Windows What is currently the best anti-virus software?

Hi Guys

Just a quicky

Whilst I've used MSE for years and never had an issue I recently did some googling and realised that none of the polls recommended MSE over 3rd party options like Avast and AVG.

Is there a reason for this and if so, should I switch to one of the others?

Thanks

 

I use Microsoft Security Essentials too. I don't know why it's not rated, but it seems OK to me.

 

Been running MSE since it came out, now using windows defender on W8.

 

The team behind it have shifted their focus elsewhere so it's no longer as good as it used to be. As a result it dropped down the rankings in tests and became a baseline. It's still good enough for a geek who has good computing practices i.e. you know how to navigate the web and handle your data safely. But for the average user who will likely come across something malicious accidentally or the techie who handles infected data/machines they will need a third party anti-viral software. Nevertheless even the geek could still do with having the additional security.

If you're going the paid route then I recommend Kaspersky or BitDefender. The former being available for free to Barclays current account holders (3x 1-year licenses + 1x mobile license).

Otherwise see how they rank in tests:
http://www.av-test.org/en/home/
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
https://www.virusbtn.com/index

 

Am I allowed to say common sense?

I use MSE and have no issues, but then i don't do anything dodgy on my machines

 

Comodo security suite, for free it's very comprehensive and very configurable, AV and firewall, probably a bit too hands on for those that just want to install and forget but if you want a good degree of control over what's allowed in and out of your PC and need to port forward for gaming etc it's got it all.

 

Kaspersky here too, and I recommend it.

I was going to post a link to AV-Comparatives too but I see ferret141 beat me to it.

 

Bullguard and trend micro

 

Linky
Order it by protection. F-Secure is the best at protection but like a couple of others loses out on performance and usability (I'm looking at you slow Norton ).

Overall Kaspersky and Bitdefender are the best giving great protection and little performance hit whilst also being nice and easy to use.

If you're a Virgin Media customer you can have F-Secure free for a year.

 

Norton must have returned to the ways of old again. Their 09-11 were fast.

 

I don't bother to install any other. I think the basic protection included in Windows is fine, and it doesn't chew up lot of system resources like many on demand anti-virus for Windows. I also think it's more effective to run an offline live linux based AV periodically instead. I usually use Avira but there is many other. Since the AV is not installed as a program on the OS you are scanning for virus, it's not possible to hide itself from the scanner.

 

Quoted for truth.

And I also only run MSE.

 

The best: Kapersky, followed by NOD32 by ESET
The cheap: Avira
The manly: MSE (while clicking on any dodgy pop-up link going while shouting: "Come at me, bro!!!")

 

Something like this.

In my experience:

- MSE is fine combined with good practice, a bit of knowledge and an up to date browser/OS.

- Avira (or Avast) have been fine for people who don't necessarily have the above but don't want to pay.

- Haven't used Kaspersky for a while, but when I did it was okay and it's highly rated. Plus, as mentioned above, it's free if you have a Barclays account.

 

If it's free AV your after just go with MSE. If it's paid for then look no further than Symantec.cloud Endpoint Protection. Trouble is you need a minium order of 5 to get it

 

Thanks to all, guess I'll stick then.

 

You know you can have the anti virus part of Bitdefender for free right? A bajillion time sbetter than MSE.

 

I've been using Bullguard for a while. I will admit it's because of naughty reasons but I like it.

Basically I wanted to use Windows 8 without paying for it. I missed out on the (IMO) correct price for it (£50 or what not) and just could not pay the £120 odd they want for it now. Any way, MSE deleted the boot hack and killed it so I needed something else.

I bought a year's license for Bullguard (with a DVD and case) for £4.99 on fleabay and I really like it. Again, it's good if you are lazy because it performs loads of operations with one press of a button (disk cleanup, registry cleanup etc). Obviously you can do all of that manually but it is nice just to press one button

 

BullGuard is excellent and cheap, if you know where to look!