AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Hello all....

I'm running a server - well I say server, it's an old PC running XP Pro SP2 with some shared folders on it as a central point to store my files in from around the house.

I'm cleaning it up as it moves as slow as a dead snail - and getting rid of Norton Internet Security, AntiVirus and Sysyem Works from it.

I'm OK with Windows Firewall as part of SP2 - as it's not doing much on the internet, mostly only acting as a file server, but occasionally doing email on there - and it's behind a router - so it's no big issue.

However I do want to replace the antivirus software.... as it's an old machine Kaspersky seems to slow it down a lot, so do you have any recommendations for a very light AV program (free preferably) that won't hog the resources?

Cheers!

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I'd swear by Sophos for resource management.. but lately I've been using http://www.avast.com for a free alternative.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

There are a number of people on this forum who use AVG:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...ad.php?t=19972

You can download it free from here:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1/lng/us/tpl/v5

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Thanks mate....I'm using Avast on my old lappy...and it's a big resource hungry.

Thanks Bob....I'm just installing it now, looks fairly light on first inspection which is exactly what I need! Thank you!

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Install AVG v7, set it to auto update and just let it get on with the job in hand :) I've been using AVG for quite some time now and it hasn't let me down yet. Not bad for a freebie ;)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Personally I find Avast! Home which is free to be a resource friendly AV, and works well with sp2.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Trend Micro :)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

i use BitDefender here.... AV and firewall, is good :)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Norton 2005 (waits for the hiss, boos)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I think the OP wanted a freebie AV. Most of the recent ideas are paid for :confused:

AVG does appear to be the market leader in the freebie stakes.

You need to be aware that there are differences in the free to paid for products. Most are created in the hope you will upgrade. The biggest must to ensure is that updates are frequent enough to protect you. New viruses are released daily. If you connect to the internet, even just for email, daily, you need a daily update. You might remain lucky but if you do get an infection will the freebie AV software help you to clean up your PC when you have no support?

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Thanks everyone....including the Norton Suggestion...I was trying to get away from them not give them even more money! TBH I'd swear by Norton if the PC was doing a lot of surfing, but it's just a file server and I want to make sure than nothing with a virus gets stored on it.

AVG seems to be working out just fine - in fact just losing the Norton has sped it up unbelieveably!

Thanks again...green reps all round

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

norton virus isnt to bad its system works etc that slow it down - the enterprise version of norton isnt to bad either

*go for trend* ;)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I use AVG and Sophos. You can download and evaluate Sophos for 30 days on their site and in that 30 days it only updates about twice. At the end of the 30 days or maybe longer I just re-register and they do not have a problem with that. I have been doing this for about two years now.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

The 12 month trial of e-Trust is very good (apart from Google desktop refusing to work with it)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

E-Trust is good :) Wasn't that the piece of software that was originally free but then was renamed and sold commercially?? Inoculateit PE I think was what it was called before they realised they could make a lot of money from it :(

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't use Anti-Virus software? :erm:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I know of at least two other people that don't use an anti-virus program.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

How on earth do you get away without your PC getting infected? Even if you never do any email, virus can come by web browsing and all sorts.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Well I havn't had one installed since the beginning of November (when I installed 2000) and so far I've got nothing. Just done an online scan on both of my drives and it found nothing. I have Fprot on a boot-disc if I DO get one.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

IMO, you're foolish for not using any protection!

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I have SOME protection, but that would just be my firewall in my router.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Even so, you could feasibly be harbouring tons of viruses and malware, spyware, etc, and not know about it.

Virus checkers have their flaws but that's no reason not to use one.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I don't use one because of these reasons:

1. I have never caught a virus from having the internet for 6 years
2. Why waste CPU cycles that could be re-cycled for something else (CPDN)
3. Even if I have 1.28GB memory, I hate anti-virus software doing loads of I/O activity on my drives

That's why I don't use one.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

You will use one once you've caught a virus like Nimda or Code Red and the only way of cleaning your system is a reformat and reinstall. E-Trust uses no CPU cycles while idle and only 3 meg of memory whilst resident. I don't run full scans as I install AV software as soon as I install an OS so I never worry about it taking up processor time.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I used that before, but for some reason it was doing more I/O activity than the CPDN software (and I'm talking about 2,000,000,000 bytes per hour here).

I heard it was a bug in the software, may aswell download it to see if they fixed it or not. At least I can monitor it to *SEE* if it is slowing down CPDN (with them weird noises from my sound card, from another thread).

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

McAfee Virusscan Enterprise
McAfee Desktop Firewall
Assuming you get through the router firewall

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

How is a firewall in a router going to stop a virus? - Would you like me to send you an email? or even direct you to a web page that'll autoinstall a virus for you...

