Vista - Whats the Best Antivirus/ Security Suite??

I use Norton....i think it's version 9.0? I even have version 7.6 running as well. I get it free from work and don't have to worry about updates.

Eset's NOD32 is not a free program, but is inexpensive ($27 annual renewal), and protects against viruses and spy/malware. It has a very small footprint, and It has won more awards, and has a better detection/removal rate that any of the above listed programs including Symantec's Norton, and Mcafee. Microsoft is a client of theirs and use it to protect their own servers.


"VB100 AWARD


The VB100 award was first introduced in 1998. In order to display the VB100 logo, an anti-virus product must have demonstrated in our tests that:

• It detects all In the Wild viruses during both on-demand and on-access scanning.
• It generates no false positives when scanning a set of clean files.

The product must fulfil these critera in its default state."

Test results
Kaspersky: 42 Success / 16 Failure / 0 No Entry
Norton: 44 Success / 6 Failure / 8 No Entry
Mcafee: 35 Success / 20 Failure / 3 No Entry
Avast: 25 Success / 22 Failure / 11 No Entry (failed sp1 Vista)
AVG: 22 Success / 22 Failure / 14 No Entry
Bullguard: 3 Success / 1 Failure / 54 No Entry (failed sp1 Vista)

Eset NOD32: 50 Success / 3 Failure / 5 No Entry
https://www.virusbtn.com/Session-fc676352874782cebf17fc269f75f3a3/vb100/archive/results?vendor=VE14

Vendor Test History
https://www.virusbtn.com/Session-fc6...isplay=vendors

I have a combination of AVG Free and ZoneAlarm Free, as well as Spybot Search and Destroy and occasionally Adaware. Honestly, both AVG and ZoneAlarm Free are really good products, and I haven't got one virus since I've had them. It helps just to use an ounce of common sense and not go clicking on suspicious files. All of them are really fast programs, and they don't slow my computer down considerably.

I use a combination of AVG Free and ZoneAlarm free, coupled with Spybot Search and Destroy and occasionally Adaware. All of them are really good programs and they are free.

I did some testing using Virtual Machines on files that where said to be infected using AVG and Norton. Both tested several files positive for General Trojan's or Backdoors. Because i could not find any info on the type of infection ( the online database just gave no information on the said infections) i began to test their infection potential. I setup several vm's running xp pro 32 and ran the infected files. I couldn't because the host resident protection blocked them. So i added those files to the exception list. Ran the 'infected' files from a shared folder on a phsysical disk. The programs ran normally, did their job as expected. I then installed Avast in the VM's and ran a deep scan after each run of an 'infected' file. Results where negative. No infections found. I've let all vm's run for a couple of days (with only standard windows firewall, connected to the net), rebooted them and tested again. No infections found. I installed norton in the vm's let it run a scan, no infections found.

What did these files have in common? They were keygens.

So what is the best Suite depends on your needs. For me my own judgement coupled with whichever antivirus suite seems best of all as of all suites i tried not one of them did not make errors or somewhat commercially suspect indications.

Commercial AV suites are like the police, useful at times if you get attacked, useless if you want to smoke a joint

There are probably many ways to secure Vista. I am using Vista Ultimate 64-bit. I use AVG for anti-virus, Computer Associates for anti-spam and anti-spyware, and Microsoft for the firewall. The reason? They are all free or pre-paid for me. I am already paying for the CA products because they are included in the price of Roadrunner. CA does not offer a 64-bit AV product, so I went for AVG. The firewall is included with Vista.

There are several Internet sites at which anyone may test their security. The classic one is "Shields Up!" from Gibson Research Corporation. There are others, look around.

Ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own security.

So far which is the best?

x64 NOD32
Antivirus Software - Eliminate viruses with ESET NOD32 Antivirus and ESET Smart Security

alright thanks.

Am I correct in assuming that if I want to use a different firewall I first disable the Vista Firewall?