Bit Defender

On Thu, 9 Oct 2008 17:15:45 -0400, Joan and Alan wrote:

> Consumer Union states it is the best.
> Fed up with Norton.

The Norton Removal Tool uninstalls all Norton 2008/2007/2006/2005/2004/2003
products and Norton 360 from your computer.
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

> Any comments.

If you want to pay go for ESET NOD32 Antivirus
http://www.eset.com/
Free 30-day trial available
--or--
Kaspersky® Anti-Virus 2009
http://www.kaspersky.com/homeuser

IMO, the average homeuser can get by with good quality freeware.

Avira AntiVir® Personal - FREE Antivirus
http://www.free-av.com/
(The free version won't scan your emails.)

Unless you are using Microsoft Outlook or Loutus Notes (MAPI or VIM),
scanning email is worthless.

Why You Don't Need Your Anti-Virus Program to Scan Your E-Mail
http://thundercloud.net/infoave/tutorials/email-scanning/index.htm
Ensure your e-mail program is configured to display e-mail messages in
'Plain Text' only.
--or--
Free antivirus - avast! 4.x Home Edition
It includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs
Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class
GMER technology.
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
(Choose Custom Installation and under Resident
Protection, uncheck: Internet Mail and Outlook/Exchange.)

Routinely practice Safe-Hex.
http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

And (optional but highly recommendable)

On-demand AV applications.
(add them to your arsenal and use them as a "second opinion" av scanner).
David H. Lipman's MULTI_AV Tool
http://www.pctipp.ch/ds/28400/28470/Multi_AV.exe
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
English:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/01/09/scan-your-computer-with...ltiple-
Additional Instructions:
http://pcdid.com/Multi_AV.htm
--and/or--
Dr.Web CureIt!® Utility - FREE
http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/
--and/or--
Malwarebytes© Corporation - Anti-Malware
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

A-S applications - for non-viral malware.
The effectiveness of an individual A-S scanners can be wide-ranging and
oftentimes a collection of scanners is best. There isn't one software that
cleans and immunizes you against everything. That's why you need multiple
products to do the job i.e. overlap their coverage - one may catch what
another may miss, (grab'em all).

SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
and
Ad-Aware 2007 - Free
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html
and
Spybot Search & Destroy - Free
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
and
Windows Defender - Free (build-in in Vista)
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
WD monitors the start-registry and hooks registers/files to prevent spyware
and worms to install to the OS.
Interesting reading:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136195/article.html
"...Windows Defender did excel in behavior-based protection, which detects
changes to key areas of the system without having to know anything about
the actual threat."

A clarification on the terminology: the word "malware" is short for
"malicious software." Most Anti-Virus applications detect many types of
malware such as viruses, worms, trojans, etc.
What AV applications usually don't detect is "non-viral" malware, and the
term "non-viral malware" is normally used to refer to things like spyware
and adware.