Best Paid Antivirus?

Hey everyone!

On my last laptop I got a rootkit using AVG free - it wasn't one of those baby rootkits either. Shut down my whole computer basically.

Needless to say, it was time for me to upgrade anyway. I recently bought a Lenovo Y580 laptop, and it's currently shipping.

I have been doing some antivirus software research, as I want to buy either an antivirus or internet security software suite. I noticed a lack of reviews of the Bitdefender IS 2013 suite in regards to resource usage. There's a lot of good reviews for it's prrotection, but not one coments on its resource usage.

Can someone share their experience with this or other non-resource hogging IS suites (I've heard ESET nod32 is really good)? Thanks!

I'm not sure if it matters, but the specs of the Lenovo Y580:

3rd generation Intel Core i7-3610QM Processor( 2.30GHz 6MB)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M 2GB
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
15.6" FHD LED Glare Wedge 1920x1080
500GB 7200 rpm (Hard Drive)

Thanks a bunch!

 

I hadn't used BitDefender on my laptop, but I've seen it in use on others.
The performance hit was rather discouraging, although its highly effective when it comes to protection.

I did get a chance at using Eset Nod32 for some time.
Its pretty good. Very low resource use, top notch AV protection, but apparently its 'firewall' capabilities are sub-par (then again, that's not really an issue as Windows 7 already has a pretty good firewall as is).

Generally speaking, I would surmise that Internet Security suites are not necessary to keep yourself protected online.

Also, mind if I ask why wouldn't you want to hear about free AV's?
AVG for one is not a really good example of an AV (free or otherwise) - for one thing, its resource usage is also rather high (much like BitDefender) and its perceived as relatively bloated.

Out of free AV's, the only ones that I would encourage people to use would be: MSE, Avira, Avast or Panda (pick just 1 for active protection and use Malwarebytes as an on-demand scanner).
All 4 are highly effective (on par with paid programs), have a very low resource use, and I hadn't had any issues (I use MSE + Malwarebytes).

I only scan with MBAM once per month (if even that much).
And I also have a hardware firewall activated on my ADSL router.

 

I dunno, something about them being free just has a stigma to me. I hear about the free ones failing a lot more than the paid ones. I have the money, so I figured it would be better to get the best there is, but without too much resource hit. What does the paid ones have that the free ones don't?

I'm leaning towards ESET NOD32 antivirus or Bitdefender 2013 antivirus plus and using Comodo Firewall, as I've heard it's really good. Do you have any experience with Comodo?

Thanks a bunch for your response

 

The paid ones don't have anything materially important that the free ones don't. As Deks says, you really don't need much more than MSE, Avira, Avast or Panda.

Technically, you can do very well with just MSE (Microsoft security Essentials). No AV can protect against bad practice. There are those who can be and remain virus free without using any AV program as they practice best internet security. I would advise looking into best practices and then pick a free AV program. I, as well as many others here, haven't had virus/malware/rootkit/keylogger on a system in many years. And I only use MSE and a basic incoming/outgoing firewall.

But if you can't shake the stigma of free or don't really have the time to look into best practices to keep you safe, you might want to look at Kasperky.

 

Thanks a bunch for the name change and the response! I do admit I am a bit naive about safe practices, as in I sometimes ignore updates because I find them annoying. I certainly learned my lesson with the rootkit. Also what is appealing about ESET is that it offers security training, but I'll look into MSE some more and read some threads on this forum. Are there any other good resources you can suggest?

Again, thanks!

 

used to use avg pro which used to take ages to run scans so change to avast internet security 2 years ago and its been great. it has had 2 false positives but at the time so did a lot of the other suites.

 

Thanks for the input

 

Here is my personal experience (not technically, but as a real world user):

1- I bought a 3 year license of Kaspersky Internet Security and installed the latest 2012 version. I used it for a month and while its firewall is top par and it is the best Antivirus out there, the performance hit was far beyond imagination! I mean, if I would double click on an EXE setup file, it would literally sit there thinking for about 30 seconds before it decides to open it. I also didn't like how slow my system performed even though I have a top specs system as you can see from my sig. So i Refunded my license.

