Last week we asked which anti-virus software you use on your Windows system. Here’s the results of the poll and what you said.
Microsoft Security essentials took an astonishing lead with over 40% of reader votes. The next runner-up was “Other” and in the comments Avast took the cake followed up by Comodo. A few others mentioned were Avira, Trend Micro, Vipre, Malwarebytes and Bitdefender. As for the rest of the official results, check them out in the graphic below.
Overall it looks like most people took advantage of the free anti-virus programs available. Microsoft Security Essentials most likely took the lead because it’s free, effective and advertisement free. Of those that did use Norton, the new 360 program had great recommendations. The overall conclusion from this poll is that it isn’t necessary to pay for antivirus for home use, but it is a good idea to have it.
What You Said
Here’s a sample of some comments you left.
Ant Pruitt: “When I build pc’s, i install Comodo’s package. I trust them because we get our certs from them. And even better, the package is FREE.”
Ziggy: “Microsoft Security Essentials for my Laptop – it’s one of the few freebies that doesn’t slow down the computer. Previously used Kaspersky paid version, but it took a heavy toll on performance.
As supplements to MSE I use MalwareBytes Free, SuperAntiSpyware Free and Microsoft’s msert. Spybot portable is also part of my cache, but all are used infrequently. Would like to see a similar survey for what readers use as their firewall”
Jamie Cheslo: “We use Avast Pro in our household. It has all the bells and whistles, including Sandbox which is really cool, and it is definitely NOT a systems resource hog.
Highly recommended! Hope this helps.”
Ross: “I use Norton Security Suite since it comes free with my Comcast service (business class, so it allows me up to 25 machines on the license). I am a firm believer that the most important thing you can do as a Windows user is to have security software in the first place and to keep it updated religiously. Any product you use will have some holes, so as always being conscious of what you do and where you go is just as important as having good security software.”
Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll and left awesome comments! Stay tuned next week for another groovy reader poll, and daily tips, news and tutorials on everything tech.
6 Comments
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Ron Lund
March 23, 2012 at 9:58 am
I’d like to see more comments from other subscribers on the various plus or minuses of the mentioned anti-virus software companies. I’m thinking that the “being free” option is getting too much coverage. I have ESET Nod 32 and have been extremely happy with their service over the past several years. Sure…..I have to pay for it, but they certainly provide excellent service.
Jeremiah Springfield
March 23, 2012 at 1:05 pm
I used to use ESET NOD 32 as well, it’s probably the best among the paid options. I liked it, but for home use MSE provides the same coverage for free.
M A Swartz
March 23, 2012 at 10:45 am
What about us Mac users? What security systems work best for them?
Bob Sleeman
March 23, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Interesting response, but how big was the sample and what was the profile of respondents?
Commercially I have used SOPHOS, ESET and McAfee as they have good distribution mechanisms for attached clients. External email filtering is another good option for corporates.
At home:
I found the free AVG does only AV, if you want more features you have to pay (at least in the UK).
The Microsoft product is free and offers fuller function than free AVG.
Norton has slowed down any machine which needs more horse power (RAM & processor), particularly during the initial boot/login phase.
McAfee as for Norton – heavy demand on processing power.
Kaspesky 2012 continues to impress on XP, Vista and W7 – also works on MACs. The interface and settings seem more friendly than other similar products and I don’t seem to suffer significant performance hits.
Michael Dean
March 28, 2012 at 3:10 am
The best AntiVirus Software out there today would have to be Avast!. I’ve been using the free version for years. Thier software found viruses on my system that none of the others could detect. I have a small network (5 systems) and use Avast! Pro for them. It detects incoming viruses before it hits your system or network. I pay for the the pro version but it gives me peace of mind when it comes to security.
JoeSchmoe
April 18, 2012 at 10:33 am
I’m careful and know what I’m doing, so I would be using nothing. Therefore I find Microsoft’s av is a great ‘good enough for me’ choice for me, because it is effective enough without being an overkill drain.