Anti Virus Programs - Which Ones To Use

Anti Virus programs - Which one to use?

Published 24 October 07 05:48 PM | RjBass  Edit

Many anti virus programs work well while many are horrible. 

One thing I learned a few years ago is that popular programs like Norton and Mcafee tend to not be nearly as effective as they claim to be for several reasons. 

Since big box manufacturers like Dell, HP, Gateway and others all send out their machines with Norton or Mcafee already installed, it makes them pretty much the two most popular anti virus programs on the market. 

Look at Windows.  Why are most viruses written for Windows?  Some say it is because it is much easier to write a virus for Microsoft software then say something like Linux or OS X.  Others say (and this is where I agree) that more viruses are written for Windows because the majority of computer users are running Windows and other Microsoft based software.  If the programmers write their viruses to work on Windows they then stand the chance of infecting many more machines. 

The same goes for anti virus programs.  If the majority of computer users are using Norton or Mcafee, then the programmers will make viruses that specifically will get around Norton and Mcafee or be written in such a way that even if Norton or Mcafee detects the virus, they still can't get rid of it. 

That alone in my opinion is enough for me to stay away from the big name anti virus programs.  Smaller less known anti virus programs like AVG and Avast stand a much better chance of finding and removing viruses simply because the virus programmers don't consider those programs to be to much of a threat and therefore don't try to program around them. 

Then you have the case of system resources.  Norton, Mcafee and others hog enormous amounts of system resources.  While this may be ok if your running a Core 2 Duo with 2 gigs of memory, the average computer owner most likely still has a single core Celeron and 512mb of memory or even less.  In that case, Norton and Mcafee will seriously tax the system and you will wind up with a frustrated end user with a slow system. 

Smaller less known anti virus programs like AVG and Avast provide many of the same benefits of the larger programs, but leave much less of a footprint on the system resources. 

You also have the cost benefit.  Chances are, your average Joe who purchases the $400 low end Dell system complete with the flat screen monitor for Christmas, is not exactly the big spender when it comes to computers or electronics in general.  I am not sure what the cost is anymore, but last I checked, Norton and Mcafee were  somewhere between $30 to $50 a year.

Now if you can get an anti virus program that works just as well, if not better then the pay per use programs, uses less system resources, and is FREE, then why not use it?  Why do many people, even knowing about the free programs not use them?  Because people don't trust free programs.  For whatever reason, it has been lodged in our heads that free also means crappy. 

As a system builder and technician, I see many different types of infections, from viruses to spyware/adware etc...  The majority of the problems come from users who let their subscription to whatever they were using expire.  Even if Norton or Mcafee are your brands of choice, the software won't do you any good if you don't keep the programs up to date. 

With every new system that I sell, I offer the customer their choice of anti virus program.  I usually encourage them to get Avast, not only because it's free, but also for the screen saver scan function, and the boot scan function.  To be fair I also turn them onto AVG (another free program), and other less popular pay per year programs like CA, Trend-Mirco etc...   

In the end it all depends on the end user and what they most feel comfortable trusting the valuable data to. Everybody has their own opinion as to what anti virus program works the best, and to each his own.  My experiences have shown me what to trust and that's what I went with. 

When you choose an anti virus program, research as many as you can, look for reviews, customer comments etc.... and pick the program that you feel will work best on your system.