No More Free Antivirus? - Comments Page 2

It goes without saying but must be said again,

R.T.F.M.—Anonymous, 1979.[*]

Or perhaps updated to,

R.T.F.S.—Son of anonymous, 2014.

Oh Please!!!

I NOW use Emsisoft Anti-Malware as their Program does NOT Snoop on your personal files!

av-comparatives.org has a PDF on which AV companies are rated in terms of how much they protect - - or don't protect - - your privacy . . . a Most Interesting READ for those of us who have a healthy dose of Paranoia!

i

Mr. Rankin. to prevent further "indignant emails", you forgot the disclaimer at the bottom of your great article that states "The foregoing is subject to change, without notice. YMMV"
I heard that this week may be the 25th anniversary of the web (thank you Al Gore) and I spent the first 20years worrying about AV. I am now to the point that I no longer care and use the placebo AV protection provided by Microsoft Win8 Defender. I have tried them all (including the paid version of now defunct Acronis AV) and find them all to be a large nuisance. I have come to the realization that I am now spending more time "computing" and less time tending to AV baby-sitting chores!

I started recommending to my friends & family that they go with their internet provider's offer of free anti-virus (it's usually Norton now) - I do try to warn them that their downloaders will often include other software that they won't need and so make sure to only check the Norton. It prevents all that confusion with AVG (and Avast is better but it still needs to be registered and renewed.)

I've been using Ubuntu for about 4months. I found out today that on installation the firewall is off by default. I am on the internet all day every day, I turned it on after reading this. Before I had windows hate (not a typo) my old legs got so tired of chasing out trojens, they eventually damaged 8 beyond what I could fix, I aked on a linux forum how I could scan and check for malware, i just loved the reply, "dont worry dave we did that for you last night,All is well. please pass by again sometime I'm Sally, I'm here to keep an eye on you." Ihad almost forget about allthis anti-virus stuff, aaarrrr the good old days.

You might want to check out Baidu Antivirus. It is easy on the resources, updates without irritating announcements and is doing a great job on my desktop and laptop. Never heard of it before? Welcome to the Club! Consider this to be an opportunity to be 'Leader of the Pack'.

As always an informative article. Me, I want a free AV that lets ME choose to Quarantine or not what the proggy says is a "baddie". Most of the AV's find something and Automatically quarantine or delete it and I DON'T WANT THAT. I have some proggys that show as "infected" but they are not, at least for me so I want an AV that lets ME choose. I am currently using Comodo Free and it is working well and I do also use EMET and Malwarebytes as further defense and of course MS Defender but have had to let MSEssentials go as it is unreliable for me and others.

The attached is typical of the posts in forums regarding Avast It doesn't matter whether it's the free or pro version. Comments please. It does make me wary, something so good suddenly changing its policy.

"Unexpected request to change homepage and search engine"

June 21, 2014 |

Version: Avast Browser Cleanup 9.0.0.224

Pros

None. Potentially I thought this feature might deliver security and performance improvements. But, after being told that my homepage had to changed, I didn't proceed.

Cons

Woah! What? The add-on removal requires selection of your homepage?! You get to choose between Yahoo and Bing. Only. Smell a big fat rat? You bet.

Summary

Luckily I have the free trial and no money has changed hands.

Read more: Avast Browser Cleanup - Free download and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Had been using the free version of Avast for many years and paid for the Pro version when they they made me an offer good for two years, I couldn't refuse. While the free version was working well, I like having the extra features of the Pro version and it has continued to protect my PC in many areas. I have recommended Avast to many others who were unhappy with their antivirus software.

Thanks for making things so clear. We "older ones" really appreciate it.

From my experience many companies will say "Free Download" which means the download of the program is free but you have to pay to install the program. A bit of salesman deception.
Many Free Programs will install the basic no frills antivirus program then keep popping up with adds to install the full program at a cost. The Free Program is a way to harvest your information and then spam your email and put pop ups on your screen in front of you. So free is not totally free. You agree in the terms of service to many things. It is wise to read the Term of Service Agreement before agreeing. It may take two or three days to read some of them but at least you will be aware of what information you agree to give away for the use of a Free program.

I used the free version of Avast for the first year, then upgraded to the basic paid version, which I've used for the past three years. At a mere £29.99 per year for 3 machines it's still excellent value for money.

I'm using the free Outpost Security Suite on this computer, Bit Defender + Comodo Firewall on the other. Both run smoothly, and, in fact, I've NEVER paid for an A-V.

@Steve Stephenson --- I disagree with your comment, about Avast! Browser Cleanup.

First of all, this is a FREE program, not a "free trial", and can easily, be downloaded from the Avast! Store. I downloaded it and it didn't want to "change" my Browser's Homepage or tell me to use either Yahoo! or Bing.

Secondly, you wrote the "operative words" ... CNET Download.com!!! That is why you are getting all the bullsh**, on your computer!!! CNET Download.com is FULL of malware and crapware, along with spyware. CNET use to be one of the safest sites, for downloading various programs ... NOT any more!!! It is NOT coming from Avast.com, believe me.

Just a small piece of advice. Read more of Ask Bob Rankin and you will learn what to avoid and what not to avoid, when it comes to using different programs. Bob and those of us, who follow him faithfully, have read his several articles about the CNET Download.com bullsh**.

