Adam Pash: Lifehacker didn't ask which anti-virus is the most popular, they asked which (arrogantly) is the best in the title of the poll.

So now, when you guys write the follow up article: "You guys voted, and AVG was best!," and it'll be bullcrap because people don't know any better. They're simply voting on what they use because they like it, or because it's free, not because in actuality statistics show that one is better than the other. A lot of these people simply go to google, and type in free antivirus, blindly reassured it'll do the job. There's a lot of evidence that shows AVG for example isn't up to par, but people don't want to shove out $40 to protect something as valuable as their hard drive, so they use it because they don't educate themselves and are satisfied with a product they "think" is good.

If this is a popularity contest, then the "best" is the most popular? Whatever.

evangelistc01

I upgraded to AVG8...and had nothing but problems.

Options in my taskbar started disappearing (My printer control center and my volume control to be precice)

AVG was of no help as evidenced by my forum posting insisting it wasn't their programs fault when the older version didn't cause such a problem: [freeforum.avg.com]

I love AVG to death, it'a great program and it really works well... I'm just not to crazy about the fact their new version is the Anti Virus equivalent of Windows Vista.

Namrepus

I use an amazing product called Common Sense 2008. It's really great. It has actually stopped me from ever encountering a virus in my entire computing life.

Max H.

I have Symantec Corporate on all of my personal PCs (thank you, employer), but I generally set up other peoples' machines with AVG (definition-based) and Threatfire (proactive protection). On newer machines the resource footprint is negligible, and provides a decent spectrum of security.

Brad N.

@tonynyc:

Err, wasn't that 8 days ago?

Fuzz

> If it works for you, who cares if it's free or not?

The point is that a "free" product often DOESN'T WORK, or doesn't work well. And it inflates the votes for "best" product.

Rhywun

AVG 7.5, will stick with it until they stop providing updates.

tonynyc

I loved AVG7 (chiming in here). Since going to 8 it keeps removing my (non-spyware, registered, from a legit company) FTP Server. I think I finally figured out how to stop it from doing that, but it was way more hassle than it should have been. It (AVG8) seems a lot more piggish than it has to be.

rdm

@daniel.j.doughty: Check this solution to LinkScanner and other optional stuff in AVG8 and enjoy it: [grandstreamdreams.blogspot.com]

dedalusjmmr

@daniel.j.doughty:

Exact same thing is why I switched to Avast after having been a longtime AVG user. I noticed a marked slowdown on my computer and disabling some of the features I didn't feel I needed brought up that AVG alert icon in the task tray, which I could ignore but then what if I am ignoring something of more consequence. Also didn't like the ad that you could make go away but only for that session.

genghis_schmengis

Ummm, are we voting for "the best" or for "the favorite"? They're not the same thing. I'm pretty sure "the best" is the one you pay for. After all, someone has to pay the programmers who are "on-call" to detect new viruses. For the sake of LH's credibility, I would change the title of this High Five's question to "Which antivirus program do you use?"

For me, my safer computing habits make it unlikely (not impossible) to catch a computer virus. Thus, for me it's overkill to pay good money for good antivirus protection. I don't know how regular users can claim program X has better detection than program Y based on a handful of infections. But I can say even less: I haven't had a single virus detection in at least ten years. And I've used the free antivirus programs as well as commercial ones provided through the University at no cost to me (McAfee and Sophos). And I also occasionally surf the less savory parts of the 'net ;)

Posco Grubb

@Ortzinator: I suppose you fall into the 10% category of pple who have superb brain (u don't go around goofing with interwebz links) except if and when your superb instinct tell you to...right?

mr_oshodi

@evangelistc01: Actually, if you read the article, it did ask which is the most popular.
"On Tuesday we asked you to share your favorite antivirus application, and today we're rounding up the five most popular answers. Hit the jump for an overview of the five best antivirus applications and to cast your ballot for the best antivirus app of the group."

@Savior: Just for you: heres a political example.

When we vote for someone in politics, is it because they really are the best person for the job, or is it because we believe they are?

Lazarus

I'm probably taking a big risk, but I don't use av software anymore. I can't even remember the last time I got a virus.

Ortzinator

@Savior: And religion!

