Maarvin
Premium
join:2005-04-11
Denver, CO
 ·Comcast
1 edit | reply to lordpuffer
Re: The Best Free Antivirus Program?
My Comcast offered McAfee Security Suite was not as trouble free as Comcast and McAfee proposed. For no particular reason the McAfee System Manager, mcmscsvc.exe, would hog the hard disk system utility at over 95% of the system time. This made my system next to useless. Since McAfee had no cure for this, McAfee was deleted. Oddly enough my other system runs smoothly.
The firewall was replaced with Microsoft Windows XP firewall. I am currently using PCTools free VirusScan. However, after reading through this thread I may check out AVS since it seems so popular. |
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MikePal
@kaspersky-labs.com
| reply to jmorlan
said by jmorlan  :said by lordpuffer :If I use AOL AVS, does it also download other AOL stuff? I don't want any other AOL stuff on my computer. One downside to AVS (and KAV) in my opinion is that it defaults to enabling the built-in iSwift technology which adds undocumented NTFS-identifiers to your NTFS indexes. It does this to speed up scanning by skipping files that have already been scanned and cleared. However, there appears to be a side-effect of this technology in that some (many?) systems will experience long pauses during or before stage 2 CHKDSK after these NTFS-identifiers have been added. In some cases CHKDSK may not be able to run to completion. ... You are wrong posting that. All technical details you posted here have nothing with iSwift technology. They are related to iStreams technology used in earliest KAV 5.0 versions.
iSwift technology used in KAV 6.0+ is implemented in different way. It doesn't create any streams in files, it doesn't modify files in any way. It uses it's own database to maintain list of checked files instead. It has no any problem with CHKDSK. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| said by MikePal :said by jmorlan :said by lordpuffer :If I use AOL AVS, does it also download other AOL stuff? I don't want any other AOL stuff on my computer. One downside to AVS (and KAV) in my opinion is that it defaults to enabling the built-in iSwift technology which adds undocumented NTFS-identifiers to your NTFS indexes. It does this to speed up scanning by skipping files that have already been scanned and cleared. However, there appears to be a side-effect of this technology in that some (many?) systems will experience long pauses during or before stage 2 CHKDSK after these NTFS-identifiers have been added. In some cases CHKDSK may not be able to run to completion. ... You are wrong posting that. All technical details you posted here have nothing with iSwift technology. They are related to iStreams technology used in earliest KAV 5.0 versions. iSwift technology used in KAV 6.0+ is implemented in different way. It doesn't create any streams in files, it doesn't modify files in any way. It uses it's own database to maintain list of checked files instead. It has no any problem with CHKDSK. I don't know who you are since you posted anon but if by some vague chance you actually are connected to Kasperksy Labs which I doubt please post in the »Kaspersky, You lost me at ISwift..
thread and "enlighten" us.
Who said anything about ADS tags? We are not talking about KAV 5 but KAV 6 and 7 which have NTFS Identifiers added to each file and these Identifiers ARE causing problems with Chkdsk for a lot of us.
--
"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to MikePal
said by MikePal :
You are wrong posting that. All technical details you posted here have nothing with iSwift technology. They are related to iStreams technology used in earliest KAV 5.0 versions.
iSwift technology used in KAV 6.0+ is implemented in different way. It doesn't create any streams in files, it doesn't modify files in any way. It uses it's own database to maintain list of checked files instead. It has no any problem with CHKDSK.
You are misinformed. AVS does not use iStreams. It uses both iSwift and iChecker but not iStreams. See screen shot earlier in this thread here. ISwift works as I described. |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to Mele20
said by Mele20 :First, I recommend Avira. It causes less problems than any other AV I have used. I did have a problem with the recent addition of the rootkit scanner so I uninstalled it. It's detection is equal to or better than KAV and it can be set to update every hour. It doesn't have bells and whistles like KAV but supposedly is getting some of those this fall (web checker). Avira is one of the few free AV's that I have not tried. Based on your recommendation I am giving it a try right now and have removed AVS.
So far I like it pretty well. The detection rates are good and I did not see any false positives when I let it do a full scan. I had heard that it had a high rate of false positives, but that was not the case for me. I don't need or want an email scanner or a web checker; just an unobtrusive real-time defense is what I look for in an AV and Avira offers exactly that.
However, there are a few things I don't like. They advise you to update frequently like every six hours. However the update "interval" option only works for times greater than one day. Otherwise, to set it for one hour using the interface, you would need to add additional tasks for each hour of the day and have them repeat daily. That's just stupid.
The other thing that I don't care for is the large intrusive nag-screen popup that you get when it updates. It's really unprofessional looking and I think it's likely to turn people off more than encourage users of the free version to upgrade.
Fortunately there are workarounds to both of these issues, but it took a while to find and apply them.