2- I did more researching online and found Bitdefender to be one of the top performing AVs these days so I thought why not, let's buy a license. I bought a 1 year license with them and it made my internet crawl like a turtle! Browing webpages was horrible even on my 30 bmps down/ 3 mbps up connection, furthermore, it caused many crashes for me with Firefox 14.0.1 (I know it may not be Bitdefender's or Firefox's fault but just saying, I had to install Firefox 15 Beta 2 to get the random crashing fixed), it also caused my MPC-HC to crash randomly while playing videos.
Worst of all, if you go to their forums, you will find a Myriad of problematic posts with 0 replies! It seems Bitdefender is so busy focusing on marketing and advertisements and forgot about support for their customers! Horrible technical support and community forums. I ended it up uninstalling it even though I still have my license.

3- I had Microsoft Security Essentials installed on my small sister's computer and she got a few viruses, what is worse, is when you click clean, even though they weren't really viruses just some false positivees in her software folder, MSE wasn't able to delete them, it simply kept displaying the pop up that it found a virus on and on again! I quickly uninstalled that crap.

4- Avira was my favorite in the past but recently with all the ads that they spam you with and annoying pop-ups, in addition to including the ask.com toolbar in their setup, I have lost complete trust in this company although they kept me protected for years in the past. What a shame.

5- After having tested many security suites / antivirus programs, I am now happy using avast! free antivirus. It is very good, has good detection rates, and very light on the system. I once tried running a program that it didn't recognize and it quickly launched it in a sandboxed mode to prevent any harm to my system! it's awesome!

6- NOD32 antivirus (forget about Eset Smart Security) is one of the best paid antivirus programs out there if you want that tiny little bit more of comfort although nowadays it is not really needed anymore as free antivirus programs have gond a long way and improved a lot. But in all the years that I have owned NOD32 antivirus, I never EVER got a virus. Their firewall is a joke so just stick to the Windows Firewall along with NOD32 antivirus

Add to the above choices SUPERAntiSpyware Free to scan for the harmful/tracking cookies, and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free to do a monthly scan just to be on the safe side and you're more than good to go!

 

Just use Microsoft Security Essentials and don't do stupid things (clicking on spam, ads, downloading with torrents). Paid anti-virus isn't needed.

 

Those are fairytales. There is no difference in performance. Paying for antivirus software is throwing money out the window. But it's your money, of course.

 

That is by far the wors thing you have done to your computer.

A so called prrogram that LOOKS like an antivirus abut slips many viruses through according to various systems I have tested on and it sucks big time at removing any virus

but offcoure, that is your choice and respect it, MSE to me is one of the biggest threats to a computer and what's worse, is that 10s of thousands of people are using it THINKING they are protected. Most the popular AV sites I know don't even include MSE in their test reports....ever wonder why? because it's a joke and its support and forums are a bigger joke

just my 2 cents

 

Well, I know a lot about Antiviruses. After years of experience the best Anti-Virus ever is going to be KASPERSKY. Had it for over 3 years now and no single complain. Silent, doesn't take any resources and 100% protection. You can get it for 33 buck on Amazon. And I agree with people above. There is a huge difference between Paid Antivirus and Free ones. However like they said its unluckily that you need to pay for one.

 

Not sure. I actually use Norton 360, because my dad has a subscription that covers up to 3 computers at once. It works well for me, but I know it is rather expensive.

 

Kaspersky doesn't take any resources? are you serious?

even on my high spec laptop (in sig) launching a setup file of a large program like Nero 11 takes at least 30 secs to start

I refunded that piece of junk after having enough with it for 30 days

I had bought a 2 year / 2 user license but wasn't happy with it at all

yes it is the best in terms of security, but has a very high performance hit

NOD32 is the best for me! It is very good in terms of detection/removal of viruses and I dont even feel I have an antivirus on my system because it's so light

 

With all due respect, let's keep your opinion about fairytales to yourself, unless you can back it up with evidence.