Lazarus

@Rhywun: "The point is that a "free" product often DOESN'T WORK, or doesn't work well. And it inflates the votes for "best" product."

See DMSaruman's response for a partial list of Free software that works (and works well.) I personally use many of those free items regularly that supposedly don't work cause they're free. Maybe you've heard of this free program called Apache HTTP Server. It serves over 50% of the web pages on the internet. Most likely even this one. Not bad for free software that doesnt work.

@prospero: If wikipedia isnt to your liking, perhaps [dictionary.reference.com] is better. Share-ware: -Noun. Computer software distributed without initial charge but for which the user is encouraged to pay a nominal fee to cover support for continued use.

The "continued use" is the most relevant part of that. This has always been the model of Shareware. A perfect example is Apogee, that released Kingdom of Kroz [en.wikipedia.org] in 1987. They released part of the full game, and to play the rest of it, you had to pay. By your definition, they shouldve let you play the full thing or just let you run around all the levels without being able to collect any of the gems if you didnt pay for it.

Back on topic:
I have used Clamwin and like it. I hope it continues development. I also have used AVG8 and hate it's memory hogging and annoyances (the red ! for example). Its even caused my system to lock up a couple of times from bleeding resources. I'm also currently looking at using NOD32 and Avast as a possible replacement.

Lazarus

Both Kaspersky and Nod32 are freaking awesome. I started with Kaspersky and switched to Nod32 when my license was up, and while both were effective, Nod32 felt faster and lighter.

oldredhat

I think it's time we brought in politics..

Savior

I've heard SoFos for windows is great, but I've only heard it's offered at one college in Richmond, VA. Never actually experienced it as a user.

Collaboratory

I was a tech for years and pretty much got good enough i could look in a system without an antivirus and tell you what type of virus you probably have and remove most of it without help.

BUT i still put an antivirus on my computer. Identity is rampant nowadays and many viruses are made everyday. Unless you don't store any personal information on your computer and never shop online why wouldn't you put atleast a free one on to give you an extra layer of protection?

For all those on this list that proudly say "oh i use my brain" are just being boastful and careless. Even safe sites can be infected without you knowing.

miburo

linux?
I know lame, but someone was going to do it anyway.

rothgar

Kaspersky can be free if you are willing to deal with rebates. Check out Frys or Amazon. It's frequently free after rebate there. That does make it the best deal.

hobg

@evangelistc01: Well, what metric are you using to determine "best"? I'd assume "best performance", and that's a good one to go by, but you must realize that most people take things like cost into consideration when they decide what's "best" for them. If a free program is good enough, it may be considered "best" when value is taken into account, even if it doesn't deliver the absolute best performance.

Unfortunately, "best" is a highly subjective term. At best, what we're learning here is what's best for a majority of Lifehacker readers. Nothing more, nothing less.

HeartBurnKid

@Lazarus: "encouraged" does not mean required, hence why M-W wrote it that way. It means if it was truly shareware you could continually use it without paying.

prospero

NOD32 is without a doubt the "best" antivirus from a software point of view.
AVG will get more votes because it is free however.

I used to use AVG, but anything that displays pop-ups to advertise itself is not something I want installed on my computer...

Please remember what the question is. It's not "Best Free Software?"...

pandaking

@xxdesmus: [www.elitekiller.com]
Disable the Avira Antivir PE Classic avnotify nag screen

rand0mCreep

I think Kaspersky and NOD32 are the bests, but KAV causes BSOD in some machines ;(

angelnyo

I user AVG, have been for years. I've also used AntiVir, which I liked very much, but the updates were in fact slow as some people who have used it stated. Avast, I've given a try, but I can't stand a flashy interface, just tell me what I have to click to scan, and I'm set. Also AVGs new link scanner is pretty cool in concept, but as someone else stated, it does slow browsing down substantially, and sometimes it seems like ie or ff crash, heh. I just opt to disable it on install. Overall, in the end I'm still with AVG, simple interface, free, works just as well as the paid version to a degree, and the only time I see it is when it's scanning my emails. :)

SDreamer

I've checked that av-comparatives.org site posted by prospero (thanks! It was very informative!), and see that Avira Antivir actually came quite on top (alternating between being #1 and #2). It makes me very glad that I've paid for this fine piece of software. :) (I had used the freeware client for over 2 years before I decided to support them.)
I had considered NOD32, but I see that's not really necessary. ;)
I had tried AVG but found it to be a hog. Antivir actually is quite lightweight and doesn't annoy me.

