I have used most of these programs and I can safely say I voted for NOD32.. with Kaspersky personal as close second.

Some criteria to consider:

accuracy
ease of use
user friendly GUI
frequency of virus def updates
unobtrusiveness
low memory fingerprint
speed

NOD32 exceled in all areas that mattered. Kaspersky Pro narrowly lost my vote since I found the professional version (using default scanning) too slow and it used more memory.

Norton. Just one reason for that.

In the 3 years that i've been using it, I haven't gotton one Virus.

zone alarm all the way

I like Kasperky, it kept my machine clean of viruses n crap (what i know of ) and it was easy to use

but at the moment i have Zone Alarm Secuitry Suite installed, its doing a nice job, firewall and antivirus combination is always good

Panda rulez the world!! That thing has daily update, smart firewall, everything runs under control. By the way, i dont think that speed, should be taken into account, since you should look for quality OVER speed.

Panda:
daily updates; // Around 50 updates per day
ease of use; // Easy to set up the firewall, virus scan, and stuff like that
precision; // Accurately detects virii, every time i scanned, not one missed =)
low proccessing power; // User has an option to keep panda running longer, but eating less CPU power. A very useful option, especially if you are working with something, and scanning at the same time.

Personally, Panda is the best choice for anyone who asks me. Buy/Get it. It is essential for any system under my control. U'll feel the same.

Tim

The criteria were in no particular order of importance.

Speed can be an issue (NOD32, AVG are fastest) since it can increase boot time, ties up computer resources, reduced productivity. But not most important factor. LIkely add feature set, activity reporting, documentation as other criteria to consider.

P.S. Vasko, obviously you work for software company since you endorse PAnda. May want to try other products to make comparison.

"The criteria were in no particular order of importance. "

And i didnt imply that it was =) You just said that speed should be considered, and i am saying, that one shouldnt really pay much attention to it, since the scan happens only once in a while, and does not loop, so its not a considerably important factor. Yet if a program is 'fast' then i guess its only a plus, and not something that one should be ashemed of.

I dont really work for a Software company, i basically own one =) Not that i released anything yet, but i am planning to, soon. Anyway, I tried McAffee, Norton, Panda and Kaspersky, and from those, i chose panda, as my best choice.

Also can you please explain why you feel such strong association between panda and software development?

Anyway. A lot of personal preferences come into account, so it is hard to really judge this kind of software.

Regards,
Tim

Well.. my regular system scans are more "then once in a while" I maintain dozen networked computers on a company LAN so more fast efficient scheduled scanning is a definate plus.

Yes, it's just matter of opinion and specific preferences. Anyway, good luck with your company. Cheers

I'm just curios, why didn't you like McAfee? It's fast, easy-to-use, unobtrusive and the most important: reliable! I can't say the same things about Norton AV and BitDefender...
VirusScan, Personal Firewall (from McAfee, of course ) + Ad Aware SE can solve (almost) all security issues.

I agree! But not McAfee, I prefer the AVG 7.0 OEM just because it has been my antivirus protection program since i've this computer (about 6 years) and there has been never infected. (okay Inoculate IT at the beginning for 1-2 months) Every possible infection is detected, regular (daily now) updates, easy-to-use, smart & fast.


Yes, I can't say it too...

And of course I agree with your opinion: Antivirus software + Personal Firewall + Ad-Aware SE

But... there is a factor called 'human being' and i think it's the most important

Well i dont know what you guys are talkin about!

Norton is one of the best i've ever used!

CHP, I like AVG pro 7... but don't recommend the free version.

I used to use McAfee/Norton for years...just because they are two most popular in retail market.. doesn't mean they are the best. If you have a fast 3GHz computer and lots of RAM .. you likely won't notice any slowdowns/memory usage and virus detection accuracy is above average.

"It's like having a ferrari in your garage... but you don't take it out for a spin." I find some people ignorant or just don't know any better. They are better alternatives out there... but "like a nice pair of leather gloves... if it fits well and is comfortable... why change your style?"

Norton has been problematic for some...I won't touch their bloated software suite that can be hard to get rid of. Its live subscription is a joke. I like more advanced antivirus without the pretty eyecandy interfaces. NOD32 I use is only 8MB download... can run on a 486 computer. And yet its top in industry earning its record setting 29th Virus Bulletin 100% Award and detects trojans upon connection to a website.

Enough of my rant, try the trial version for yourself. More info can be found here:

Yes, I was talking about the full version. The free version obviously has some disadvantages or lacking features. But at least, there IS a free version available, nice thing from Grisoft.
And absolutely agree with you in connection with Norton, you've written the reasons why I dislike it, consider it not reliable, stable and so on.

NOD is similar to AVG, great ones!

I don't really like McAffe because i believe you have to pay for the updates yearly, and it is just too much to bother about. It tries to implement a lot of features, which are basically all combined in a simple, good looking interface in Panda. Also, McAffe eats up a lot of resources on my machine, and i really need them, especially ram, judging by how many memory leaks my programs have, the amound of RAM used grows exponentially, untill the program crashes, and with McAffe running, i loose most of my chances to debug, because i do not have time to test.

So far the situation is pretty bad, since i have to create a lot of models, and i dont free them up (because of the way i exported scripting functions)

So the ram usage is really important.

i don't use a big name anti virus software my ISP provides me with one that i like so that is what i use.

Norton is da powerfull and always up2date

No nO, norton can't disinfect viruses such as w32.jeefo... Kaspersky can!! Best is kaspersky

Kaspersky Antivirus Personal Pro 4.5 is still the best in my opinion: the highest rate of detection in the world and a customizable installer.

Avast Home Edition is a vey good free option.

