Antivirus for new pc

[Pghpooh]

Daughter got a Dell laptop.tablet for Xmas.
She gave it to me to register, create a recovery usb, update, etc.
Question is,,,, the laptop will be used on the Comcast/Xfinity internet.
As part of the service, Norton 360 with constant guard is free to download.
What is your opinion of Norton 360?
Any suggestions for different antivirus software? Free is always good.

Are there any sites I can go to that tested and rated antivirus software?

All suggestions are helpful!

 

[Steltek]

You ask 15 people those questions, and you'll get 15 different answers. Do a forum search for antivirus software, and you'll see what I mean.

The short answer is that, so long as the user is careful (i.e. not browsing warez, porn, or other questionable sites) and security conscious, pretty much any decent free antivirus will be sufficient.

Personally, I use Bitdefender's free antivirus on most of my systems with Avast free still being present on a couple of my slower Win7 systems that I haven't gotten around to switching over yet. Have never had a problem with an infection, though Avast has necessitated a few reinstalls over the last year (hence why I went to Bitdefender).

 

[lucia]

I've used AVG before, and it was an excellent product. Unfortunately, a year or so ago, AVG acted unstable on my computer and royally messed it up, so I switched to AVAST.

 

[sbpromania]

Try looking on the test results from these guys: https://www.av-test.org/en/
The Av-Test company is performing tests on the available antivirus software solution and make a top with the best.

 

[Charlie98]

I wouldn't run Norton if they gave it to me for free (which, they have.) I've moved on to Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware.

 

[Carfax83]

The AV-Test link that sbpromania posted is a good start. I've tried many different AV programs, and I've found that Norton is the best. It's light on resources, and still offers great protection.

I tried bitdfender once, but it had a much larger footprint than Norton so I got rid of it.

At any rate, whether you get Norton, Bitdefender, Kaspersky etcetera, I'd suggest pairing it up with a free antimalware like Malwarebytes just to be on the safe side..

 

[MustISO]

No anti-virus will protect you from all infections. The fact is a zero-day virus is unlikely to be detected. Every system I clean up has had active AV and it did nothing to stop the viruses that were on the machine.

A limited user account would be a good place to start securing the system. Don't install Flash Player or Java and you'll eliminate the attack vector of most infections.

I personally use Avast or Avira and haven't had any issues with each. With Avast I do disable most optional tools/settings as they tend to work poorly or impact performance.

 

[MadScientist]

Answer #7. Bitdefender Free. http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html

 

[DigDog]

Avast n1, AVG n2. both are free so i don't know why you would need option 3, or 4, or 5..

 

[xgsound]

I always run a free A/V because the subscription can't run out. The free ones I'm familiar with are Bitdefender, Avira, AVG, Panda, and Avast.
My current choice is Bitdefender. I turn on Virus shield and turn off auto scan. It is very light on resources. I've signed up about 30 relatives computers with it and so far there has been absolutely no nagging of any kind. I probably just ruined that by saying it, but I'll risk it.
It's been my experience that operators will do whatever is wrong to update subscription based A/Vs.


Jim

 

[Puffnstuff]

Zone Alarm also offers a free suite with firewall and AV. While the free versions lack some of the advanced features they will adequately protect you system.

 

[Binky]

Norton is good. Use it. Disable or just don't install the components that aren't compatible with Win10/Edge. I never install any of those extras anyway since they are mostly crap.

 

[Ketchup]

Is this a 2-in-1? What model is it? Some of the lower-end models only have 2 GB of RAM. Running Norton 360 would really bog down a Celeron with that amount of memory.

Also note that Windows 10 does come with its on AV. So even if you just remove the Norton, your computer will be at least partially protected. And as mentioned above, safe browsing habits are the best defense.

 

[Kaido]

You ask 15 people those questions, and you'll get 15 different answers. Do a forum search for antivirus software, and you'll see what I mean.

The short answer is that, so long as the user is careful (i.e. not browsing warez, porn, or other questionable sites) and security conscious, pretty much any decent free antivirus will be sufficient.