Trinsec

Just switching out of the land of Sympantec and into the much-better-than-sympantec freeware antivirus, I have just fell in love with Avira AntiVir. As lightweight AVG was, the blasted drivers kept on slowing my computer down. Avira packs the same punch as Sympantec, but in a much lighter package, without slowing anything down.

nivlek

Well i like Nod32 because it is really good it does not eat all your memory like others do. And the updates are really frequent.

@abyzmal i did not that you could get a student license is that still working?

ChambrasWeed

I'm also a convert to NOD32. The speed and low resource hit are both great reasons to use it, but I think its excellent detection rates, awesome heuristics engine, and very frequent (as often as every 6 hours) definition updates won me over. I also liked that as a student, I could buy a 2 year license for $35 through [www.betterantivirus.com]

abyzmal

OS X

twins8791

This article couldn't have come at a more opportune time. I am dealing with a laptop infected with some program which has hijacked the browser (IE) and Trend Micro is unable to get rid of it. While I do not yet have a favorite AV, I do not like Trend Micro and McAfee Corporate Edition since I have seen laptops with viruses while these AV programs were installed and operational.

I have installed Avast on my children's laptops and it seems to be working well.

arungupta

Nod is starting to get on my nerves, it used to be stellar at keeping out the Trojans and viruses, but I'm not so sure it's as effective anymore. The memory usage also has increased with each version. It's starting to rival Norton.

Internet-TV

Linux is the best tool for preventing viruses that there is. No doubt about it. But, if you are stuck with Windows for whatever reason, Might I recommend AVG? Free, and useful.

fredzorz

Most times I'd drop what I was using already to test what the Lifehacker crowd recommends, but not this time. Avast definitely kills AVG (currently, AVG is in the lead).

jharris0221

@Fuzz:
I just ran update before typing this, it updated with no problems.

tonynyc

@iceman7: A vote could have very different reasons. You can love an app for being offered for free or because it does a better job. I'll rather have an AV that's does the heavy job (while I do the rest by not letting any virus get trough pop ups or msn conversations) and not pay for it; than paying $60 (which it's a LOT in my country) for an AV that I practicly don't use.
So my vote goes to AVG; it's my personal choice in this days.

pnikkosis

The other cool thing about Avast is the skins...I have the Star Trek skin. Every time I run a scan I feel like I'm in the Enterprise.

So I'm a geek, you wanna fight about it?

OX4

I run a PC repair business and see PCs come through in all sorts of states of infection & disrepair, and running all sorts of antivirus software. I use NOD32 to clean up systems, and am pleased to see it made it on this list. I should point out I am also a NOD reseller, but as I say to my clients, first and foremost I'm a user as well and the level of protection it provides is well worth the money IMHO.

roop

Trend Micro OfficeScan 8 (with Firewall & Anti-Malware protection built-in; also has a smartphone virus-scan component included)

_||_

@dedalusjmmr: This fixed my complaints with AVG. Thanks for the quick, simple, command line fix to AVG8. I tried some of the other recommendations, but they didn't work.

daniel.j.doughty

Threatfire deserves a place on this list. I use it in parallel with another anti-virus solution, but it's a brilliant idea and it does it's thing very, very well.

Scootah

Threatfire really deserves a place on this list - I use it in parallel with another client - but it's an awesome app

Scootah

If people would just give NOD32 a try, it would have a better chance in this poll.

lastfm

In my experience, NOD32 is the lightest, fastest and has caught more than any of the other products mentioned. It used to have an interface only a programmer would love, but it caught more bad stuff than multiple products.

I'd put Kapersky second for similar reasons. Though years ago it was one of the more difficult to deploy.

