I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?


Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec (the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?


Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec (the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?


Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec
(the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously
used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.


Why do you say that? For many years, most folks have found much of their
info pretty accurate...the magazine's knee-jerk liberal belief that
government regulation is the answer to all marketplace problems
notwithstanding...

On 8/12/2008 11:23 AM spake thus:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
. ..

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've
been using Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems
the 2008 version is not great. My local pc hardware guy agrees
and recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet Security. Anyone heard
of or used this one?

thanks for all your input.

What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec (the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

And why is that? Please explain. As I understand it, they actually
*test* the products that they compare, which is more than can be said
for a lot of the idle speculators one hears from, oh, I don't know, in
forums like this ...


--
"Wikipedia ... it reminds me ... of dogs barking idiotically through
endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it.
It drags itself out of the dark abyss of pish, and crawls insanely up
the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and
doodle. It is balder and dash."

- With apologies to H. L. Mencken

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using Trend
micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not great.
My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet
Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

AVG free is doing the job fine for me.

wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve

What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec (the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

What gives you that impression of them? If they had advertising, which
they don't, I might have a tendency to agree but without the advertising
I find them to be pretty "straight up" and reliable.

Now, let's hear your reasoning.

Don

In article on Tue, 12
Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, Steve Barker DLT wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?

I personally prefer Eset Smart Security (www.eset.com), but Kaspersky
would be my second choice. Check around for bargains on Kaspersky -
IIRC, Best Buy (or was it Circuit City?) had it on sale for $40 this
week.


--
Seth Goodman

Another two cents - most AV suites have free trials - *definitely* try
before you buy!

--
Seth Goodman

Seth Goodman wrote:
Another two cents - most AV suites have free trials - *definitely* try
before you buy!

Other than whether or not you like the user interface, how do you know
if it is doing a good job -- or doing anything?
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Seth Goodman wrote:

In article on Tue, 12
Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, Steve Barker DLT wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been
using Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008
version is not great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and
recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet Security. Anyone heard of or
used this one?

I personally prefer Eset Smart Security (www.eset.com), but Kaspersky
would be my second choice. Check around for bargains on Kaspersky -
IIRC, Best Buy (or was it Circuit City?) had it on sale for $40 this
week.

I second Eset NOD32 as the best. If you want free AV then consider
Antivir which is very good also.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:36:58 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 8/12/2008 11:23 AM spake thus:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
...

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've
been using Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems
the 2008 version is not great. My local pc hardware guy agrees
and recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet Security. Anyone heard
of or used this one?

thanks for all your input.

What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec (the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

And why is that? Please explain. As I understand it, they actually
*test* the products that they compare, which is more than can be said
for a lot of the idle speculators one hears from, oh, I don't know, in
forums like this ...

The root problem is that their testing "methods" are completely
laughable.

If you want to believe they have a clue, then by all means, follow
them wherever they go.

IGot2P wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've
been using Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems
the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky
2008 Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve

What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an
extensive comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and
for sale. They liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down
on Norton/Symantec (the suite I use) and also down on Trend
PCCillin, the product I previously used but found way too slow and
buggy.

Smarty

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and
accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

What gives you that impression of them? If they had advertising,
which
they don't, I might have a tendency to agree but without the
advertising I find them to be pretty "straight up" and reliable.

Now, let's hear your reasoning.

Experience. Every time I've trusted Consumer Reports I've gotten
burned.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

In article on Tue, 12 Aug 2008
12:35:05 -0700, Tony wrote:

Seth Goodman wrote:
Another two cents - most AV suites have free trials - *definitely* try
before you buy!

Other than whether or not you like the user interface, how do you know
if it is doing a good job -- or doing anything?
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"Try before you buy" to:

a) As you say, check if you like the interface,
b) make sure it doesn't grind your system to a halt,
c) make sure there are no incompatibilities with software on your
system.

As to how well (or if) it's working - you can start with an eicar test
(http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm) and GRC's leaktest
(http://www.grc.com/lt/leaktest.htm). There are more advanced tests you
can try, too, though I don't have any bookmarks handy to cite.

I also suggest reading the av-comparatives web site:
http://www.av-comparatives.org/

--
Seth Goodman

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:12:26 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:


"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
m...
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using Trend
micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not great.
My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet
Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

AVG free is doing the job fine for me.

Me too. They still support win98 also.