#16 - I solved the problem by getting everyone in my family Chromebooks for Christmas. RIP tech support @ home

 

[mikeymikec]

No anti-virus will protect you from all infections. The fact is a zero-day virus is unlikely to be detected.

av-test.org disagrees with you, the industry average for fortune-telling has a 97.1% accuracy apparently! Also, the industry average for detecting malware discovered in the last four weeks is 99.6%. I guess that must be why almost none of us have encountered (or know anyone who has) a malware infection for years... oh wait.

I personally find it amazing that people still recommend that site with respect to the topic in hand.

 

[ronbo613]

Consumer versions of Norton and McAfee are terrible. Free AV programs are fine for light use, but I believe you get what you pay for.

The short answer is that, so long as the user is careful (i.e. not browsing warez, porn, or other questionable sites) and security conscious, pretty much any decent free antivirus will be sufficient.

That is not true. Any website can be compromised at any time. Malware is not restricted to porn sites.

 

[BW86]

Been using Avira for years - no problems.

 

[master_shake_]

avast

 

[Binky]

Consumer versions of Norton and McAfee are terrible.

Disagree on Norton, agree on McAfee. Have you used Norton in the last few years? It's pretty good now, compared to absolute crap many years ago.

 

[John Connor]

I have Bitdefender Free on two computers and my aunt's and parents computer. It's light weight and Cloudbased. It works well. No bloat. Just have to create a one time free account. I've never been spammed or anything.

 

[ronbo613]

Disagree on Norton, agree on McAfee. Have you used Norton in the last few years? It's pretty good now, compared to absolute crap many years ago.

Haven't used the consumer version of either lately, better choices available in my humble opinion. We use commercial Norton products at work, the difference between the commercial and consumer versions is like night and day.

 

[Mem]

I have Bitdefender Free on two computers and my aunt's and parents computer. It's light weight and Cloudbased. It works well. No bloat. Just have to create a one time free account. I've never been spammed or anything.

Side Note: I'm using the paid version ie Bitdefender Total Security 2016 on Win10( it has official support for Win10), IMHO probably the best paid version AV out there, light and don't notice it at all.

Free versions well that is always a preference thing, but the top five have been mentioned ie Avast, Bitdefender, Panda, AVG, Avira.

I would go for either Avast or Bitdefender.
Panda use to be great but I hear the latest free version is not as lightweight as it use to be.

 

[Pghpooh]

Sorry I am slow getting back here.
Spent some time playing with daughters laptop. Talked to two people about the problems with norton and windows edge. First guy was a Best Buy Geek Squad expert. He said they get a lot of complaints about Norton not playing well with Edge. The suggested work around is to disable the norton features that cause the problems. Second person I talked to is a IT manager for one of the local banks. His advice was the same as the Geek Squad guy. Both also suggested making ie 11 or firefox or chrome the default browser.

 

[Carfax83]

av-test.org disagrees with you, the industry average for fortune-telling has a 97.1% accuracy apparently! Also, the industry average for detecting malware discovered in the last four weeks is 99.6%. I guess that must be why almost none of us have encountered (or know anyone who has) a malware infection for years... oh wait.

I personally find it amazing that people still recommend that site with respect to the topic in hand.

I think you're overblowing it a bit.. Antimalware technology has come a long way over the years..

Instead of relying solely on signatures like in the old days, antimalware tech now has behavioral analysis algorithms that can profile malicious software even if is unknown and lacking a signature.

Also, the most cutting edge consumer antimalware all have cloud based signature databases and whitelists that offer way more protection than what was previously attainable..

Basically, it's really difficult to get infected unless you're stupid or are purposely seeking it..

 

[xgsound]

Sorry I am slow getting back here.
Spent some time playing with daughters laptop. Talked to two people about the problems with norton and windows edge. First guy was a Best Buy Geek Squad expert. He said they get a lot of complaints about Norton not playing well with Edge. The suggested work around is to disable the norton features that cause the problems. Second person I talked to is a IT manager for one of the local banks. His advice was the same as the Geek Squad guy. Both also suggested making ie 11 or firefox or chrome the default browser.

My experience says stay away from Norton. Once it was the best, then they bloated it up, and now it is said to work OK. It expires once a year and stops. That's no good if the operator ignores it.
Get a free A/V that does not expire. The free ones I'm familiar with are Bitdefender, Avira, AVG, Panda, and Avast. I can tell you that Bitdefender keeps working without interruption once activated by signing in once.


Jim