New PC specs and what antivirus?

pooley

pooley

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Mike
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AN age old question I know, but not being overly knowledgeable on computers I though i'd ask here before pulling the plug (so to speak).

After confusing myself by reading the internet, I visited a local company, and after discussing my uses, this machine was suggested -

http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Home+...uad-Core+Next+Day+Desktop+PC+?productId=61345

Basically, its got an i7-4790 processor, 1TB HDD, 128GB SSD, and i'll be getting it built with an upgraded 16GB RAM.

They suggested windows 7 (is Win 8 going to offer me anything significantly better?)

Antivirus wise I've had everything recommended to me from Microsoft essentials, through free AVG to McAfee.

My intended monitor will be a Dell Ultrasharp 24"

Total cost is about £800 for everything mentioned above.

This will be used for LR and PS from Adobe CC, and a small amount of internet use, mainly uploading and downloading from various photo based sites

Cheers, Mike
 
Agree with @neil_g Avast is very good and doesn't slow computer down like others do.
 
Cheers Neil, I'm pretty sure I can get past the changes for Win 8 if its significantly better. If Avast free is up to the job, then great. Out of interest why not macafee (recommended by PC world employee, but I felt it was just a standard upsell)
 
pooley said:
Cheers Neil, I'm pretty sure I can get past the changes for Win 8 if its significantly better. If Avast free is up to the job, then great. Out of interest why not macafee (recommended by PC world employee, but I felt it was just a standard upsell)
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Macafee runs lots of scans (memory hungry) in the background and I found when last used the mail client scan would freeze up my computer but never got this problem with Avast also it would miss obvious virus/spam emails.
 
I can't rate Eset antivirus enough.

I am a dealer for them so i will get that out there so i'm being transparent but having said that i was for Mcafee and others in the past.

I stopped selling mcafee for the reasons mentioned. Eset has one more VB100 awards than any other antivirus software so they must be doing something right. Also found it much less demanding of your PC so does not slow your computer to the same extent as many of the others.

Give it a look.

Paul.
 
Hi

Its also well worth trying out the one that comes free with Windows 8 & 8.1 never had any issues using it and I do a lot of internet browsing and downloading, it always catches anything dodgy before it can do anything harmful.

Have a look on your computer for Windows Defender and did I mention its free ;)
 
Defender is not anti-virus.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...defender/6bcc6f15-139a-4ac9-95a1-b032252a7f03

"No, it can't come close to doing it all. Windows Defender is not an
anti-virus program, it's an anti-spyware program, and not even the
best one of those.

You definitely should install anti-virus software. Stay away from
Norton and McAfee, the two most popular anti-virus programs, but among
the worst. I recommend eSet NOD32, if you are willing to pay for it.
If you want a free anti-virus, I recommend one of the following three:

Avira
Avast
Microsoft Security Essentials

You also need better anti-spyware software. I recommend that you
download and install (both freeware) MalwareBytes AntiMalware and
SuperAntiSpyware.

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP"
 
Another shout out for ESET anti virus, it doesn't take over your system and slow it down like Norton and McAfee and it also does what it should do, it really does keep my system clean. I am also a re seller for it but that is because it is good not because it is the best money maker :)
 
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macafee (recommended by PC world employee
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The staff get financial bonuses dependant on how many MacAfee AV packages they sell, hence why they recommend it.
 
What about the kaspersky? It is free if you are a Barclays account holder.
 
I wondered who'd be first!
I have no problems at all getting a mac but want to buy new and can only stretch to a mac mini. Even that would come in at a couple of hundred more than a Windows machine, so have all but discounted one. Thought long and hard about that route though
 
Paul-H said:
Hi

Its also well worth trying out the one that comes free with Windows 8 & 8.1 never had any issues using it and I do a lot of internet browsing and downloading, it always catches anything dodgy before it can do anything harmful.

Have a look on your computer for Windows Defender and did I mention its free ;)
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Its worth noting that MSE took the name of Defender in Windows 8/8.1, in previous versions Defender was only a poor anti-spyware program. This is not true in Windows 8.
 
And ESET has its flaws too, especially in server scenarios. Heuristics was borked for around a year as it didn't play well with removable drives and also I remember a virus signature and engine update that killed servers!
 
Neilc28 said:
Its worth noting that MSE took the name of Defender in Windows 8/8.1, in previous versions Defender was only a poor anti-spyware program. This is not true in Windows 8.
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It still doesn't work like it used to!
 
That wasn't the point I was making, but I honestly cannot recommend a good AV that has been flawless, Avast being one of the few I have not used.
 
Neilc28 said:
And ESET has its flaws too, especially in server scenarios. Heuristics was borked for around a year as it didn't play well with removable drives and also I remember a virus signature and engine update that killed servers!
Click to expand...

Apart from occasional pain in the bahookie stopping network connections, never had a problem with ESET!
 
Neilc28 said:
That wasn't the point I was making, but I honestly cannot recommend a good AV that has been flawless, Avast being one of the few I have not used.
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Avast was getting bloated but is fine now.
 
PC looks fine. It is a reasonable spec at a good price.

My only comments would be on the choice of motherboard. It only has 2 DIMM slots, and probably less importantly, only 2 Sata III ports.
At 16 GB of RAM, it's not going to be maxed out by any of today's applications, but you won't be able to put any more memory into it further down the line.

Personally, I would go for a good i5 processor in exchange for a better/more flexible motherboard and also a good power supply.


