Until today I’ve been using Avast Free version. However recently it had started to just munch on my drive out of the blue, practically bringing my laptop to a halt. So I threw him out. Before that Windows Defender had similar episodes.
What AV software do you user and/or recommend?
I use the Intego antivirus package, but it’s not much use unless you’re on a Mac, I think. Mac viruses aren’t such a big thing, so I don’t know if it’s overkill or not. But I hear Mac/iOS virus makers have been upping their game of late. 
I used to use Kaspersky, and really liked it - except for the fact that I had to remember to disable it every time I wanted to install a new piece of softward because it was such a hyperactive watchdog.
I’m now using McAfee, but even though I don’t have any particular issues with it, I really only use it because it comes free with my internet provider, not because I think it is the best. 
Having said that, it has served me well so far.
I’ve used NOD32 from Eset for years. Low footprint and doesn’t hog resources.
That’s what I am using - just the basic antivirus component with everything else disabled as I have better alternatives installed for everything else.
The last paid security suite I tried was Kaspersky (it was getting top billing on all the reviews at that time) and it brought my computer to a complete halt in under a month (as the computer slowed I started disabling features until I ran out of features to disable and even with everything disabled it continued to slow the computer further). The only good thing I can say about Kaspersky is that they did give me a refund.
None. I’m on Linux.
Haha, yeah, a virus running on a virus wouldn’t make sense!
I’m running McAfee at home. We run it here in the office, so should I ever get into trouble with it, I know where I can find ‘support’.
I’m still a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to buying software other than games so I think I will give one more try to a free AV. Most reviews at this moment give praise to Avira 2016 (although I didn’t hear about this product before).
Here are some articles on the topic while we’re at it:
On the other hand I think that the best solution to avoid this sort of issue would be to replace the mechanical HDD with a SSD.
How does that affect anything - how you store the viruses makes no difference.
The main issue that sparked my current funk is the computer being brought to a halt because the AV processes munch at the disk, keeping it that busy that nothing else can move. As laptops are usually loaded with 5400 rpm HDDs, I think that a SSD would ease the symptoms, beyond the normal improvement it would bring to the system.
I actually didn’t have a virus problem that I can remember in the last ten years and the only alerts I got happened when I poked intentionally in some dodgy place. And a bunch of false positives. Main concern, I think is to avoid accidentally catch something on a USB stick.
I did install Avira today and I’m giving it a month to see how it handles things.
I use Avast Premier, but I used the free version for years, I think since 2006 or 2007. Since then I never had a problem with virus.
I use none. Instead I use a nifty little program called LittleSnitch. It allows me to monitor all connections that are made during a session and allow/disallow any connection requests. I feel like I’m having super control over who accesses anything on my computer this way.
I’ve been using Panda Global Protection for the last few years, can’t remember how I found it.
@kohoutek good to see you round the forums!
Won’t that leave you vulnerable to infected files or USB sticks? Not all malware comes from the Internet.
I am using Quick Heal Total Security at home from last 5 years.
Yes, it leaves me vulnerable to anything that doesn’t come from the internet. But, I don’t use any such data. Anything I download comes from the app store. And the app store is online. I know I am not fully protected, but I’m on a Mac, and while that is no guarantee in any which way to not get infected by something, I’ve not felt the need to install additional apps to protect my computer other than the one I mentioned.
That’s currently just about the least secure operating system in popular use making it the one most likely to be attacked.
What makes OS X more vulnerable to Windows?
I’ve not had a single issue in the decade I’ve used Apple’s OS. I’ve had my fair share of viruses while on Windows, however.
I am not in anyway saying there is no malware for OS X. There is. To say it’s the most vulnerable OS though? I’m curious to hear why that would be the case.
Windows has had thousands of vulnerabilities attacked and fixed.
Since all operating systems start with roughly the same number of vulnerabilities in the same amount of code the more that are fixed the more secure that operating system is compared to ones that haven’t had vulnerabilities fixed yet.
Malware for OSX is in the early days so far - some has appeared but there’s a huge scope for more that will do significant damage before all the seciruty holes get fixed.