Question by Karla: Ad Aware vs Avast? Do both remove trojan horse virus?
I have AVG 7.5 on my new laptop, I use my lap top for homework only and i want to TRY to keep it clean from spyware or viruses. I dont have a spyware protector and ive been looking up some. From what it seems Avast and Ad-Aware are the best. i want one that will remove trojan horses and not just detects them which one is best?
So which are the best free programs to keep my computer clean ?
Best answer:
Answer by neo
see, trojans can not all be removed automatically even by the best of antivirus programs, for that they post manual removal instructions, which you have to read and follow
What do you think? Answer below!
you better look some more, neither are spyware scanners.
AVAST is an anti-virus program.
Some good, free antispyware programs you can download are…
1. SuperAntiSpyware (free)
http://www.superantispyware.com/…
Detects and Removes Spyware, Adware, Malware, Trojans, Dialers, Worms, KeyLoggers, HiJackers, Parasites, Rootkits and many other types of threats.
2. Ad-Aware (free)
http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/ad-awar…
3. SpyBot S&D (free)
http://www.safer-networking.org/…
First of all, your terminology is off…
Avast is an antivirus program and ad-aware scans for spyware / adware.
If you already have an antivirus program installed.. make sure you completely and properly uninstall it via add/remove programs and reboot before installing another.
I strongly recommend that if you care about your computer and the things on it and your own peace of mind that you invest the 70 bucks in a security suite (antivirus, firewall, antispyware, etc) from a RELIABLE vendor (such as McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, etc) and ensure it is properly configured, up-to-date, and automatically updating itself. (you get what you pay for… and the cheap usually comes out very expensive).
You’ll also want to ensure you run windows update and have it set to automatically download and install the latest security patches… same goes for any other programs you use.
As for trojans. Most security suites will detect and prevent you from installing malware… however, if you go on the cheap then you run the risk of becoming infected and not all can be deleted after-the-fact.. in other words, many trojans and some particularly nasty bugs such as polymorphics will prevent you from installing proper protection to remove them… and you will either be stuck manually removing them or stuck having to lose all your data (that isnt backed up) by performing a reformatting of your computer. hence the cheap coming out expensive…
Good Luck!
AVG Anti-Virus is crap!
Mostly noobs, the naive, the computer illiterate, and children use AVG Free. People of their ilk love AVG because they say it is easy to use and almost never bothers them with any pop-ups or warnings. Of course AVG Free never bothers them, it hardly ever finds any virus to warn them about!
In test,
http://www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=82&mnu=82
after test,
http://www.av-comparatives.org/
after test,
http://antivirus.about.com/od/antivirussoftwarereviews/gr/avgfree.htm
after test ,
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=891307&postcount=1,
after test,
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130869-page,1/article.html,
after test,
http://techsupportalert.com/issues/al_current.htm#Section_0,
after test,
http://winnow.oitc.com/AntiVirusPerformance.html
etc. etc. etc, ad nauseam, AVG fares poorly.
AVG has proven itself to be a miserable performer at best. Missing almost 20%, while trying to detect known malware, in some tests. Not to mention almost non-existent heuristic detection and infrequent “once-a day” updates.
AVG. = Average, at best!
There are much better free anti-virus alternatives such as Avria Anti-Vir:
http://www.free-av.com/
and Avast:
http://avast.com/eng/free_software.html
To remove spyware,there are many solutions exist, all of them with their own strengths and weaknesses.
You had better install at least 2 antispyware
Top 5 anti-spywares reviews,comparisons and download links on
http://www.anti-spyware-center.com
You can download and scan your computer for free.
You are comparing an antivirus program with a spyware program which have two, not necessarily mutually exclusive, functions. As far as an antivirus is concerned I would recommend using one that works best for you. The person who posted that AVG has poor detection time after time,etc. must not have read his own links where in some AVG actually out detects Avast (which he recommends), Symantec, Trendmicro etc. depending on which comparative you look at. Needless to say, I put little to no credence in these things due to the relative subjectivity of the results. No antivirus program is going to detect 100% of all viruses, trojans, malware etc. If you are comfortable using AVG Free it will be fine. I have used it on several of my customers PCs and it works fine. If you want another good free antivirus try Antivir it’s supposed to have slightly better detection. I personally use this, but it is a matter of personal preference. I have also tried Avast but find the benefits of the additional modules/shields modest at best and it does not allow scheduled scans in the free version. As far as an antispyware program, Adaware is a pretty good program that you can use in conjunction with AVG or whatever antivirus program you choose. Just remember you can have more than one antispyware program, just not more than one antivirus program. I would highly recommend in conjunction with Adaware, downloading AVG antispyware which is free and/or Spyware Doctor Starter/Free Edition 5.1 (with the improved performance enhancements). Get a good firewall. I personally recommend Comodo, which is also free and you are set.
Good Luck!