Brad Isaac

I'm not quite sure why people are so smug with themselves that they are willing to attack something that is free, and say that it won't work because it is free. How old are you people, so, you pay for everything you have ever used, and have never used a free version of anything. That's ridiculous, have fun using Internet Explorer, and keep on trusting your 80 dollars a year AV to keep you safe while you are using Internet Virus Explorer. Haha, absolutely dumb. Have you even been to look at a free AV at all. Check Avast! website. You will find that the free home edition is the same as the professional edition, with the exception of one feature, that I have never even had the need to use. What makes it free is the fact that they make their money from commercial customers. Before you go saying that they can't be making money because you have never heard of anyone paying for it, let me make this point, if they were making no money, then it would be kind of hard to provide a free full featured AV to home users. I can't personally afford 60-80 bucks every year for antivirus, so I make regualr backups of my important information, and use a free Antivirus. Which actually cleaned my computer up very nicely, when your precious Kaspersky did absolutely nothing for it. That is why I vow to never pay for Anti-virus again. I had Kaspersky, got virus somewhere, Kaspersky did absolutely nothing. Oddly enough, grabbed Avast! free, used it, cleared up entire problem, found virus in boot scan of system, killed it, on with my business, none of which I could complete with the virus Kaspersky "helped" me with.
The people that say free stuff doesn't work, are just as bad as the people who say their brain is the best AV, and they haven't had a virus in years. Yeah right, if you don't have anything to identify a virus how the hell do you know if you had or have one. Not every one out there totally destroys your computer in a manner that's necessarily perceptible to you. Just pisses me off, people think they are so high and mighty because they payed for something they could get for free, then when someone tells them the free version actually is pretty good, they attack because they can't stand that someone else is getting the same thing as them without the "prestige" of spending a bunch of money on it. It really sounds like High School shit to me. I've been out of high school for 15 years, so if we could please act like adults, that would be alright with me. Although I doubt people will, someone always needs to feel superior. I'll continue to use my very good, free, Avast!, thank you very much.

Also, those that say NOD32 and Kaspersky are the best there is, sorry for you, if you trust ANY AV software 100% you are going to get burned, none of them work 100%.

I also use free versions of Spybot S&D, and Ad-aware, and I dare you to tell me those don't work because they are free. Stop being idiots and grow up. Pay for what you please, but keep your naive opinions about free stuff not working to yourself.

Ready... Set... Argue!!!

scerwup

I've always been very satisfied with AVG Free. I previously used Avast, and that was good too. My vote goes with AVG, though.

Sharpless

I use and voted for AVG but on the comments above, nod32 seems worth a try but it's not free.

Yeah being "free" matters. Although AVG is not an open-source software, it works, it's updated daily.

pierre

Lazarus writes:

> When we vote for someone in politics, is it because they really are the best person
> for the job, or is it because we believe they are?

I always thought a more important question was whether the purpose of voting is to elect a leader, or is it to convince society to accept a leader?

jcowan

Just to clarify my earlier rant a little bit, there is nothing wrong with paying for something. As a matter of fact NOD32 is supposed to be very good, I know a few people who use it, "free" versions of it :) And they tell me it works very well. And Kaspersky, what can I say about that, their definitions are like "industry standard". They are both good, and nothing wrong with them, but the free ones are good as well. So many people wouldn't use them if they didn't work. And to those of the opinion that people don't know what they're doing, that's absolutely not true. There are many free AV's out there, yet only 3-5 show up here. There's a reason for that. Besides the fact that some people, me included, have tried AV software that is payed for and decided the free stuff was better. I decided the free stuff was better when Kaspersky totally failed me, and low and behold, all of the tech support forums said to try Avast! or AVG. Free is good, Free and works well is even better!!

scerwup

Avast is my preference, mainly because it has free rootkit protection unlike AVG, and has a Internet worm protection and a web protection that protects from javascript. As well, Avast Professional only has a few more features that are unnecessary to normal users like us, hence they never promote their professional version inside the software. It makes me more comfortable to use a piece of software that wasn't made to make you buy the professional version.

Dooga

AVG and Avast leading? At Lifehacker?

Why am I not surprised! Ha!

J-Mac

I love NOD32..

Waiting for my Kaspersky subscription to get over...

Jash Sayani

@rand0mCreep thanks for the tip!

xxdesmus

..."you can disable the ads with a couple of clicks" in Avast.

Really? Could someone tell me how, because I've looked everywhere and can't find out how. I'm about ready to use another program because of these annoying pop ups.

RTCruiser

@Posco Grubb: "I'm pretty sure "the best" is the one you pay for. After all, someone has to pay the programmers who are "on-call" to detect new viruses."

