Recommendations on Firewall (and Virus) options - for Win7

[Matt S]

hey all,

have used Norton for the last couple years, and its decent, if a little pricey - they want like $70 + for a one year. That strikes me as expensive

What are some good options? Hopefully for $50 or less a year?

Thanks in advance

 

[Tabula Rasa]

I just bought a new laptop which came with a free month of McAfee and a one time offer of a year for $20. The full price online is $70 for what I have (full protection / complete package), but I just recently saw the same exact product at Wal-Mart for $50.

 

[Isildur's bane]

Check out av-comparatives for a list of the best AV programs by year. Last year Bitdefender was on top AV-Comparatives Summary-Report » AV-Comparatives

I would also recommend getting Malwarebytes. Great software.

 

[Matt S]

thanks guys - will check those out. and yeah, I have had malwarebytes - it is very good

 

[cokebabies]

I've had no issues with Microsoft Security Essentials combined with Malwarebytes.

Even better, I am able to use them for the reasonable price of free.

 

[Solidus]

From what I've read, Microsoft Security Essentials have really fallen behind since 2010 - in fact, I don't think Microsoft even updates it anymore. Norton and McAfee have taken a dive in recent years, too.

Personally, I'm using ZoneAlarm Extreme Edition - costs about $39.99 for an annual subscription. It works very passively in the background, and does a fairly decent job of monitoring/cleaning my system. It even has a "gaming mode" that completely takes away pop-up notifications, if viruses are found.

It works well for me, and I'd recommend it. It even has 30 day trail period so you can test it out yourself.

The ratings for ZA are pretty average, but I don't pay attention to editorials anymore, since I suspect a lot of editors are being bought out by the bigger corporations (and it's very telling when McAfee and Norton are given good editorial reviews, but horrible reviews from actual users). The user reviews are what matters to me the most, and ZA has generally garnered good feedback around the net.

 

[darthviper107]

The Microsoft stuff still gets updated just fine. In my experience that's all I've ever needed.

 

[cilantropants]

I've got Win 7. Aside from the usual MS security, I've been using Avast! free version for several years and have never had a problem. Used AVG free before that. On top of that I use Malwarebytes to scan about once a month. Also, no problems, but I always keep it updated and check anyway.

Avast! has premium services you can pay for, but for my needs the free version is perfect. It never bogs, checks email and every page, is quite customizable for a free AV program, and has never let me down.

 

[Matt S]

Thanks for the continued recommendations, all - I will check them all out

 

[Matt S]

Ok, here is what I am doing for now:

Windows 7 firewall
Comodo Anti virus
Superantispyware


Thanks again, and I'll review my choices once I've put them through their proper paces