Fastest Antivirus & Firewall Software

[Inspiron 0]

I did a clean install of Windows XP some time ago..It returned to the fast speed and all animations were sleek...Only after I installed Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, my computer became slower then before...Startup now takes longer time and the computer seems to process something even the computer just boot into the desktop...Task Manager shows a jump of additional processes in the background...I understand that it's all normal to have Norton AntiVirus to run applications in the background to track virus every micro-second.. so does Norton Internet Security...I am trying to ask if there are other AntiVirus & Firewall softwares which loads like it will never have to load, and the amount of memory and processes running is far lesser, say maybe just 1 additional process...?

[jose_a1 0]

I had the same problem when I was using Mcafee Antivirus. The computer would take a long time to load. They charge you so must much and give you a lot of trouble.

I've thrown away my Mcafee and I tried looking for other anti-virus software.

Fortunately I came across Antivir and I am still using it up to now. Unlike when I had Mcafee, my computer loads in less than 5 minutes.

I don't know about you but that's pretty fast for me because I have a lot of other programs that load on startup such as Limewire!!!!(this is why it takes 5 minutes for my computer to load. this is probably the one that takes a lot of time.), my Hp Scanner Driver, my Hp Printer Driver, my Lexmark Printer Driver, Java & Adobe Updater etc etc. My memory is about 230 something mb ram because my video card is shared. Try comparing that with your computer to see if my recommendation works out.

By the way, you can get Antivir @ http://www.avira.com/de/free-antivirus-windows
It comes with a built in updater so it saved me all the trouble of downloading Dat Files in the Mcafee website.

Best of all, it's free! No more licensing fees and all those things that are hard on the pocket.

I am using Kerio firewall and I think it's okay. I get no annoying pop-up ads plus no more viruses on my system32 folder for months. When I had mcafee I would get 18 viruses for one whole friendster session. I scan my computer on a regular basis and I haven't seen a worm in months. My computer is running fine.

I don't know where to get kerio. I just downloaded it from somewhere so just look it up in google or yahoo.

Good Luck.

[Shackman 0]

I'm using AVG free anti-virus. It's free...and proven reliable to date. Hasn't failed me yet. It does not take much memory...or start-up time...it's almost as if it's non-exsistent. The only problem(or sohuld I say...downside?) is that it is very obvious and prominent when it is updating.

I'm always in a nice round of Navy Field when the ABG updater pops up and says...updating.....pifffff.......


Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.avg.com/de-de/free-antivirus-download

Enjoy!

-Shackman

[Xboxgamer1200 0]

I personally use Norton Antivirus and Internet Security, but if you do not like that I would take a look at an antivirus program called Panda Suite. It is usually used for businesses, and yes it is a little more expensive, but people have told me that it is far better than Norton.

[OhMyBosh 0]

I dunno about the rest of you but for me Norton is the slowest. Free Antivir the fastest. I prefer McAfee, it's pretty fast and isn't free so I trust it.

[ameribass 0]

I have been using Norton AntiVirus and Internet Security for quite a while now. I currently have the 2005 edition, and the speed isn't bad; it doesn't affect my computer's performance. I heard that the 2004 edition of Norton AntiVirus made a lot of the users' computers much slower. Maybe that is the problem in your case, if not, then try tweaking some system settings to make Windows load faster to help offset the slowdown that Norton causes. If that doesn't work, then I would recommend downloading some trail software and test it out to see if that loads faster (no point of buying it if it doesn't fix your problem). I agree with Xboxgamer1200, Panda Suite is a very good set of tools that are praised by many for their performance. I wish you the best of luck in finding a solution to your problem!AmeriBass

[varunone 0]

I'm using AVG free anti-virus. It's free...and proven reliable to date. Hasn't failed me yet. It does not take much memory...or start-up time...it's almost as if it's non-exsistent. The only problem(or sohuld I say...downside?) is that it is very obvious and prominent when it is updating.

 

I'm always in a nice round of Navy Field when the ABG updater pops up and says...updating.....pifffff.......

Anyway, here's the link:

 

http://www.avg.com/de-de/free-antivirus-download

 

Enjoy!

 

-Shackman

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Actually AVG had the smallest foot print then any other anitvirus software available in the matket. Its takes very small amount of memory and cpu time slice.

 

And for the firewall try the free version of Zone Alarm (its better than the paid version)

 

SO You have the fastest suite of antivirus + firewall for complete protection and that too free of cost

[varunone 0]

Just found out about avast anti virus from https://www.avast.com/de-de/index seems its very good with built in firewall and realtime internet traffic scanner. Also has email, messenger scaners etc ...

A close friend highly recoments it

Check it out ... and its FREE


Cheers

[gimli 0]

I have McAfee but it seems to be slow as well. Try searching in search engines or on software site such as microsoft. They can soemtimes help.

[icemarle 0]

I'm using McAfee Home, and well, startup is torture for me, especially, since I'm an impatient person (LOL and I'm using dialup). I mean, I hate to restart and shutdown my computer. I do, however, thank McAfee for the times it detected a trojan on the spot (and cleaned it) saved me a lot of scanning time. I never had a worm, a trojan or a virus. Since I got it. I pair it up with Spybot S&D, to bid adieu to those Adware. As much I want to increase my startup loading time, I have to put up with it, as I put safety first before comfort. About Antivir, I don't really... trust freeware virus scanning programs much, because I'm not sure if they are really the latest stuff, but correct me if I'm mistaken. I particularly like McAfee for the instant deletion of trojans (warning that it was cleaned popped out of nowhere), and well, it kinda shows me how aggressive it is.

[shigajet 0]

I heard a lot of good things about McAfee, what about software like Norton Utilities or Virus Buster (an antivirus software available in Japan)?

[rejected 0]

ETrust EZ Antivirus is the best virus software in my opinion. You can shut it off any time you want, and you can have it scan any/all files. This software has kept my computer clean from viruses, trojans, and worms for over 6 months now. It takes up very little of your cpu, and doesn't run on start up if you don't want it to.(you set an option for it to run on startup if you want it to)

[FaLgoR 0]

I personally use Norton Antivirus and Internet Security, but if you do not like that I would take a look at an antivirus program called Panda Suite. It is usually used for businesses, and yes it is a little more expensive, but people have told me that it is far better than Norton.

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I agree. Norton Anti-Virus doesn't find alot of viruses. I made tests. When I told norton to scan a virus, ok, it found the virus, but when I compressed the virus... nothing. Panda, though, is veeeery better. I made the same tests with it and it found alot of viruses which norton didn't.

[ashiezai 0]

personally i will use norton anti virus .. but it's true that it's not the best out there .. it just had the reputation .. but it's still a good antivirus program to have

[eXtreme 0]

i use McAfee too and it never gave me a problem.. i find it fast to load, and good to detect virus (and thats what we want right?)

For me Norton will always be crap... i never saw so big full of holes slow app before. Of course that for some people it may work faster.

So that's just my opinion.

You're looking for a firewall too right?

I recommend Agnitum Outpost Firewall.

It got awesome score at lots of security reviewers, it's fast and *safe*.

Here are some reviews:

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

https://gen.xyz/

And remember all those little apps that were supposed to show you how the current firewalls are useless to block important information getting out of your PC (for exemple: Leak Test v.1.2).

http://www.agnitum.com/products/ (PDF)

Outpost blocks then all.

It's the one i use and i highly recommended. The new version is 2.7, sadly though its shareware.

I hope i helped.