Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
The Best Security Suites (2013/2014)
Stoic Joker:
I generally don't have much need for local firewall (or related features) on my home PCs. The firewall, along with antispam and privacy controls, are handled by my gateway for the entire network. So on the local machines I just run Bitdefender + the Windows built-in firewall and call it a day.-40hz (February 18, 2014, 11:00 AM)
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I've had a long history of ignoring/disabling the software firewall due to having IPv4's NAT at the border. But with IPv6 no longer affording one that option (there is no NAT in IPv6), I've started experimenting with the built-in Windows firewall - which is configurable via GP on a domain - and rather like it. I think it should get better mention as it's quite granular if/as needed and also allows the simpler just prompt me as/if needed option.
I do have plans to give BD a shot one of these days but haven't gotten to it yet.
superboyac:
40hz, question:
Why did you go with Bitdefender AV over MSE?
-superboyac (February 17, 2014, 05:35 PM)
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@SB - it's very light on its feet and the free edition protects better the MSE IMO. My GF had a few niggling things get through MSE a short time ago that didn't get spotted until her weekly MBAM scan. Happened about three times. Since I put the freebie Bitdefender on her PC MBAM comes up completely clean.
I like Bitdefender. It's been around forever and earns consistent high detection scores in tests. I especially like their small business and enterprise products. They've always worked well for me in a client setting. YMMV.
Note: I've used (at one time or another) AV solutions from:
Avast
AVG
Avira
Bitdefender
CA
ESET
F-Protect
Kapersky
McAfee
Norton
Symantec
Of the above, I would still consider using Kapersky. And possibly AVG since it seems to really be at home with Windows 8 (which is coming whether we want it or not). Even has a pretty 'Win8-look' to its dashboard. The clients I have that use AVG are happy with it, even if I think it's feature set is bulking up alarmingly with each new release. (Note. AVG's customer service can sometimes be a little hard to deal with - so keep good track of your license keys and customer ID in case you do need to talk to them.)
Most of the other products I thought were great at one time. Or at least I did until they mucked them up with feature bloat. I'll also +1 w/Mouser on ESET. Their NOD32 antivirus was one of the absolute best products available - until they broke it.
I generally don't have much need for local firewall (or related features) on my home PCs. The firewall, along with antispam and privacy controls, are handled by my gateway for the entire network. So on the local machines I just run Bitdefender + the Windows built-in firewall and call it a day. I also keep a copy of the free versions of SuperAntispyware and MBAM on each machine for additional on-demand checking - and a bootable Kapersky USB key and restoration images in case some mega-disaster ever strikes.
Outside of that, keeping Windows religiously updated, and my other software regularly updated (mostly :-[ ) constitutes my Windows security regimen.
(see attachment in previous post) "That's the way America does it! That's the way 40hz does it! And it's worked pretty well so far..."
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UPDATE:
Note: one of my cronies just pointed me to this. It has info and links that allow you to legally obtain a fully functional "one-year trial" copy of AVG Internet Security 2014. Can't vouch for it since I didn't try to install it - but the download links on the webpage still appear (as of today 2/18/2014) to be working. A similar offer appeared on the Most i Want website recently. See it here.
AVG Internet Security 2014 Free Download with 1 Year Trial Serial Key
AVG Internet Security 2014 is normally priced at $54.99 for a 1 year 1 PC serial number/license key. And it comes with a 30 days trial version like other security software. If you don’t like the usual 30 days trial then here is an promotion offer to download a trial version of AVG Internet Security 2014 with an in-built serial key for 1 year (364 days) at no cost. It doesn’t say how long this offer will stay free, so get it while it last!
This free 1 year trial is actually intended for Huawei dongle users but it works for everyone lol. And in terms of features and protections, there are no differences between a trial and a paid license — you get all the same features, updates, and protection.
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-40hz (February 18, 2014, 11:00 AM)
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Thanks!! I'm going to give it a shot, if it's good enough for 40, it's good enough for me! And that explanation gets saved to my notes.
TaoPhoenix:
...
For the last week I've been trialing AVG internet security. I tried a dozen others but AVG was the one that I found least offensive. I might try outpost again, as I always liked Outpost, but right now AVG is doing pretty well by me.
I did not install the optional stuff like web browsing guards, identity guards, etc. -- and thankfully those are optional installs. Those seem too likely to cause problems and slowdowns to me.
AVG does *not* offer the kind of fine granularity control of the powerful firewalls like Eset and Outpost, but it does offer more control and transparency than some of the truly minimal ones. But my patience for micro-managing firewall access control rules has diminished over the years, so that's not bothering me as much as it would have in the past.
In terms of basic antivirus and firewall, i'm not unhappy with AVG, and the system performance and stability seem really excellent, which is my main concern these days.
-mouser (February 15, 2014, 06:41 PM)
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Wow Mouser, you demigod of DC you, how does all this compare to the entry conspicuously absent from these ratings, aka MS Internet Essentials!?
Heh So if that's my "C" (3rd hand suggested) program, how are your A and B programs worth it and better?
mouser:
40hz, thanks very much for the extended AVG license link -- that will come in very handy to extend my trial a bit!
If I stick with AVG I will be happy to purchase a full license (through Amazon.com which is a lot cheaper than official AVG page for some reason).
mwb1100:
There's been some positive statements about Bitdefender in this thread... I have an old, unused key for BitDefender AntiVirus Pro 2011 (3 PCs, 1 year). I have no idea how well it'll work today, but I think there's a decent chance that it will still work with a 2011 install (I can provide direct download links to the 2011 installer from bitdefender.com's servers). I have no idea how their upgrade policy works, but I suppose there's a small chance that you'd be able to get a 2011 install upgraded to 2014 for minimal charge or maybe even free.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in the key, just PM me (no promises provided about whether the key will be at all useful).
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