It can be hard, I think, to find the free version on their website.
One has to get past 2 or 3 screens that offer the paid version, and
iirc one has to click on a link that isn't named "free version" but
something else altogether. But it's there.

"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?




I use McAfee and a program called CyberScrub to get rid of those nasty
cookies and other downloads that clog up the system. It also cleans out the
history folder so no one can see where you have been. It can also wipe out
your hard drive if your not careful. They have a free full version trial.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:35:05 -0700, Tony wrote:

Seth Goodman wrote:
Another two cents - most AV suites have free trials - *definitely* try
before you buy!

Other than whether or not you like the user interface, how do you know
if it is doing a good job -- or doing anything?

There is a webpage where you can dl a harmless file that looks to
antivirus programs like a virus. Now if only I remembered it's name.

Read all of this before acting.
Google is my friend. It's eicar.xxx It seems to be available at
http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm This is hard to see
on my computer, because I have to scroll to the right a little bit to
see the scroll bar INSIDE the pane, and then scroll down.

This might be a better link. http://www.rexswain.com/eicar.html I was
very timid about these files because How do I know this isn't a trick
to get me to dl viruses!!

A few years ago I used them and everything was fine, and my AV alerted
on each one. Now for some reason, I'm not getting any alerts!!! OK,
after a couple minutes, I got the alerts. I don't know why it took so
long. I'm using an 800MHz computer now, probably faster than the
first time I tried this. Anyhow, I think both pages are ok.

The file lengths are probably important
eicar.com 68 Bytes
eicar.com.txt 68 Bytes
eicar_com.zip 184 Bytes
eicarcom2.zip 308 Bytes

As long as they are this short, there's no room for actual virus
stuff, just this string that all AV programs list as virus-like.

-- end read all of this --

I eliminate most viruses from email by skipping emails longer than
40K. Maybe this doesn't work so well with all email programs, but with
Eudora, I can look at the subject and headers of emails longer than
40K and decide if I want to dl the rest of them. Usually the answer
is no, except for one newsletter I get, and one poster to a mailing
list who uses some sort of software that makes all his emails 10 times
as large as everyone else's.

Neither Norton nor AVG has ever alerted on a web-based virus, and I'm
still not sure where they are and what they're like if they exist at
all.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:41:57 -0400, mm
wrote:


The file lengths are probably important
eicar.com 68 Bytes

The Rexwain version of this (text snipped) was 70 bytes long, and when
I had the AVG anti-virus program repair this file, it deleted all 70
bytes, because they are the string that the anti-virus programs alert
on, and it left me with a 0 byte file.

Maybe I have the prefeerences set a little differently on this
installation of AVG from what I used before.

eicar.com.txt 68 Bytes
eicar_com.zip 184 Bytes
eicarcom2.zip 308 Bytes

As long as they are this short, there's no room for actual virus
stuff, just this string that all AV programs list as virus-like.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


I've used Avast (free for home use) for years. www.avast.com

They sell corporate versions and advance personal versions, but the
basic antvirus is free for home use. Their statement is that the only
way to win against the bad guys, or at least keep up, is if every
computer has good antivirus, and that's why they offer the basic
version for free. I think that's an admirable position, and if it
also gets them paying customers...well everyone's got to eat.

No one's ever heard of it, but it works well for me. Updates at least
once a day, hasn't caused any compatibility problems, and doesn't bog
my system. Hard to judge effectiveness, but after using it on three
always on, always connected systems for years, no infections yet.

I gave Norton and Mcaffe the boot years ago

My $.02

Paul F.

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:36:58 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec
(the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously
used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

And why is that? Please explain. As I understand it, they actually
*test* the products that they compare, which is more than can be said
for a lot of the idle speculators one hears from, oh, I don't know, in
forums like this ...

The root problem is that their testing "methods" are completely
laughable.

If you want to believe they have a clue, then by all means, follow
them wherever they go.


And what about guys who post broad, sweeping generalizations-- just their
opinion, really-- and glaringly don't support them with any data ;-)

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


Hi Steve,

I have used Kaspersky AV on our seven systems for the last
four years or so. I could not be happier with the product.

I would not even consider any Norton, or Symantec product
for a few reasons:

Prior to KAV, we had Norton.

One day, I noticed that one of our systems had a flag
telling us that our NAV license was about to expire. I
clicked to run though an automatic renewal process.

