KAV v6.0 has turned out to be rather good. In advanced mode it offers a feature that intercepts registry entries (could be a bit annoying for general use). It also has much improved live scanning of downloads, SSL connections and email. The first releases of v6.0 did have a number of bugs which seem to have been ironed out now. My basic reason for using KAV is that I work at lot with multimedia content so I need something that is relatively light weight in the CPU dept. easy to turn off/on and efficient.

Look n Stop http://www.looknstop.com/En/index2.htm has been my FW of choice since it was first released. I've looked at a few others but I like this the best. It's small, does it's job well and has an effective rule set. You might need to take some time and learn about how to make best use of the settings but it's well worth the effort.

Andre

For a great article on doing noise reduction yourself, check out this link to DV magazine:
http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.php?articleId=23902993

You may need to register (for free) to view it, but it's definitely info that's worth your time.

-Jimdoria (July 06, 2007, 09:58 AM)

The article is really aimed for video post and is a little out of date - but it's still a useful reference. As you can see Cedar - which is used a lot in audio archiving - starts at over $ 5000.

OK, it looks like a good time to time to start a survey / mini-review ...

Algorithmix (German company) make expensive hi-end products but they also have Sound Laundry:
http://www.algorithmix.com/home/index_products.htm

Sound Laundry has been around for a few years and I don't think it's been updated recently. It works as a stand alone modular system.

You can read about their flagship products here: [ dongle & lots of Euros required ]
http://www.algorithmix.com/

While we are on the proverbial autobahn, Magix offer the MAGIX Audio Cleaning Lab 11:
http://site.magix.net/english-us/home/music/audio-cleaning-lab-11/

From my own audio snob POV, it's basically is consumer 'toy" version of the some of the in-built NR and FX features found in their DAWs - Samplitude and Sequoia.

Voxengo Redunoise:
http://www.voxengo.com/forum/redunoise/680/

This is quite similar to the NR plugin in Sony's Sound Forge. It samples the audio and makes a "noise print" which is used as the basis for cleaning the audio.

Virtos is having a 50 % off sale:
http://www.virtos-audio.com/

I think Virtos is pretty effective in comparison to Sound Forge, Sound Soap, Voxengo etc. and is certainly great value for what you get, esp. if you went with the Noise Wizard bundle.

In NR there is something to remember. The more you remove the more you'll find. You have to know when to stop. The less the better.