5

I know that there is similiar question, but I'm unable to use Microsoft Security Essentials.

I have new PC with 8 GB of RAM and i7. It has freshly installed Windows 7 x64 and basics drivers.

I wonder which antivirus install on it.

I never used to use anything than Avast.

Two people which I trust told me to use something better than Avast.
When I asked what to use instead, they told me, but gave no or almost no explanation why software they recommend is good, so I decided to ask here.

What do you recommend and why?
Some hints about how to configure it the best way you know are also appreciated.

  • It must be gratis.
  • I'd like to it to require as little my attention as possible. Unneccesary pop-ups are not appreciated.
    • I don't adore pop-up ads, but I think that almost every gratis antivirus has it; they can be, unless they say something about feature which I don't know, when I click it does something for a while, ant then say that I have to buy full version to access the feature.
    • I don't want to know every success of the antivirus; I mean, I don't want to know when some basic stuff, like signature database update, went succesful.
    • I don't know much about personal computers security against malware, so it would be nice if the antivirus doesn't ask me about solutions of met problems, when it's sure what is the best for me. When it doesn't sure, if it has to ask, it would be nice if it would be able to suggest something.
  • I don't like when antivirus scans every program wrote by me, when I want to launch it. At the moment I compile into few directories, so I think that possibility to exclude them from scanning would be enough.
  • On my pendrive I have installed PortableApps platform and of course some portable apps. My pendrive gets connected to many computers; I want to be able to use my portable apps from pendrive on my PC without risk of infecting my PC (I'm affraid that my apps can get infected when pendrive gets connected to untrusted computer).
  • If the software you recommend is Avast, tell me that - I don't say Avast is not good, other people told me that.
Improve this question
7
  • Related: Free antivirus for Windows XP that runs silently
    – Greg Hewgill
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 19:29
  • @Greg Avast is only what you can recommend? If the question is a duplicate, where can I look for my question's answer?
    – GingerPlusPlus
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 19:37
  • 1
    I disagree with the question duplicate. You asked a good question, don't worry :)
    – aman207
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 2:46
  • 1
    Please elaborate on why you can't use Microsoft Security Essentials - whatever your issue with that, it may apply to other solutions, so knowing that issue would help get you a working solution.
    – Michael Kohne
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 13:04
  • @Michael: I'm almost sure that the problem occurs only with some of Microsoft's software. I don't want to share exact reason here.
    – GingerPlusPlus
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 18:25

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

You can try Panda Cloud Antivirus. I have it installed on my parents' computer, and they never notice it's there.

Features:

  • Gratis
  • Requires no attention at all after the initial install
    • No pop-up ads. Although some features require the pro version, you won't be notified unless you actively click them
    • No pop-up success reports. You can view them when you open the app. Also no update reports. Since it works on the cloud, it's always up to date.
    • No technical decisions on your part. It automatically decides what to do
  • I'm not sure if it can tell which programs you write, but you can add exceptions

I don't remember it requiring any special configuration. Just click through the setup and it should work well with default settings.

Improve this answer
7
  • Seems interesting... but, what happens when temporarily I have no Internet connection and want to plug in pendrive, which was connected in untrusted place after last scan?
    – GingerPlusPlus
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 14:59
  • 1
    It does have a USB vaccination feature that protects you from viruses on USB disks even when offline. It also prevents these disks from being infected in the future. Here are the instructions to turn it on
    – Tymric
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 15:18
  • Seems nice, but I think that I didn't expressed precisely enough: I have a PortableApps platform on my pendrive, and I'd like to be able to use its apps on my PC without risk of getting malware into PC. How Panda deals with it?
    – GingerPlusPlus
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 18:18
  • @GingerPlusPlus I have not tested them together. My expectation is that it will remove the files that allow PortableApps to start automatically, but you will still be able to launch it normally by double clicking on the Start icon. It's better if you make a backup of your configuration files before testing it, just in case
    – Tymric
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 18:26
  • I'm affraid that my apps can get infected.
    – GingerPlusPlus
    Commented Oct 8, 2014 at 18:30

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.