Hello,
I am making the setup of a quite old and slow laptop of a friend of mine.
I need to find a suitable Antivirus software for that PC - it came with Norton, but that makes it really really slow.
I am myself quite happy with Bitdefender, but I am not sure if the new version will be too heavy for that laptop.
Therefore my question is: do you know if i can try to install the new version, or if the older versions of Bitdefender are good, or if you know any other program i could install.![]()
The computer is an Acer Travelmate 2420 with Win XP Home, 256 MB Ram and a Centrino core, of which now I don't really know the frequency.
Thank you!
Simone
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I have a now 4 years old laptop too
- ran XP; now its a personal web server
Anyway, on topic:
It ran well with Kaspersky.
Avira is also said to use little resources in its newest version and is free.
Norton in its newest version is said to be quite light - but I still wouldn't ever use it
One more thng:
You may want to invest in some more RAM - a cheap upgarde that will give you a lot of benefit.
512MB minimum, better 768MB or 1GB depending on how much your chipset supports. -
wow, thanks for your fast reply.
do you mean the very new version of kapersky? (v. 2009?)
I also have to consider that the friend I am doing this for is really not into computers...so a 1-click-thing is good, and with bit defender i made good experience: install and forget.
yeah, new ram would be good ;-).
Simone -
There is one "caveat" with Kaspersky - its essential to let the software scan the system once after its installed. On my newer laptop I was wondering why it was slow - because I didn't do a full system scan - did that and no more slow down. -
I am running KIS 2009 on a 6+ year old Dell Inspiron 8200 lappy. It is now the kids' computer and it runs perfectly fine. XP Pro.
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Forget Avira/Avast, they're crap. Buy NOD32, it's the lightest of the lot as well. It's on my 6 years old desktop as well, and hasn't given me any problems.
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Put some memory in it! It wants memory.
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Avira - using your words - crap - no. I think you should start reading, in a recent anti virus comparison Avira scored high.
http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_report21.pdf (pdf document)
From:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/ -
But some Anti virus software will slow down systems never the less. (or is that one word?)
And memory alone will not help.
Obviously lower RAM usage can be advantageous.
Oh, and an addition to Kaspersky Internet Security - KIS 2009 - is afull suite, anti virus, spam, firewall etc. Avira and Nod are just anti virus software. -
No, as usual, it's your recommendation! And yes, from Avast/Avira are both crap, no matter what spin this website put on them!
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The OP asked for an anti virus for an old laptop.
I recommend Avira as a free software and Kaspersky as paid software.
You are looking for a fight again. -
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How?
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I don't think so.
Next time, come with a couple of arguments why they are supposed to be crap.
Or better yet, explain for example why AV testing outfits like those two, are not to be trusted.
Otherwise it's just NOD32 fanboi talk... -
I can only talk from my experience, and if you want me to, I can oblige by putting my memoir here.
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If you mention a free software and immediately mention another the immediate assumption is that it is also free.
It is generally normal for paid products to be better in some respect than their free counterparts - if they are better in a way that the average user will notice is another question, also the gap is shrinking.
So you labelled free software "crap" and immediately mentioned another product. Therefore by association you expect that product to be free too.
If you would have said the "paid for product" or the "non free product" nod 32 is better that wouldnot have happened. -
Also, personal experience alone is a bad indicator.
I had etrust ant virus, no updates and outdated - no viruses.
Then I had CA not the best in comparisons, but no virus either.
No I use Kaspersky and no virus still.
Does that mean etrus ativirus without updates and ancient signatures is as good as current Kaspersky? NO!!!
So, if you had a positive experience its generally good, but mentioning sites like the indepent one I posted above is also a good idea. -
Anecdotal evidence -> wild assumptions.
Excellent argumentation. -
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Take a look here; http://gladiator-antivirus.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9644
IME, the little known Twister AV and Dr Web are the lightest in real-time and both are fine for older computers.
Both are commercial programs but relatively cheap; Twister for example has a lifetime license.
Of the free AVs, Avira is light but their Servers are sometimes very slow. AVG and Avast may therefore be better options. -
Nod32 for the win!
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Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is one of the best options if you don't want to pay. Good detection and very low in resources (not crap at all, as it's been mentioned...).
NOD32 is one of the bests options if you want to pay. Good detection and also light in resources. -
I think that Kapersky is good because it actually checks for activity patterns as well as viral signatures. I'd say that or Nod32 are both good paid AVs.
If you want to stay free, Avira is a good option. -
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I wouldn't pay for anything. I've tried AVG and Avira, and I liked AVG better. Never had a problem with it.
Cheers...
Antivirus for a 3-year-old laptop
Discussion in 'Security and Anti-Virus Software' started by simsi, Apr 22, 2009.