Topic: R.I.P. Beta 1115?

[Alieo]

I've heard Norton and McAffe cause system meltdowns themselves, creating a need for antivirus.

[VANGUARD]

When I had Windows, and some virus or viruses, AVG was pretty nice.

[Crash]

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials.

* ...WillyP... ducks

oh, and system restore won't remove viruses.  Just sets some system settings back.

That's not right. If it's not terribly advanced and it only sets itself up in the Windows system folder then it will be erased when Windows sets the folder back to how it was when it made the checkpoint.
I've had friends' computers go bad with malware and System Restore was the only way of rectifying them. Avira antivirus was absolutely useless in one case.
I normally use ESET Smart Security. Not much gets past that and it's light on the system.

[-<WillyP>-]

No, it doesn't make changes to any folder, just to certain system settings. Or at least, that is how I understand it, I could be wrong.

[Scyphi]

Don't waste money on Norton, Norton is worthless.

Not to say that you're wrong, but I've been using Norton on my new laptop (it came with a sixty-day free trial) and for the whole month and a half I've been using it, I haven't had any complaints, so it seems to be doing it's job.

Not to say that I'll stick with it, of course, because when the trial runs out, I'd have to start paying for it, and I can get just as good anti-virus service for free with something like AVG (which is what I believe my old laptop runs).

[TechPro]

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials.

* ...WillyP... ducks

oh, and system restore won't remove viruses.  Just sets some system settings back.

That's not right. If it's not terribly advanced and it only sets itself up in the Windows system folder then it will be erased when Windows sets the folder back to how it was when it made the checkpoint.
I've had friends' computers go bad with malware and System Restore was the only way of rectifying them. Avira antivirus was absolutely useless in one case.
I normally use ESET Smart Security. Not much gets past that and it's light on the system.

Yes and No.  The System Restore will replace both files and settings ... but anything in addition to the files and settings that System Restore restores ... are not touched at all.  This easily allows things to slip past the System Restore.  Also, System Restore has been known to on occasion restore virii and trojans that had gotten saved in a System Restore.   Essentially, System Restore can be a very good thing... but it can also burn you.

... with something like AVG (which is what I believe my old laptop runs).

Yes, it is.

[Alieo]

I used to have AVG, but it made my computer run really slow so I deleted it... That was 3 years go. Haven't had one problem... till 4/17/11 when I got that Internet Protection Virus. But I think it's gone now. That Anti-Malware software got rid of it. (I think.)

[Crash]

Well this bit of malware in particular was difficult because it hid itself under multiple filenames, which it generated at random in the Windows/System32 folder.
So it was impossible to search manually in Safe Mode for a pre-defined filename (because no part of the virus had one).
And, like I say, this native (and supposedly amazing) Avira antivirus with its 'Luke Filewalker' thing, which the user had installed, couldn't even see the virus let alone remove it.
So, the virus didn't just store itself as a corrupted, existing Windows file. It was an addition to the Windows folder and I didn't expect System Restore to kill it. I was about to put NOD32 on there and, if that failed, Zero-Fill the hard disk the next day but the System Restore, amazingly, worked fine.
Infact, actually, I remember it was someone else that suggested it and once they had the idea they were quite insistent. They were sure it would work (because they clearly didn't know how it worked or what it was really for) and, for the same reasons as you, I was sure myself that it wouldn't work. Anyway, I was glad he insisted.

Odd, because on most of *my* installations, System Restore never actually takes. It goes through the motions and in the end says "Couldn't restore to an earlier time, no changes have been effected to the system" or whatever.

Infact, you should see the positive results that Avira gets on AV Comparative reports but those did not correspond to my brief experience at all.
When I found out that you could get a free version, I installed it on my server once when my ESET license expired and after *3 or 4 days* the machine was infected badly. The machine had been clean with ESET for well over a year, since its OS was installed. That tells you something. I understand from a relative that the free version also pesters you *incessantly* to pay to upgrade as well.

Generally speaking, the Eastern European antiviruses get a good write-up. Kaspersky, ESET, (Avira must be the exception) perform well. The Western ones like McAffee and Norton used to be rubbish. I still maybe wouldn't use one myself but I know that they've had to improve a lot in the last couple of years. AVG is supposed to be German, right? I used that for a while (paid-for version) and it allowed something really nasty to walk all-over one of my systems. Never used it again.
ESET on the other hand has never put a foot wrong for me and it never gives a false-positive.

[Foil]

I use MS Security Essentials on ALL my machines (my home server, my gaming rig, my media center, my laptop, my netbook, and my work rig), and haven't had a single issue.

Just my experience. 

[Scyphi]

I used to have AVG, but it made my computer run really slow so I deleted it

I've noticed something similar with my old laptop from time to time. To be fair, a LOT of things easily made it run slower than what would be optimum, but I noticed it was generally at it's slowest when AVG was running one of those scheduled scans of the computer. That, and when it was working at updating itself without telling me (which I never could figure out why it, and the rest of the computer for that matter, insisted on doing that).

Those scheduled scans are actually pretty nice, though, because then you don't have to remember to stop and run the scans yourself regularly. But like a lot of nice things, it comes with a price. :|

[-<WillyP>-]

I use MS Security Essentials on ALL my machines (my home server, my gaming rig, my media center, my laptop, my netbook, and my work rig), and haven't had a single issue.

Just my experience. 

Ok, I feel better now