Spyware, viruses, & security : AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST
AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST
by kummah - 2/15/08 11:08 PMI have been following the posts and newsletters from the past few weeks and I find that the top 3 contenders for Free AntiVirus are AVG, Avira & AVAST.
Between AVG and Avira, AVG is self managed, very fast and does not consume much system resourses. Whereas, Avira is REALLY REALLY very slow and has to be managed while scanning.
In terms of scanning ability and effectiveness, I would like to know which is superior? From the reading material on this site and their respective sites, it seems Avira has a better scanning effectiveness.
Also, does AVAST compare with the above two?
Please advice?
All of them are decent antivirus program
by Donna Buenaventura
- 2/16/08 2:48 PM
In reply to: AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST by kummah
You just need to decide which one you prefer to use.
"In terms of scanning ability and effectiveness, I would like to know which is superior? From the reading material on this site and their respective sites, it seems Avira has a better scanning effectiveness."
One need many, many samples of malicious software before one can tell which one is superior.
Fact is not all of them can detect all. And not all of them release detection at the same time on the time day.
The very best of those three ...
by Edward ODaniel - 2/16/08 7:16 PM In reply to: AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST by kummahif the one you happen to be comfortable with and use.
AVAST updates several times a day, and each update is small and quick.
My personal preference is AVAST.
Since all are free the wise thing to do is try them all then stick with whatever one you like most.
I'm a happy Avast user.
by JonathanCase - 2/16/08 7:23 PM In reply to: AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST by kummahIt's very configurable, updates are fast and reasonably frequent, the free version has the same detection/cleaning engine as the pro. It has been stable and mainly trouble free, and plays well with my other programs. So far, I have no reason to want to try anything else.
Long time since I've used the other two, but they were both OK.
As said above, it's what suits you best, tests (which indicate they are all pretty darned good, with perhaps Avira having the edge) are just a snapshot in time, and can at best serve as a rough guide to the likely user experience.
Try them all out, in turn, see what works best for you.
Things I look for in a program include stability, effectiveness, good help files when needed, and last but not least, good support. Can't speak for the other two but Avast's forum is very good.
Avast and AVG suck, Avira rules
by emperordarius - 5/4/08 2:39 AM In reply to: I'm a happy Avast user. by JonathanCaseIt's true. AVG has a huge amount of false positivesm and Avast has a really weak trojan detection. While Avira may update slowly, it has the best detection among free antiviruses, an one of the best among all antiviruses. I use neither of them, I use Kaspersky, the best, But If I couldn't buy it, I'd sure tak Avira.
Having used AVG Exclusively for 6+
by tobeach - 5/4/08 10:37 PM In reply to: Avast and AVG suck, Avira rules by emperordariusyears AV (4 years for Ewido/Avg AS), I can honestly say that I have NEVER received a false positive warning from either of them. 
(NT) Neither have I for at least that long :)
by glenn30 - 5/5/08 5:24 AM In reply to: Having used AVG Exclusively for 6+ by tobeachWhat do you base this on?
by Tarq57 - 8/11/08 5:24 PM In reply to: Avast and AVG suck, Avira rules by emperordariusRe: "Avast has really weak trojan detection."
Avasts trojan detection...
by chachabrown - 1/2/09 1:20 AM In reply to: What do you base this on? by Tarq57You are 100% right!
I LOVED avast until today.. when i spent over 5 hours trying to scan and detect 5 (yes FIVE) trojan horses while running avast.
and the 5 avast found during scans.. it would not and could not delete.. repair NOR move to a chest. this also includes about 8 viruses it actually DID move to the chest.
i finally had to reformat my whole computer.
i found that running spybot WITH avast works fine.. .if you run them often (avast has a run each time i log into my computer as well as a full scan i run approx 1 x a month ... then i run spybot as oiften as possible)
BUT our home PC did not have spybot.. hence.. NO trojan protection.
i have been told to use AVG.. what do you all think ? is this better?
i run a home business on my laptop and can not afford to lose all the info on it. I cant afford to wipe out its memory ...
it happened before with mcaffe AND norton... both which i will NEVER use again...
