Vista - Nod32 or Avast! Home edition?

Hello, i am currently using the avast! home edition and i am just wondering if i should switch to nod32. Please tell me which you have used and also which you think is better.

This is for Vista Ultimate x86

I use Avast Pro. It does a great job. Low resource usage.

Could you tell me what is different with pro? like what else it does?

Thanks

avast! Professional Edition: antivirus & anti-spyware software for Windows

Dont know what NOD32 cost but I would definitely get that - not because Avast is bad but because of this avast! antivirus - Versions comparison Home is too full featured to warrent an "upgrade". For years Ive been wondering how they make money, small company is only answer I can come up with. 25-50 employees is my guess. How to get famous? Do what others do not.

You could stay with free Home for another reason. Avast dont mind Windows Defender running, doubtful if NOD32 will. I dont know but most 3rd party payware prefer to disable or recommend it at least. So result could be worse protection than before. WD does not become useless or redundant because you have used plastic card.

Using an AV is also a matter of trust which sometimes become "what Im used to" but still counts. If you like Avast why think of NOD32? Avast wont leave you in the cold. Ive heard that years ago you could see boxes with "Mcafee AntiVirus - powered by Avast engine" Is an AV on level with anything else, why the need for change? Cost you nothing and you got an almost full package.

I paid for Avira so not the one to shake head at payware AV, not yet..., but I really dont see much need for it. Throw in WOT Internet Security | WOT Web of Trust if you want another layer - one that works. NOD32 will not protect you against all downloads and scams from sites WOT block you from. Neither will Avast. If you or other users are click-happy, or simply cant be trusted, while online WOT is probably the best you can do. If you scan 25 unknown flash drives every day it wont do much good - paying up for NOD32 make more sense then. Think about where risk comes from and evaluate need.

Also remember Firefox and IE8 both have a "little" WOT inside - works pretty well. Can throw in OpenDNS for yet another layer - even if thin when added as last one. Cost nothing.

Into cracks and such? well they should not be checked with just 1 AV anyway so not much point in paying up because of that either. You should use Jotti, Virustotal for this, become an expert in checking for virus or dump illegal activities - no matter 90% of payware is not worth 1 cent. Should probably guard yourself with stuff like Defense+ from Comodo if a cheap customer Could also be in need of "better" firewall to stop certain programs from calling home.

I use NOD32 4. It is actually one of the best antivirus/antimalware programs on the market.
It outperforms Avast and AVG (has a better detection rate, etc.,)

It has a feature called self defense (prevents malware corruption), System inspector for diagnostics of your entire computer, password locking of the settings, setting config backup, small resource footprint, the best hueristic detection ability of new and emerging threats with the lowest false positives (3 star certification), etc.,

Avast only recieved 1 star certification in testing (proactive/retroactive) for the ability to detect new threats (due partially to the high detection of legitimate programs as malware- i.e., false positives).

Most people do not understand the significance of Hueristic detection abilities and what false positives really mean- they are "wowed" by all the new "threats" their antivirus is detecting and cleaning, that no other program could find. Then, a few days, weeks later they wonder why Windows keeps crashing, programs dont work right, etc.,

Say a new Virus/trojan or worm is released. Hueristic detection is the ability of the antivirus to detect and block/remove that threat before your computer/network or data become infected and/or corrupted. New threats have no "definition" that alot of antivirus/antimalware products really heavily on. What that means is if a antivirus progam is lacking in hueristic detection abilities, your system becomes infected/corrupted because the antivirus program does not see it. Then after a definition is released, It then detects it and "quarantines" it. By then your data and computer may be so heavily corrupted/infected that the data is lost and a re-install of Windows is neccessary. If you are lucky no damage is done and your system just becomes part of a BOTNET. Trojans are now being designed to steal passswords/Account Numbers/Credit card and Bank info, they then send the data to remote servers for storage, and sometimes this info is sold on the black market. unusual bills, collection calls for past due accounts, or trouble with your tax return follow.

"false Positives" are just as bad. Say a Critical Windows or Program is "tagged" as suspicious and/or a virus or malware and the antivirus "deletes" or "cleans" it, that may result in corruption/instability of either Windows or the Program- this may result in BSOD's, etc.,

So, that is why an antivirus program with a high Hueristc detection ability, and the lowest amount of false positives (false detections) is ideal- it is this ability to acurately detect new threats that keeps your computer(s) secure. Avast is lacking in this.

For more info regarding Avast and Eset NOD32 see:Vista SP1 Antivirus Performance

If you are loking for a free good program go with Avira Antivir. it is on par with NOD32.

I'm a big fan of Avast.

Nod32 is a great product also.

Personally, I can recommend Avast, for a few reasons. I like the interface, It has saved my wife's PC a couple of times and its FREE.

Its a good product and I am not really frightened of viruses anyway.

I tried Nod32 smart security yesterday, and it made a bunch of programs suddenly stop working . So I am back to avast! and think I will stick to that.

Thanks for your suggestions though .

Hmm, you say that now. Lets see what you say when you have data corruption of your important file/documents or backups; a computer that constantly BSOD's (crashes); or your Credit Card/Bank account/ Passwords and user accounts are lost due to a trojan/virus/worm, and you start getting Collection calls for past due accounts/ Unusual charges on your credit card/bank account, or difficulty recieving your Tax return.

That was your problem then- Smart security has a firewall that has to be configured to allow programs to work.

You would have been better off with Just NOD32 4 Antivirus/Antimalware. You have Windows firewall, UAC, and Windows Defender. A third party firewall is superfluous. If you are inexperienced, it is a very frustrating and tedious task to have to configure one. Smart Security is designed more for Advanced Users. The Antivirus, In its default config, will be just fine.