With Antivirus - there are three considerations:

1) Effectiveness (detection and removal of threats)
2) Performance
3) Attack Surface

I read some published findings recently that demonstrated major flaws in most AV software in reference to point number 3. I can't find it just now, but here's a similar article from TheReg:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/29/antivirus_blood_splattered_as_biz_warned_audit_or_die/

The original article I read highlighted a number of products and the exact flaws. It was surprising how many well known AV products had easy and simple exploits - and because AV products run with administrative privileges, that makes them incredibly dangerous. Some of the AV software companies had responded quite positively to the article and started to make changes.

I currently use F-secure because at the time I chose it, their detection rates were good and their performance rating was good. However, their product (which turned out to be based on another companies AV product) was subject to some of the exploits I read about.

Personally, I'm tempted not to run any AV on the Windows partition of the machine I use solely for picture editing. As I'm pretty much using Linux for everything else, tempted not to run any AV at all.
YMMV.
 
I have been using AVG for years I have tried all the major ones I just settled on AVG. It gives me complete firewall, AV as well as browser protection. It is overly sensitive but I like it asking me whenever an application is either trying to modify registry or access internet or making connection. So I can see what application is doing what and close the ports/deny access as necessary. If I don't know the exe then a quick google will let me know if it is some kind of malware or virus etc.

AVG also asks for admin access when it makes changes itself so you are aware that things are changing. If its something you haven't changed and that prompt comes up then u can investigate why etc etc.
 
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neil_g said:
When I switched from avg to avast (avg was getting much more bloated) I ran a full scan and avast picked up a few issues avg had completely missed.
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There is a lot of bloat in AVG, but I install the firewall, AV and residenc shield only. None of that identity or spam block or system tune up crap. But it often prompt me with adverts which is only occurs at startup.

In terms of performance, I haven't compared it with avast. But I set the scan to dynamic so I hardly notice it when I am working away as it will adjust system utilisation depending on other load. I think a full system scan which I set it to scan everything on my system drive (160GB) takes about 15min that's dedicated scan I.e. it is using 100% system resources....maybe a bit less. So not bad.
 
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Viruses aren't the threat they used to be. Malware, that's a thing. I've not run standalone antivirus since I moved to Windows 8, which I did when it came out.

If you're bothered about secure browsing, there is a solution - 64-bit IE 11 on 64-bit Windows 8 with Enhanced Protected Mode enabled, and backed up by Microsoft EMET. Completely unhacked at the recent Pwn2Own hacking competition - and there was a $150,000 prize for doing it.

But this is not to negate that one must exercise good computer security practice - don't download software from sites you don't trust, don't click on links in emails, if you get an email from your bank/comms provider/utility provider/etc, double- and triple-check it before deleting it without clicking anything in it, don't recycle passwords and definitely have a very strong and unique password on your primary email account, turn on two-factor authentication everywhere you can and especially on your primary email account (MS/Google/Apple all support this), don't do your internet banking when connected to the free wifi hotspot at Jo's Dodgy Internet Caff, did I mention two-factor?

Security is a compromise between convenience and safety. If it's totally convenient, it's not safe. If it's totally safe, it's not at all convenient. You have to find the balance which works for you. The more stuff you do on-line, and the more hooks there are to payment systems that can get back to your bank accounts and/or credit cards, the more you have to sacrifice convenience for safety.
 
I've used Nod32 and Kaspersky and been with Kaspersky now for a number of years, thoroughly recommend either.
 
pwhysall said:
If you're bothered about secure browsing, there is a solution - 64-bit IE 11 on 64-bit Windows 8 with Enhanced Protected Mode enabled, and backed up by Microsoft EMET. Completely unhacked at the recent Pwn2Own hacking competition - and there was a $150,000 prize for doing it.
Click to expand...


Bzzt!

ZDI presented a multi-stage exploit (including an adaptable sandbox bypass) against Microsoft Internet Explorer, launching scientific calculator running in medium integrity with continuation.
http://www.pwn2own.com/2014/03/pwn2own-2014-recap/
 
I'm happy with my machines (win7 and win8) running defender/MSE. I do run the odd scan with others and not found anything yet. You can make life much easier by being sensible.

Definitely go Win8 though, it is faster and more stable, and the changes aren't that big IMO. Outside of the start menu/screen, my laptop (8) and PC (7) are distinguishable by their form factor only. There is also the rumour to consider that windows 8 users will get a free upgrade to windows 10 once it's released.
 
pwhysall said:
don't do your internet banking when connected to the free wifi hotspot at Jo's Dodgy Internet Caff
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Jo's dodgy internet caff hacks into your device and gains root (or Administrator, if Windows) privileges, installs itself as a trusted CA, then generates certificates for your bank's website on the fly so it can intercept your communications?

Jo could probably make more money working in IT security than by running a caff!
 
AVG has always done me proud and I have never had a virus in the 5 plus years I have used it (free version).
 
I have used Bullguard for 2 years now and much better than norton or avg
 
Another one for ESET / Nod32, been using it for about five years and touch wood no problems.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Jo's dodgy internet caff hacks into your device and gains root (or Administrator, if Windows) privileges, installs itself as a trusted CA, then generates certificates for your bank's website on the fly so it can intercept your communications?

Jo could probably make more money working in IT security than by running a caff!
Click to expand...
No, but there's enough sheety software out there that's apt to send your Precious Things Of The Shop via http in plain text to make it a dubious proposition.
 
I'm gonna fly in the face of popular opinion here and say that the latest version of Norton Internet Security is proving to be quite capable. However... it's not great for spyware. I also do manual sweeps with Spybot Search and Destroy for that though, and also install "No Script" for Firefox, so scripts d not run as default until white listed. That alone is of more value for stopping spyware than anything else.

I also set Thunderbird to download the headers of e-mail only, as you can always spot spam by the title and addressee. Even when DO download the actual mail, it's as plan text and not HTML.

Keeping clean is more often modifying your computing habits, not what software you have.
 
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