It's worth responding to these kind of logical fallacies, especially given some of the misconceptions I'm seeing in this thread about free vs. paid.

Posco: Do you honestly think that Grisoft doesn't pay its staff? Or that they just sit around waiting for competitors to do the work and improve their products first? Of course not, that's just ridiculous.

Grisoft happen to have a business model that doesn't include charging people for the basic version of its anti virus product. They *do* charge for business and volume licences as well as server products and rescue kits, which is where they get the money to pay staff. Why give away the free version? It advertises their products and services in the best way possible.

Don't confuse the price you have to pay for a product with its worth or value. That comparison just doesn't apply to software, where some of the best programs are built around business models that don't depend on charging people up front.

aphexbr

I have always favored AVG until version 8 came out. On slower machines AVG8 is a DOG, I now use avast on the slower machines.

ohgary

I am big time Avast fan, however just gonna try AVG on my new lapi!!
Let's see if all goes well!!

cyberbite

I don't use antivirus, nor have I for years. I don't use any firewall software on my PC and the only "protection" on my wired network is the fact that there's a router.

sometimes it's not about the software, but the user and what they do that causes problems (or lack thereof).

mjxg

I can't say how glad I am that Norton or McAfee didn't make the list! They are just awful programs, yet the major reviewers (PC World & PC Mag come to mind) constantly recommend them.

vandasian

We service computers mainly for Real Estate Agents that are on-line all day long. The systems we have had to clean of virus most frequently were using AVG, followed by Avast then by CA then by Panda. We used Trend Micro's "House Call" to clean these then installed Trend Internet Security 2008 which only costs $49 for 3 machines and is faster than many other systems. We have not had to clean any machines that use Kaspersky. Have not seen any of our clients with Avira or NOD32. Don't know if any potential clients are using these two. The most important aspect of any Anti-Virus is keeping the machine clear of spyware that can block the anti-virus program from working properly. Unless the anti-virus also protects from spyware it is useless. AVG did buy a very effective spyware program called Ewido, but their virus blocking doesn't work. Head Geek Andy Anderson

SomatraElymus

Our company actually uses Avast Pro on all the office computers. We use a lot of websites and databases that require active x controls and avast doesn't get in the way like Norton or McAfee

badmagic

With the trend of Security and protection programs out there,
Avg has protruded more security barriers with its heuristic scanner and Profile switching Firewall. Avg freeware still leaves you prone to some particular file viruses as its full component protection is in its Licenced Versions. e.g Professional etc

Avira poses a strong Future antivirus and would one day hit the top with its coming versions. it has the advantage of it lightness in Processing unlike others, which makes it lack some protection components. its quite fast.

Kaspersky is one and top leading antivirus for 2007 and its release of 8.0 beta last year has being a threat to other antivirus programs which are competing on the egde of Security and protection. Its Works best for Me because it meets what i require in an antivirus e.g Network Protection, Heuristic scanner, Mail Protection, Application/Process integrity Monitoring, Parental Guidance Profiles, etc. Go for it!!! Make sure your computer is Fast before The choice of kaspersky recent versions, otherwise computing speed might be compromised. Except you decide for an older version e.g 6.0. its also Nice with its password protected Setting. Also with its internet surfing restrictions for children acting as a parental guidance tools(which takes security and child development into consideration).

Nod32 is upcoming as some other and still trying to make head way in the protection and security programming. It light and very fast. Its updates are pretty fast.

Avast lost my longing.some time ago and this makes it not preferable to me. But you could give it a try as this could suite your environmental needs. APart from its looks (Like a media player). it lacks most protection components needed in the 21st century for protection and security

With all this, i conclude by saying, Know what you want from the protection softwares and go for it. they are all competitors striving to make the best. One is better than the other in different aspects. Also make sure you go for Licensed versions of any Of them after you've made your choice and Not freewares, as they are demo's and cannot provide perfect protection required

josephomogboyega

Personally, I use AvG8 Free. I've disabled the LinkScanner (Which just gets in the way), and update it daily. Works the best for me! If I HAD to use a Paying Anti-Virus, I'd use F-Secure. - Reelix (reel4ix5@gmail.com - Removing the 4 and 5)

QabilStreit

AVG free may be better than Norton (home) or McAfee's products in terms of scanning, but I find its cleaning utility to be sub-par. It starts crapping out a lot of times when trying to remove certain trojans.