That said, if you don't want to pay for software, MSE is good. I use it on the systems I don't feel like putting Norton Internet Security on. Otherwise, I always use Norton Internet Security (same stuff that's in Norton 360 but without the backup, which I don't need).

That said, you're going to get a crap-ton of opinions here, with everyone claiming that whatever they use is the best. Personally, I'd download the free trialware from a few of the vendors (Symantec/Norton, Kaspersky, and maybe McAfee), test them out for 30 days or so, and figure out which one you like the best. Make sure to uninstall the old one before installing a new one.

Also, check with your ISP. I know that Comcast/Xfinity offers free security software (it's a modified Norton 360) to their internet subscribers.

Good luck!

 

I use Avira free, but Kaspersky paid version is also reliable.

 

I know I am repeating what others have said, but it bears worth repeating.

Their is no return on paying for an antivirus. Could it be 5% better than a free one? Maybe.

I have been using Avast free with Commodo and not had any problem.

A couple of times I had to click on CTRL - ALT - Delete and shut down my browser to avoid a virus. I do not know if a paid version would
have avoided having to do that.

I also am paying $0.00 for my antivirus/firewall.

 

Absolutely yes, Eset Nod32 is a powerful anti-virus program.
I took it to protect my home computer for many year.
Never catch any problem regarding virus.

 

comodo, avira, avast yes I dont mind Eset Nod32 I personally use Comodo

 

I use Trusport , or Vipre , that with Outpost pro firewall , no slow down , even use the combo on an Atom netbook , offer good protection and can make rules for what get in or out of the computer . Also use spywareblaster .

 

I’ve not used bitdefender but I have used avast and Immunet Plus. They both are fast and good you may opt for any of them.

 

Sorry this is just plain wrong. There is a huge difference.

Emsisoft Anti-Malware is what I use, it has a behavior blocker, dual detection signature engines with one being Bitdefender's (widely considered the best), built in block list for bad sites, updated with signatures every 30 minutes and are Austrian company which means they don't miss things on purpose like the Russian's and Yanks do.

Use it in conjunction with Malwarebytes PRO (a life time license when you buy PRO) and use Google Chrome with plugins Adblock +, Https Everywhere & Do Not Track it is a vastly superior security wise to any other browser.

 

Lol at the guy talking about fairy tales. I can't even count how many times I ended up finding a trojan and other s, despite having avast or avira, when doing an online scan just to check. And of course, examining what the program does confirmed too often it really was a virus, and uploading it for scan through websites that analyze your file with most existing antivirus would also confirm that. I've been seeing this for a dozen year (especially on the family's computer), so don't say paid antivirus are useless - there is already plenty of data, although I don't need this as I've had first hand experience with this, from reviews to confirm that some are better than your free AV. Had a friend switching from avast 3 months ago to bitdefender, of course bitdefender got mad during the install because avast and avira just helpless when it comes to real time protection.
So yeah OP, I agree with you about choosing a paid security software. However be careful, as much as those paid antivirus are efficient, not only they're gonna feed on your computer's resources, but they can quickly become major headaches, so take sometime to configure them (eg false positives and doing things you don't want it to do as those AV are made for people who will let the AV on autopilot, which will turn the AV into a real little HAL. Honestly that's *nearly* as bad as having a free inefficient av). So as most people say, the best AV will remain prudence.

 

I would recommend against Norton or McAfee. I work for a company with hundreds of clients (who all have 15-150 employees) and 9 out of 10 times if they're complaining about system performance it's because Norton or McAfee is installed and the resident protection is killing performance. Both use a technique called kernel hooking that Microsoft has tried to remove from Windows several times (and been sued). It's a security risk to even run them and their performance is poorer than properly written alternatives.

There are also quite a few less popular anti-virus programs that are as bad or worse, there just isn't enough time to list them all here.