Antivirus Recommendations
Aussie PC Fix highly recommends two subscription based antivirus / firewall software: Kaspersky Antivirus and NOD32 Antivirus. Both have consistently shown better protection than ANY other antivirus, as shown in results from these independent testing companies: Virus Bulletin and av-comparatives.org. It is hard to judge these products on a single test but we have carefully watched these results over the years.
Best Subscription Antivirus and Security Suites
Kaspersky Antivirus (KAV)
Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) <- Highly Recommended!
Eset NOD32 (NOD)
ESET Smart Security (ESS)
Budget Subscription Antivirus
Best Free Antivirus
Free Online Antivirus Scanners
Other Security Programs
Removal Tools
Best Subscription Antivirus, Firewall and Security Suites
Kaspersky Antivirus 2009 (KAV)
Not only do you get one of the best Antivirus, now that we can offer Kaspersky Antivirus at a reduced $44 per year, Kaspersky is also one of the best value for money. The virus engine has outstanding detection rates and is licensed to many other security companies, including ZoneLab's ZoneAlarm.
The program has a friendly and easy to use interface, just uninstall your existing antivirus and download the 30 day trial below. It is good practice to make a complete backup of your computer before you remove or install any security software!
Aussie PC Fix has trusted their computers for over 5 years with Kaspersky and we believe it is one of the best antivirus products on the market. Best detection rates, low resource usage, and quick scanning times make this product our best choice. Highly Recommended! Review1 | Review2
Save 20% off RRP! Get Kaspersky Antivirus 2009 License for just $44
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Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 (KIS) <- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Combining personal firewall protection and intrusion detection, Kaspersky Internet Security will protect you from the barrage of attacks from Internet worms and hackers and will stop malicious programs from 'phoning home'. KIS also protects you from leaking personal data and has parental control as well as spam/phishing protection.
KIS is a solid and stable firewall security solution still with the outstanding protection of Kaspersky Antivirus. This is a must for wireless and dialup users who are directly connected to the Internet either at wifi hotspots in cafes or using wireless Internet such as 3G/NextG to stop people scanning and breaking into your computer. It should also be installed by broadband users connecting to the Internet by a modem without an inbuilt firewall or router.
Additionally, a software personal firewall protects you from many harmful software that antivirus may not detect. KIS will alert you about programs that try to access the Internet from your computer without your permission such as Trojans and spyware.
It also gives you an additional layer of protection over router or other hardware firewalls because software personal firewalls can monitor connections on the computer directly and alert the user of any suspicious behaviour. KIS will ask your permission every time a program wants to make a connection and it is up to you to Allow or Deny this. Rules can be easily made to always allow or deny a particular program so you don't get warnings all the time!
> HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!! <
NEW: Tutorials and Screenshots of KIS 2009 installation and setup
KIS2009-Step1-Installing-Kaspersky-Internet-Security-2009.pdf
KIS2009-Step2-Activating-KIS-2009-Free-Demo-or-License.pdf
KIS2009-Step3-Final-Installation-KIS-2009.pdf
KIS2009-Step4-Using-KIS-2009.pdf - more coming soon!
Save 20% off RRP! Get Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 for only $66:
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Eset NOD32 (NOD)
NOD32 Antivirus from Eset has also been a favourite of Aussie PC Fix for many years, offering exceptional Antivirus detection while also being one of the fastest and leanest antivirus scanners. Your computer memory and other resource usage are kept to a minimum so it's ideal for older computers lacking memory or for those who demand the absolute best performance from their system.
The interface can be a little confusing for beginners but the following will help:
AMON = Activity Monitor is the real-time antivirus protection which will detect viruses as files are used and should usually be left enabled to protect you from viruses.
EMON = Email Monitor, which will be available when a compatible email client is installed (e.g. Microsoft Outlook).
IMON = Internet Monitor is the real time protection for network and Internet traffic. It will also scan email if EMON is not active with your Email Client (e.g. Outlook Express).
DMON = Document Monitor, provides an additional layer of protection for Microsoft Office documents and ActiveX controls downloaded from networks. ...based on http://www.eset.co.uk/support/faq.php
On-Demand Scanner as its name suggests will scan your computer when you ask it. As with any antivirus, a full scan of your hard drives should be done weekly or monthly because On-Demand Scanners are slightly better at detection than the real-time / memory-resident protection (such as AMON for NOD32). Malicious files may also be laying dormant on the drive which would not otherwise be found until they attempt to run.
Please contact us for multi year or multi PC purchases for extra savings.
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ESET Smart Security (ESS)
ESS includes the high protection of NOD32 Antivirus and completes the Internet security suite with a personal firewall, antispam, and antispyware.
The Personal Firewall controls all network traffic to and from the system. This is accomplished by allowing or denying individual network connections based on specified filtering rules. It provides protection against attacks from remote computers and enables blocking of some services. It also provides antivirus protection for HTTP and POP3 protocols. This functionality represents a very important element of computer security. Source: ESS User Guide | Review
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Budget Subscription Antivirus
Trend PC-cillin 2008 - Boxed
For three computers it is hard to go past Trend PC-cillin 2008 for $69 with a 3 user (computer) license. That's just $23 per computer for year-round protection and a great money saver for households or offices with multiple computers.
