Needed: "Thrifty" Anti-virus
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
I have used AVG Free on many of my machines upgrading to paid when I have the cash! But I think Security Essentials seems to be the least evil option. I have heard good things about F-secure...
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
I stick with MSE/Windows Defender...never have any problems with viruses. An essential cleanup tool for your toolbox is 'AutoRuns': https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902[^] ...not just to remove something viral, but there is so much spyware/adware in everything these days that you need to forcefully remove it. It does a pretty good job of highlighting the things your computer is loading that are unusual. Very good for getting rid of browser hijacks as well.
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Avast was actually the first 'free' alternative I checked - privacy policy didn't seem to be any better - I'll check again. Thanks.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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I stick with MSE/Windows Defender...never have any problems with viruses. An essential cleanup tool for your toolbox is 'AutoRuns': https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902[^] ...not just to remove something viral, but there is so much spyware/adware in everything these days that you need to forcefully remove it. It does a pretty good job of highlighting the things your computer is loading that are unusual. Very good for getting rid of browser hijacks as well.
DaveX86 wrote:
I stick with MSE/Windows Defender...never have any problems with viruses.
None, that you're aware of :suss:
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DaveX86 wrote:
I stick with MSE/Windows Defender...never have any problems with viruses.
None, that you're aware of :suss:
Well that's true of any anti-virus measure, isn't it? I do have evidence that it works in so far as it has detected a few 'attacks' and dealt with them over the past year and if anything's slipped through it hasn't manifested itself. That's really all you can hope for.
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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I use AVG all over the place and haven't heard anything about it becoming "spyware". Can you provide more details or a reference, please?
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
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GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
Thanks, I missed that. I read the article and the new privacy policies and am not bothered by it. Amazon, Google and lots of other places affect ad placement based on what I do already. It doesn't bother me a bit so I shall carry on using AVG, and recommending it with caveats, for now.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Well that's true of any anti-virus measure, isn't it? I do have evidence that it works in so far as it has detected a few 'attacks' and dealt with them over the past year and if anything's slipped through it hasn't manifested itself. That's really all you can hope for.
Yeah, I know. Hence the Joke Icon ;-)
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Thanks, I missed that. I read the article and the new privacy policies and am not bothered by it. Amazon, Google and lots of other places affect ad placement based on what I do already. It doesn't bother me a bit so I shall carry on using AVG, and recommending it with caveats, for now.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
It is feasible to avoid Amazon, Google and such, clearing the cookies and using the private navigation helps, also you could use TOR. With the control embedded in the antivirus even browsers running on TOR, I2P or VPNs are controlled - that means there is no escape whatsoever. I'm glad I have no AVG around anymore.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
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I use AVG all over the place and haven't heard anything about it becoming "spyware". Can you provide more details or a reference, please?
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/avg-releases-transparent-privacy-policy-yes-we-will-sell-your-data/[^] Better: google "avg privacy policy" - they turned up at the bottom half of the page. I also received a message from them about their new easy-to-read terms. I read them. They will be collecting de facto personally identifying information as it will include unique identifiers for you PC, ISP, etc. This, aside from anything you surrender to them on their site which can naturally be linked right back to you.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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It is feasible to avoid Amazon, Google and such, clearing the cookies and using the private navigation helps, also you could use TOR. With the control embedded in the antivirus even browsers running on TOR, I2P or VPNs are controlled - that means there is no escape whatsoever. I'm glad I have no AVG around anymore.
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
The problem lies in that, of the several options I looked into, they all seemed to have the same plan. The key is reading the privacy terms during install before you accept them. I was just looking a BitDefender - and couldn't seem to find their privacy terms anywhere on their site. Probably, yet again, an install-time option.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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The problem lies in that, of the several options I looked into, they all seemed to have the same plan. The key is reading the privacy terms during install before you accept them. I was just looking a BitDefender - and couldn't seem to find their privacy terms anywhere on their site. Probably, yet again, an install-time option.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
All this brought me to my mind: some time ago I was working for a morally dubious site, and part of the job was to keep updated on the competitors. Now, I wouldn't want those datas collected and sold and receive that content based avertisements...
GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey
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So I've been using/suggesting AVG free for any number of machines. Comes Oct 15th and they'll become spyware. Set up my firewall to keep it locked down, except for the occasional update - but they may be when they grab all the private data they've cached - so that seems like a poor option. Replacing it. I looked at a number of other on-line items with decent reputations, but, upon reading the TOS I found them to all be similarly busy minding my business. Any suggestions about thrifty (==free) alternatives (Mostly Win7)?
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
I've been using AVG for years as well and when I saw that news, I promptly uninstalled the hell out of it. I went for an open-source AV, in this case ClamWin and so far I like what I see. It isn't hard on the PC's resources and the virus database is updated automatically almost daily. The simple fact that it is open-source makes me feel safe. I even downloaded the source-code to have a look at it before installing. At least I know that it will not try to sell my personal information to a gazillion third-parties. Hope that helps!
"It's hard to beat someone who never quits".
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http://www.zdnet.com/article/avg-releases-transparent-privacy-policy-yes-we-will-sell-your-data/[^] Better: google "avg privacy policy" - they turned up at the bottom half of the page. I also received a message from them about their new easy-to-read terms. I read them. They will be collecting de facto personally identifying information as it will include unique identifiers for you PC, ISP, etc. This, aside from anything you surrender to them on their site which can naturally be linked right back to you.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
I don't care. I used to (briefly) work for an actual "official" spyware company (it is used to do surveys for CNN and many other people). After seeing what they captured and the results of the software I wrote for them to link user's (Victim's?) bio-metric data to web activity histories I am not really worried about my data that much.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I've been using AVG for years as well and when I saw that news, I promptly uninstalled the hell out of it. I went for an open-source AV, in this case ClamWin and so far I like what I see. It isn't hard on the PC's resources and the virus database is updated automatically almost daily. The simple fact that it is open-source makes me feel safe. I even downloaded the source-code to have a look at it before installing. At least I know that it will not try to sell my personal information to a gazillion third-parties. Hope that helps!
"It's hard to beat someone who never quits".
This looks like a road upon which I'd like to travel. +5 I'll look into it. Downside - since it's open source - is that figuring out how to circumvent it could be easier.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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This looks like a road upon which I'd like to travel. +5 I'll look into it. Downside - since it's open source - is that figuring out how to circumvent it could be easier.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
W∴ Balboos wrote:
Downside - since it's open source - is that figuring out how to circumvent it could be easier.
This pretty much sums up the whole argument about open vs. closed source. :laugh: The open source folks countering that "with open source good people can check the source code and submit bugfixes before they are exploited by bad people". Which then gets countered by the closed source people that "nobody that's using open source software is actually looking at the source code but only uses it because it's free".
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Yeah, I know. Hence the Joke Icon ;-)