Within a day or two, the same thing happened on a few of our
other machines, but only after renewing three or four of
them did I notice a problem:

The warning was actually telling us that the licenses were
to expire in thirty days, but when we renewed, we received
and automatically installed a license that started on the
day of the installation.

In other words, Symantec had found a way to "eat" a month of
the license.

It was extremely sleazy to say the least.

But that is only part of the problem:

I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.

But then, removing the products proved to be all but
impossible despite using the many "removal" tools Symantec
provides.

When the software had been partially removed we started
getting frequent error messages relating to a Norton
Anti-Worm tool that we had never purchased, and had never
installed.

Still, Symantec could not provide a way to remove all traces
of their products.

So, I would certainly not purchase one of their products
again.

I should also add that (at least in the form we purchase)
Kaspersky is very modest in cost when compared to other
similar products.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

If you email... Please remove the "SPAMLESS."

In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever version I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version. Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most of the
previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours (nearly 7
total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over the hard drive.
That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any software company
with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:17:31 -0400, "J.H. Holliday" doc@ok wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:36:58 -0700, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec
(the
suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I previously
used
but found way too slow and buggy.

Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.

And why is that? Please explain. As I understand it, they actually
*test* the products that they compare, which is more than can be said
for a lot of the idle speculators one hears from, oh, I don't know, in
forums like this ...

The root problem is that their testing "methods" are completely
laughable.

If you want to believe they have a clue, then by all means, follow
them wherever they go.


And what about guys who post broad, sweeping generalizations-- just their
opinion, really-- and glaringly don't support them with any data ;-)


Just because I don't feel obligated to spoon feed you, doesn't mean
what I said is not valid.

Consumer reports has made an art form out of comparing items based on
data points that are often of no consequence, while ignoring features
and elements of performance that are vital to a real evaluation. They
also often make GLARING errors that expose their shoddy practices.

No, I'm not going to sit here for hours typing up a synopsis of all
their many gaffsgaffs.

Here's one described briefly:

Two VCR's - one gets top rating and one gets bottom. They praise
certain features on the top rated unit that they casitgate on the
bottom rated unit. Top rated has a much better picture, faster rewind,
and so on compared to the bottiom rated unit. Only problem is....
drumroll... They are the exact same unit internally with slightly
altered cosmetics and a different brand name on the front. They even
use the same service literature and part numbers for servicing. They
are built in the same factory on the same assembly line.


Consumer Reports writer asks as he punches in for work, "Okay, what am
I an expert on today?"

wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Wrong group, but I'll answer anyway- I've been real happy with PCTools
antivirus, around 35 bucks/year for a 3-machine license on their web
site. I can legally use Symantec (aka Norton) from work, for free, but
after several problems with it fighting with windows, I said the hell
with it and went elsewhere. Between the PCTools and switching to
Firefox, no infections in close to a year (knock on plastic).

--
aem sends...

J. Clarke wrote:
IGot2P wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:58 -0400, "Smarty"
wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've
been using Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems
the 2008 version is not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky
2008 Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve

What is "not so great" about what you are using?

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an
extensive comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and
for sale. They liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down
on Norton/Symantec (the suite I use) and also down on Trend
PCCillin, the product I previously used but found way too slow and
buggy.

Smarty
Those who rely on Consumer Reports for reliable, honest, and
accurate
analysis of ANYTHIING, deserve what they get.
What gives you that impression of them? If they had advertising,
which
they don't, I might have a tendency to agree but without the
advertising I find them to be pretty "straight up" and reliable.

Now, let's hear your reasoning.

Experience. Every time I've trusted Consumer Reports I've gotten
burned.

Oh, I might trust them on household appliances and similar things, but
when it comes to cars and electronics, forget it. Anybody else remember
their silly rollover stunt with those stupid outriggers that raised the
mini-SUV's CG a foot or so? Like articles in newspapers, whenever they
write about something that I actually have some expertise on or
witnessed, I find myself saying 'that ain't right...' And their
reliability ratings are meaningless, like any self-selected polling pool.

--
aem sends...

I use free Avast, too. Very small footprint and does not slow down the
system like a lot of other AV programs do.