You must be really brave that's all I can say (hats off sir). :erm:

But, honestly please reconsider running a virus checker even if you only scan once a week and don't have "On access scanning" enabled

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I've just installed E-Trust's anti-virus, no speed changes to the CPDN software but I've noticed SERVICES.EXE has started to do a lot of I/O activity :erm:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

can you disable some features of the AV product such as on access scanning? assuming the increase in i/o is an issue? - I'd recommend leaving email scanning on if possible as most viruses are sent via email now...

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

There's floppy disk boot protection and total file protection. I don't think I'll need floppy disk boot protection :erm:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

1 is an irrelevance, I've never been run over by a bus but that doesn't mean if I go out tomorrow I'm not going to get run over by a bus.

2- You have what spec PC, running a generous OS (2000 IIRC) and you're bothered about a few CPU cycles, for what?

3- You have 1.28 GB of RAM and you're moaning about a process that will take a few MB?

You're playing with fire, and anyone who plays with fire will get burnt eventually.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

on my spare pc i didnt have any virus software for a while - complicated issues and i never use the thing and it sits behind a nice router but i did a scan the other day and it had loads ...u would be mad not to use virus software.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Well my laptop which is just running the CPDN software hasn't had one for about a year and is clean :rolleyes:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I used to have no Anti-Virus software and never had a problem with viruses. The only reason I installed AVG was that once I had installed XP SP2 I got fed-up with XP telling me that my computer was not protected all the time.

Since, installing AVG I find it fits my requirements perfectly. It was free but XP still detected it (so stopped the annoying popups) and I only notice it is running when it tells me there are new updates to download.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

u can stop the pop ups in xp sp2 just go into the security centre and click antivirus and tick the "i have a solution i will monitor my self"

- as for virus i know whats what on the web and i am very careful and patched up but some still creep through.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Well E-Trust's Anti-Virus has slown my CPDN software down to hell, so I've tried to unistall it but it keeps failing to unistall it. It's always E-Trust's Anti-Virus that fails to unistall it's self. So I've had to stop it from launching at start up and disable the service for it.

Last time I ever use E-Trust.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Does it give any errors when it fails to uninstall and have you tried uninstalling it while the service isn't actually running?

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

I tried unistalling it with everything related to it closed or disabled, and it just keeps failing to remove the service and all the files for it.

Was able to totally disable it so it doesn't run any more, and I'm giving Avast! a try. So far I prefer Avast! to E-Trust, and it doesn't slow down CPDN :)

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Even with a good firewall,without a good antivirus system, at some point you will get a virus. You have been lucky so far. At some point you won't be. My PC at home is behind two firewalls (one in the router, and Zonealarm Pro on the PC) and I have still had a couple of problems with Viruses. Luckily in both cases, McAfee stopped them before they did any damage.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Well if no one uses my laptop (and I mean it's just got it's lid closed 24/7) and only has BOINC running on it, how is it going to catch a virus? :erm:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

It's entirely possible they could do it through BOINC. Just because no exploits have been found in it, does not mean there are none.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

That's the thing with BOINC, it only uses the internet when it has to (which is every 15 hours and only for about a second) and it updates it's self automatically. So far CPDN and the people who make BOINC havn't found any type of flaw that can allow someone to send a virus or allow access to my PC threw it (as there isn't really a point, it's for Distributed Computing and nothing more).

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

If BOINC allows incoming traffic for any reason on port 80 (I know it transmits on port 80 and presumably needs a connection in to verify it) then you are at risk from a number of virus's. Most of which will scan random IP's for any open ports and automatically infect the host machines.

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Well I'll try Avast! on it later, I know my laptop doesn't like other things running in the back-ground :erm:

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Actually, as the individual BOINC projects are not sandboxed (IE they have the same level of access to the system as the user that runs them), it's entirely possible that a project could be doing all sorts of nasty stuff, including install viruses.


BTW, the info about BOINC not being sandboxed comes from the BOINC website (http://boinc.berkeley.edu/security.php).

The code signing scheme they use will go some way to prevent this, but theoretically, that is breakable.Berkley also make the point (on the page above) that by running a BOINC project, you entrust the security of your system to whoever wrote the poject.

Hell, just persuaded myself never to install BOINC.

Even if you are not directly affected, it's entirely possible that a virus could install itself on the laptop then flood your network connection with attempts to infect other people. It's also entirely possible, if you are connected via a Hub (not a router) that a virus could be sitting there scanning your network for passwords, or other useful information, such as Credit Card numbers.

A virus scanner would go some way toward minimising the risk.

OK.. Well done!

Re: AntiVirus Recommendations Please
 

Doesn't seem to be slowing it down, but I'll have to wait until it sends a "trickle" to the CPDN server so then I can calculate if it's slown down or not.