AVG vs Avira antivirus, need input

[Rhomal]

Well while Mcafee has proven a loyal servent to me since DOS it is time we parted company. It seems from recent compairsons its really slipping in its ability to detect non-virus malware and becoming one of the slower scanners out there (However norton is by far the worst across the board of the big names).

 

With that said I am looking at either Avira or AVG and wondering if anyone here has used either and could help me go in one direction or another. First and foremost high dectection of virii, trojans, worms, rookits amd email scanner are my biggest needs/concerns. Then speed, low system resource usage and false postivites and finally bells and whistles. I don't need a firewall (behind a router) and other such things. The virus/malware aspect is the most important to me, other utils things are nice but not needed.

 

Any input appreciated.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I would NOT go with AVG, so of the two I guess I would have to say Avira. Although ESET's NOD32 is my anti-virus of choice.

[samm]

Yeah, I'm not happy with the new AVG either. Not small and unobstrusive anymore.

[Tigranes]

I'm still on AVG out of laziness, but it's starting to get cumbersome. I might try this 'Avira' myself.

[Bokishi]

I remember ditching AVG a couple years ago, when it started detecting programs like BioShock and Crysis as viruses, and then erasing them

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I remember ditching AVG a couple years ago, when it started detecting programs like BioShock and Crysis as viruses, and then erasing them

 

And recently it detected a critical Windows file -User32.dll- and deleated that...

[Rhomal]

Well seems a pretty solid one sided opinion against AVG.. so strike that. Thanks for the info everyone.

 

I also was pondering avast, while I read good things about its speed and such I heard is fares poor at overall detection. Anyone ever use that?

[Bokishi]

I use Avast right now, and have no issues with it

[Kaftan Barlast]

AVG is rubbish. I used to use Avast, but NOD32 is much faster and has a much smaller footprint

[Llyranor]

Er..... maybe I should stop using AVG

[Theseus]

I'm having trouble finding the "free version" of NOD32. The only thing free i see on their website is a trial for 30 days.

[Fionavar]

Ihave been using avast! for a long time and am well pleased with it fwiiw.

[Rhomal]

Ihave been using avast! for a long time and am well pleased with it fwiiw.

 

Thanks.

 

For comparison sakes here is a antivirus review done by a independent site. This lists detection % by the various scanners of threats in their definition files;

 

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2008_02.php

 

This lists the % of 'new' threats not in their deff files using their herustic ability to detect;

 

http://www.av-comparatives.org/seiten/ergebnisse_2008_11.php

 

While most all do very will if its a defined threat detecting a unknown threat seems only a few have a decent chance and that was my general concern.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I'm having trouble finding the "free version" of NOD32. The only thing free i see on their website is a trial for 30 days.

 

That's the only legal "free" version - and I wouldn't use a "questionable" copy for my protection...

[SteveThaiBinh]

For comparison sakes here is a antivirus review done by a independent site. This lists detection % by the various scanners of threats in their definition files;

Thanks for that, it's really useful. I've been using McAfee, but have recently had a series of malware infections that it couldn't handle. NOD32 does look worth a try.

[Oerwinde]

from myquick half hour research, it seems Avast is generally regarded as the best free virus software.