Whats the best anti virus software for windows xp?Im not using it on a mac but figured this would be the best place to ask
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best antivirus?
- Thread starter iSaygoodbye
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AVG free is what I use. Does a good job. The best advice is don't go to weird websites or download weird or strange .exe files.
I don't use Windows since January 24, 2008, but when I used this OS, Avast! Antivirus was a good choice, it's free.
I always liked AVG free - once installed, it pretty much looks after itself. Doesn't hog system resources unlike some other anti-virus software. Norton, I'm looking at you...
AVG Free. It's all I've ever used and I've never had a virus affect any of my windows installations. I have had to fix computers for people who did, and after I fix them I always install AVG free.
I like the way it looks after itself too. Especially since I'm usually installing it for people who know nothing about computers, and I don't want them calling me.
I like the way it looks after itself too. Especially since I'm usually installing it for people who know nothing about computers, and I don't want them calling me.
On a side note, when using VMware or Parallels to run Windows virtually, most of the time I don't use any anti-virus programs.
Rather, after getting my image updated, I just make a backup copy. Then if my Windows VM gets hosed, I just trash the image and duplicated a new one from my backup. Takes 5-10 minutes. Without AV software, my Windows PC runs faster.
YMMV.
Rather, after getting my image updated, I just make a backup copy. Then if my Windows VM gets hosed, I just trash the image and duplicated a new one from my backup. Takes 5-10 minutes. Without AV software, my Windows PC runs faster.
YMMV.
Comodo is good. Its not very simple, but it has the best firewall i've ever seen (and its free!) and its A/V is great as well.
For what it's worth, on this old Windows 2000 PC we were using AVG, but it kept getting lots of tojans and other things that apparently AVG Free didn't stop or even recognise when performing a scan, let alone get rid of them..
We switched to free Avast instead and it seems to warn about a lot more things and recognise more things, but still lets stuff slip through.
In either case, I still have had to manually trawl through the RegEdit to delete mentions of weird nasties, although less often with Avast.
BUT
I have no idea whether that's actually a flaw in AVG and/or Avast, or simply a flaw in Windows 2000 (I should say that the Windows Update has never been run on this machine since we're using a dial-up connection and it would take MONTHS to download the updates - this computer will be binned when Snow Leopard is released anyway. I'm only forced to use this Windows machine because my Mac still runs Mac OS 9 and my utterly hopeless, soon to be gone, ISP no longer supports it for dial-up connections!
).
I do also have "SUPERAntispyware" and "Malwarebyte's Antimalware" installed to be able to run scans occasionally, but neither of those recognise all the nasties either.
The best option is to simply not use Windows at all (or if you have to, disconnect it from the Internet). We are all intelligent enough to have choosen Macs!
We switched to free Avast instead and it seems to warn about a lot more things and recognise more things, but still lets stuff slip through.
In either case, I still have had to manually trawl through the RegEdit to delete mentions of weird nasties, although less often with Avast.
BUT
I have no idea whether that's actually a flaw in AVG and/or Avast, or simply a flaw in Windows 2000 (I should say that the Windows Update has never been run on this machine since we're using a dial-up connection and it would take MONTHS to download the updates - this computer will be binned when Snow Leopard is released anyway. I'm only forced to use this Windows machine because my Mac still runs Mac OS 9 and my utterly hopeless, soon to be gone, ISP no longer supports it for dial-up connections!
).I do also have "SUPERAntispyware" and "Malwarebyte's Antimalware" installed to be able to run scans occasionally, but neither of those recognise all the nasties either.
The best option is to simply not use Windows at all (or if you have to, disconnect it from the Internet). We are all intelligent enough to have choosen Macs!
For what it's worth, on this old Windows 2000 PC we were using AVG, but it kept getting lots of tojans and other things that apparently AVG Free didn't stop or even recognise when performing a scan, let alone get rid of them..
We switched to free Avast instead and it seems to warn about a lot more things and recognise more things, but still lets stuff slip through.
In either case, I still have had to manually trawl through the RegEdit to delete mentions of weird nasties, although less often with Avast.
BUT
I have no idea whether that's actually a flaw in AVG and/or Avast, or simply a flaw in Windows 2000 (I should say that the Windows Update has never been run on this machine since we're using a dial-up connection and it would take MONTHS to download the updates - this computer will be binned when Snow Leopard is released anyway. I'm only forced to use this Windows machine because my Mac still runs Mac OS 9 and my utterly hopeless, soon to be gone, ISP no longer supports it for dial-up connections!
I do also have "SUPERAntispyware" and "Malwarebyte's Antimalware" installed to be able to run scans occasionally, but neither of those recognise all the nasties either.
The best option is to simply not use Windows at all (or if you have to, disconnect it from the Internet). We are all intelligent enough to have choosen Macs!
you are all rich enough to have chosen macs.
you are all rich enough to have chosen macs.
WOW!!!
It doesn't have anything to do with riches. It is an investment. When I used PC I had to think of them as expendable items because they were outdated so quick. Usually within a year or two they were either outdated or parts were failing. With Apples the quality is such that 5-10 year old systems are still being used and the resale value is still pretty high. I might pay a little more up front but I am spending far less in the long run.
I would also recommend AVG, BTW...
-JC-
Then stop buying cheap parts. I have two Pentium 3 laptops laying around my house that still work as new. I also have a handful of 1.8ghz Pentium 4 towers (the speed isnt important, just a dating reference. The 1.8ghz was the best available when these were bought) that work as new as well, with original ram, video cards, and everything.
Im still voting for Comodo though.
Kaspersky Internet Security is very good and offer 30% price-cut when you renew the subscription.
I use AVG Free on my Windows partition too, just for peace of mind. Although when scanning, it does slow down the system quite a bit for me.
I am considering doing just this... because I rarely use my Windows partition, and when I do, AVG has to update, scan, etc. and it costs me time. I do keep a clone with WinClone, so this is probably the best solution for those of us who dual boot occasionally.
On the Mac side, I use common sense and nothing more. ClamXav is available if you share files with PC users regularly, but it isn't something I use regularly.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Kaspersky
I vote for Kaspersky when you look at their site it is incredible the amount that it does, it is the best in all its fields pretty much, and has an impressive response to new threats.
Kaspersky site
I vote for Kaspersky when you look at their site it is incredible the amount that it does, it is the best in all its fields pretty much, and has an impressive response to new threats.
Kaspersky site
I've had great luck with Windows Live Onecare. It doesn't hog resources the way Norton seems to.
Avira Antivir is one of the best free antivirus softwares. I've pretty much only heard positive reviews about Avira from people who switched over from AVG/Avast.
I've also used AVG and Avast in the past, but I find Avira much better.
x2 for Avira. Very low-key, not resource intensive at all, and takes up about 10MB while running in the background. I use Windows for gaming mostly and it has had zero affect on performance.
AVG is crap, but better than nothing. With today's modern computer there's no reason not to run some kind of anti-virus on Windows. Gone are the days of slow-downs and Pentium II's.