No-bull antivirus software

So I used to use AVG, but got completely fed-up with the way it inserts itself into all aspects of your system and would hide and run sneakily in the background even when you explicitly told it not to. Seriously, it was worse than the virii I used it to get rid of! What were they thinking?

Can someone reccomend me a comprehensive virus scanner (for Windows 2000/XP) which lets me start it myself, scan what I want to, and shuts down and completely removes itself from memory when I tell it to? Obviously I want a well-supported program with regular definition updates, but I don't want it to update automatically and I don't want it to do anything at all without me explicitly telling it to. One that runs from the command line would be awesome beyond words, but I'll put up with a no-frills GUI if I have to.

Does that even exist? Or am I dreaming of a bygone era when software engineers actually took some pride in their work instead of just blobbing more mustard onto their rotting sandwich-meat to hide the taste?

Help me out here guys!

J

(Does this post sound maybe a bit bitter; angry? Tough. So am I.)

So.... you want it to be completely innefectual and mostly useless? If it can't update then it won't fight the infections that might get on the system. If it doesn't start itself, it can't catch things during boot, etc. If it can be easily stopped or shutdown then again it can't catch viruses or malware as it gets on the system.

Really, you'd be better off not running AV and simply reimage your machine on a daily or weekly basis. You could have all the control and freedom you desire.

Look at virtualbox, VirtualPC or VMWare player and simply run the system from a read-only file or a CD/DVD and when you shut it down it will be the same as when you first started it. The only caveat is that they all run within another OS, so you better damned well learn how to properly harden the host OS.

Ummm... AVG? Just tell it not to auto-start or auto-update, pretty easy to do.

fiat22turbo wrote: So.... you want it to be completely innefectual and mostly useless? If it can't update then it won't fight the infections that might get on the system. If it doesn't start itself, it can't catch things during boot, etc. If it can be easily stopped or shutdown then again it can't catch viruses or malware as it gets on the system.

No, I want it to launch when I tell it to, update when I tell it to, scan what I tell it to (i.e. specific files I've downloaded and want to run), and then go away when I tell it to. Basically act like I'M in control of the computer and not IT.

AVG did none of those things. Last time I had it on here it would start at bootup no matter what I did (including doing a search and delete for all traces of it from the registry!) and I couldn't turn the dang automatic updates off. It added a full minute to my bootup sequence and was taking so much CPU running in the "background" that it would make my poor old laptop overheat and die regularly. It's been way better since I took it off so I know it was at fault.

J

Clam AV? http://w32.clamav.net/

ClamWin is the fancy windows GUI for it. http://www.clamwin.com/

You should try Norton. Ha!

I run Avast. Never noticed any performance hit, never picked up a virus.

I've been using this one for a couple of years now, and I've always been virus free.

http://www.free-av.com/

I'm pretty sure it fits all of your criteria, too.

I recommend ClamAV for my non-profit customers and home users.

Sigh (places face in palm, shakes head slowly side to side) you're just not getting it are you....

AVG is doing exactly what it should be doing and you're complaining about it? The point is that contrary to what many think (especially those in IT) we don't always know everything that is going on our machines. So having the software there to react for us (since it can do so potentially much faster) is a good thing.

Case in point: the recent exploit that was introduced. There is already a virus making the rounds that makes use of that exploit. If you have your AutoUpdates off and your Antivirus turned off you would have to manually download and update the software. All the while you're exposed as you browse to the necessary website, etc. Meanwhile AutoUpdate and AVG could have updated already and possibly save you the embarrassment of being owned by some script-kiddies with a botnet fetish.

altternatively, you can work like I do and treat the OS as disposable and understand that you'll need to blow it away and start over fairly regularly by using Ghost images or Windows WIM files along with Linux booting via DVD.

Keith wrote: I run Avast. Never noticed any performance hit, never picked up a virus.

THIS

I use MoonSecure in place of ClamAV. Based on ClamAV, but better.

NOD32 is the only antivirus worth paying for.

Also, avoid Avira. It took the AVG route long ago and is far worse.

