What is the best anti virus (free if possible)

[John_R7]

Evening folks. I have been reading recent PC threads and noticed mention of Avast.
I run AVG (free version) but am starting to wonder if there is something better, so:-

• What is the best free AV software?
• What is the best bought AV software?
• Is it best to buy one or are any free ones just as good?

Thanks for any replies / opinions :thup:

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Avast Or Avg :thup:

 

[Hobbit]

Penicillin, but you'll need to be either pregnant, over 65 or benefits to get it free...

Sorry, i'll get my coat

 

[John_R7]

:rofl: Damn, struck out on all 3 (thankfully!)

 

[GreiginFife]

Penicillin, but you'll need to be either pregnant, over 65 or benefits to get it free...

Sorry, i'll get my coat

Or in Scotland...

AVG user here, does exsctly what I expect it to do.

 

[Rumpokid]

If it is free, may not fully protect your PC..For a few quid it's best getting something like Bullguard ,Norton etc....Afterall, no doubt the stuff you want protection for is invaluable eh?

 

[guest100718]

AVG is decent, its never let me down. We run symantec at work and it missed a virus recenlty causing us much grief!

 

[Foxholer]

I use Avas (free)t, which does everything I need.

Did get a touch 'bully-ish' about certain Browser Add-ons - no explanation of what they did that caused issues - but otherwise fine - and lean.

Had Norton/Symantec for many years, but found it was too greedy on resources.

You might get tired of AVG (free) trying to sell you other products, or the 'paid for' version! Avast is relatively benign in that regard.

 

[Beezerk]

Avast, seems to get top ratings on a lot of websites.

 

[upsidedown]

Avast :thup:

 

[MarkE]

Panda for me. Have used them all over the years. I would'nt entertain Norton even if it was free. Avast and avg have both become bloated over the years. Panda just works without fuss. No need to use a paid for program, the virus definitions are the same, you just pay for the extras.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Panda is definitely up n coming.
Avg used to be the best, then they started adding "features" and it became bloated.
Avast is unfortunately going the same way, but is still good to have especially as it is good at blocking Trojan infected websites.

Whatever you use, I would also download the free version of Malwarebytes and run it every 2 or 3 months or if you feel that you have a problem

 

[Smiffy]

If you end up paying for one, I can thoroughly recommend Vipre.
Have been running it for a good few years and it's brilliant.

 

[vkurup]

I got Symantec Total for about 100 quid to cover 5 devices across the family for 3 years... Not a bad deal. You gotta haggle with them - a bit like calling Virgin and threatening to leave..

 

[John_R7]

Cheers guys. I will probably stick with AVG. If I start to get issues I will switch to Avast.
Will also look in to Malware program from philthefragger.

MIL runs AVG (I put it on) but she managed to get some mad program (search protect by conduit) installed that was (hopefully gone) a pain.
Probably more to do with her than AVG to be honest. Uninstalled the program and ran a couple of malware programs as The Internet told me uninstalling was not enough. I also uninstalled and re-downloaded browsers and ran a couple of virus checks. She reports it is much better today.

 

[John_R7]

Downloaded Malwarebytes - cheers philthefragger.
My PC - clean as a whistle.

MIL PC had 25 detected objects until it came to 'Heuristic Analysis' when it managed to go like a pinball machine and run up a final score of 2192, 1 of which was malicious.
Thanks for the 3rd time :thup:

 

[BrizoH71]

Bitdefender 100%

They have a free AV product on the go, but for me it is worth paying the money for the full security suite. Not badly priced, and if you keep an eye on the likes of HotUKDeals, you can often pick up a free license for 6 months.

 

[Captainron]

What's the deal with iPads and this sort of thing? Remember Mac going on about them being 'virus free' or something like that?

 

[guest100718]

I have recently put the mobile version of AVG on my android phone seeing as I use it for banking and other stuff. MACs have only ever been virus free because there was no point in targeting them as so feew people uses them. Thats changing though.

 

[Fyldewhite]

I bank with Barclays and get free Kaspersky Internet Security for up to 3 devices. Have used this for a good few years with few issues but (like Norton) it can get a bit processor hungry at times. Used AVG before that and it seemed OK.