Which Anti virus software should I use on laptop?

[53Crëw]

Hey guys, what do you recommend for antivirus software? I need something for my new laptop and kinda feel like Norton (which I use on my desktop) is too resource intensive...

Any of the free ones a safe bet? (Haven't tried AVG, etc. in a long time.)

Cheers.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Kaspersky Internet Security Suite, been using it for years and it keeps my computer running super smooth (not excessive system resource consumption)

 

[kev]

F-secure has been good for me over the last 3 years. Good all in one firewall/anti virus solution.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Employ you're common sense. I know it's an annoying response but it's true.

Kaspersky is you're best bet if you're intent on using one, probably the least resource intensive.
Great company.

 

[HCL]

MSE?

 

[LeSedna]

Avira AntiVir, for sure ! Free and performs better than almost all paid ones

Troll mode : OsX

 

[Jind]

MSE?

I'm in the Microsoft Security Essentials camp as well. It's free, it has done a good job for me and it has absolutely no noticeable overhead on my DAW. Compared to early Microsoft efforts, they did much better than I ever imagined they would do with MSE.

 

[AD Chaos]

Avira AntiVir, for sure ! Free and performs better than almost all paid ones

+1

Noticeably lighter than Kaspersky, too

 

[Deofig]

Microsoft Security Essentials is the way to go. Never had any issues and it's light on resources.

 

[XxSicRokerxX]

Avast

 

[53Crëw]

Good suggestions, guize. Thanks for the help!

 

[Terminus]

I've used quite a few in my lifetime, and for ease of use and being the least annoying and bothersome ime, I'd have to say Microsoft Security Essentials.

 

[JHA]

Microsoft Security Essentials here too.

 

[kaomao]

Yeah strangely MSE works fine

 

[Ashgarth]

NOD32, lighter than Kaspersky and works great.

 

[DanLights]

Never tried MSE, so far I'm an Avira guy, works fine and super light, the annoying pop-up ad every once in a while doesn't bother me, but it might bother you, it never really goes in front of what you're doing, and usually only pops up when turning on the computer

 

[sinewavealex]

As an internet security industry guy, I would recommend saving your $$ and get some plugins/gear instead of an AV.

Haven't been using an anti-virus for years. In my dayjob, I find it totally inefficient in detecting new malware. My only guideline has been not visiting websites I don't trust, and not opening suspicious documents.

I'm not pretending to be an expert know-it-all, this is my personal point of view. The threats out there can circumvent firewalls and trick AV engines (even to the extent it will seem updated to you, but in fact, its signature database would be a few months old...). And that's just one example.

food for thought:

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/03/antivirus/

"The problem is that most criminals are smart enough to test their attacks against popular antivirus products. There’s even a free website called Virus Total that lets you see whether any of the most popular malware scanning engines will spot your Trojan program or virus. So when new attacks pop up on the internet, it’s common for them to completely evade antivirus detection."

on the other hand, there's this:

http://blog.eset.com/2012/03/05/security-professionals-do-use-anti-virus

"Though it’s not true to say that AV relies on static signatures and detects only known malware, and all the other stuff that's parroted year after year by people who should know better. In the real world, a decent AV scanner (or, better, an internet security suite) and some common sense are still a lot better than nothing."

All I know is that I haven't been running an anti-virus in any of mine or my wife's PCs in years. It's a relief not dealing with typical AV software pains.
The downside of this approach is that it may work for security-savvy people, but not for regular users who can be tricked into accessing a malicious website, or running a suspicious file.

And of course it isn't efficient against AV-stealth equipped threats.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Again... I agree^^

 

[bryan_kilco]

Avast

+1

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

See, I obviously know better than to go to any suspicious sites, run suspicious scripts/programs, etc., but I remember for example a few years back when I reformatted my computer and was reinstalling everything; I opened the browser to download all my free software again (from legit sites of course), only to find out that a virus had somehow wormed its way onto my computer just through that, and it was causing it to try to shut down on its own (this timer kept popping up), and I had to download a Microsoft security update to get rid of it.

Granted, this was ages ago (pre-MSE, maybe even pre-XP), but it was enough to make me adopt a better safe than sorry mentality! (and like I said, Kaspersky's impact on my 4 year old machine's performance is acceptable)