Anti-virus filter
March 13, 2010 7:09 AM Subscribe
anti-virus filter
My daughter had very bad virus problem on her laptop. It is being cleaned and Norton anti-virus being installed. Question: can I also in addition install, say, Avast, a 2nd anti-virus program, to ensure better protection, or will one defeat the work of the other?
My daughter had very bad virus problem on her laptop. It is being cleaned and Norton anti-virus being installed. Question: can I also in addition install, say, Avast, a 2nd anti-virus program, to ensure better protection, or will one defeat the work of the other?
You're better off only installing one and then having her occasionally run one of the many free online virus scanners as well. Having two scanning continuously "shouldn't" cause problems (but often does anyway), and would probably be annoyingly slow.
You should also have a long talk about internet hygiene. Viruses don't come from thin air.
posted by anaelith at 7:29 AM on March 13, 2010
You should also have a long talk about internet hygiene. Viruses don't come from thin air.
posted by anaelith at 7:29 AM on March 13, 2010
Installing two anti-virus programs has been a bad idea whenever I've seen it. It always slowed down the computer dramatically.
posted by demiurge at 7:29 AM on March 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by demiurge at 7:29 AM on March 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
You shouldn't run two anti-virus programs at the same time. You should also steer clear of Norton. There are lots of free anti-malware programs on the market that will do a similar or better job than Norton will with less performance overhead and less bloat. Try ThreatFire or Microsoft Security Essentials. Also, some businesses offer free or discounted versions of corporate anti-virus software to their employees. That might be worth a look, depending on your employer.
posted by joshrholloway at 7:38 AM on March 13, 2010
posted by joshrholloway at 7:38 AM on March 13, 2010
I've cleaned up more messes in the past from computers that had Norton's installed that didn't catch everything than I have anything else. I would save my money on buying Norton's and go with either Avast or with Microsoft Security Essentials for virus protection, and MalwareBytes and Spybot Search and Destroy for spyware protection.
posted by deezil at 7:42 AM on March 13, 2010
posted by deezil at 7:42 AM on March 13, 2010
What most of us said: you should absolutely install a single antivirus software only.
With regard to Norton being "bad", do rely on computer magazine tests, not the AskMeFi crowd. We seem to be biased. Norton has recently won some comparison tests.
posted by oxit at 7:44 AM on March 13, 2010
With regard to Norton being "bad", do rely on computer magazine tests, not the AskMeFi crowd. We seem to be biased. Norton has recently won some comparison tests.
posted by oxit at 7:44 AM on March 13, 2010
Computer magazine tests run by computer magazines that advertise Norton products?
Avast and AVG have kept my computers virus free for over a decade. Free is defnitely the way to go.
posted by ceri richard at 7:53 AM on March 13, 2010
Avast and AVG have kept my computers virus free for over a decade. Free is defnitely the way to go.
posted by ceri richard at 7:53 AM on March 13, 2010
Norton has caused way more harm than good on my systems in the past. I have had to re-install Windows plenty of times after Norton hosed my system.
As long as someone isn't trying to use pirated software or pulling stuff from Warez sites you really should need to use anything beyond AVG or NOD32. However, if you're serious I would suggest Kaspersky.
posted by zombieApoc at 8:29 AM on March 13, 2010
As long as someone isn't trying to use pirated software or pulling stuff from Warez sites you really should need to use anything beyond AVG or NOD32. However, if you're serious I would suggest Kaspersky.
posted by zombieApoc at 8:29 AM on March 13, 2010
With regard to Norton being "bad", do rely on computer magazine tests, not the AskMeFi crowd. We seem to be biased. Norton has recently won some comparison tests.
It's not just its rate of finding viruses. It's also Norton's ability to "take over" your computer and bog it down. That's been my main gripe with Norton in the past.
posted by jmd82 at 8:37 AM on March 13, 2010
It's not just its rate of finding viruses. It's also Norton's ability to "take over" your computer and bog it down. That's been my main gripe with Norton in the past.
posted by jmd82 at 8:37 AM on March 13, 2010
Any AV software is only as good as its most recent update. Install whatever you want; if you are not diligent about keeping it up to date it is worthless. You need to make sure it is doing its automatic updates on whatever the most frequent schedule is.