Trust me, you are more "infected" with crapware programs, than you realize, due to downloading from CNET Download.com!!! Try getting rid of it, too!!! It takes an "act of Congress" and a LOT of work, on your part, to get rid of it.

Here, take the time to read this awesome article, by Bob, on CNET Download.com and a couple of other download websites, that were once, safe and secure. Here's the first article:

http://askbobrankin.com/download_alert_foistware_warning.html

Then, there was this one:

http://askbobrankin.com/downloading_watch_out_for_these_danger_signs.html

Bob is one smart cookie, that honestly knows his way around the Web and honestly, tries to warn us, when there is trouble ahead.

MmeMoxie--

I hate seeing once-reputable companies like Cnet going down the sewer. And Avast is not the Avast of 10 years ago. They've added a lot of crap that you have to be sharp to avoid. But I can't avoid it all. I'm looking at the corner of my screen right now at a popup from Avast, offering me an upgrade for the World Cup. Yes, I know there's no connection.

Is anyone still using MSE on their XP computers?

@Steve Stephenson --- I humbly apologize to you. I just read what I wrote and it does sound cold, hard and tactless. Please, that was never my intent.

Avast! is a good, solid AV Program, like AVG is. I do recommend both of them, to family and friends. I recommend the FREE versions, so, they can see how good both programs are and then, IF, they want to, they can purchase the Paid versions.

I do hope, you have read the two articles that, I recommended. Trust me, you need all of the information from those articles and several others that Bob has written about, on the Foistware subject.

Steve, many Geeks were "taken in" by CNET Download.com, before it was known that CNET doesn't provided any "security measures", for their downloading website. Oh, the downloads may not have Viruses, Trojan Horses and Worms ... But, it does have Malware and Spyware. I personally believe that, CNET is getting paid, for all of this and I think, it is because CNET is NOT on top of the computer ladder, anymore.

I personally, quit getting anything from CNET, several years ago. I was still using their "Update" your program that you downloaded, from CNET Download. It was last fall, that I realized that, I got malware/spyware on my desktop computer. Somehow, I missed Bob's wonderful article warning ALL of us, that CNET Downloaded.com was now giving Foistware to everyone!!!

I honestly believe, this is why you are having "problems" with Avast! wanting to change your Home Page ... It isn't Avast! wanting to do this ... It is CONDUIT and SWEET PACKS and both of these "programs/applications" are almost impossible to removed, once they are deeply imbedded, like they were in my computer.

So, I humbly apologize, as it was never my intent to be anything, but helpful, understanding and kind.

@Rochelle --- I am in full agreement with you, that it really is a "crying shame", when a good company that CNET was, goes down the drain, into the sewer. There have been several download websites that, were safe and now, are not safe ... Tucows is another one.

Right now, I will only go to filepuma.com or Major Geeks.com. I know, that both of these websites are "safe and sound", for the moment. Filepuma.com is run by Glarysoft.com and you can get many "Updates" for those programs that, are not done automatically ... Very much like CNET Download use to do!!! This is good to know.

As for Avast! not being the same product, like it was 10 years ago ... I think, the same can be said, of most any computer program, after 10 years. Especially, the Anti-Virus programs!

MSE, Microsoft Defender (MSE's name in Windows 8) as well as BitDefender Free are completely free, even for commercial use and offer good protection that doesn't bother you while you're working. Avast Free and Avira are both great options, but Avast makes you register yearly, and Avira has a daily pop-up. As a computer technician, I can tell everyone wholeheartedly, to never install AVG. It slows down the computer immensely, its detection rates are routinely lower than the others according to 3rd party tests, it takes the initiative to turn off your internet (and, usually, when AVG does this, people bring their computers in, and after removing AVG and installing MSE, Defender, or BitDefender, a large portion of the problems are gone.

I run a small computer consulting/repair company and have used free antivirus products for my products for many years. I do my best to set them up properly and explain to the client how to continue to use the product for free. I do, however, encourage them to consider purchasing the upgraded version, as I feel it is the right thing to do--if you have been happy with the performance of the product for some time.

AVG was my choice several years ago, but then I moved to Avira as it had better detection rates and ran lighter on XP machines with limited RAM. When Avira got in bed with ASK I had to stop using it. I now use Avast and have to say I think it is simply fabulous compared to just about any other AV, free or commercial.

I understand the need/desire for these products to promote their paid-for products. But I can't say I'm a fan of some of the tactics. Avast has become a bit more irritating lately (Grime Fighter? SafePrice on their browser addon?) Still the value is so high it stays on my list. I tell my customers to "update but don't upgrade" and to ignore the popups about grime (yes, I disable it, but it still appears from time to time), optimization, etc.

Very nice article, BTW.

Some things you said about AVG Free are not correct! AVGF has had rootkit protection since 2010. You didn't read the Wikipedia article carefully enough! Also, AVGF has daily definition updates and to my mind, enough frequent program updates. I've been using AVGF for over five years. For me, it is the best antivirus, antispyware free or paid! As an example, I have little fear of clicking on unknown links for two reasons! First, because I maintain frequent backups of my entire disk and second because AVG has never let me down in catching malware attached to some of the links.