Best Lightweight Anti-Virus?

[Seahorsepip Veteran]

eset runs very fast when using the business version and a lot of changed settings :p

[TEX4S]

eset runs very fast when using the business version and a lot of changed settings :p

I heard it was extremely difficult to remove - 2 people said you actually had to call ESET and get a removal code - but other than that it was great software.... is that true ?

[DudeBro]

Common sense is the best antivirus, but I don't know if its lightweight haha. Jokes aside, just use MSE and scan with Malwarebytes occasionally and be done with it.

Personally, I haven't gotten any kind of malware since 2004 but thats because i'm just more careful. Most malware and viruses nowadays are delivered through social engineering tactics like phishing scams, fake emails and stuff. I'm Still surprised how my less techy relatives just catch a bunch within a few months after I clean up their computers. What the heck are they clicking that i'm not? I don't even run the background scanner and just do manual scans monthly.

There isn't one security software to rule them all. It's best practice to use different layers of security. The the most popular choice these days is using MSE and Malwarebytes in tandem. Maybe combofix to remove the nastiest of nasty but at that point reformatting is easier. If you use firefox. then have noscript and adblock with appopriate filters. Not sure if Chrome has a noscript equivalent but i'm sure you can disable javascript by default and just whitelist trusted sites. Make a system image to restore OS to clean state because system restore is unreliable against malware. Better of disabling that to free up resources. Maybe crank up UAC level, but thats just like adding more padlocks to your door but idiots still allow the axe murder inside. I prefer doing it the canadian way and just disable UAC and leave the doors open. The internet has been a friendly place to me lately.

With all that said, ask yourself when was the last time you caught anything bad. Do you really need the "best" or "lightest" antivirus? Was there any virus or malware that infected your PC and you wished you had a certain security software that would have detected it? No? okay just install MSE and scan with malwarebytes and move on. Maybe there will be something better in the future but at the moment the popular free choice is MSE + malwarebytes.

If you DO get infected a lot and your computer get's slow thus finding the need to get lighter and better security software, then get better web browsing habits before anything else. When that's done, Use MSE and scan with Malwarebytes.

Oh and did I mention MSE and Malwarebytes.

[inactive]

MSE for Windows Vista/7

not much reason to use anything else if you ask me. it's simple and to the point without any extra BS. you can't even tell it's there which is always a good thing as you basically just install it and pretty much forget about it.

using that along with NOT downloading a billion different program is always a good way to avoid virus etc.

and as others have said... NO reason to pay for a anti-virus software nowadays when MSE holds it's own against the best in general (as i would imagine the difference in detection rates of MSE vs other top AV software is minimal) and like i was saying... just don't download a billion different programs you don't trust and that alone will drastically lower your chances of a virus.

and personally i am against running a billion different types of software for getting rid of virus or malware etc. just use common sense and only use programs you KNOW are legit (which is usually known FREE apps) and odds are you will be fine.

[TEX4S]

OK - OK - let me apologize for that blanket statement about MSE - It was a bit of sensationalism, I admit.

Dude - I think your post was great - you showed you know what youre talking about (those damned java exploits :angry: ) - so your opinion has some weight to it - on the contrary when someone says its the best - and cant give a good reason why - that bothers me

Regardless - Lil Wayne - take everyone's advice - but the ones who you feel know a little something about what they're talking about - pay more attention to those ;)

[yowanvista]

NIS2012, minimal impact on system resouces.

[devHead]

never said anything about it being from MS as the problem (you have me confused with an mac user or nix user I think) BTW where did you come up with that anyway ?

- and you have no idea if the reason you have never been infected has to do with your browsing habits or your use of a freebie A/V

The worst thing about it is people who say its the best because someone told them it is & thats all they know about it... OR its because they do nothing but go from youtube, twitter, to facebook & remain uninfected & think its because of that great A/V software.

There have been so many threads about this crap - look em up - its a solution for those who want a free one, thats it. Tell me in your experience what makes MSE the best ? Because it didnt let the trojan army come through ? Because it didnt blow up your computer upon installation ?

When people say "oh its great " that is hardly conclusive. or " i have never been infected" - Think it might have something to do with your browsing habits ? I gave examples of how good the new webroot Secure Anywhere is.

I didnt say it was bad - I said it was far from the best, and not to listen to anyone stating it. was. the. best.

I didnt even use A/V for 6 months - never had the slightest infection - you see why I think your arguments lacks ? But Im sorry if it ticked you off - but I have a lot of reasons why its not the best - and I dont want someone who is asking for help to get bad advice. If it works for you - then awesome ! If you were a little more adventurous in your browsing - you might not be saying its the best ? See my point ?

Ah, Ok. Yeah I can dig that.