Avira's been very good to me the past few months, from what I've noticed.

y3n0

I'm pretty happy with AVG, though it's a little invasive at boot and now with 8.5, in google searches.
In a pinch on friends' computers I'll use Trend Micro online virus scan (house call) because it runs right from your browser.
[housecall.trendmicro.com]

jordan314

Does anyone know of any free anti virus program that works on Windows 2003 Server? So far I haven't found any.

Rick

@Rick: ClamWin might be your only choice there. I don't think that the "free for home use" AVs will allow an install on a server OS, because who uses a dedicated server OS for their home network?

HeartBurnKid

Why isn't Norton on the list?

My grandma and everyone I know who's over 45 told me it was the best...

tex1ntux

How do I vote for AVG 7.5?

tex1ntux

I'm a network security consultant who works for a major vendor.

The "home user" offerings are geared towards people who don't know what they have to defend themselves against--the kind of people who are fine offloading the entire risk management process on a vendor. This is why we bundle everything and a kitchen sink into a huge memory hogging product.

For even slightly more advanced users, the "corporate edition" products are better; but, all of the antivirus vendors have agreements where they will share signatures, so you will generally be equally protected even if you go with a shareware product. I would not recommend them for a corporate LAN, but for a home user, you want a product that will do the job with a small footprint.

P.T.Wheatstraw

@Posco Grubb: just as truth is not a democracy, you cannot determine "best" by voting...

@Collaboratory: i believe you mean 'sophos', and you're unlikely to experience it as a consumer because they don't really intend for it to be a consumer level product... they're after organizations as customers, not individuals...

kurt wismer

Better yet, the three user license is only $22.49.

reeflections

@hobg: good call on Amazon. Kaspersky is currently $19.99 AR with free shipping.

reeflections

I got hit with a trojan a couple of years ago. What a miserable time consuming 10 days that was. Free is good, but I don't mind paying for protection when you can install it and forget it. For me that is AVG. A two year contract is an extremely excellent value considering all the black hats that are out to ruin it for everyone.

Snman

@tex1ntux: are you joking? Norton and McAfee just suck in general. Huge footprint, they cost money, and they are really really really annoying.

what I don't understand is why people love "install and forget" programs so much. I like to be involved in my AV and AS apps. I don't want them doing stuff unless I allow it. Call me a control freak, but things running in the background without my knowledge scares me.

DMSaruman

@miburo: @miburo: Actually, we're being careful, not careless.

elsifer

I've been using Blink (free for personal use) and it works well once you have it trained up. It's an all in one solution that helps you lock down your system and provides better protection against zero-day exploits.

Fazimoto

Used to use Avast, but I never get viruses anyway so I decided the extra footprint wasn't worth it. Started using AVG because my school won't let you on the network without it, but I generally close it or run it in as minimal a mode as possible.

In general, the negative effect an antivirus program has on my computer tends to be worse than the cumulative effects of all the viruses/malware I get (essentially none). Though on those rare occasions when I download a suspicious bit of software, it's nice to have the peace of mind that comes from scanning it.

Still, anything's better than Norton. That thing truly was worse than the viruses, and harder to get rid of, too.

mDuo13

@Meloshe: You got there before I could - I'd love to see Lifehacker tackle antivirus for the Mac.

jasonclarke

avast is where it's at, continuous updates, good protection, and totally free with no pressure to upgrade. It also doesn't assume that you're an idiot, which may be good for some people, and bad for others.

To boast about the professional product, my work recently went from Symantec products to avast, and the difference is intensely noticeable (system performance & protection). The day of the mass installations, there were too many hold ups because avast was finding things that had infiltrated past the old AV.

cojafoji

My vote goes to Avira. I used to use AVG but it sucks now. Also I have tried those other solutions and found them lacking. I love how low profile the Avira updater is and it is extremely easy to turn of its popups. Not to mention it doesn't recognize my beta games as viruses which is a plus.

MrSatan

I like Netscape ..

Benitocarmona

What? No Norton AntiVirus?

