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Is there an AV App that Doesn't Eventually Become Bloatware?

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XMinus1:
Hi,

I've used several Anti-Virus Apps over the past few years:  I was really happy with PC Cillin for a year or two, but then some odd things began to happen to my PC, and I couldn't figure out what was going on.  After doing a bit of net-research I discovered that other PC Cillin users were suddenly having similar problems.  PC Cillin had added new 'features' (i.e. it had become something more than an AV app) and had surreptisiously altered systems to do it's new thing.  The alterations conflicted with other programs.  I dropped it and moved to another AV app (can't remember which one) and, eventually, it too became bloatware, and caused problems with other, more streamlined apps that I'd picked to do certain jobs.  I then moved to Avast, which I've used for a year or two but, just a few weeks ago, I began to experience odd, and inconsistent, problems with secure sites (https).  This one was tough:  I tried shutting down all extraneous processes but I couldn't narrow down the source of the problem.  I suspected (irrationally, actually) that Kerio 2.5.1 had begun to give me issues, and I liked what Mouser had to say about Outpost Firewall, so I switched.  No change.  I uninstalled Spy-Sweeper.  No change.  I then uninstalled Outpost.  No change.  I then uninstalled Avast and voila!  problem solved. 

This is infuriating:  I've spent untold amounts of time solving this problem, and now I have to spend a bunch more time figuring out which AV program to adopt and, of course, I'm certain that whichever one it is I'll eventually have to go through this process again, as it 'evolves' into bloatware, i.e. becomes not only AV but spyware detector, firewall, etc.

One of the most irritating aspects of this was Avast's persistence, even after I told it to shut down:  three Avast processes continued to run after shutting down the app via the menus.  And even after shutting down those processes something in Avast continued to prevent consistent access to https addresses.

What can I use as a one-stop-shop for AV?

My spyware and firewall apps:

1.  Spysweeper (well, it will be, once I reinstall it)

2.  Kerio 2.5.1 or Outpost (not sure which I'll stick with)

Thanks

4vrqrisPt:
Hi,
I've run into the same problem with bloat.
Norton being one of them.
At the moment I run AntiVir personal Classic (Free)from Avira
http://www.free-av.com/
Even the premium version is very reasonable at about $20 or so/year
This program is very easy on your system.the only thing is a
nag screen when it updates.To me that is no big deal,one click and it's gone.
I'm quite happy with it and it seems to catch the crap :)
You may want to give it a try.

Pete.

housetier:
free-av.com (or free-av.de) is what I install on all my friends' PCs; I can recommend it. It's small, and it stays out of your way. My friends also like that little umbrella thing in tray bar: umbrella opend - virus protected; umbrella closed - not protected. It's so obvious all of #em understood it without explainations.

There are frequent updates both for the free and the commercial version. The free version is not lacking anything. You are just not allowed to use it in a company. For private use it is free of charge.

It has proven reliable in the past five years.

app103:
I'll tell you what I use on my old pc.

First I'll tell you a bit about it's specs so you will be able to understand my dire need to keep the software bloat-free..

Pentium 1, 233mhz
64 mb RAM
Windows ME
CD drive that doesn't read data cd's any more (couldn't install anything that comes on CD)

and now for the name of the only antivirus I would consider for that machine:

AVG Free   :Thmbsup:

It's light, doesn't cause weird problems, doesn't cause blue screens, doesn't cause the system to lock up if a rar file icon is on my screen, doesn't add 10 minutes to startup time...and it's free!

Switching from McAfee to AVG made my system run faster, more stable, and require a reboot much less often. I went from rebooting every 4 hours, which is typical for most Windows ME machines, to uptimes of over a month. Installing AVG on that machine was one of the smartest things I ever did.

The pay version contains a firewall, which is not what I wanted for the older pc.

Another thing you should know about the free vs. pay version: free version will NOT allow you to exclude files or folders. If it finds something it doesn't like, it will eat it, no matter what it is or how you feel about it. I have had it eat a programming project or 2.  :(
If you want the ability to exclude files, you have to pay.

You are also only allowed to have 1 copy of the free version installed, no matter how many pc's you own. So if you own more than 1 computer and love this product as much as I do, you'll have to buy it for the additional pc(s).

I use the pay version on my super-duper brand new pc and the free one on the old pc.
I am very happy with both, although I don't use the firewall that is included with the pay one, so I can't rate that part.

If there will be any bloat added to this product, it will most likely be added to the pay version and not the free version. Grisoft has recently acquired Ewido, an anti-spyware company, and plans on adding it to their product line. I don't know if it will be stand alone or added to a future version of their pay antivirus product.

wr975:
the only thing is a nag screen when it updates.To me that is no big deal,one click and it's gone.
-4vrqrisPt (May 20, 2006, 11:08 AM)
--- End quote ---

In another forum I read of this registry hack. It should disable the nag screen.

Copy in notepad, edit the path to your antivir installation if necessary, save as "disable.reg", double-click disable.reg to import it in your registry. Done.

--- ---Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Safer\CodeIdentifiers\0\Paths\{3f4dabe0-8061-4eb3-8ae7-265a4c579700}]
"Description"="Disallow start of avnotify.exe."
"SaferFlags"=dword:00000000
"ItemData"="C:\\Program Files\\AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic\\avnotify.exe"

Another way is to use the security tab in file properties of the file "avnotify.exe", and just disallow it to start. But XP Home users don't see this tab (unless they boot in safe mode). So using this registry hack is probably easier.

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