OT: Antivirus. Anything better than Panda

busterkeaton wrote on 11/19/2004, 8:50 AM
Hi, my antivirus software is about to expire and I am wondering if there is somehthing out there better than Panda.

I am hoping for a one-stop solution. One of the reasons I like Panda Platinum was that it included a firewall. I also like the fact, that I have no problems rendering in Vegas with the full antivius, firewall on. However I have been hit with a lot of spyware and malware and hijackers in recent months. Panda's firewall is pretty good at catching attempts to dial out, but not so good at catching dialers before they install.

Is there a solution that keeps all the nasties at bay.

Has anyone tried Panda TruPrevent, the new product they claim can catch new viruses before virus updates go out?

Comments

Grazie wrote on 11/19/2004, 8:55 AM
If I told you - I'd have to shoot myself . . even that is too much . . Panda? Endangered species? - Grazie :()
busterkeaton wrote on 11/19/2004, 8:59 AM
Grazie,

Are you keeping paint cans under your editing station? Are the lids on tight?



Actually, I suspect that most anitvirus packages are having trouble keeping up with the new batch of nasties that have come up.
Grazie wrote on 11/19/2004, 9:08 AM
LOL! . . Yeah hmmm nice! Grazie
nickle wrote on 11/19/2004, 10:31 AM
Have a look at VCOM System Suite 5.

Includes antivirus by Trendo micro, netdefense firewall plus a number of tweakers and cleanup wizards including Registry fixers, defrag etc. etc.

$59.95
http://www.v-com.com/
Coursedesign wrote on 11/19/2004, 1:32 PM
Trend Micro works well. Used it for last 4 years, liked it better than Panda and Norton that I have had on other machines.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 11/19/2004, 5:17 PM
I've heard a lot of good things about AVG and their basic service is free.

Jay
Laurence wrote on 11/19/2004, 6:16 PM
I've been using the free version of AVG for a couple of years now. I switched from Norton because Norton at the time slowed my computer down too much. AVG works great, doesn't slow your computer down, is regularly updated, and best of all free! I haven't had a virus problem since I started using it either.
craftech wrote on 11/19/2004, 7:19 PM
I had a free version of Panda Platinum through Ziff Davis so I tried it for a few months. I hated it. Not only did it allow two malicious files to pass through, but it would only work with 32 bit color enabled and you had to use their firewall. It would not work with Zone Alarm. Panda Platinum put a big hit on performance for my computer and several times during a complete scan the computer would freeze.
My advice would be to remove it completely. In fact, before you do run another company's virus scan on your computer and I bet it finds a virus in the Panda software download just like it does on everyone else's. I have no idea why that is, but there is a virus in the Panda download.
Currently I use a free one that is updated every day and sometimes twice a day. It works with Zone Alarm and does not slow down the computer at all.
It is AntiVir - Personal Edition available for free download just like Zone Alarm Free.
The best antivirus software bar none is Eset's Nod32 which costs $39 for a year. License renewal is $27.30.
Always gets top honors.

John
Spot|DSE wrote on 11/19/2004, 7:32 PM
Not that I'm wed to Panda, but it works REALLY well with Vegas and other NLE's, which is why I like it, particularly on my road machine. I also run the free TrendMicro Housecall about once a week or so because I'm on so many different networks. I haven't had any prob's with Panda except for their updater service doesn't recognize my email, so I manually download their updates. Their customer service sucks, but so does most everyone else' so...But I'm intrigued about some of the other products you guys are posting.
craftech wrote on 11/19/2004, 7:41 PM
Spot,
Unless Trend Micro's Housecall has improved, it too misses a lot of malicious stuff. In addition to that it won't work unless you have Active X components installed. Active X components are an almost ideal pipeline for malicious files so in effect, Trend Micro is asking you to make your computer vulnerable in order to protect it. You could use agressive settings for most sites and list Trend as a "trusted" site thereby allowing the Active X components access, but that scenario may not work with the type of Active X components Trend uses. The trusted site method works with the Windows Update website, but I am not sure it will work with the Trend Micro site.

John
mhbstevens wrote on 11/19/2004, 7:55 PM
I gave up Norton for PANDA. I find Panda very much better - and it talks to you in that cool Welsh accent.
craftech wrote on 11/19/2004, 7:59 PM
Mine had a Middle East accent.
nickle wrote on 11/19/2004, 8:53 PM
There are a few reasons why I like v-com
the firewall is by Sygate
the antivirus by Trend Micro
Data recovery utilities by Ontrack
a number of Fixit utilites tools.
It is only about 52MB in size.

I run V-com and Webroot spysweeper, which sits in my system tray and warns me if any website tries to change my homepage or if anything tries to change the Registry and of course protects against spyware.

I am running WinXp sp1 with NO critical updates and I'm on the internet (high speed) 16 hours a day. Never have any problems.

And lastley when running that dreaded rendertest, disabling the firewall, antivirus, spysweeper and disconnecting the internet only gained me 5 seconds.

One last thing is I run Firefox and not IE and have yet to encounter a Website that won't work.