--
Walter
www.rationality.net
-
"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
...
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever version
I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not
work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version.
Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most of
the previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours
(nearly 7 total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over
the
hard drive. That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any
software company with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

My experience has been that antivirus programs cause far more problems
than the virii that they are supposed to be protecting us against.
Personally I run a standalone firewall with a software firewall behind
it, don't download executables from unknown sites, and never use the
administrator account unless I'm doing something that requires
administrator access, and I've not had a virus on any of my computers
in 20 years. The virus threat is vastly overrated, mostly due to the
marketing efforts of the producers of antivirus software.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Aug 12, 1:53*pm, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. *I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great. *My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. *Anyone heard of or used this one?

thanks for all your input.

steve

I use McAfee as it is free from my isp but it is a resource hog. I
had used Norton which is not quite as intrusive. I hear Avast is a
pretty good program and it's free.

Frank

Smarty wrote:

Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an
extensive comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and
for sale. They liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on
Norton/Symantec (the suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin,
the product I previously used but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty

Norton and McAfee have both received a lot of bad press in recent years over
their buggy, intrusive software and very poor customer service. I've heard
so many horror stories that I would never use either one again. Norton has
been trying to clean up their act lately but I see no reason to go back to
using their products when there are superior alternatives available.

Kaspersky is highly rated by lots of IT types. I recommend the free home
version of Avast! which I got after reading a lot of positive reviews also
by IT-savvy folks. You can't beat free, at least if it works properly, and
Avast! has worked well for me.

http://www.avast.com/

wrote:

The root problem is that their testing "methods" are completely
laughable.

Says who? Care to offer documented examples? They've screwed up from time
to time but they've also admitted it when it's happened. I'd certainly put
more faith in them than in some magazine that relies on advertising revenue
to survive and thus is highly unlikely to give any product a bad review.

If you want to believe they have a clue, then by all means, follow
them wherever they go.

Aside from their product testing the feedback they get from consumers
breakdowns and repair costs etc. seems useful. CR might not be perfect but
in a world where most magazines and websites are little better than shills
for companies with products to sell I still consider CR a valuable resource.

"mm" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:12:26 -0700, "Bob F"
wrote:


"Steve Barker DLT" wrote in message
om...
I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend
micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is not
great.
My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008 Internet
Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

AVG free is doing the job fine for me.

Me too. They still support win98 also.

It can be hard, I think, to find the free version on their website.
One has to get past 2 or 3 screens that offer the paid version, and
iirc one has to click on a link that isn't named "free version" but
something else altogether. But it's there.

I have been using the free version of AVG for probably 10 years. Seems to
work well enough for me. It is hard to find the free version, but I do use
it on Win 98 and Win XP systems.

I always thought most anything Norton's as a virus of somekind. Same thing
with AOL.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:14:24 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever version
I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not
work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version.
Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most of
the previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours
(nearly 7 total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over
the
hard drive. That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any
software company with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

My experience has been that antivirus programs cause far more problems
than the virii that they are supposed to be protecting us against.
Personally I run a standalone firewall with a software firewall behind
it, don't download executables from unknown sites, and never use the
administrator account unless I'm doing something that requires
administrator access, and I've not had a virus on any of my computers
in 20 years. The virus threat is vastly overrated, mostly due to the
marketing efforts of the producers of antivirus software.


You sound like you work at Consumer Reports! LOL

I knew a guy who chain smoked unfiltered camels from age 13 to age 93
when he was ht by a car crossing the street. He didn't get lung
cancer, so I guess there is no connection between cigarettes and lung
cancer! He proved it.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:58:02 -0700, "DGDevin"
wrote:

wrote:

The root problem is that their testing "methods" are completely
laughable.

Says who? Care to offer documented examples? They've screwed up from time
to time but they've also admitted it when it's happened. I'd certainly put
more faith in them than in some magazine that relies on advertising revenue
to survive and thus is highly unlikely to give any product a bad review.

If you want to believe they have a clue, then by all means, follow
them wherever they go.

Aside from their product testing the feedback they get from consumers
breakdowns and repair costs etc. seems useful. CR might not be perfect but
in a world where most magazines and websites are little better than shills
for companies with products to sell I still consider CR a valuable resource.


I have this bridge I need to sell quickly at a bargain price. You seem
like a smart fella...

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:13:49 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:14:24 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever version
I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not
work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version.
Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most of
the previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours
(nearly 7 total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over
the
hard drive. That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any
software company with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

My experience has been that antivirus programs cause far more problems
than the virii that they are supposed to be protecting us against.
Personally I run a standalone firewall with a software firewall behind
it, don't download executables from unknown sites, and never use the
administrator account unless I'm doing something that requires
administrator access, and I've not had a virus on any of my computers
in 20 years. The virus threat is vastly overrated, mostly due to the
marketing efforts of the producers of antivirus software.


