Antivirus Solutions : They All Suck Sometimes

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Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! I’ve just experienced the unbootable (even in safe mode!) problem that you described! Both times I had to take it to the shop to correct. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I’d probably never know the cause. Oracle, what’s your opinion of the VIPRE utility? I notice both Pirillo and Notenboom seem to endorse it.

Buffet,

usually the best solution is a bootable Linux CD that will allow you to move, delete, or otherwise alter files that are then not locked by Windows.

As for VIPRE, I have no experience one way or the other. That is how things frequently are, you tend to use what works, and forget about looking for anything else.

AVG, for most people works well, and doesn’t do anything really bad, or that cannot be undone. When you have problems where you know a file is fine, and the program repeatedly gives problems, it’s time to change. I moved to Avira after getting a wide range of opinions online (tested, reviewed with other programs, etc.).

These things also change, over time. Back in the days of DOS, F-Prot was consistently the choice of virtually all magazines, like NOD32 is now. During the early part of this century, Symantec’s Norton Antivirus was considered the best.

I have a problem, (which might or might not be justified) with all in one solutions. In past reading, no all-in-ones did very well in any magazine write up.

I use Comodo Firewall, with the HIPS+ mode on, which can be very intrusive, but provides a great level of safety. It’s installation is a pain, not in terms of knowledge required, but time taken, because it does a thorough check of files on the machine before returning control to the user. For my machine, with 3TB of storage across 2 internal and 3 USB attached hard drives, it took the better part of 4 hours. Once done, however, it is very easy to keep up with maintenance.

Comodo is bundled with an antivirus, but I don’t use it, as I’ve seen its detection rates and theiy are high but not as high as Avira or AVG. So when installing Comodo on a customer’s machine, I install the firewall first, saying no to the install of the antivirus, and until now, install AVG next.

Unless you have files that give you trouble, I would also use AVG, as I have not actually seen for myself how well Avira works, yet I have years of AVG use, over literally hundreds of different computers.

Should Comodo seem too constricting for you, Sygate Personal Firewall will work fine for most people.(as I rescan before publishing, I would say you could also, if feeling too restricted, simply turn off the HIPS+ mode of Comodo!) The basic knock this gets now is that it is no longer being updated. If you understand what a firewall is supposed to do, and apply some common sense, you’ll have no problems. AV solutions, and Firewalls were not meant to replace common sense. If you are going to file share sites (pirated programs) you are going to get more than your share of viruses, trojans, and other bad stuff.

If, however, you exercise some judgement, and don’t do things like click something simply because it says ‘Click here!’ you’ll generally be fine.

If you download something that is of dubious nature, the first thing you should do is scan with a good antivirus. This is, with most antivirus programs, as simple as right clicking on the file and scanning just that file.

So, not knowing exactly what your computer is, or what kinds and amounts of files you have on your computer, I would recommend Comodo Firewall (saying no to the AV part of the install) and AVG Free.

Hope this helps, and another thing, if I may - get an Ubuntu CD, and learn how to use it to boot your computer, and how to view and change files with its file manager. Should Windows not boot again, you will have a good chance, by paying attention to the error messages, looking online about what to do, and then using the Ubuntu disc to boot, to repair the problem, without paying anyone, or having the machine out of your hands for any time.

Good luck, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks again Oracle (of Delphi?) I wonder, because you’re so wise. Like you, I use Comodo’s Firewall, heuristics on, but not it’s AV. I too used AVG for years, until the last few, when spurred by negative reviews of AVG, and barraged with rave revies (and ads) lauding the praises of NOD32, I relented, upped the dough and bought myself a copy. Until now, I’ve been thoroughly pleased with NOD. As opposed to AVG, it updates itself. I dig that! The guys at the shop are in the process of building me a new machine, so I’ve gotta make some choices here very soon. Thank you again for your prompt and informative reply.

P.S. I never “click here” when told to. No true Kryptonian ever does.

Buffet,
if you have already paid for NOD32, I’d stay with it, as the people who write the program are not likely to duplicate that mistake in quite a while.

Also, you did not say what version of Windows you were using, or will be. If using an Ubuntu disc seems too daunting, having a restore disc made when the OS install takes place, and keeping it close to the machine will be very helpful.

I haven’t renwed NOD32 yet. I e-mailed them expressing my dissatisfaction to give them a chance to make amends. My trust has, with good reason, waned considerably. I believe I’ll investigate some other options, especially VIPRE. Oracle, I use only XP. I’m afraid I know precious little about Ubuntu, but the restore disc idea is a splendid one indeed. My sincere thanks.

Found this: https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Hello,

I remember seeing false positive alarms with anti-virus software back in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Unfortunately, it’s always a race to get detection out for the bad guy’s tools.

It seems like ESET responded quickly, according to this message from their CEO. From what I am able to read into it, it looks like they have been performing unit testing of their updates, independently verified a virus signature database and a program module update and then had a false positive when the two were combined. Lesson learned, one assumes.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Aryeh, probably true. I wonder why these companies vary so much from year to year.

As I told Buffet, F-Prot used to be my go to provider for AV solutions. Now, hardly nayone remembers them, and to further muddy that memory, there is another software company called F-Secure, that is not nearly as effective as F-Prot.

From when I’ve been able to ascertain, almost a third of Europe thinks Kaspersky is the bomb, even though theeir own web site has gotten hacked a few times.

eSet NOD32 is the current darling, but who knows what will be next. Another couple of reviews state that Symantec is back, with the 2009 product that is easy on resources, and finally works as it should.

It takes time to check these out for the person who doesn’t run a computer lab. I like Avira so far, except for the nasty half screen banner that pops up when the database is refreshed.

Thanks for the comment.

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