{/sarcasm}

rdldr1

See heres the thing, any free anti-virus software cannot be better than the ones you pay for. Why? Cause if companies make the best free anti-virus software that can be better than the paid ones. How are they going to make money?

And yea, I voted NOD32 as my favorite, cause it's super fast and best engine that I've ever seen. If you don't believe me, read the reviews.

Samuel Wat

Antivirus software should do exactly one thing: stop as many viruses as possible from operating once you've made the mistake of acquiring them. It should do that with as little overhead as possible, with as little hassle as possible, and of course for as cheap as possible (nobody likes paying extra).

I've been a technician specializing in home & small office networks for almost a decade now and I've been recommending AVG for at least half that time for the reasons listed above. It has the smallest footprint of any anti-virus out there, it works better than any of the big mainstream anti-virus solutions, and I can clear out whatever crap they were running before, install it, show that it's done its job, and then tell the client, "and by the way, it's free. If you don't like it, just uninstall it, but I doubt you ever will!"

Know how many people have come back and told me they removed it? Not one, out of hundreds and hundreds of repeat clients. I can trust it to run on any PC, even some of the dinosaurs I have the privilege (from a paleontological standpoint) of working on, without slowing it down. Most times the user doesn't even know it's there; you can't possibly ask more out of a piece of utility software.

Some of the other picks are good; I recommend NOD32 all the time to anyone who has 40 bucks to throw away and doesn't trust anything they didn't pay for. If you can't get rid of or prevent a virus with one of those two pieces of software, though, it's time to take it to a professional who can do it by hand (e.g. me).

Nphyx

Definitely Avast. I wanted something free, easy to use, not intrusive and that would run real time without intervention. I can't remember now why I selected Avast over AVG, but I'm happy in any case.

magnoliasouth

i used clamwin, which is kinda pointless without onaccess scanner. however, i claim to be a careful user, so for that it's not bad. there used to be firefox integration, but to my knowledge the extension is not even compatible with fx 2.x

been using nod32 for a trial time, it made the best impression of everything i ever used. it's only natural, that antivirus companies want you to pay for a period of time, i perfectly understand that. however, the price-tag is to high for me.. but my pick'd be nod32!

yathosho

I enjoy Clamwin

Famf

Polls like this will never generate useful results and will never actually show which is best. People will applaud their own choices and vote for "themselves" and their own judgement. Probably only a few of the voters have actually tried all of the applications.

I've tried the above mentioned (a few years ago, earlier versions), except Avira, and found NOD32 to be the best based on my criteria, which was low memory consumption, low visibility (I don't want constant warnings) and high detection rate without interfering harmless activities.

turbotape

Why do you need them? you are the best antivirus for you computer ;) and the fastest!

smw2

I've used AVG, Avast!, and NOD32:
NOD32 is, hands down, the most efficient and effective AV that I've used, but many folk don't want to pay for what they feel should be a basic function (almost part of the OS); for those folks both AVG and Avast! have worked fairly well for me, and so far I have not seen any viruses get past either in real-world usage. I have noticed one thing that makes me prefer Avast! over AVG - AVG requires reboots very frequently after updates - on my file server which can be running for months at a time, I have gotten into a 'stacked' situation where I will reboot to apply the most recent sigs or patch, then after reboot, I am immediately told there is another update, so I have to reboot again, sometimes as many as 4 or 5 times. If you have a file server or other machine that is not closely monitored, AVG is a poor choice...

dragonsrightwing

I use clamwin on all of my windows systems and clamav on all of my linux machines that are connected to the internet (my firewall is linux I don't need an antivirus on that)

Used to use avg and avg-pro both of which sucked, avast is slow and bogged down mcafee and norton do not deserve to be on this list and I am glad they are not. Nod32 is above and beyond the best pay for version, but I'm cheap.

hoodedrobin1

I had AVG 7.5 at home and work and it was good. But then AVG forced me to upgrade to 8.0 at home and I hated it. It was the biggest system resource hog I've ever seen.

Now at work we are upgrading anti-virus and I happen to be the decision maker. There will be no AVG 8.0 here.

