My mom just got a computer that runs windows so she needs protection. Bodhisamaya's thread from last year had many people in favor of Avast!, but I thought I'd ask about it here as that threads a little dated, and the title is about Norton. Is Avast! still the peoples choice?

Seeing as many of you here are knowledgeable about this kinda thing, your advice is appreciated.

Yes.

Personally I use Microsoft Security Essentials. Free, uses little resources, doesn't nag you, just does the job. Perfect.

Seconding MSE. I'm an advanced computer user and MSE does the job.

I haven't used a virus scanner in years, I wonder if I'm part of a botnet...

Yes.

The best virus scanner is yourself and knowledge of how to use a computer/the internet.

I use McAfee, which I'm sure will get flamed. I agree, I've heard a lot of bad stuff about McAfee but I only use it because I get a top of the line version for free from my dad's company. I've never needed to use it for a virus. I run a virus scan once every week or so; that's about it. I'm no computer expert but I hear if you change your mind about McAfee, one of the biggest issues people have with it is that it's apparently a royal pain in the ass to completely uninstall it from your system.

Never used Norton, but I've honestly heard almost nothing but complaints about it.

I've heard AVG free is a good one for your basic protection.

Not an anti-virus program per se, but Malwarebytes Anti Malware has been very successful in removing viruses off some of my friend's computers that the major anti-virus programs couldn't detect. It's free too, although I do believe is there is a better paid version available.

Long story short and my opinion: your own knowledge will serve you better than any program ever will. Know what you're doing on the 'net, stay away from shady and unfamiliar websites, don't click popups, don't download stuff unless it's 100% trustworthy, don't accept any random anything if you don't what it is/what it's for/where it came from.

Most of all, teach yourself about how viruses are most commonly received, what forms they may come in, etc. This all seems like stupid basic information but your average comp user nowadays has no clue just how dangerous the Internet really is. It's the stupid simple mistakes that get people viruses 90% of the time. It pains me everytime I hear some clueless person cry about a virus they got and when you ask "well, what happened?" They respond "well this really cool popup asked me to download this, or go to this website." It's sad to see.

P.S. If you have an older computer that you don't use for much; use that as your guinea pig. I have a 2 year old laptop that I recently replaced with a desktop a few weeks ago that I built. I only use my desktop now for Japanese, basic internet surfing, and all offline work. If I need to go check out unfamiliar sites (for watching anime, for example) or download stuff I'm not sure of (torrents,etc.) than I do it on my laptop. Not a luxury everyone has, but something to keep in mind.

Thanks for the responses -

So far two votes for MSE, and kazelee dropping a yes on Avast! (right?). I'll wait a day or two and see if more people want to weigh in before I choose one.

Thanks for a thoughtful post Offshore. I agree, knowledge and smart actions are key to being virus free. She mostly uses her computer for word processing, doesn't download stuff, and is pretty savvy about emails and clicking pop ups and links, so I think she's in pretty good shape.

I just use a mac, and as far as I've heard viruses aren't a problem. However..... does anyone know more about that and care to drop some knowledge? My cousin who is a computer guy, and has a mac, told me I didn't need anything, and just to be careful about what I open etc. Jdoramas is mostly the only torrenting I do via via D-addicts, and I don't open any emails I'm not sure about.

I'll add a vote for MSE.
It's free and it works really well, what more could you ask?

I put it on my sisters computer (first computer she's had), and she still hasn't caught anything. But I also gave her a good lecture about being careful with installing stuff and about putting CRAP on the computer.

The UAC warnings that windows pops up (that everyone was complaining about in vista) are a good help for people who don't know what they are doing. Whenever that comes up and asks for your admin password, then just know that by signing off on it and typing in your password, you are POTENTIALLY running malicious software on your computer. You should only agree if you understand why its asking for that password, and if installing something, understand WHAT you are installing. Otherwise, its best to ask someone who knows this stuff, first.

http://linuxmint.com/

I cast my vote for MSE too. Of all the virus scanners I've tried through my lifetime, this one seems to be the least annoying. And it works too.

I must say ESET's NOD32 does a good job so far.. Never came across MSE - is it really worth trying (free?)..

Avoid crap commercial virus scanners that bloat up your system. Also avoid always-on virus scanners since they'll halve your system speed. Just get in the habit of scanning anything that is suspicious.

I use ClamAV, but since there are no propagating viruses for OSX (just a two or so one-time trojans that no longer work) I don't bother with it much unless I'm getting something from a really untrustworthy source.

Jarvik7 Wrote:Avoid crap commercial virus scanners that bloat up your system. Also avoid always-on virus scanners since they'll halve your system speed. Just get in the habit of scanning anything that is suspicious.

With Avast, I think the web and email shields are probably useful, and they don't seem to slow down the system very much. The option that scans every file on opening does slow things down a lot though, and besides removable media it may be useless, because if it didn't catch the virus on the way in, why will it catch it now? This is a good time to mention disabling autoplay for removable media (and if not using an on-access scanner, remember to scan any writeable media that's been on another computer before opening it).

http://www.avg.com/us-en/homepage

AVG. Download the free version, doesn't bother you to buy anything, and it works well. Been using it since I got this laptop in July 2009 and have had no viruses or anything.

1. Avira (free and does the job).
2. Kapsersky.
3. NOD32.

Of the free ones out there I have used Avast, AVG, and Avira. Satisfied with all three and never noticed much of a difference between them.

http://www.av-comparatives.org/comparativesreviews/

you can read their reports on different kind of tests and make your own decision. Its the only online resource that I trust

The best virus protection you can get yourself is a mac