Best Antivirus Software For Windows 7

[Susan80]

Which Anti-Virus Software is Best for Windows 7 & Windows 8?

[Zurchiboy]

Comodo Internet security with Immunet. In my opinion.

[ritchie58]

Here's what I use for my Win 7 Ultimate 64bit machine.

 

Active security software: Comodo Internet Security (Firewall & Defense+ only), Panda Cloud Pro, Immunet Free

 

On demand scanners: Malwarebytes Free, Emsisoft Free Emergency Kit, TDSSKiller (rootkit detection)

[Zurchiboy]

Here's what I use for my Win 7 Ultimate 64bit machine.

 

Active security software: Comodo Internet Security (Firewall & Defense+ only), Panda Cloud Pro, Immunet Free

 

On demand scanners: Malwarebytes Free, TDSSKiller (rootkit detection)

Technically it is Comodo Firewall. unless u found out how to integrate panda in to comodos user interface

[ritchie58]

Comodo has several software packages you can install. One is just the firewall only or you can install the entire Comodo Internet Security software package which consists of the Firewall, Defense+ and their antivirus. When installing you have the option to install which modules you want. With me I use just the firewall and the D+ modules and not the AV as I like the Panda & Immunet combo better for my AV protection.

[Susan80]

I am trying Immunet Protect FREE

[ritchie58]

Hi Susan80, glad to hear you decided to go with Immunet. It should do a great job at protecting your computer especially if you enable Monitor Program Install, Blocking Mode and the ClamAV engine and updates for that module in the Settings. Don't forget that Immunet Free is compatable with most major antivirus vendors software. So you can run an aditional AV along side of Immunet as an added layer of protection. You don't have to of course as some people like to take the minimalist (less is good) approch to their security. That's up to you. If you decide to use an additional AV with Immunet it's best if you add each other's Program Files folder into their respective Exclusion List. This can be done easly with Immunet in Settings. A number of major vendor's products are already excluded by default when you installed Immunet.

 

I would still reccomend installing & using a good third party rootkit scanner, such as TDSSKiller that I like to use, as an additional on-demand malware scanner. The free version of Malwarebytes will detect rootkits too. That's another good on-demand scanner to have installed and Malwarebytes can be quite useful at restoring your PC to a malware free state if you do get infected. These on-demand scanners have no real-time protection so they won't bog down your system in any way while not in use.

 

Regardless of what some "so called experts" say "always, always, always use a firewall!" Weither it's the built in Windows Firewall or another good third party vendor's product. A firewall will not only protect you from hackers and other forms of unauthorized access but also from certain types of malware such as persistant internet worms to name just one.

 

Best wishes, Ritchie...

[Zurchiboy]

To go on with what ritchie said. If you have heard of private firewall or Comodo firewall. Those two are free and are excellent.

Link to Private firewall:

http://www.privacyware.com/personal_firewall.html

Link to Comodo Firewall

http://www.comodo.com/products/free-products.php?track=2720&key5sk1=ca806a6d62bb3751da0547f373e18ca41891134f&key5sk2=2128&key5sk3=1360552936000&key5sk4=2720&key5sk5=1360552937000&key6sk1=&key6sk2=CH24200&key6sk3=7&key6sk4=en-us&key6sk5=US&key6sk6=0&key6sk7=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comodo.com%2F&key6sk8=115502&key6sk9=1600900&key6sk10=true&key6sk11=5c5dbf47c831c7d4660e7d0710e08f6656a8595a&key6sk12=2034&key7sk1=2&key1sk1=dt&key1sk2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.comodo.com%2F

[Argen]

I am using free AVG - great ratings from independent AV testing labs.

I would stress using on demand scanners like mentioned - malwarebytes. I am using it too. It is very good thing to fight PUPs like the one I got recently - called multiplug

I do not remember installing it, probably it came bundled in installation file together with other soft. Suddenly ads started appearing across visited websites, I scanned with malwarebytes - found and removed multiplug.

[ritchie58]

Hi Argen, just to be on the safe side I deleted the external link to that multiplug software if indeed it is adware/spyware for security reasons which I think you'll understand. You wouldn't want someone else to go through what you just did I'm sure. Yeah, these days you have to "really pay attention" to what you're clicking on while installing new software just so you don't end up with one or more programs you didn't bargin for.

 

I tried AVG years ago but opted for Panda Cloud when they were looking for some of the first 1.0 beta testers as it promised to be lighter on system resourses besides being one of the very first cloud based AV's. Although AVG usually does well during independent testing, and is compatable with Immunet, it is "a royal pain" to remove. When using the built in uninstaller it leaves behind a plethora of files, folders and orphaned registry keys that your stuck manually hunting down and deleting yourself. Even stuff will be left over in your browser. Supposedly this uninstallation problem still hasn't changed much over the years so it's best to use a good third-party unistaller like Revo Uninstaller if you ever go to uninstall AVG. I learned that the hard way I have to admit!

 

I'm still happy with with my Panda Cloud/Immunet combo after all these years now. Well, that's what I reverted back to actually. I was using just a Plus license of Immunet for almost a year (a gift from the company for my moderator duties) before my license prematurally expired near the end of last year. The Plus version was designed to be a stand-alone AV solution so that's why I wasn't using Panda Cloud at that time. I didn't bother trying to get the last few months left on the license as the Plus version was being canceled anyway. So I decided to go with what I know and works best for me once again. There is talk of perhaps adding some or all of the Plus features to the Free version of Immunet. When/if this happens is still anyone's guess.

Cheers, Ritchie...

[Paul sterling]

FOR ADVANCED USERS I would say

Signatures - Bitdefender and Kaspersky

Proactive defense - Bitdefender Total Security and Kaspersky (Proactive defense | System watcher)

ESET and Avast are great when configured well.
I loved the way Eset has emerged with its sophisticated modules, and turned from a plain anti-malware to an all-in-one antimalware/IS. It does require many user decisions though. Some video tests have strengthened this point.

Configurability - Kaspersky, Norton (I had tried Norton long ago, but I am aware of the configurations it offers now)
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FOR VERY BASIC USERS (maybe a newcomer or parents..?)

I think Avast, Avira or ESET would be simpler programs to interact with.
Among free ones, Avira and Avast are good. I will delete Bitdefender from here because it gets difficult for users unfamiliar with these toys, to deal with FPs.

[Guest Wookiee]

I am going to say, since this is Immunet's forum, that Immunet is the best.
But if anyone has suggestions to Immunet, let us know and we can try to accommodate.