Ive tried many Anti virus programs and found that Norton was the most reliable. Ive had McAfee but it slow my computer down unbelievably and AVG, well that cant detect Adware. Can it?

For Adware you should use special programs - they are much better than an AV.

Best choices are Microsoft AntiSpyware, SpySweeper and Lavasoft Ad-Aware. For advanced users there is a great tool: HijackThis.

No, AV weren't designed to detect adware. This poll is about antivirus programs.
Please try to stay on topic.

i like mcafee anyway.kaspersky for second. they update daily,with largest virus lib.
tks.

Have used Bit Defender. Norton - Systemworks Premier 2005, AVG, Panda Titanium, Zone Alarm, McAfee, Kaspm Avast, NOD32 and have to say that from my experiences and noted results from Gizmo at TechSupportAlert, a Paid ware is more effective than notpaidware, though if you use multiple layers your protection gets into 95%.
NOD32 claims 100% and it has been for my already cautious ways, but in testing, NOD32 scores about 85-90, Norton 80-85, and AVG is in the 75-80. I was surprised that NOD32 is low on the polls here. I jumped to NOD32 after some tempermental Systemworks 2005 Premier experiences, and went to Bit Defender which is swell, but NOD32 seems to suit my suite of machines. (I administer a 250 desk LAN/intranet/VPN at work and have a 4 desk LAN/WLAN for home slavery.
My uses are digital graphics, multimedia and digital audio./sequencing...)

Nice forum here,
Chris

I'm one of the few who voted for NOD32. But then again, it's for more advanced users and not as popular or commercial as the others.
BTW, the new 2.5 version is quite good.

I think all programs Antivirus it is same but the best what you like....

I tried McAfee, Norton, Panda, AVG (free edition), Kaspersky, Avast found out that most of it greatly slow down my PC!! " i dont have a high tech PC as i'm not rich, still using Celeron/P2 CPU with 256MB RAM or less.

As for me i doesn't advise installin McAfee neither Norton!! It was resource hunger!! If you can stand the performance of an x386 / 486, then i have nothing to say about it. Every newer version getting worst, more RAM eaten, more CPU processing timeutilized!

AVG is doin well, at least for me, wat u can expect for a free things?
Kaspersky is very good in detecting virus, even AVG, McAfee or Norton detect the virus hidden in my PC. And the best is it come with a free version too others are not worst saying!!

fyi. not inflected with virus for few years has nth todo with your antivirus progrm actually!! u can be very cacious ppl, only login website check mails (web-based) & never d/l any attachment, I too can be free of virus for my whole life without any AV software installed! Beside that nomatter how good the AV s/w company are, they will still lated in detecting new virus! there no 100% any AV detect a new virus! It just depend their responce to new virus treat & update, if the are slow or you are so up-to-date you still get inflected! (no new detect/clean of virus if none PC was inflected!!)

Nod32 seem a good choice for my very low end PC (no $$ to upgrade), will check it out

McAfee VirusScan Pro beats the field and eTrust EZ Anti-Virus a close second.

norton is the best!!

4 years and no virus's!!

shocked!!!!

ı think norton is very bad

Kaspersky Antivirus is the best protection for your computer, i have used it for a year and never got a trojan or virus on my computer 10/10 The best.

hii .. about me ..mm !! .. i like kaspersky antivirus .. because i tried many antiviruses like noton and panda .. ok .. no big problems with it .. but my big problem that they work very heavy in the pc .. not like kaspersky .. when i put it in my pc i love it realt because it work like i think .. i can say kaspersky is the best antivirus for me sure .. lol

I have AVG. Where would I find AVG pro 7 "free"
And where would I find this kaspersky also? I am new to this site and I am loving it so far.

Don't ask for illegal pirated software on this forum!
The Rules are clear.

i think Kaspersky

McAfee is usless wile having it it got seven trojans and a nice WORM!!!! that really screwed up my comp but with AVG I have yet to have a problem.

I prefer Zone Alarm...Why?
Because it's the most simple and much safer program. That's my opinion.

I see a lot of people here are using Norton...well i can say one thing...when I wanted to stop using it...I needed to find Norton remover prog...it some kind of hack prog that erases all traces of that crapy antivirus prog...cause..all the time it requested me to go on internet...and even it trys to reopen itself hundert times although it was nowhere to find (removed from comp.)...what an waste of money it was

Has anyone got Windows Live OneCare?

Well I gave it a try..it didn't seem all that good. I'll stick with AVG from now on.
Although it was still the Beta, it really never worked all that well for me anyway.
Others may say differnt.

NORTON IS NOT GOOD FOR ME... It needs more memory and it slows down your computer... But I haven't decided yet what is good for my computer...

Virus is not such a big problem with the right equipment.Adware, spyware,malware, this are the BIG problem.I have pretty much good stuf, Nod 32, Otpust firewall, trojan hunter and Ashampoo spyware with the other best programs in the background (for scanning) and I thought I was protected.But a couple day ago I got Xoftspy and I ran it.It found 137 issues!!!Mostly it was adware but never the less!The point is that you CANNOT be 100% protected!!!It's just impossible!

No doubt about it Kaspersky has the best detection of viruses which is the most important thing

According to the latest issue(sept 2007) of Consumer Reports Magazine the best antivirus software is Trend Micro. Here's the complete list from the article:

(1) Trend Micro ('PC-cillin') Internet Security 2007 (now referred to as "Trend Micro Internet Security 2007")

(2) Check Point ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 7.0

(3) McAfee Total Protection 2007

(4) McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007

(5) Microsoft Live OneCare

(6) BitDefender Internet Security 10

(7) F-Secure Internet Security 2007

(8) Symantec Norton 360

(9) Symantec Norton Internet Security 2007