Looking for a free and light weight virus scanner

[-1nf1n1ty-]

Are there any? I dont have viruses but you never know!

 

[Phxprovost]

MSE

 

[Batou1986]

AVG used to be non intrusive but that changed,I like my AV to work and leave me the hell alone.
My vote go's to MSE

 

[kenkickr]

+1 to MSE. Antivir is pretty good too but I got tired of the "purchase full" popup everytime it updated.

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

I am currently using AVG but Im not sure if its trustworthy so I will give MSE a shot

 

[mrw1986]

My vote goes to Avast.

EDIT: Forgot about Panda Cloud.

 

[newtekie1]

I swear MSE uses more resources than AVG, I've been wanting to compre both side by side, but haven't had the chance.

I went to MSE just because of AVG's last fuck up that hit me last week.

 

[-1nf1n1ty-]

My vote goes to Avast.

EDIT: Forgot about Panda Cloud.

I really hated Avast, I just didnt like it I remember trying it once and I installed it ran a virus scan then immediately removed it

I went to MSE just because of AVG's last fuck up that hit me last week.

What happened?

 

[newtekie1]

I really hated Avast, I just didnt like it I remember trying it once and I installed it ran a virus scan then immediately removed it



What happened?

AVG Failed badly

I never really liked Avast's UI, and back when I had it they required you register it every year which was a pain in the ass. Plus it broke the 16-bit sub-system on WinXP which sucked since I still used some 16-bit POS systems back when I tried Avast. The odd thing was that it didn't break it when you installed Avast, it broke it when you uninstalled Avast. And something just rubbed me wrong about Avast purposely breaking part of Windows when it was uninstalled...very virus like IMO. And I say they purposely did it because I talked to them about it, and they said they knew it did it and there were no plans to correct the issue since it only happened when the program was uninstalled and they don't want people uninstalling the program anyway.

 

[Crap Daddy]

I think MSE. Very discreet. No pop-ups telling you different stupid info. And it's effective.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

EDIT: Forgot about Panda Cloud.

Hmmm I been running avast for about a year now thought it was fine, just

installed

Panda Cloud and it found mpk.exe (KGB Keylogger) less than a min of being installed

Not sure if thats a malicious keylogger or one I have tried out in the past to keep tabs on whats happening on my pc when other ppl are using it, as I have also tried Refog keylogger ?

 

[mrw1986]

Hmmm I been running avast for about a year now thought it was fine, just Panda Cloud and it found mpk.exe (KGB Keylogger) less than a min of being installed

Not sure if thats a malicious keylogger or one I have tried out in the past to keep tabs on whats happening on my pc when other ppl are using it, as I have also tried Refog keylogger ?

It's most likely the latter of the two.

 

[sttubs]

I'm also quite happy using Avast! in several computers at home.

 

[hat]

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is great if you just want to run a scan. It doesn't do real-time protection.

 

[Flak]

AVG is complete fail. They are the only AV company I know of that doesn't receive an outcry when they release epic fail database and program updates. I mean come on, people still use them when at least TWICE a year they release an update that causes massive issues, in some cases requiring a format and re-install of windows???

Avast has gotten really good with their latest release, probably the lightest in terms of usage, especially with it's new scan caching.

AntiVir has the best detection of all the freebies, handily beats/ties the grandaddies like Kaspersky. It is very light on resources, but there is the nag screen (though you can block it).

Panda Cloud is nice, but it does require an internet connection to be effective.

MSE is nice and unobtrusive. But I have had some users machines get infected with it installed. Those users have now been switched to Avast and are chugging along nicely.

Rising AV is also decent, I have it on some test machines/test users. They have been infection free as well.

Comodo's freebie I've tried before. It always ends up randomly blocking emails if you use a program rather then web based emails. And you don't know it until you uninstall it and see some emails coming in from months ago and such. Maybe they fixed that issue now, haven't used it since that was discovered.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/security-software.php

 

[Kreij]

I would say just pick one that you like. none are 100% effective.
Your internet habits determine your likelyhood of getting malware more than anything.

 

[AsphyxiA]

Antivir all the way! I read a post somewhere where someone compared antivir, MSE, Avast, and AVG. What it came down to was Antivir and MSE are the best options out there while the rest really suck quite a bit. Antivir was better on resources than MSE. MSE integrates better into Windows slightly and doesn't have an annoying daily popup (little software hacking fixes this on Antivir though ).

 

[sneekypeet]

I would say use the search feature and see what was said in the other 50 threads exactly like this

 

[rossfrom]

+1 mse

 

[Athlonite]

+10 for MSE I use and install it on every comp I work on unless they have an paid sub version of something else but even then I'll try and talk them into switching once their subs are due

 

[pigulici]

+avira

 

[95Viper]

I would say use the search feature and see what was said in the other 50 threads exactly like this

+1 agreed.

There is a thread like this started, at least, once a week; if, not more often.
Try the different programs and check the results for yourself. Use the one you feel is best suited for your needs.

A search of other threads here at TPU.

List of popular anti-virus software at Majorgeeks; try some and see.

Oh, I am not trying to be belligerent or condescending at all, but you will get twenty different opinions from twenty-one different people.

 

[InnocentCriminal]

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is great if you just want to run a scan. It doesn't do real-time protection.

It does if you buy it. F'ing love MBAM... as a removal tool.

In regards to free AV - MSE all the way. We provide AVG at work and it seriously sucks donkey balls.

 

[GENTLEMEN]

For me, Avast + MSE = no viruses (so far) and very un-intrusive. Haven't tried any other freeware (or paid), though.