Best free antivirus?

[spudtrooper]

MSE MSE and MSE :)

Avast got slow, AVG i gave up on after x64 fiasco and the rest are severely bloated

[+bomberh Subscriber²]

MSE MSE and MSE :)

Avast got slow, AVG i gave up on after x64 fiasco and the rest are severely bloated

+1 :yes:

[BeerFan]

I'm trying out PC Tools Free AV on a VM right now. Seems fairly lightweight, quick, and semi-configurable. It's rather ugly-looking, though, and the Upgrade spam all over it is obnoxious.

[garychencool]

I say AVAST but I heard that AVG got better....

[Guest]

MSE, used to be AVG.

[Max Veteran]

MSE for Vista/7

Avast for XP

[hardbag]

Avast 6 seems very good. Avast 6 is very advanced compared to Avast 4 or 5. Avast 6 is very lightweight compared to 4 or 6.

Panda cloud seems interesting.

But sticking with Avast6 for now.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I say AVAST but I heard that AVG got better....

AVG has NOT gotten better, i just uninstalled AVG off of a computer a couple days ago and installed MSE on it and it instantly detected 4 viruses on that computer during the post installation quick scan

Avast 6 seems very good. Avast 6 is very advanced compared to Avast 4 or 5. Avast 6 is very lightweight compared to 4 or 5.

i have to agree, they've done a great job with Avast! 6 :)

[PGHammer]

I'm loyal to Nod32 and think it is better all around, but read this thread for more insight.

MSE if you run Windows, ClamAV for Linux or OS X.

The issue I have with ESET/NOD has more to do with false-positives than anything else. (While ESET/NOD are more friendly to early in-testing versions of Windows, they also tend to get triggered into spewing false-positives due to code bugs - therefore, I have to back-scan suspect code outside the testing OS, and take those alerts with a mine the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats.)

[yowanvista]

MSE :whistle:

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Did you every try contacting their virus lab to get them resolved? When I come across something like that, I typically notify them and get it dealt with in a day (or sometimes less).

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

MSE if you run Windows, ClamAV for Linux or OS X.

The issue I have with ESET/NOD has more to do with false-positives than anything else. (While ESET/NOD are more friendly to early in-testing versions of Windows, they also tend to get triggered into spewing false-positives due to code bugs - therefore, I have to back-scan suspect code outside the testing OS, and take those alerts with a mine the size of the Bonneville Salt Flats.)

[mepetri]

Avast is the best one.

[garychencool]

I've tried AVG and it started to run faster than before. I remember it used to add an entire minute in the boot time. And that it lagged like hell. But now it seems better.

But my main Free AV would be AVAST.

[hardbag]

i have to agree, they've done a great job with Avast! 6 :)

They most certainly have. And Avast 6 is getting an update very soon, which makes it even more great. 6.0.1044 is the latest pre-release version.

Here's the list of the most important changes:

New in v6.0.1021:

- solved an incompatibility with ZoneAlarm (WinXP)

- improved installation of the WebRep plugins (especially Firefox)

- solved a crash condition in the avast sandbox

- setup programs now smaller by ~20%

- Community features and the Welcome screen can now be turned on/off directly from program settings

- solved an incompatibility with Outpost firewall

- solved a bug related to the AutoSandbox offer (WinXP)

- gadget can now be removed by simply closing it

- new setup icons

New in v6.0.1027:

- attempt to fix new compatibility problems with GameGuard and sXe _rootkits_

- SafeZone improvements

- localization updates (including WebRep)

- improved sandbox logging)

- SafeZone is now a standalone setup package (can be installed/uninstalled separately)

New in v6.0.1035:

- solved Firefox WebRep plugin on non-English Windows

- solved a few incompatibility problems in BehavShield (e.g. TeraCopy)

- improvements in password processing

- improvements in the program uninstaller

- sandbox improvements

- fixed various UI issues introduced in the previous pre-release build

And new in v6.0.1044:

- solved a memory leak in the avast gadget

- solved a few things in WebRep

- autosandbox-related fixes

- WinXP: File System Shield not doing repetitive scans anymore

- improvements in SafeZone isolation

- improvements in the avast! sandbox (better TDL shielding etc)

- localization updates

I like it that password protection is one of the best features in Avast. Some viruses and trojan were able to shut down AV, but shouldn't be a problem anymore with password protection.

[lamminium]

As far as features, detection and performance go, Avast 6 is the overall winner for me. :)