McAfee??

[rh100]

McAfee and Norton???? NNNNoooooooooooooooooooooooooo! That is all I can say really about them.

Kaspersky is good - but it keeps killing my Vista pc so needs investigation. Is fine on the XP machines though.

Avira is quite good, no firewall though is there on the free version?

I tried the microsoft one when I had a demo version of Windows 7, the mrs was on facebook for about 10 minutes before the thing was riddled with malware, i reckon she should be a tester for these anti virus companies

Can anyone recommend one for Windows Home Server? I'd be willing to pay if it was good enough.

 

[CopperBrompton]

I used to use and recommend aVast, but it got quite bloaty in recent versions, so I've now switched to Microsoft Security Essentials after it was recommended by my techiest IT manager friend. :-)

 

[on the road]

I use Kaspersky on my Windows XP desktop and on my Windows Vista laptop and have never had a problem.

 

[JtB]

My McAfee license is due for renewal and it seems a bit expensive so this thread was really helpful all - thanks.

At a glance, it seems a summary of your recommendations is as follows:
Avast - 4 (free)
Microsoft Security Essentials - 3 (free)
Kaspersky - 3 (free for Barclays customers)
AVG - 2 (subscription & free versions)
McAfee - 0 (avoid)
Norton - 0 (avoid)

Based on the above, I think I will give Microsoft Security Essentials a go.

Once again, thanks all.

 

[Manonabike]

I agree with this. Keep both of those off your machine and experience your computer back up to the performance it ought to be. They are big heavy programs which severely slow down your PC.

I've used Kaspersky and that was good, but since that expired I just use Avast free, and am very happy with it.

HN

Edit: Also check whether your ISP offers anything, like Virgin do.

+1

I had just given the +1 but I'll go further I think last week I bought a netbook and it came with Macfee..... the very first thing I did was to remove it. You would not believe how many entries it had left "quietly" on the registry. Well, I'm glad that I got rid of it.

I have been using Avast for the last 4 years i think and so far quite happy with it. I only ever had one problem with it and that was my fault for not reading the advice "in a rush to get on with some work" - before that I used to use karpersky, maybe for 5 years.

 

[gbb]

Just adding a thought...
I've always used Norton, have done for years. I often see its not liked, so i dont doubt theres something in it, but i really cant remember ever having problems with it..i tell a lie, i did once when i did a re-install. It was a bugger to get it to allow the usual stuff i do/visit, but once i got it set up it ran ok and i i never even know its running.
It doesnt slow me down, it perhaps does take a little longer when booting up (but even then, maybe it doesnt when compared to other protection)...i have no issues with it.

I'm not recommending it, i'm not against it, just airing my experiences with norton.

 

[HLaB]

I've used Norton a fair bit (when I say used I mean it was running ;-) ) At the moment though as part of the uni's IT suite I have McAfee for free. I cant really say if its better or worse though none have ever found a virus. My mum uses Kapersky on her laptop it has found a lot but hopefully that is down to the users. On my other PC I run Avast it has blocked things and touch wood in the 4 years its been on the machine its never had a virus (or none that I know about ). Out of the packages that I have used I think I'll be putting Avast on this laptop when McAfee runs out it seems to be the best but I'm not an IT expert.

 

[JtB]

last week I bought a netbook and it came with Macfee..... the very first thing I did was to remove it. You would not believe how many entries it had left "quietly" on the registry. Well, I'm glad that I got rid of it.

Any hints on how to get rid of all traces of McAfee?

 

[on the road]

Type "Regedit" in the Run command and go to "Edit", "Find", and search for McAfee.

 

[Manonabike]

I've used Norton a fair bit (when I say used I mean it was running ;-) ) At the moment though as part of the uni's IT suite I have McAfee for free. I cant really say if its better or worse though none have ever found a virus. My mum uses Kapersky on her laptop it has found a lot but hopefully that is down to the users. On my other PC I run Avast it has blocked things and touch wood in the 4 years its been on the machine its never had a virus (or none that I know about ). Out of the packages that I have used I think I'll be putting Avast on this laptop when McAfee runs out it seems to be the best but I'm not an IT expert.

I have not used Norton for years but Norton was the first AV I ever purchased..... that was a lonnnnnggggg time ago though

When Norton was up for renewal I felt that I wanted to find out if there was a better alternative out there and as you do, I read as much information as possible on the subject but at the end I felt even more confused ..... lots of people would recommend Norton, others Mcfee, etc. Then, I had a thought, finding out what "the enemy" thought of it so I followed 2 or 3 hackers forum and the answer to my question was clear Norton was the hackers fav AV to disable without no one knowing. I'm glad to say that most AV don't allow that now. So, in view of the new information I bought Karpersky and installed it in my other pc..... more or less at the same time one of the guys let me have all the tools to put the latest backdoor together.... no AV new about it yet so I downloaded a new backdoor via email on both computers and the thing managed to disable the AV on both PCs ..... now the difference is that Karpersky pick it up after about a week but Norton never did, well, my licence expired after 5 weeks or so and in that time it never picked the backdoor and I did several scans.... No idea how good Norton is now but the best lesson I learnt while trolling those forums was how you pick a virus..... and the tricks these people do to spread a virus. So, having an AV these day is just essential.


Not sure these forums are still allowed, I doubt it, but most of the people there had a challenge and the challenge was to bypass all the big corporations behind the AV and also Micro$soft. There were also a few nasty ones that would take pleasure in ruining somebody's day.

 

[woohoo]

Any hints on how to get rid of all traces of McAfee?

Download and run MCPR.EXE from the McAfee site.

 

[swee'pea99]

In case it's of interest, in a related vein....just did a clean reinstall of Windows on my desktop PC, then added:




Avast

Advanced Systemcare

Defraggler

Spybot S&D




All free, and keep your pooter happy.