Spybot search and destroy. Ad-Aware SE

mtn wrote: Spybot search and destroy. Ad-Aware SE

+1, but these focus more on spyware than traditional viruses.

for antispyware / antimalware

I Highly recommend malwarebytes AntiMalware http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Faster and more thorough than Ad-aware and Spybot. this coming from a long time lover of both

BartPE and Sophos antivirus. It's a live CD and sophos is capable of updating itself when running live.

My father's computer has AVG, I'd never buy it. As the first poster says it has a bad habit of intruding as soon as you start up...at least that's how it works on my father's PC. It also "seems" to be somewhat ineffectual, or at least transparent as it stops viruses...I think, but I suspect from the popups that run in a "hidden" state and it's inability to filter spam that there are WAAY better anit-virus/anti-spyware systems around.

Trendmicro's housecall? http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

It runs when you want to (you need to go to their website to run it) It updates only when you want to (you need to run it throught the website) It doesn't insert itself into the system at all.

The corporate version of symantec antivirus also seems to do what you want (i'm running version 9), it is fairly unobtrusive and can be configured to not auto-update/scan on startup.

I have had no problems with AVG.

EricM wrote: I have had no problems with AVG.

+1

It's far less intrusive than Norton. I like that it updates, scans automatically, etc., without being a resource hog.

norton sucks. avg sucks. they all suck. most of the ones ive used require more memory than your average blitz pack, plus you pay $20 for them...i run windows defender, zonealarm, and ADAMENTLY REFUSE TO USE POP SERVER EMAIL!!! (ie-outlook express email), nothing else. i have found that email is the WORST thing you can do a to a machine, so i let hotmail get my viruses for me. i have had my desktop boot since 2002. only had to reload 2 times in 6 years, even with software/hardware upgrades every few months, and each time i had to wipe it and start over, i KNEW it was coming, (oh damn..this is gonna crash my stuff..oh well, maybe not). well, those two times, AVG might have saved me. but i was just as likely to tell AVG to let it by, and i would have crashed anyways.

i think with about 5 hours of good quality research on how to protect your self and be careful at what you download, then firewalls and and knowledge can go a long way.

my laptop has been up for 3 years. no antivirus of any kind. runs like it did when i got it...i dont see the need.

oh well, maybe ill get burned more often now that i said something.

-J0N

EDIT-i also just realized that my mom, who has the same laptop of the same age, and uses hers about 1/4th the time, has AVG on it. its slow as HELL, and has crashed 3 times. i reboot it every year, around December. now, shes not near as computer savvy as i am (not that im a guru, i simply hold my own on 10 year old tech...) but it seems that even after a fresh install, once i add AVG, i might as well leave the spyware/blitz pack/virus in there. at least theres a justifyable reason its slow, and it wouldnt cost my mom $20....

DILYSI Dave wrote:

EricM wrote: I have had no problems with AVG.

+1 It's far less intrusive than Norton. I like that it updates, scans automatically, etc., without being a resource hog.

+1 here, too. I run AVG on both of my machines, one running XP and the other Vista. I have it set for autoboot and auto update, sure I have to let it run while booting up but I'd a damn sight rather do that than try to clean frickin' viruses off my computer. In fact, I trashed Norton for AVG after using both side by side.

+1 on no Outlook as well, that's probably the worst program you can have on your computer because it has so many huge security holes in it and it saves your E mail and attachments, including any viruses, to your computer. I am on Comcast, they store my email off site. Their umpteen million dollar antivirus grabs stuff long before I ever see it and when I access my email account it will show me what's been cleaned off. If I need to save an Email, I have that option as well.

EDIT: AVG has added something recently which I thought at first was a gimmick but it may actually have some worth: it automatically assigns a risk factor to sites that are found on Google etc. You run your search, then when the results are displayed it shows which sites have the greatest risk. It kept warning me about englishrussia, for instance. It doesn't seem to pay attention to the file extension, like a while back my Romanian buddy's newspaper site that ends in .ro didn't excite it.

I've switched around some, and used BitDefender for a while. I got a virus while it was active and updated, so it had to go. I've used AVG extensively in the past (I worked at a computer shop) and I have to say that it turned to crap in its latest update. I've switched to Avira and haven't had any problems. The only thing I have an issue with is the nag screen when it updates. Other than that, I've had no issues.

I'd rather have a solution that works for me, not a solution I have to work for.