This is also a good choice if you would rather a boxed product rather than just a digital download and valid license. Contact us for pick up in Belconnen or only $9 delivery in Australia, otherwise we can email you the license key.
After a backup, please download the 30 day trial and check the program works efficiently on your computers. If your PC is low on memory then this antivirus (and many other major brands which we will not mention here...) may slow down your computer if you are near your memory limit. Antivirus software has become much more complex and resource intensive over the years because the viruses they defend us against have also evolved.
Running more programs and more complex programs on your computer may leave your PC lacking in memory so a memory upgrade may be needed to help you running smoothly. If you are upgrading from a previous version and have had no troubles, then your good experience should continue.
Trend's free online virus scanner is also one of the most popular on the web.
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Best Free Antivirus
There is no better defense to having a subscription based antivirus solution such as Kaspersky or NOD32, but having no antivirus is better than none at all so we present to you the following free antivirus.
We rate Kaspersky and NOD32 at around 99.9% detection with most of the other 'popular' bloatware brands at about 99.5%. Free antivirus can be quite varied but we'd rate the following at between 90-95% detection.
Quite often we detect missed viruses on customer computers even though one of these free solutions are being used, after we install a paid solution or with our many other security scan and analysis services.
avast! 4 Free
avast! 4 Home Edition Free Antivirus is our favourite free antivirus because the detection rates during independent testing seem to be better than AVG. Unfortunately it does not want to install properly on a small number of systems and sometimes it is easier to settle on AVG, but once installed offers good protection from viruses for a free product.
Avira AntiVir
AntiVir Free has come a long way over the years and is now starting to make a big impact in the free antivirus market. We will start testing this product again because independent reviews are starting to rank it again in the top tier for free antivirus.
AVG Free
AVG Free must be the most popular free antivirus, but reviewing independent and magazine tests show AVG fails to detect quite a few virus in their samples. Older viruses seem to be a particular problem, but the program is quite fast (after you turn off the scheduled startup scans!) and usually detects most current threats.
For best virus protection we always recommend a paid / subscription based antivirus and firewall, but no program can offer 100% protection since people unfortunately make new viruses and spyware every day.
Aussie PC Fix often service computers with free antivirus and sometimes find just by installing a subscription based antivirus such as Kaspersky Internet Security (KIS) most of the infections are removed.
It is also recommended that dedicated anti-spyware programs are installed for more complete protection.
Free Online Antivirus Scanners
Kaspersky | Nod32 | BitDefender | Trend Micro
Panda | Avast | McAfee | Symantec | CA
Jotti | Virus Total | WindTrojScan
These free scanners are never a substitute for real-time antivirus protection which prevent virus infection. These online scanners are great for a second opinion, but some can take a long time to complete and only remove current infections - they do not prevent any further infections!
The last row of free online antivirus scanners are for individual files and can scan with multiple virus engines - great for suspect individual files!
Other Antivirus, Firewall and Security Programs
ZoneAlarm (ZA)
Zone Alarm Free has been one of the most popular firewalls because it offered a very friendly interface and was one of only a few that survived as a free version still being updated. ZoneLabs offer a free version with firewall only, but you can also upgrade to the Security Suite or Pro (Firewall) versions.
We recommend sticking with version 7.0.337.0 if the latest versions slow down your PC or you have other troubles - see the above links for previous versions and release history. ZoneLabs also seem to be branching out with many other specific products such as Antispyware and Wireless security, but it's a pity the antivirus component in the suite (licensed from Kaspersky) seems to slow computers compared to Kaspersky's native solution...
Comodo FireFirewall
Comodo Firewall Pro is a relatively new free personal firewall that holds a lot of promise. It's getting great reviews all over the place, but previous beta releases had major problems - especially with removal! We have still to test this product again thoroughly since the version 3 release, but it did provide adequate protection.
PC Tools Firewall
PC Tools Firewall Plus is another relatively new free firewall product that is getting a lot of attention and excellent feedback. We are yet to thoroughly test this, but it will likely be our new first choice for a free firewall. Tell us what you think!
Removal Tools
The following tools can help remove old versions of security products which should be performed before installing new security software on your computer!
Removing these existing products and then installing a Kaspersky or ESET security solution instead will often speed up your computer significantly!
Download the trials to confirm this and compare for yourself, but be sure you have removed any existing antivirus or firewall before installing another product otherwise conflicts can occur.
A backup is also always recommended whether replacing or upgrading your existing security solution, but you always back up anyway to protect your data ...don't you???
Norton / Symantec (NAV / NIS / N360)
Maybe Norton 360 will save Symantec as we hear it's less resource hungry and doesn't slow down the computer as much as its Norton Anti Virus / Norton Internet Security products.
Unfortunately it still seems the 30-60 day trials they pay to be bundled with 'brand name' new computers are as strong as ever but must very be effective for them!
Symantec's Norton Removal Tool - Direct Link: NRT.exe
McAfee
Another resource hungry antivirus and security suite product, but McAfee's SiteAdvisor seems like an effective product and is much faster than the inbuilt anti-phising feature included in Internet Explorer 7, although now Firefox 3 also includes inbuilt antiphising and is highly recommended.
McAfee Consumer Products Removal tool - Direct Link: MCPR.exe