Sorry you had that experience,
by Tarq57 - 1/2/09 1:39 AM In reply to: Avasts trojan detection... by chachabrownbut without the detection names and where they were found it is actually a bit meaningless.
Did you try a boot time scan?
Did you submit the actual files found to VirusTotal for an online scan?
Are you certain they were not FP's? (May be possible to find this out with file and detection names, and paths.)
Even with affirmative answers to the above, although it is certainly an unfortunate event, it is no indication that Avasts' trojan detection is inferior to that of other AVs.
Generally, most AV's are not brilliant with a lot of trojans, because they keep changing their names, installation paths, and signatures. As you have discovered, a good antimalware program is a useful adjunct.
I'd go further and suggest a bit of immunity (say, a Hosts file) and system hardening ( say, disabling scripting in browsers) as well as a decent backup/recovery plan (like an image or similar stored on an external drive.)
As I read on another forum, the plural of anecdote is not data.
Not the best for me today
by lisedixon - 8/27/08 4:21 PM In reply to: Avast and AVG suck, Avira rules by emperordariusI actually registered here to respond to the comment about Kaspersky. I spent my entire day off almost (9½ hours) trying to remove a "windows warning message!" and recover stolen wallpaper from my desktop. I, sadly, paid for Kaspersky after using the trial version. After 8 scans and 2 live online chats with tech support (both of which took over an hour to begin), my Kaspersky was tweaked and ready for a deep scan. Didn't work. Then came trying to get a refund, or even a real human being. After 9 calls; I somehow ended up with a guy from corporate who was unable to help technically, but very kind. I ended up downloading online utilities for free that removed the window malware and recovered my wallpaper. After all those hours ,$60, and a really rough time getting help, I remain unimpressed with the big K. For the record: A SmitfraudFix utility removed the "windows warning message" box, and Malwarebyte's Antimalware got my wallpaper back. Both free!!
malwarebytes as back up
by cybergully - 8/24/09 5:40 AM In reply to: Not the best for me today by lisedixonI am currrently using avira and it has served me well 100% detection and only a few false ones. Every time i got a virus it would alert me and id do a full scan and there its gone. However i did wondr about changing to avast but seeing as avira has such good detection and i have zonealarm (excellent by they way) for a firewall i see no reason to change to avast.
Definately download and regularly update malwarebytes it doesnt have real time but if any of your other antiviruses fail it usually previalis when you initialise the scan. Lisedixon i used malwarebytes only and it got rid of the virus and gave my wallpaper back 
I agree with you about Avg and Its false positives.
by kdawg00 - 7/9/09 10:59 PM In reply to: Avast and AVG suck, Avira rules by emperordariusI got alot of false positives while using AVG so I switched to Avira and have had no problems with it.
Darn good for free
by Willy - 5/4/08 5:03 AM In reply to: AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST by kummahFor personal use the 3 Av pgms. will do fine, IMHO. However, i do find AVG getting bloated and going down the Norton path. That will make it more resource hungry. I use Avast and found it overall does well(knock on wood) never given me a problem. Avira, when I did use it sometime ago did OK. However, I found it not so upto date(timely) compared to the others at least it seemed so. Though when in use I had no attacks, etc. to come forth. All being free its a good value, however if you truly wanted added or more demanding protection look to thier "pay for versions" and/or other commercial pgms. to include suites for more business savvy usage.
tada -----Willy
AVG becoming bloatware
by Draigous - 5/6/08 3:17 PM In reply to: AVG Vs Avira Vs AVAST by kummahI used AVG for a few years now.But this new version 8 is not going to keep me as a user. This seems to always happen when something becomes popular. It uses more resources now than before and its becoming an all in one type of product. I have never trusted anything all in one. I would go with Avira now. Avast is already bloatware and slowed my pc down alot.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
