Kaspersky OR Microsoft Security Essentials?

Associate

I've currently got Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 and Malwarebytes installed on my PC.

As Kaspersky comes with "real time" protection, I was wondering how often should I scan my PC with it just for a general check?

Should I also do it with Malwarebytes, if so, how often?


Thank you.

John_Gray

No single software tool solves all known problems. I have both as well, and also SuperAntiSpyware and HitMan Pro. I run a Kaspersky quick scan every week or so, and Malwarebytes every few weeks. I usually only run SAS or HitMan Pro if there's been a recent "zero-day" scare...

By the way, it's worth running the Kaspersky GetSystemInfo tool, because it checks your software configuration and reports back on suggested changes. Takes about 5 mins.

BandJB

Associate wrote: »

As Kaspersky comes with "real time" protection, I was wondering how often should I scan my PC with it just for a general check?

I run a full scan twice a week. You can leave the scan running and tell it to shut down the machine when it's finished, so there's no reason not to.

I do this for two reasons:
1. There's always a 'window' between the time that a new virus is launched on the unsuspecting world and when any AV software knows about it (and then, a bit later, when it can actually fix it). I'm not sure if Kaspersky 'retro-scans' to cover these cases so I prefer to play safe.
2. The 'Vulnerabilities' report tells me when security holes have been discovered in other software, typically: Firefox/IE; Adobe Reader; and Sun Java. I want to know about these ASAP and get the fixes on my machine immediately. (Sometimes it takes these providers more than one attempt to get these fixes right. Firefox and Java seem to have had a poor record in this respect recently, so check again after a couple of days just in case!)

Use the Kaspersky 'Settings' dialogs to ensure that the iSwift and iChecker features are used. Also, in the latest tests run by www.av-comparatives.org, Kaspersky asked that the highest settings should be used for their heuristic scan feature - so it's a fair bet that we should all be using it too.

Inactive

digp wrote: »

Use Avira. MSE is rubbish.

All on your uneducated say so.

I will continue to use MSE " rubbish ":)

Associate

BandJB wrote: »

I run a full scan twice a week. You can leave the scan running and tell it to shut down the machine when it's finished, so there's no reason not to.

I do this for two reasons:
1. There's always a 'window' between the time that a new virus is launched on the unsuspecting world and when any AV software knows about it (and then, a bit later, when it can actually fix it). I'm not sure if Kaspersky 'retro-scans' to cover these cases so I prefer to play safe.
2. The 'Vulnerabilities' report tells me when security holes have been discovered in other software, typically: Firefox/IE; Adobe Reader; and Sun Java. I want to know about these ASAP and get the fixes on my machine immediately. (Sometimes it takes these providers more than one attempt to get these fixes right. Firefox and Java seem to have had a poor record in this respect recently, so check again after a couple of days just in case!)

Use the Kaspersky 'Settings' dialogs to ensure that the iSwift and iChecker features are used. Also, in the latest tests run by www.av-comparatives.org, Kaspersky asked that the highest settings should be used for their heuristic scan feature - so it's a fair bet that we should all be using it too.

Thank you for that.

1) I was wondering in File Anti-Virus where for "On threat detection" it is set to: Select action automatically

Shall I leave it as it is?

2) In Settings for File Anti-Virus, in General Tab I have "Files scan by format" ticked.

Is it OK to leave it like this?

3) In Settings for File Anti-Virus, in Performance Tab for Scan Optimization the "Scan only new and changed files" box is ticked.

Is this OK?

4) As is the case in Malwarebytes, where after it finds infections and Qurantines them, you can click on that box and totally "delete" infections, can you do this with Kaspersky as well?

5)If I scan with Kaspersky once or twice a week, should I do Full Scan or Quick Scan?

Thank you!

Jay

BandJB

Associate wrote: »

1) I was wondering in File Anti-Virus where for "On threat detection" it is set to: Select action automatically
Shall I leave it as it is?

I do. The guys who wrote the software and manage the updates usually know how to deal with any given problem. Sometimes they know it's absolutely safe to delete it entirely; sometimes they prefer to quarantine it in case it's a false positive; sometimes they know it's a real nasty and have to ask you to do a re-boot to remove it entirely. Trust 'em.

Associate wrote: »

2) In Settings for File Anti-Virus, in General Tab I have "Files scan by format" ticked.
Is it OK to leave it like this?

Yes. The alternative is to assume that just because the file has a particular type of extension (.txt or .jpg etc.) then it really in just a text file or image etc. The bad folk tell lies! Scan By Format will have a quick look inside the file itself to make sure its content agrees with its supposed type.

Associate wrote: »

3) In Settings for File Anti-Virus, in Performance Tab for Scan Optimization the "Scan only new and changed files" box is ticked.
Is this OK?

Yes. Kaspersky uses a little-known Microsoft NTFS performance feature to tell if the contents of a folder has been changed in any way since the last scan, even if the virus attempts to disguise that by fiddling the file's timestamps or size to make it appear old and/or unchanged.
NOTE: Older systems and USB sticks etc. probably do not use NTFS; they're usually FAT32 systems.

Associate wrote: »

4) As is the case in Malwarebytes, where after it finds infections and Qurantines them, you can click on that box and totally "delete" infections, can you do this with Kaspersky as well?

Don't know how Malwarebytes works, I'm afraid. Kasperky's default action is to quarantine it and then ask you if you want to delete it. Anything else is potentially dangerous if there's any possibility of it being a False Positive. You can tell Kaspersky to go ahead and kill it without asking first, if you really want to. It really depends on how you use your computer.

Associate wrote: »

5)If I scan with Kaspersky once or twice a week, should I do Full Scan or Quick Scan?

Use the Full Scan to be safe. The Quick Scan only checks stuff that runs/loads during system start-up, and Kaspersky does that as a matter of course every time you start up from cold (but not, say, when restarting from hibernation). Start a Full scan when you're about to do something else like watching telly or cooking or gardening: the results will be waiting for you when you're ready.

The above answers are just to give you an idea. The full user guide is 262 pages (kis2010_en.pdf) and there are many other options and settings for all the various components and features. It's surprisingly easy to 'dip in to' and clearly explains WHY as well as WHAT (if you see what I mean), so it can usefully set you thinking about AV topics generally and how to make it work in the best way to suit you. A PC is just that: a Personal Computer.