I'm so ****ing pissed...

[TC_Halogen]

Originally Posted by Bangcrashboom

Mcafee is a pretty good antivirus if you are going to buy. Avast is pretty good for a free one, but it probably just went to trial version randomly because your subscription ended

McAfee is horribad, haha.

Originally Posted by Phynx

Problem is avast. Get Norton or McAfee.

No, and no. xD

Originally Posted by [TeRa]

lol norton

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Syhto

I use norton and nothing bad has ever happened

I used to use nothing and then I got a nasty virus, so I had to reformat. That's when I started using something, and since then, yeah

been fine

It all depends on the computer user; some people are power-users and download a lot more, they need better AV protection. As long as you're protected though, it doesn't really matter.

Originally Posted by ninjaKIWI

These programs are both ****.

You could try just not being an idiot and downloading suspicious stuff, like Organism said.
If you're going to use any anti-virus program, use AVG.

This is a MUCH better suggestion (minus the downloading like an idiot, cause I do it too ). I'll also recommend Kaspersky AV, it's really good too.

[Master Hakuoh9872]

Originally Posted by Syhto

You're a total moron if you think you can avoid viruses and others just from not downloading "suspicious" things. Seriously. It just comes with the territory when you use a computer. Also, norton doesn't waste jack **** resources on my machine. It's in the shadows until it senses something, or when it does a weekly scan.

Dammit all! I can't take it! Evrybuddy's losing the fight to virus infection,
losing their beloved files and being tricked by false virus protection
programs! This is madness!

Isn't there a program out there that's legit yet?!
ps check out this wiki link for false programs that actually download malware!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rogue_software

[demonllama6124]

wow, seems like there is a virus outbreak on the net

[Sh4d0wD3v1L]

Norton is the worst anti-virus I have ever been a part of. It constantly would tell me where things were, and then insist on not doing anything about it.

McAffe wasn't bad while I was using it. It was very frustrating at times, telling me my computer was in danger because I didn't use a firewall...

I also had spyware search and destroy, mostly because it blocked all registry changes unless I said it was kosher, malware bytes anti-malware for the nasty stuff, and ad-aware for the minor stuff. That combo worked pretty well for me.

After switching to Windows 7 (and none of that works) I've been on the newest version of Kaspersky. Hasn't failed me yet.

[musicdemon]

Get a cookie blocker for your browser. Ever since I started using one, I've only allowed a short whitelist of good sites access to cookies and have had literally ZERO infections on MalwareBytes scans. I use CS Lite 1.4 for Firefox. I still keep Spybot around to Immunize against future problems every once in a while, but it's definitely taken a backseat to MalwareBytes.

I also use Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition and it has saved me many times over the years from trojans and other problems with executables and malicious scripts. As long as you keep Auto-Protect on, there are few things to worry about. I've used my Vista Business laptop heavily since June of 2007 and have yet to have any serious problems with viruses. If you're smart about what you download, you won't have problems either.

Don't get McAfee. It's a nightmare to manage. Uninstalling it completely is virtually impossible.

EDIT: By the way, Norton Anti-Virus and Symantec Anti-Virus are completely different animals. I've used Symantec since the Windows 95 operating system and Norton Anti-Virus is something I'm not familiar with.

[tofurox]

I hope I don't get anything.

[dballin4]

Originally Posted by OrganisM

Screw anti-virus programs. I'm clean and I don't use any of that resource-wasting garbage.

hi5 bro

[supersonicpwns]

get AVG. theres a free version (not a trial), and a version that you can buy (with more features).

[OrganisM]

Originally Posted by Syhto

You're a total moron if you think you can avoid viruses and others just from not downloading "suspicious" things. Seriously. It just comes with the territory when you use a computer.

If that was directed toward me, umm thanks..

The threat of viruses is far overstated by the companies that want to sell programs. I noticed that after I started being far more careful with what I downloaded, I didn't get any viruses. I do hide behind a network firewall, and prefer to keep most of my protection at the network level so it's not constantly running on my machine.

Originally Posted by Syhto

Also, norton doesn't waste jack **** resources on my machine. It's in the shadows until it senses something, or when it does a weekly scan. It's not hurting anything and I can be as reckless as I choose.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are incorrect on all counts. Norton uses your RAM, and depending upon what it's doing, it can be the most intense process you're running at any given time. Less RAM for other tasks means more frequent visits to the page file, and that will slow down your system. When Norton is running, regardless of whether it's in the background or not, it is using up your system's resources. It just happens to be brought to your attention during a scan, during which it uses even more system resources than normal. Lastly, I've had a number of viruses on other peoples' computers that Norton either did not detect or was not able to fix and I had to fix them manually. There are many forms of viruses that Norton couldn't come close to touching. In fact, peoples' trust in warning messages from anti-virus programs has led to a whole array of malware based on users' gullibility.

Originally Posted by Syhto

P.S. Even when you think you don't have anything, anyone that doesn't have a decent anti-spyware/what have you, has tons of **** just piling up on their machine. Even if they aren't destructive viruses.

That's entirely dependent on what you connect to and download from. And though it's likely that in the course of events you'll come into contact, there are other forms of protection, and I personally don't have any malware on my system. A good solution is at least to restrict your program to a weekly scan, rather than constantly taking up space in your system's memory.

I understand that you may not have agreed, but you are incorrect in your assumptions, and it'd be nice if you didn't call me names. I do recommend some sort of protection for most people, since the average user does come into contact with infections, though there are better solution than high-priced resource-wasting anti-virus programs like Norton or McAffe.

Also, many antivirus programs do things without your permission, including changing lots of settings in the registry that aren't part of the program's settings, and can't be changed without at best a deep cleaning and at worst a complete reformat. That sounds like a rootkit to me. They waste your resources and interrupt your workflow if they're invasive and you put them on high alert to actually accomplish something. That sounds like a virus to me.

If I was incorrect in my assumption, I apologize.

tl;dr:

1. Norton sucks, McAffe, etc suck and they mess with your system
2. Try something less invasive like a daily/weekly scan
3. Yes, running a program uses your RAM
4. Anti-virus programs don't make you invincible
5. Please be nice.