I did not have any issues with the rootkit detection. Are you using the free version? |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| I'm glad you found the workarounds. The Splash screen when updating didn't bother me but it does a lot of folks. The only real problem with the free version is that the update servers are slow. That is not a problem usually. But if Avira has a fat update or a major version upgrade like on April 19 then the servers for the free version get overwhelmed and it is a problem then. The servers for the paid versions are MUCH faster and there are no problems when major updates/upgrades happen. There has been much speculation as to why Avira allows the servers for the free version to have the problems. I assume it is to encourage users to buy Avira. It is not an expensive AV but I don't really know why they don't fix the servers for the free version.
I was using the free version, but about two-three months ago, there was a promotion in a German version of, I think it was PC magazine, some computer magazine that offered a SIX MONTH trial of the Personal Premium version. A whole bunch of us got it. So, I have the trial until the middle of October.
The rootkit detection module I think has been improved since April 19 when first released. I got it then and I believe it was at least part of the sudden printer problems I had. I haven't tried it since then.
The FP's are mainly with the Extended Threat Category of Security Privacy Risks. That was ON by default until the major upgrade on April 19. Now it is OFF by default. That is probably why you saw no FP's. If you turn that on Avira will flag stuff like Sysinternals PSTools (pskill.exe). So, either keep that turned off or exclude and exclude is not set up to work smoothly. We have asked Avira to fix that.
Avira has warts. But they all do. I think the paid version should have email support but support for both paid and free is just the forum. There are several Avira support personnel who are assigned to the forum which is good.
--
"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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cdbma
join:2003-01-19
Bolton, MA
| I was about to download the AOL SW, but they apparently switched form Kaspersky to McAfee. I'm looking for an easy, intuitive, stress-free app for my daughter's new Vista laptop. Any thoughts on what AOL is now offering?
If this is not the way to go, I guess i'll check out the other free kits. I do need something that supports scheduled scans, as she will not remember to do it. |
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poppster
Tell the truth and then run.
Premium
join:2003-12-23
Midwest
clubs:  | Try AntiVir from Avira. I use it on all of my pc's. |
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StraitShoot
Who Loves Ya Baby? - Theo Kojak
Premium
join:2003-02-08
Clinton, MA | reply to lordpuffer
I would either try Avira or Avast... |
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comfort
join:2006-08-15
81822 | reply to lordpuffer
Does AntiVir Free have a nag screen during updates, or did I set something incorrectly? If I wanted to be bothered by nag screens I would go through trial versions .. |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| said by comfort :Does AntiVir Free have a nag screen during updates, or did I set something incorrectly? If I wanted to be bothered by nag screens I would go through trial versions .. Yes, there is a nag screen during updates even if you set updates to "silent" mode. It's quite intrusive and gaudy in my opinion. There is a work-around to disable it if it bothers you, or use another AV such as Avast or AVG. Neither of those have nag screens. |
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clocks11
join:2002-05-06
00000 | reply to lordpuffer
Anyone get Antivir to run with Vista. Would not work for me after trying two separate installed. I believe it was an issue with the updater module. |
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sjoeii
Premium
join:2007-08-07 | reply to lordpuffer
My choice for a free one. Would be Avira. But is free that important to you?
--
Kaspersky Labs Fan Club Project Manager
forum.kasperskyclub.com |
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cdbma
join:2003-01-19
Bolton, MA
| Free is key - for now. I need to get an AV app on my daughter's new laptop, but i'm not sure which one is going to be the best in the long term. I figure I can get something on her computer for now and then figure out what she needs to buy for the long term.
Avira has a nag screen, but one can schedule a scan. Avast does not support scheduled scans, but does not have a nag screen. I'm wondering if it's important to have a scan scheduling feature, as I'm not sure i can depend on my daughter to run scans weekly.
I guess I just need to pick one and go. |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI
| You can disable the Avira nag screen. Lots of posts about it over at Wilders. It never bothered me when I had the free version. Avira is a lot better at detection than Avast. Avast includes the kitchen sink too which I didn't like. I just want a really good AV....not everything else crammed in. But if you want all the other stuff then Avast would be the better choice.
--
"The same ferocity that our founders devoted to protect the freedom and independence of the press is now appropriate for our defense of the freedom of the internet. The stakes are the same: the survival of our Republic". Al Gore, The Assault on Reason |
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cdbma
join:2003-01-19
Bolton, MA
| thanks Mele20. I have to start somewhere, so i think i'll go with Avira and figure out how to disable the nag screen.
I don't want the kitchen sink either. I need something that will keep viruses off my daughter's computer because you all know who she calls when it stops working! |
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Mele20
Premium
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI | It's 4AM here and I have to get to sleep. I can find the threads at Wilders tomorrow for you or a search there for Avira nag screen should find them. |
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jeisenberg
New Year's Eve
join:2001-07-06
Windsor, ON
·Cogeco Cable
 ·Cogeco Voip
| reply to cdbma
said by cdbma :Avast does not support scheduled scans, but does not have a nag screen. Although you can't schedule a scan, you can do scans while the screen saver is active. To me, that's a better solution. |
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