That said, my personal opinion is that all AV software is a waste. Here is the secret to having a healthy machine without AV software: always install the latest update through Windows Update. Set your machine to automatically do this. And never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, install third party software.
I would just create a non-administrative account for your daughter that isn't allowed to install software; then she has to come to you to get it done. You can use those conversations to encourage healthy computing.
Also, I wouldn't rely on AV software to clean the machine successfully. Once a machine has been compromised, the only 100% sure way to know it is safe again is to do a clean re-install of the machine.
posted by jeffamaphone at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2010
That said, my personal opinion is that all AV software is a waste. Here is the secret to having a healthy machine without AV software: always install the latest update through Windows Update. Set your machine to automatically do this. And never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, install third party software.
I would just create a non-administrative account for your daughter that isn't allowed to install software; then she has to come to you to get it done. You can use those conversations to encourage healthy computing.
Also, I wouldn't rely on AV software to clean the machine successfully. Once a machine has been compromised, the only 100% sure way to know it is safe again is to do a clean re-install of the machine.
posted by jeffamaphone at 8:59 AM on March 13, 2010
Best answer: In addition to installing one antivirus program, and also occasionally running one of the free online scans, I would also install something like Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.
posted by gudrun at 9:16 AM on March 13, 2010
posted by gudrun at 9:16 AM on March 13, 2010
I hate Norton. It is very resource-hoggy.
I use PandaCloud right now, and I've used Threatfire combined with AVG in the past. AVG was kind of annoying with the constant updates and auto-scanning, but it might be a good option for her.
posted by Ouisch at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2010
I use PandaCloud right now, and I've used Threatfire combined with AVG in the past. AVG was kind of annoying with the constant updates and auto-scanning, but it might be a good option for her.
posted by Ouisch at 9:38 AM on March 13, 2010
And totally agree with the other, basic security things she needs to be doing before even worrying about anti-virus software.
Don't open email attachments from people you don't know. Don't go to sketchy websites and get click-happy on shit. Run a non-admin account. Always install OS updates. Use your existing firewall. Without that, you're working at cross-purposes to whatever anti-virus stuff you've got installed.
I have seen people utterly ruin their computers simply by being click-happy. Develop safe internet habits first and foremost.
posted by Ouisch at 9:42 AM on March 13, 2010
Don't open email attachments from people you don't know. Don't go to sketchy websites and get click-happy on shit. Run a non-admin account. Always install OS updates. Use your existing firewall. Without that, you're working at cross-purposes to whatever anti-virus stuff you've got installed.
I have seen people utterly ruin their computers simply by being click-happy. Develop safe internet habits first and foremost.
posted by Ouisch at 9:42 AM on March 13, 2010
im here to second nod32...
if you want to see "tests" done of em, id check consumer reports (had good luck w/ CR in the past...)
posted by knockoutking at 9:58 AM on March 13, 2010
if you want to see "tests" done of em, id check consumer reports (had good luck w/ CR in the past...)
posted by knockoutking at 9:58 AM on March 13, 2010
I like antivir. But, what others have said about understanding basic security always applies.
posted by Obscure Reference at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2010
posted by Obscure Reference at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2010
How old is your daughter? Is she in college or grade school? Should she be allowed to install software by herself?
Configuring the administrator privileges so she can't install software without the admin password is a good first step to preventing her from getting viruses in the first place.
posted by MesoFilter at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2010
Configuring the administrator privileges so she can't install software without the admin password is a good first step to preventing her from getting viruses in the first place.
posted by MesoFilter at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2010
After my son's 2nd virus infection I installed Ubuntu as a dual boot on his PC and forbid him from being online from Windows. It's still there for gaming though.
Problem solved.
posted by COD at 4:36 PM on March 13, 2010
Problem solved.
posted by COD at 4:36 PM on March 13, 2010
I recommend Microsoft's free Security Essentials over Symantec anti-virus. P
posted by theora55 at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2010
posted by theora55 at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:11 AM on March 13, 2010