Oh shit, free Kaspersky!?! I'm downloading this, already got the activation code. Does it have any limits VS the original version? Banners or something? I can live with banners for Kaspersky, awesome, thanks a lot!

Ok, new recommended antivirus on my list is AOL AVS and not Avira Antivir then

'Been there, done that'. Verdict: Kaspersky, Anti-Vir, BitDefender, Pc-cillin in that order.

IMO BTW - no flaming! =P

EDIT: Norton never makes the list..ahahahaha - stupid bloatware. I can't tell you how many problems i've had with that sorry excuse for a program. Where'd they get their IT/engineering degrees anyway? Off the back of a cereal box? (i couldn't help myself >D)

I´d still wanna put AVG up there...2nd or 3rd. Good performer and it´s free.

I never had trouble with PC-Cillin, but McAfee and Norton are jokes to be sure. But if you use the AVG free version, is that enough protection, along with using the ZoneAlarm free version?

I'll try this Kaspersky (AOL...), but I don't recommend the new Trend Micro Internet Security 2007, at for someone with a 1.8 Ghz Duron processor like me. For some reason, it is processor-intensive and seems to use your processor a lot (unlike the Trend Micro IS 2006 version). I can't understand what's the big difference.

Thanks for the recommendation deanimator!

I ran AVG + Zone Alarm together for a year...no problems at all.

Only changed a couple of months ago when I got this one year trial of Kaspersky, and had to uninstall ZA...runs very well, but uses more resources than AVG.

At this point, I don´t know if one set up is better than the other. At the end of the year I´ll have to decide, but who knows what the situation will be then...the top AVs have changed places several times in the last 2 or 3 years.

I prefer COMODO Personal Firewall over Zone Alarm Free. Works great with AVG here.

Also, about AOL Kaspersky... sounds promising, but I don't use my paid version of Kaspersky 6 because I had some issues with it. They were known and I was sick of waiting for them to fix them. I do think they are addressed now, but I have been happy with AVG Free for a couple months. No intention to switch back yet.

I run behind a router with its own firewall + ZA Free + AVG Free + Spybot + Ad-Aware + Ewido. Not a problem in 2 years.

I think everyone would like FREE AntiVirus and Firewall solutions, I know I would.. At the same time I also look at the resources needed to run these
programs since speed and memory is very crucial for me.. Kaspersky/AOL AVS is very good but uses up lots of resources to run in the background and scanning is slow.. If I were to go with a FREE solution for my needs, Id probably pick AVIRA AntiVir for its low overhead and good heuristics engine.. I use Eset NOD32 because its built in assembly making it a very quick and efficient but because its a paid for solution, it probably wont be on your list if your looking for a free alternative..

For free firewalls Id use Jetico v1 if your looking for a basic low resource firewall, Comodo Personal Firewall for a great UI but heavy resource and ZoneAlarm for an in between of the two..

A paid solution that Ive been trying is Outpost v4 which I find pretty good also and its not that resource hungry.. It includes a spyware filter/Ad filter/Content Filter which is a nice plus in a firewall..

The best way to decided is to test them for yourself.. Because program vendors are constantly updating their software, one program may end up being better than the other down the road..

AVIRA AntiVir's good heuristics engine has a tradeoff:
False positives are not uncommon.
Several computer magazines have confirmed this.

Good blocking of spyware, nasty cookies, and a reg clean-up here.

Notice that it is the Give Away of the Day team, which means the software must be downloaded and installed TODAY within the 24 hour period...21 hour left as I write this.
I´ve run it...and it seems to be fast and effective.

Thanks for the reminder, I always forget about the Software of the day. I am trying the Advanced window care pro right now. I also use avg 7.5 free and spyware terminator along with spyware guard and spybot S&D's tea timer. I am thinking it is a bit of overkill.

I absolutly hate spyware. If I jack up my systems performance because I do something stupid, that is one thing, but someone else hijacking my system? That is just evil

By the way...there will be a new comparison available any day now...

This link takes you to the last report produced in November last year

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seite...se_2006_11.php

Yes, you can scroll down to "To get an overview of the comparatives, we summarized them in tables. You can find them here." and see how the AV's finished in the Feb. 2007 test.

M$ AV is real bad

Geeze. No love at all for Norton. Gotta say, I've used Norton, McAfee, Avast, AVG, CA, and Anti-Vir over many years, and I always seem to go back to Norton (or SAV, especially on Vista). McAfee is certainly the worst. Avast is quite nice, and I think the best of the free alternatives, but my father got a nasty infection while running Avast that led to all sorts of spyware and trojans. Took me darn near half a day and about 6 different tools (special thanks to Ewido, BlackLight and HijackThis!) to get his system fixed. I think this was an anamoly, but I switched him to Norton after that anyway, just to be sure.

The 2007 Norton versions are big improvements from the 2006 versions, which were quite bloat-ful.

For those of you interested in Kapersky Internet Security Suite, they just came out with a " Vista Version" V 6.0.2.614 and it works great. It installs right over your exsiting version with no upgrade fee at all. I really find this product at least as good if not the best I have ever used.

Speaking of Norton...

...just when you thought they were dead in the water...sinking...sunk...a goner

READ THIS

yup...sounds not too shabby...

I had pretty good luck with Avast! I had been using the corporate version of Norton, which protected my computer about as well as a thong protects your sack. Avast kept me protected very well. The downside being that it would take hours to do a total computer scan. And it would use so much system resources that I couldn't do anything else. But, I never had an infection up until last year when all those IE exploits started popping up. Then I had to switch.
I switched over to BitDefender. Its been good as far as keeping me clean of viruses and trojans. However, every time it updates it sucks an inordinate amount of system resources. So I have had to disable the automatic update and do it manually.

I use AVG free edition. It is an ideal solution for a PC with less memory etc

Anybody had trouble getting an activation code for AOL AVS? I've tried a few times over the last couple weeks and never get an email from them.

might wanna re-check in the spam/trash folder , maybe your spam filters are just set too high , on the other other hand maybe your mail provider blocks em from some reason , try to get another activation code and this time just use this as email , anything@dontreg.com , after its sent just goto www.dontreg.com and input the user for example if it was "anything" then put that.. and it will just let you in (its a disposable email service,basicly for avoiding spam but usefull for some other stuff too)

Hummm...still can't get it to work. I'm using Charter webmail and there aren't any spam filtering options. I tried to re-register (more than once) through dontreg.com and that didn't work either.

Hey...I uninstalled my Zone-alarm a couple of months ago and guess what...


NOTHING has happened ...regular scans and stuff and not a whiff of a nasty

and, a lot less aggro!

Hmmm...anyone else noticed that maybe Zonealarm is not so useful?

no dean, i use it & it seems ok

My ISP gives me Computer Associates (CA) and it's a lot like ZA and i have no problems with it. I also use McAfee on one of my pc's and it works fine too.