How Good are Free Security Programs?

[steve1368]

I found something interesting just now, regarding security measures. Title as follows:-

 

"How Good are Free Security Programs? A multi-part series that examines the effectiveness of free security software."

 

Some may have read it , some may have not, anyway those interested, check it out!

 

http://www.techsupportalert.com/free-vs-paid-av.htm

 

From the same writer of "The 46 Best Ever Freeware Utilities" .

 

Cheers

[agumon]

i feel that free ones are better than nothing if you need it... even if you use the commerial version, there is also no guarantee that it will remove 100% malware from your system...

[Andavari]

He's talking about layering to detect more malware, when in honesty a great majority of people are already layering their protection and detection by using a multitude of programs. It's been known for years that using one security program (antivirus, antispyware, etc.) can't be fully trusted to be 100% effective all the time, however even using one program (free or pay) is better than nothing at all.

[steve1368]

He's talking about layering to detect more malware

 

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Yep! What I thought was interesting was the % of security achieved with freeware softwares in comparison with commercial products AND choice of freeware product used in his findings.

 

I'm sure a lot of us are following the above method. In my case, I don't know where I actually stand in terms of security compared to commercial products.....now I know

[agumon]

but i thought that the free edition and comercial version share the same definition...? except the update sites is not high-speed...

[Andavari]

but i thought that the free edition and comercial version share the same definition...? except the update sites is not high-speed...

 

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For Ad-Aware, Avast, AVG, Ewido Security Suite that's true they use the same definition files, however with incremental updates high-speed updating isn't much of an issue whereas server overload is.

[steve1368]

but i thought that the free edition and comercial version share the same definition...? except the update sites is not high-speed...

 

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I was refering to commercial products like Nod32.

 

I'm using Avast Home Edition, its free as you know.

Just wanted to share with everyone that with a freeware anti virus and a good layering , you would be well protected ( not 100 % , but very well protected )

 

So, in summary, altho products like Nod32 has good ratings, you can still make do almost equally well with a decent freeware anti virus with proper layering.....sound familiar isn't it ? Yes it is, it's been told many times I guess, just that I found a link showing me figures in comparison with freeware and commercial product. That's all.

 

Having said that, one persons test doesn't mean a lot , but it gives me a good idea the margin of difference between both.

 

Cheers

[agumon]

i think the best way to test is to gather all the malware in the world and see which antivirus can detect more...

[DjLizard]

Ok I'll start

 

here I go

 

http://www.flexbeta.net/images/spyware/ie.gif

 

darn, I lose

[nod32]

You think thats bad?

 

http://worcester.typepad.com/pc4media/imag...olbar400gif.gif

[rridgely]

You think thats bad?

 

http://worcester.typepad.com/pc4media/imag...olbar400gif.gif

 

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wow, that person only had like to inches left of screen.

[agumon]

that person like to collect toolbars...? at least there is one google toolbar which is the only useful among the all...

[Tarun]

I've seen that before as a Firefox ad.

[bpm3k]

I read through all 4 articles. I wish he would have tested AntiVir.

 

Also what is the time gap between his tests for article 2 and 3? When he switches from testing the free products to useing the paid products, I hope there is not really a one month difference in testing is there? Becuase obviously useing the def files from a month later would provide better results. I am referring to time lapse in testing between article 2 and 3.

 

Additionaly when you look at his test results here. Although he says he used 104 samples there are many duplicates. It looks like he actually used less than 25 different malware samples.

 

 

I agree that the best pay products are better thant he best free products BUT I think his testing and documentation of his testing are sadly lacking.

[Greenknight]

I would like to see A-squared included in some tests. It never seems to be included, I suppose because it doesn't fall neatly into the category of AV or antispyware, since it's both, and more.

 

I installed the free version after hearing about it on this forum, but I have yet to see any test that demonstrates how well it works.

 

While I respect the opinions of the users here who recommended it, it would be nice to have something more than anecdotal evidence for its effectiveness. I can't tell, I use Firefox, and rarely get any malware.

[rridgely]

I used A squared untill I found Ewido. I still us it sometimes when I'm cleaning a windows 98 pc.

[Greenknight]

I used A squared untill I found Ewido. I still us it sometimes when I'm cleaning a windows 98 pc.

 

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From the research I've done, it sounds like Ewido still has some bugs to be worked out. In any case it's not free.

[rridgely]

From the research I've done, it sounds like Ewido still has some bugs to be worked out. In any case it's not free.

 

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I havent come across any bugs with ewido yet (what have you heard). The scanner is free, so after your trial is over you can still update and scan just no real time protection.

[Andavari]

I havent come across any bugs with ewido yet (what have you heard).

 

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One bug I encountered is when updating the definition files it will sometime's crash when trying to apply them or initiate them (unsure which one it is), however that rarely happens.

[Greenknight]

It seems to be generally agreed that the online help is not very good, for one thing. Read the reviews at Download.com, they're extremely mixed.

 

One loves it, another says "Ewido is worse than a virus", says it broke most of his links and disabled all his other security programs. Lots of complaints about slowness, one user said it kept just quitting, and had problems updating. Of course, you can't tell how many of the problems are user error, but even the editor's review only gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

 

Another site, don't recall which one, while praising it's advanced features, described it as very promising. That sounds to me like the description of a work in progress, not a finished product.

 

I'm glad to hear you use it without problems, I agree that it does sound promising. I wasn't aware that the scanner was free, that's good to hear. For now I'm gonna stick with what I've got, though, already got more security than I need.

[Guest Mangix]

that person like to collect toolbars...? at least there is one google toolbar which is the only useful among the all...

 

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Yahoo's toolbar is more useful because of AntiSpy

[agumon]

dont know... i dont like yahoo...

[Tarun]

Most/all toolbars are a form of spyware, tracking your web pages and such. I've never used them, nor will I.