[Japlabot]

MSE can be a bit slow on a Pentium 4 if there is not enough RAM but if you have a Core 2 or above, or your P4 has enough RAM then it is not a problem. Works nicely on Windows XP. If you have issues on XP, it's because it's probably a Pentium 4.

[Royalty]

Well I went with the majority of the votes - MSE. Thanks guys and problem solved.

[Seahorsepip Veteran]

I heard it was extremely difficult to remove - 2 people said you actually had to call ESET and get a removal code - but other than that it was great software.... is that true ?

takes around 20sec to remove on windows rofl, I don't understand those stories... maybe it was about the server version :p

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Can I ask what you hate about it?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I'm switching away from ESET Nod 32. I hate it. Sorry guys.

[Royalty]

Hello,

Can I ask what you hate about it?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

The resources that it's using and some other annoying things.

[Madmanden]

Personally I use MSE and PrevX. I also have Hitman Pro on standby (Hitman Pro is like a secondary on-demand scanner). All three solutions are lightweight and fast.

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

That's interesting, as ESET NOD32 Antivirus is usually considered to be fairly lightweight. One thing I've noticed about their software is that it works a lot better if you perform a fresh install when upgrading to a new version, as opposed to installing over the previous version. Also, if you were running a different AV program before installing it, you really have to make sure that all traces of it are gone before installing ESET. Of course, they pretty much applies to any AV software when switching between different products.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

The resources that it's using and some other annoying things.

[Raa]

I heard it was extremely difficult to remove - 2 people said you actually had to call ESET and get a removal code - but other than that it was great software.... is that true ?

There are no issues removing ESET, they even have a removal tool which i've used a few times to reinstall when a virus has totalled a system.

As for it using resources. Lol. Seriously?

I've used it for years for many customers and it's always been extremely efficient.

Talking Norton : If you base NIS on just 2 services running in your task list, you haven't done all your research about it I'd say.

[.bin]

NOD32 ftw. Just sayin'.

[TEX4S]

Guys, I dont want to sound like a lame ass fanboy, but I think if you try Webroot's Secure Anywhere 2012 - you might change your tune.

I havent ever been impressed by an A/V before. Now I can see why many reviewers & experts are calling it the absolute best there is.

30-day trials

[+Warwagon MVC]

Guys, I dont want to sound like a lame ass fanboy, but I think if you try Webroot's Secure Anywhere 2012 - you might change your tune.

I havent ever been impressed by an A/V before. Now I can see why many reviewers & experts are calling it the absolute best there is.

30-day trials

Ya, I was watching some prevention tests on Youtube last night about it.

[Raa]

I dunno if i'd be sold on a web-based antivirus... Sounds like too much "could" go wrong. :/

[+Warwagon MVC]

I dunno if i'd be sold on a web-based antivirus... Sounds like too much "could" go wrong. :/

From what i saw with panda cloud AV last night ,it was also pretty light weight and did pretty good.

[TEX4S]

I dunno if i'd be sold on a web-based antivirus... Sounds like too much "could" go wrong. :/

Ya I know. I had a Webex with a sales rep & an engineer of webroot. My first question was If its cloud-based, what happens when my employees arent online ? They said along with the heuristics engine there is the sandbox feature that will automatically be implemented if a process starts acting funny. Whenever a program/file is introduced to the computer it is checked with a database to see if it is known & OK, if it isnt then it is allowed but under a sandbox enviro - if the program/file proves to be legit - it is whitelisted. If it is unknown & starts acting like malware the sandbox feature can roll back any changes the file/program did.

Of course the way they explained was much more elegant. Since their Enterprise pkg is still in Beta - most of the examples were using the consumer-based version. But the 2 are the same software with the Enterprise version had more tweaking and remote management abilities. The consumer version has a remote console but is limited into what you can do.

[offroadaaron]

I dunno if i'd be sold on a web-based antivirus... Sounds like too much "could" go wrong. :/

Corporate Sophos via the web is awesome, hands down one of the best (note the word "one") we use it at work and it is kick ass!

Compared to some of the products we've used we don't need to put basically any exclusions in and it picks everything up quicker than all the other software we have used.

I must admit though I'm really liking the look of this webroot AV though! I wanna go with that but we only just signed to Sophos (which we're happy with though).

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Yes, but only when you choose the option to password-protect the uninstallation option and then forget the password.

Otherwise, remove via Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel, or via the Uninstall icon off the program's Start Menu entry. As with other antivirus software, a reboot may be required at the end of uninstallation.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I heard it was extremely difficult to remove - 2 people said you actually had to call ESET and get a removal code - but other than that it was great software.... is that true ?

[Ignuition]

I was going to say no MSE but I guess all of you guys convinced me to use it again! Thanks!

Good call, I used to avoid MSE but I have had zero issues since I've started to use it.

[Royalty]

UPDATE!!! MSE is working great for my computer now. Thanks for all the suggestions and I think I'm going to stick with MSE for a while! :D