Antivirus in 2015 for vanilla W2k?

[pointertovoid]

Hello dear friends!

 

I consider putting back a W2k (vanilla, no KernelEx, sorry for that) on my mum's computer because Xp isn't as good, and because a 512MB 1.4GHz PIII runs far better with W2k.

 

Though, this machine must run for years without me nor any significant service nearby, so I consider that an antivirus is necessary.

 

Hence the question: do I find in (soon) 2015 an antivirus with up-to-date virus definitions that runs on W2k vanilla?

 

For instance Avast v7 runs officially on W2k and did a decent job on this machine, but do I still get an install key for a fresh install and definitions updates? Avira maybe, Avg...?

 

Thank you!

[dencorso]

Paid AVG. Once you get a license, you can ask for a downgrade to AVG 9.0... then you install it, upgrade the engine and continue to get definitions updates all right.

[ZortMcGort11]

ClamWin

[Tommy]

Paid AVG. Once you get a license, you can ask for a downgrade to AVG 9.0... then you install it, upgrade the engine and continue to get definitions updates all right.

You do need service pack 4 + Update Rollup 1 for AVG to work though, so I dunno when they say vanilla if they mean the absolute original or if they at least have SP4 installed.

[Cixert]

• I have Avast 6.0.1397  in w2000 SP3 The installation process should be performed without internet connection

[pointertovoid]

Obrigado - thank you - gracias!

 

With vanilla, I mean W2k sp4 r1 plus all official updates more or less. I don't want to install a KernelEx on this machine, because I won't stay near the machine, and worse, other people may "repair" the installation, so it better be standard or nearly.

[blackwingcat]

Hi.

 

Symantec EndPoint Protection 11.7 (3.5 Gen Security soft) or Norton 2006(1.5 Gen Security soft).

You still can update the Virus definition manually.

 

Obrigado - thank you - gracias!

 

With vanilla, I mean W2k sp4 r1 plus all official updates more or less. I don't want to install a KernelEx on this machine, because I won't stay near the machine, and worse, other people may "repair" the installation, so it better be standard or nearly.

 

I want to know more detail . version and environment and problem contents.

If BWC kernel has some problems I should fix them.

 

Thx

[pointertovoid]

Nice of you!

 

This would be a standard W2k without extensions, so no worry for BWC kernel.

[bluebolt]

Paid AVG. Once you get a license, you can ask for a downgrade to AVG 9.0... then you install it, upgrade the engine and continue to get definitions updates all right.

 

For now the free edition of AVG 9 is available to download at filehippo...

 

http://filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus_32/8004/

[sdfox7]

I personally have had a checkered history with AVG; around the year 2011 I had family members that were getting infected, even with up to date AVG. I also began receiving several false positives while browsing which were frustrating. Because of that, I felt I could no longer recommend it.

Things may be different these days, but since then I have been a fan of Avast. It has historically had a relatively light footprint and low system requirements. Avast 7.0 was among my favorite versions, and Avast 8.0 is the last to officially support Windows 2000.

Before proceeding, you should note that some Avast 7.0 and 8.0 functions (sandbox/shields) are unsupported on Windows 2000 due to compatibility limitations of the operating system: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=94069.msg749148#msg749148

You should note there are some steps you should follow when installing these: https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=94069.msg749148#msg749148 and https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=149894.msg1089834#msg1089834

 

FileHippo and other similar sites claim to have these old versions, but they in fact link to and download newer versions.

If you are interested, I had the presence of mind to archive these in 2013, and they are digitally signed by Avast:

 

Avast 7.0: http://sdfox7.com/2000/avast/avast_free_antivirus_setup_7.0.1474.exe

Avast 8.0: http://sdfox7.com/2000/avast/avast_free_antivirus_setup_8.0.1489.exe

 

The link for a free registration key is here: https://www.avast.com/registration-free-antivirus.php

Once you download either of these, the manual update module (universal for Avast 5.0 through 8.0 and updated daily) is available here: http://files.avast.com/iavs5x/vpsupd.exe
 

Edited November 29, 2015 by sdfox7

[bluebolt]

Avast 8.0.1497 for W2k is also available on tomasz86’s Google Drive.

 

I’ve been using AVG 2012 on XP, but recently AVG--under the guise of a “Program Update”--has pushed out some horrid thing called AVG Zen.  It can be a little tricky to get rid of (you need to uninstall AVG Protection before uninstalling Zen).  Run a tool called AVG Remover to really do the job right.  Then you can reinstall 2012 (turn off Program Updates to bar Zen) or install an earlier version.

 

Not sure which one I’m gong to go with for W2k Pro, but I was pleased to come across these AVG full installers on filehippo, because indeed most sites claiming to have the old versions simply link to (what turns out to be) the newest version.

Edited November 29, 2015 by bluebolt

[Tommy]

 

Paid AVG. Once you get a license, you can ask for a downgrade to AVG 9.0... then you install it, upgrade the engine and continue to get definitions updates all right.

 

For now the free edition of AVG 9 is available to download at filehippo...

 

http://filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus_32/8004/

 

Does anyone have problems with AVG 9 Free? Whenever I update it to the latest definitions...for the last year or so, it basically renders the program useless, nothing works on it. It runs but I can't scan and it brings up a bunch of errors when you first log into Windows.

[bluebolt]

Does anyone have problems with AVG 9 Free? Whenever I update it to the latest definitions...for the last year or so, it basically renders the program useless, nothing works on it. It runs but I can't scan and it brings up a bunch of errors when you first log into Windows.

 

I noticed the errors at log-on when I test-installed 9 yesterday and assumed it was the particular W2k installation (it has some quirks).  I haven’t tried a scan yet.  And 8.5 had some problems, too.  Could be something in the old unofficial W2k package, I will eventually test it with HFSLIP2000.

Edited November 29, 2015 by bluebolt

[bluebolt]

Tommy, I just tested on a vanilla W2k Pro machine (SP4 and Update Rollup, nothing unofficial) and AVG 9 installed and ran perfectly.  All the components are green, updating works fine, and I’m running a scan now.

 

So I suspect that there’s something in the unofficial packages that is the problem.

 

[Tommy]

Tommy, I just tested on a vanilla W2k Pro machine (SP4 and Update Rollup, nothing unofficial) and AVG 9 installed and ran perfectly.  All the components are green, updating works fine, and I’m running a scan now.

 

So I suspect that there’s something in the unofficial packages that is the problem.

I've been wondering that myself, thanks for testing! Although my package is a bit old so it might be fixed in a later released but maybe BlackWingCat can look into it?