Antivirus

[Carole]

Any recommendations for antivirus.

I have been with AVG for a few years and last year paid just over £50 for 3 computers.  It expires in january and I just had a message that they are going to automatically renew it for £94.99 which I think is a bit of a huge jump in one year.

Any recommendations?

Carole

[JohnP]

Well if you have win10 then windows defender comes as a part of it & works well...

[The Thing]

I used to be a Kaspersky fan but of course recently it was found to give the Ruskies a back door into your PC, Norton has always been a nono due to the problems it causes, i used the AVG free version for years as well. I gave up on third party antivirus from Win7 onwards as the Microsoft built in stuff does the job with little speed penalty or fuss. Never had a problem since.

Hth
Duncan

[Carole]

I have windows 7 John.

£50 ish rising to £90 ish does sound a bit of a "(rude word) take" to me. 
I was hoping there might be something out there that is more reasonably priced that would do just as good a job. 

Carole

[ApophisAstros]

i have had all the windows versions right from the start of computing culminating with the best version in my opinion windows 10 but they were all as good from windows 7 upwards, and i have always had Norton antivirus and NEVER had a single virus of note and i used to fly around the internet on various unsecure websites . It only cost £25 pounds or about to buy from tescos for up to 5 devices i don't renew direct with symantec (the  authors)as they charge you more to , i just buy the product New registration code each year.
Roger

[RafalK]

I've been using Bullguard for quite a few years now both on Vista and Win7 computers. At the moment they have an offer on most of their products and e.g. Internet Security version of their software which is cross platform (works on Windows, Android and iOS) will cost 29.98 for a 3 year licence for up to 3 devices. I think that is a steal.
https://www.bullguard.com/products/bullguard-internet-security.aspx

[Carole]

Thanks for the info everyone. I might well do one of these.
Carole

[doug]

Avast is free, Carole, and it works well. But Windows Defender is good and as has been said, it comes with Windows 10.

Doug.

[Carole]

Thanks Doug, some of the free AV stuff doesn't cover enough threats - at least the ones I have seen don't.  I don't have windows 10. 

At the moment, the one Raf recommended BULLGUARD is sitting top of my list as it is a real bargain price for 3 years and covers a lot of threats.  Norton looks OK too but the subscription is for one year.  With Norton coming in 2nd as that covers 5 computers. I have 4 laptops and 1 desktop though not all in use, but just in case I need to use them on the internet.   Though I guess I could install free antivirus on those that get little internet use.

Carole

[ApophisAstros]

let me know if you want me to get my one as i know they do them at my tescos.
Roger

[NoelC]

Avast free and paid is good.  I'm using Avast Internet security (1PC - £45) on my Win7 PC (which does most of my surfing).  Windows Defender (free) on my Windows 10 PCs, Macs don't get viruses (so far).

Historically had no end of problems with Norton due to their updates, and got viruses through McAfee (don't touch with a barge pole).  Switched to Avast free when I got tired of upgrading my PCs just so I could run the antivirus software.  If you cancel your renewal for AVG, they will probably send you a deal.

[Carole]

Thanks Noel, useful info.

If you cancel your renewal for AVG, they will probably send you a deal.

More than likely.  Annoying though that you have to resort to this sort of strategy.

Carole

[Mac]

I only use Avast (Free), have done for many a year now
I also use Zonealarm which is a free firewall.

Mac

[Carole]

Thanks Mac, yes I have looked at that.  Still pondering.

Carole

[Klitos]

I use Microsoft's free Security Essentials on Windows 7. It is unintrusive, which is one of the most important things for me.

I don't like Norton because I've heard that if you want to uninstall it, it is very hard to do so.

I'm a bit suspicious of Avast, because I used to receive emails with a signature saying they've been scanned by Avast and found to be virus-free. If Avast think that a simple footer at the end of an email is sufficient to guarantee confidence, then I wonder what philosophy they use in the development of their anti-virus software.