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Best windows vista anti-virus


winvispixp

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12 hours ago, winvispixp said:

What's "the best" anti-virus program that is compatible with windows vista including the extended kernel in your opinion and why? (Free and paid options, preferably free ofc :angel)

Not AV, but I suggest you take a look at Malwarebytes Free 3.5.1 which I use on my Vista system (I use it instead on AV). You can automate scans via Task Scheduler. Also, I used to use Avast Free AV (it still receives definition updates on Vista and XP), but it suddenly became glitchy at a point of time. Don't know whether it's just my issue though.

One more suggestion: take a look at Clamwin AV, a wonderful, open-source AV that supports Windows 95 (yes 95!) through 10.

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26 minutes ago, Win10-Hater said:

One more suggestion: take a look at Clamwin AV, a wonderful, open-source AV that supports Windows 95 (yes 95!) through 10.

never heard of it, i'll take a look

 

27 minutes ago, Win10-Hater said:

Malwarebytes Free 3.5.1

 

 

I think it would be the best option but does the realtime protection work after the trial ends?

29 minutes ago, Win10-Hater said:

Avast Free AV

I was thinking last night about it. I remember seeing people using really old versions like 7.x or so. I know it still receives definition updates but what are the main differences between 7.x and latest supported? 

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I do not use extended kernel, but I have followed those threads and can tell you that very little has been written on the subject of antivirus compatibility, so perhaps there is a real need for this thread. Dixel once suggested Malwarebytes 3.5.1 here, but did not specify free or premium. Only Malwarebytes Premium (i.e. the “trial”) has real-time protection, and btw their protection scores are not very good in independent tests, and 3.5.1 is a very old version now. If you wanted to use Malwarebytes only as a free on-demand scanner and use a real antivirus product as your main AV, then I would suggest version 2.2.1. It included an option to deselect the trial of premium during installation, and did not include the ransomware protection that did not work on Vista or XP. Edit: Definition updates for 2.2.1 were cut off in 2022, so stick with 3.5.1.

If the idea of the extended kernel is to allow one to use any software that supports Windows 7, then in theory you could try current versions of any antivirus, since they all support Win7. (Avira plans to end support for Win7 and 8.1 at the end of 2021.) Of course in actual practice, an AV that does not properly support your OS can cause serious issues, so you should back up your system before installing an AV.

Edited by Vistapocalypse
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11 hours ago, Win10-Hater said:

I used to use Avast Free AV (it still receives definition updates on Vista and XP), but it suddenly became glitchy at a point of time. Don't know whether it's just my issue though.

If it was a question of the best free antivirus for vanilla Windows Vista SP2, then Avast Free 18.8 would be my recommendation. (For more information and official download links see End of support for Windows XP/Vista at Avast Forum.) However, the original post states, “including the extended kernel,” which might break Avast for all I know. Avast system requirements formerly specified SP2 (and of course no longer mention Vista at all), so I wouldn’t suggest Avast for those who feel that service packs slow down boot time too much. (I believe Malwarebytes only called for SP1 or above in those days.) Avast 18.8 had a BSOD issue with build 6.0.6003 which I mentioned here, but Avast released a micro-update to resolve it. If installing Avast on build 6003, it might be best to use an online installer rather than offline due to the micro-update.

11 hours ago, winvispixp said:

I was thinking last night about [Avast]. I remember seeing people using really old versions like 7.x or so. I know it still receives definition updates but what are the main differences between 7.x and latest supported? 

Avast 7.x no longer receives definition updates (see Versions 8 and lower no longer supported at Avast Forum).

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9 hours ago, winvispixp said:

I don't know if this is the best option but I went with Kaspersky Free 18.0.0.405.

The issue with it is that I couldn't install it in a vm but on my real pc it works just fine

To be clear, your real PC is running Vista x64 with extended kernel? Kaspersky 18.x officially supported Vista and XP, and there have been reports that 19.x worked on vanilla Vista despite no longer officially supporting it. Of course those are not current Kaspersky versions.

A general point: Kaspersky only submits their paid products for testing by independent labs, so the free version may or may not be anywhere near as good. (Avast Free has been regularly tested, and protection scores are only slightly below paid versions of Kaspersky.)

Edited by Vistapocalypse
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  • 1 month later...

Since this thread has been bumped...

On 1/22/2021 at 12:57 AM, winvispixp said:

I don't know if this is the best option but I went with Kaspersky Free 18.0.0.405.

The issue with it is that I couldn't install it in a vm but on my real pc it works just fine

You reported “Kaspersky crashes” in your January 25 post in the lengthy extended kernel thread. Was that issue ever resolved, perhaps by the latest version of extended kernel?

@VistaEX recently posted here that “avast can get definition updates now” [with the latest extended kernel?], although he later edited out the remark after I quoted it two posts below. I wonder what version number of Avast he is using with extended kernel, and if he might be inclined to share any other details with us?

6 hours ago, SevralT said:

Try Security Essentials. I am using this anit-virus.

I have certainly tried an extremely old version with vanilla Vista as recently as July 2019, but it would not be my recommendation. By all means share further details about using MSE with extended kernel if you would.

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On 3/5/2021 at 10:57 AM, Vistapocalypse said:

Since this thread has been bumped...

You reported “Kaspersky crashes” in your January 25 post in the lengthy extended kernel thread. Was that issue ever resolved, perhaps by the latest version of extended kernel?

@VistaEX recently posted here that “avast can get definition updates now” [with the latest extended kernel?], although he later edited out the remark after I quoted it two posts below. I wonder what version number of Avast he is using with extended kernel, and if he might be inclined to share any other details with us?

I have certainly tried an extremely old version with vanilla Vista as recently as July 2019, but it would not be my recommendation. By all means share further details about using MSE with extended kernel if you would.

all i did was installed the vista extended kernel with the version 18 version of avast and  checked for updates and it said it had one so i letit update and now the virus definitions page says its at  ver 3/3/2021 i dont know how

Edited by VistaEX
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1 hour ago, VistaEX said:

All I Did Was Installed extended kernel with the version 18 version of avast and i checked for updates and it said it had one so i updates it and now The Virus definitions page says its at  ver 3/3/2021 i dont know how

Avast 18.8 can certainly get definition updates on vanilla Vista. Do you mean it wasn’t working with an older version of extended kernel, but now it does? I’m glad to hear that someone is able to use Avast with extended kernel! Let us know if you encounter any issues.

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On 3/5/2021 at 6:57 PM, Vistapocalypse said:

You reported “Kaspersky crashes” in your January 25 post in the lengthy extended kernel thread. Was that issue ever resolved, perhaps by the latest version of extended kernel?

Seems like now it's working fine

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  • 2 weeks later...

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