You sound like you work at Consumer Reports! LOL

I knew a guy who chain smoked unfiltered camels from age 13 to age 93
when he was ht by a car crossing the street. He didn't get lung
cancer, so I guess there is no connection between cigarettes and lung
cancer! He proved it.

ps.

You misspelled VIRUSES. There is no such word as virii in any
language, including dead ones.

wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:14:24 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever
version
I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when
I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not
work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version.
Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old
version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most
of
the previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours
(nearly 7 total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over
the
hard drive. That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any
software company with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

My experience has been that antivirus programs cause far more
problems than the virii that they are supposed to be protecting us
against. Personally I run a standalone firewall with a software
firewall behind it, don't download executables from unknown sites,
and never use the administrator account unless I'm doing something
that requires administrator access, and I've not had a virus on any
of my computers in 20 years. The virus threat is vastly overrated,
mostly due to the marketing efforts of the producers of antivirus
software.


You sound like you work at Consumer Reports! LOL

I knew a guy who chain smoked unfiltered camels from age 13 to age
93
when he was ht by a car crossing the street. He didn't get lung
cancer, so I guess there is no connection between cigarettes and
lung
cancer! He proved it.

I see. So how many viruses has your antivirus program protected you
from in the past 20 years and how did they get at your system?

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:13:49 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:14:24 -0400, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
Kenneth wrote:


I called Symantec and requested a full refund on our
purchases. After some hassling, we got the refund.


I stopped using NAV about 5-6 years ago when whichever
version
I
was using was no longer supported. Okay, no biggie. But then when
I
bought and "installed" the new version, the new version would not
work
because some of the new version conflicted with the old version.
Okay,
small biggie but still mainly annoying. So I used the old
version's
"uninstall" then fired up the new version again only to get most
of
the previous conflicts. Called Symantec and spent about 4 hours
(nearly 7 total) taking out bits and pieces by hand from all over
the
hard drive. That was the end of my having ANYTHING to do with any
software company with an "s" in the name (g).

stirring things up
BTW I am VERY happy with my new AV software. OS X!
/stirring things up

My experience has been that antivirus programs cause far more
problems than the virii that they are supposed to be protecting us
against. Personally I run a standalone firewall with a software
firewall behind it, don't download executables from unknown sites,
and never use the administrator account unless I'm doing something
that requires administrator access, and I've not had a virus on
any
of my computers in 20 years. The virus threat is vastly
overrated,
mostly due to the marketing efforts of the producers of antivirus
software.


You sound like you work at Consumer Reports! LOL

I knew a guy who chain smoked unfiltered camels from age 13 to age
93
when he was ht by a car crossing the street. He didn't get lung
cancer, so I guess there is no connection between cigarettes and
lung
cancer! He proved it.

ps.

You misspelled VIRUSES. There is no such word as virii in any
language, including dead ones.

plonk

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:10:58 -0700, "Walter R."
wrote:

I use free Avast, too.

I was going to use Avast, but when I started to install it, it said
"AVAST", so I stopped.


I tried to find AVG=free on the Grisoft site and it's gotten harder
and harder. They have upgrade from free, and free trial, and I know
plain old free is in there somewhere, but I couldnt' find it.

I eventually searched on 'avg free' download, and that worked
better.

For one:
http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Vir...-10320142.html

Well for one thing, it's crashed twice so far (in a month) requiring a
re-install.

s

#2. something's going on and i can't go to www.reunion.com anymore.


s

wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?

not surprizing at all they were down on norton. I gave up on them 10 years
ago. They create their own problems to fix to justify their existance.

s


"Smarty" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:53:18 -0500, "Steve Barker DLT"
wrote:

I'm a wondering what everyone is using for AV software. I've been using
Trend micro pc-cillin for a few years, but it seems the 2008 version is
not
great. My local pc hardware guy agrees and recommends Kaspersky 2008
Internet Security. Anyone heard of or used this one?


thanks for all your input.

steve


What is "not so great" about what you are using?


Get and read the latest issue of Consumer Reports. They did an extensive
comparison and rated many antivirus suites both free and for sale. They
liked BitDefender very much, were surprisingly down on Norton/Symantec
(the suite I use) and also down on Trend PCCillin, the product I
previously used but found way too slow and buggy.

Smarty