What AntiVirus/Firewall to use

[Ben_j]

I use Symantec Antivirus Corporate. It's light, really efficient, and I never had any problems/viruses in the last 2 years with it.

[leadboots5]

NAV 2009, its quite nice. I have windows firewall, but I haven't configured anything so its just out of the box.

[DKasler]

I'm currently using the Microsoft Security Essentials (Beta) and like it a lot.

[teknokrat]

I was an adamant user of Avast for the last couple of years and it's a great AV but had many false positives which irked me to no end. Since then, I've tried Microsoft Security Essentials and have completely had a change of heart. It is a thorough active AV with a small footprint and scans reasonably fast. So far I've had no false positives and no unwanted intrusions to my system. I heartily recommend it.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Microsoft-Security-Essentials.shtml

Try it!

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/microsoft-security-essentials-review-with-screenshots/

Review!

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.mspx

Updates!

Edited August 26, 2009 by teknokrat

[extremepilot]

none, scan my computer every few months though with various AVs only to find nothing

[x-Shadow-x]

Default Firewall and NOD32.

[Drazick]

I would use Windows 7 Firewall and Microsoft Security Essentials.

[neowillendit]

I must add my two-cents here...I use Kaspersky's Beta Technical Preview...trust me when I say that even though it's labeled "Beta" it's only because customer service wont support it. It works perfect since I've installed it about 4 months ago. I ramp the heuristics to deep, and allow it to only scan hard drives and do removable drives manually. Current version is: v.8.0.0.1082 available here: http://ftp.kaspersky.com/beta/kavwks8.0_for_windows7/

Beta is usable for 90 days without new key issued by Kaspersky (somethimes happens on time...sometimes not).

No offense to others, please understand that in my experience the built in firewall has let me down numerous times so please don't trust it. Also do not depend on Windows Defender as it catches nothing that Kaspersky wouldn't have blocked as spyware like 4 weeks prior. Best to disable it under "Services" and get some CPU cycles back.

Good luck...

[DonDamm]

The test results on Security Suites are pretty enlightening. They all fail miserably somewhere. So, use one of the best AVs and one of the best firewalls and you will be better off. Avira is consistently tops in the AV world, though the support is weak and the interface is so-so. I like NOD32 overall and especially for their good heuristic and non false positive scores.

For firewalls, check out Matousec (www.matousec.com) as they are pretty definitive when it comes to firewalls and firewall testing.

Edited October 18, 2009 by DonDamm

[Craig321]

i am about to uninstall Avast Anti Virus to test if it fixes the occasional hanging bug i have

so what do i use now?

the windows 7 firewall good enuf?

avg anti virus good?

The Windows Firewall on its own is more than good enough if you're not bothered about controlling outgoing applications. If you do want control of every program requesting access to go in and out then I'd recommend Comodo. There is some software that will make it easier for you to create allow/deny rules per-application using Windows Firewall: http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/index.html

ESET NOD32 for Anti-virus.

Edited October 22, 2009 by Craig321

[ajua]

Windows Firewall is good enough but people like to have an icon in systray so they try a lot of firewall software.

Perhaps it's good enough. But it's so darn difficult to even come close to configuring it. I have yet to figure out what it all means in the configuration. Not to mention that it's a workout trying to find the settings. It's really for IT pros and not the casual home user.

I use Comodo Firewall because I understand it. I actually have both Windows Firewall and Comodo active at same time. Never had a problem. (As a matter of fact, installing Comodo does not deactivate Windows Firewall so I just happen to run both.)

People say not to run two at same time but I can't find any concrete negative effects of running both.

Maybe you can have some network latency issues with both runnning and scanning traffic. That is if you use bandwidth-intensive devices/applications.

I must add my two-cents here...I use Kaspersky's Beta Technical Preview...trust me when I say that even though it's labeled "Beta" it's only because customer service wont support it. It works perfect since I've installed it about 4 months ago. I ramp the heuristics to deep, and allow it to only scan hard drives and do removable drives manually. Current version is: v.8.0.0.1082 available here: http://ftp.kaspersky.com/beta/kavwks8.0_for_windows7/

Beta is usable for 90 days without new key issued by Kaspersky (somethimes happens on time...sometimes not).

No offense to others, please understand that in my experience the built in firewall has let me down numerous times so please don't trust it. Also do not depend on Windows Defender as it catches nothing that Kaspersky wouldn't have blocked as spyware like 4 weeks prior. Best to disable it under "Services" and get some CPU cycles back.

Good luck...

I have been a Kaspersky users from many years. Although I try security software from each time companies release new versions, I have always come back to Kaspersky Internet Security.

They already have a Windows 7-supported version of KIS and KAV. Version 9.0.0.736. While all the technical previews and even the official releases worked fine, this latest version improved its performance quite a bit.

For people that has no intention to pay for solutions, I found Microsoft Security Essentials good enough and has very little footprint. However, its effectiveness remains to be seen. We will find more as more users start to use it.

About Windows Firewall, I agree that its configuration its really a PITA for users to tweak it often. I haven't tried some application (can't remember the name) that controls Windows Firewall and allows you to configure rules or applications in a much user-friendly way.

[coucou]

Hi all,

Since the above post dated October 2009, most of you has acquire a better experience with Winows 7 AntiVirus/Firewall.

I just start using Windows 7. I'm from many years Symantec Endpoint Ptotection user.

I red about all the the above, and ask myself:

Do I continue using Symantec Endpoint Ptotection or strat using MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) and/or Windows Defender?

I'll really appreciate your advice.

Regards

[CoffeeFiend]

Winows 7 AntiVirus/Firewall

There is no such thing as Winows (or Windows ) AntiVirus. There is none. There is a built-in firewall though (which is plenty good indeed).

Do I continue using Symantec Endpoint Ptotection or strat using MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) and/or Windows Defender

It totally depends. Symantec Endpoint is an enterprise product, meant for centralized management and centralized updates and such (and it's not dirt cheap either -- starting at over $50/year/PC).

MSE is a product licensed for home use only. There are no centralized updates or management as it's a home product. I'd still rate it WAY better than Symantec myself despite being free. If you need/want something for work, Microsoft also makes something similar to Endpoint (i.e. the same type of features/licensing) called ForeFront.

Windows Defender is something rather different. It's mainly an anti-spyware tool, not an antivirus.

[coucou]

TNX for all thes good infos

[Arrow22]

Hands down, Avast.

Great silent installer as well.

Most Home users like the notifications as well.