Anti-virus programs

ralph_wilson

I am running the free AVG 8 anti-virus program. Is there any advantage in buying the "paid for" version or indeed buying any other anti-virus program such as McAfee or Norton etc when this is free? Or am I just being a stingie money saver?

Ralph.

superscaper

Paid for Anti Virus can be much better than the freebies but AVG pro is not worth it and McAfee and Norton are worse than the freebies IMHO. If you want to look at buying antivirus or an entire security suite I'd say look at Eset's offerings or Kaspersky.

ralph_wilson

Thanks for that, it's opened my eyes quite a bit.

Ralph.

superscaper

I will say that I moved from AVG free to Eset NOD32 and then upgraded that to Eset Smart Security when it came out (anti virus, anti spyware, firewall and spam filter). And although not really all that cheap I haven't regretted getting it.

foreversomeday

The free programs provide adequate security for the average home user. The paid-for ones are really only worth it if you are running a business, especially if you deal with sensitive information like customer bank details. Of course, the free ones have annoying pop-ups and some carry ads for the full versions but for me it's enough.

Think of it as that you would probably have a much more sophisticated and expensive lock and alarm system for a shop, than you would for your own home.

ralph_wilson

Thanks. Good point.

Ralph.

GT60

Before you buy the above programs can i sugest you compare them to Norton internet security 2008@ £39 and norton 360 v2 @£49.
Norton have got their act together now and run much better than they used to do.
I have AVG on the pc and norton 360 on the laptop but prefer norton it has more features and if you have children it can block your IP address and more.
some people dont like norton because it conflicks with other progs. but i have never had any problems.
Hope this helps Niall

superscaper

niall24 wrote: »

Before you buy the above programs can i sugest you compare them to Norton internet security 2008@ £39 and norton 360 v2 @£49.
Norton have got their act together now and run much better than they used to do.
I have AVG on the pc and norton 360 on the laptop but prefer norton it has more features and if you have children it can block your IP address and more.
some people dont like norton because it conflicks with other progs. but i have never had any problems.
Hope this helps Niall

www.av-comparatives.org the tests from May of this year aren't very encouraging for Norton's AV engine.

Also http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/160/security-suites/products.html

paddytehpyro

IMO AVG8 is good enough for home needs. Maybe install SpyBot-search and destroy also to deal with spyware. After recently changing from McAfee (the licence ran out) to AVG I don't believe there is any difference. They both picked up the same things (typically tracker cookies and a few pieces of adware) and stopped others getting in.

The only difference I can see, is that I dont have to pay

deejayen

I would agree AVG is probably Ok for you but as suggested use Spybot & Spyblaster (Free) which runs in the background all the time -- As I am a heavy user I use a lot of protection such as Spybot, Spyblaster, Adaware Pro, NoAdware & a paid Antivirus/Firewall/Pest Patrol/Web Inspector package from E-Trust (which if downloaded from the net is $49 BUT if bought in UK is £49 ie half price) -- Dave

rwcharles

I've been using AVG for home use for the past year or so and think it's great. We have Symantec for the work computers. I can recommend the AVG free version.