Avast is the one we have chosen.

kranberry

Why is Panda Antivirus never reviewed? IT beats all the competition. Regards, Sean Cole PO Box U291 Charles Darwin University NT 0815 Australia The information contained in this e-mail any attachments is for the use of the intended recipient only and may contain confidential and legally privileged material. This e-mail should not be forwarded to any person without the consent of the sender. If you are not the intended recipient please regard any use disclosure or copying this document as expressly forbidden. If you have received this message in error please notify the sender as soon as possible.

SalmaMagoondo

One very good site that compares a lot of AV programs is this:

[www.av-comparatives.org]

franksands

Vote: Symantec... this is just to make some people crazy.... :-) At home I use Mac, no AV, just a bit of brain (and a personal firewall)... I work in the Security Industry and I used several AV apps. As much as even free AV apps are now really good and you can relay on them, the human being will always be the weakest link. And it will always be possible for one virus to circumvent an AV, and for another virus to circumvent another AV... if you're unlucky you'll catch a virus and blame your (current) AV... if you're lucky you'll not catch a virus, have a nice user interface, and be happy with your AV. Current corporate version of Symantec AV has built-in capabilities for: AV, antispyware, personal firewall, personal IDS, lockdown or monitoring for USB, wifi, bluetooth... custom IDS featurs... it can even get to a full OS lockdown by terminating un-allowed process (all with a central console)... maybe all the home-users will find AVG to be enough (and IT IS) in a home environment, but for a corporation?? What was funny about the 'best 5 av apps' post all along is that an AV app is NOT good just because people (even smart people like LH readers) are voting for the application. A smart computer user might not be enough 'security aware' to understand what's behind an AV (and a virus), so voting is useful as long as you want to determine which is the AV with more fans or with the best hype - at this very moment... I guess I am just a bit paranoid: even smart users (smart enough to choose their own browser, app launcher, email client or calendar), should seek for security advice, instead of just following the crowd... And yes, I am a big fan of open source apps, etc... And again, it's just an opinion, do not crucify me :-) Davide

RodrigoEchion

One of my machines got hit with the Poison Ivy keylogger. I noticed it right away and was able to block it at the firewall but when I started trying to get rid of it I had problems. I started with AVG and it detected it but couldn't get rid of it. ClamWin didn't even detect it. Avast said it got rid of it but it popped up again. Comodo couldn't get rid of it. I finally tried Avira Antivir and it removed it completely. Anecdotal evidence, but it made a believer out of me. I switched to Avira as my full-time AV.

The free version of Avira does pop up an ad for the full version but it only comes up after the virus definitions have been updated. I actually found it a nice notification that my virus definitions had been updated in the middle of the night automagically. Now that I've switched to the paid version I don't get the pop up and kind of miss it.

vtynsfz7hziwahg

I have tried NOD and AVG before switching to Kaspersky(Thanks to kaspersky's six month trial). I plan to buy a license once my trial period ends in november.

Rahul Batra

avast!

reedjaguar

another vote for clamwin here.

jwaller

I have used AVG, Nod, Avast and others....and my favourite is Avast. I used to swear by nod32 but then I got a virus and it couldn't clean it, avast could...so I run it now. :)

pedalhound

Bitdefender for me

coderjay

HOW TO INSTALL AVG 8.0 WITHOUT LINKSCANNER

There is a way to disable linkscanner without the permanent "error" icon in the sys tray.

You have to do a fresh install of AVG, and you need to run the installer from the command line with these parameters:

c:\avg_free_stf_[whatever version info].exe /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSurf /REMOVE_FEATURE fea_AVG_SafeSearch

This will remove the firefox/IE component that checks every link in search engines to make sure they're safe (and slows down your surfing...unforgivable) from installing in the first place. Just make sure to write out the entire file name.

I found this while digging through the AVG FAQ.

Spamuel

FYI, newegg has the ESET NOD32 Anti-Virus Home Edition 3.0 (OEM) for a low $19.99 with $10 off Coupon Code: EMCAGAFDB (Exp 6/11). Free 3 Day Shipping. Tax in CA, NJ, NY, PR, TN.

YvesShooter

Anyone tried the free AOL x McAfee VirusScan Plus? http://daol.aol.com/security/virusscan-plus AOL used to distribute a free rebranded version of Kaspersky that apparently was just as good as the paid version -- this version of VirusScan replaced it.

MagdaleneSabiha

I also use Clamwin and I have never had a problem.

enileda