Recommendations for anti-virus software?

vsp · 07-23-2001, 09:29 AM

Okay, okay, suggestion one: Replace Windows with Linux. Tempting, but not right now. With that out of the way...

I consider myself to be a competent Internet junkie when it comes to viruses. My email goes through a procmail-enabled Unix shell account, and my Windows email (on the rare occasions that I use it) is through Pegasus Mail, not Outlook. I don't click attachments, I don't download warez, I don't run weird things blindly without checking them out, and I've gone six or seven years now in PC environments without a virus popping up.

That having been said, my new PC needs some virus protection on it. It's running Win98, and my wife will be using it fairly often once I sit her down and show her more of how to reach the Internet. While she's no dummy, she's new to this, and thus I won't give her the same benefit of the doubt (i.e. knowing what's safe to play with and what isn't) that I give myself. She'll be using Pegasus Mail, but even that isn't attachment-proof, and it only takes one slip-up to make life ugly. There will be times that I'll want to scan things myself, as well, just to be sure.

(Besides, a friend of mine got nipped by the Romeo & Juliet virus, which didn't require attachment-clicking to activate. Just opening the mail message itself was enough.)

So anyway: I've heard some nasty rumors about McAfee 5.x being unstable and buggy, but also heard many who've sworn off Norton for good for similar reasons. I played around with F-PROT years ago and can't say I was impressed with it then. Any suggestions as to what's a quality product out there?

jeff. who enjoys the fact that by rolling my own PC, I can CHOOSE a package rather than having one preinstalled that I may not want...

mbpark · 07-23-2001, 04:29 PM

Yo VSP,

The AV program I have been running for my sister is Norton, for one important reason:

The auto-update works, which is unlike McAfee. They're also very good about support for new Windows versions, and it's the de facto standard.

I also recommend Trend Micro, but that's for huge LANs like Diginexus' (which has all the MS toys that need it on it).

Norton is the way to go, IMHO, since it is actually very good and is well-supported.

Mich

jaguar · 07-23-2001, 09:00 PM

I'm nto sure if you have heard of it but VET
ww.vet.com.au
its a damn nice one. Its made in melbourne so its really popular here.....Wish i had a legit copy so i could use autoupdate.

07-23-2001, 09:29 AM	#1
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Recommendations for anti-virus software? Okay, okay, suggestion one: Replace Windows with Linux. Tempting, but not right now. With that out of the way... I consider myself to be a competent Internet junkie when it comes to viruses. My email goes through a procmail-enabled Unix shell account, and my Windows email (on the rare occasions that I use it) is through Pegasus Mail, not Outlook. I don't click attachments, I don't download warez, I don't run weird things blindly without checking them out, and I've gone six or seven years now in PC environments without a virus popping up. That having been said, my new PC needs some virus protection on it. It's running Win98, and my wife will be using it fairly often once I sit her down and show her more of how to reach the Internet. While she's no dummy, she's new to this, and thus I won't give her the same benefit of the doubt (i.e. knowing what's safe to play with and what isn't) that I give myself. She'll be using Pegasus Mail, but even that isn't attachment-proof, and it only takes one slip-up to make life ugly. There will be times that I'll want to scan things myself, as well, just to be sure. (Besides, a friend of mine got nipped by the Romeo & Juliet virus, which didn't require attachment-clicking to activate. Just opening the mail message itself was enough.) So anyway: I've heard some nasty rumors about McAfee 5.x being unstable and buggy, but also heard many who've sworn off Norton for good for similar reasons. I played around with F-PROT years ago and can't say I was impressed with it then. Any suggestions as to what's a quality product out there? jeff. who enjoys the fact that by rolling my own PC, I can CHOOSE a package rather than having one preinstalled that I may not want...

07-23-2001, 04:29 PM	#2
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	Norton AV Yo VSP, The AV program I have been running for my sister is Norton, for one important reason: The auto-update works, which is unlike McAfee. They're also very good about support for new Windows versions, and it's the de facto standard. I also recommend Trend Micro, but that's for huge LANs like Diginexus' (which has all the MS toys that need it on it). Norton is the way to go, IMHO, since it is actually very good and is well-supported. Mich

07-23-2001, 09:00 PM	#3
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	I'm nto sure if you have heard of it but VET ww.vet.com.au its a damn nice one. Its made in melbourne so its really popular here.....Wish i had a legit copy so i could use autoupdate. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

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