Preferred Antivirus Software

[JustInspired]

Who's using the Vipre powered Managed Antivirus bundled with GFI Max?
Any thoughts / experiences?
I'm just trialling GFI Max and wondering if to include this managed antivirus with some of my proposed managed services.

 

[Xander]

My only beef with GFI's MAV is that it doesn't update itself clearly enough. When the system boots, I might get a message that the MAV is out of date before it has even had a chance to look for an update. I leave those errors on the dashboard and, almost every time, they're gone the next time I look.
They really should have an option to put an _X_ minute delay on the check-in to allow for these kind of actions/updates.

 

[NYJimbo]

I think that MSSE is very good but not in zero day heuristics, but paired up with MBAM pro I think it makes a very good, almost free combination and I have been putting that in customers computers lately and they have been seeing good results so far.

But for serious customers I put in Kaspersky Pure 2.0

 

[FremontPC]

NYJimbo -

Do you ever run into problems with Kaspersky smothering the system or causing oddball problems like earlier versions of Norton?

 

[SilverLeaf]

I think that MSSE is very good but not in zero day heuristics, but paired up with MBAM pro I think it makes a very good, almost free combination and I have been putting that in customers computers lately and they have been seeing good results so far.

I have found this to be an effective combination as well, especially for those customers on a tight budget and/or older machines lacking horsepower. Plus, if I stock up when I find MBAM on sale, I can make some fairly good margin on the sale

But for serious customers I put in Kaspersky Pure 2.0

I generally like Kaspersky products, but I've had problems in the past using it on XP specifically, frequently having a runaway avp.exe constantly hogging the cpu. Maybe it was just coincidence, but after a few episodes of this some years back, I stopped using it on XP. Honestly haven't tried it on an XP machine since, opting instead for the MSSE/MBAM combination.

 

[NYJimbo]

NYJimbo -

Do you ever run into problems with Kaspersky smothering the system or causing oddball problems like earlier versions of Norton?

Not with KP2.0. I won't put it on weak machines, but any recent machine (past 3 years or less with 2gb or more ram) seems to work fine. Like I said, serious users, not the guy with an old Dell or HP.

 

[NYJimbo]

I generally like Kaspersky products, but I've had problems in the past using it on XP specifically, frequently having a runaway avp.exe constantly hogging the cpu. Maybe it was just coincidence, but after a few episodes of this some years back, I stopped using it on XP. Honestly haven't tried it on an XP machine since, opting instead for the MSSE/MBAM combination.

Definitly not for XP machines. I put it on newer Vista and 7 machines.

 

[acscva]

I just posted this in another thread but thought it would be appropriate here as well and see what other people thoughts on it.

I have been using the GFI MAV which is vipre but the only thing that I don't like is that it doesnt have any kind of outlook plugin to check for email viruses......

 

[JustInspired]

I just posted this in another thread but thought it would be appropriate here as well and see what other people thoughts on it.

I have been using the GFI MAV which is vipre but the only thing that I don't like is that it doesnt have any kind of outlook plugin to check for email viruses......

Thanks for the info. Weird that it doesn't integrate with Outlook.

 

[PCX]

Forgot to mention....

This reminds me a little bit of the controversy you see regarding doctors and medical treatments. The kind that fall into the 'sad but true' category.

You always hear things like they have a cure for cancer but would doctors 'really' want it fully 'cured'? You would think so ethically but..... it is theirlivelihood.

Here is the question to ponder though. Do you really want an anti-virus software that is soooo good that the client 'never ever' gets any infection or has any problem and stops seeing you except for the occasional hardware repair?

Or is it good when they come in at least once a year if not more with some minor infections that they need your help with?

Virus repairs probably account for at least 30-40% of most shops walk-in revenue I would guess comparing with our shop.

So the moral question is.... If you run a computer service business and you came up with a way using some freeware and say... disk imaging, registry rollback etc.... that you could install on your customer systems so they would:
-Never get infected
-Never have any software issues that they couldn't rollback themselves
-Never have windows related issues that they couldn't fix themselves
-etc

Would you recommend it knowing you would be hurting your family as far as income goes?

Not saying what's right or wrong..... just something to think about

Honestly, I do think there is a right and wrong answer to this question. Just as Doctors have an ethical duty to "do no harm" and to try and provide the best care possible, we have the responsibility as professionals to give our customers our best and most professional opinion, even if that means better preparing them and keeping them out of the shop. I give my customers the best that I can and I put them before my business --as a result, my business has grown tremendously over the last few years, while many other shops in my area go out of business.

Currently, Kaspersky is the AV of choice for us and it is the software that we trust. We have been selling it to our customers (about 7 out of 10 who come in regardless of issue) for the last 2 years and we have not seen one of those customers come back for a virus removal. If something comes along that we feel is better, then that will be the AV that we sell to our customers.

 

[smashedbotatos]

I usually do Avast! Free, for people on a budget. KAV for people that want to fork over the cash for it.

For scanning I always use Bitdefender 2013 over PXE, then a Win7 PE PXE boot and I run portable MBAM from my NAS where I keep the programs for my PE boots.

Afterward I use D7 to clean up the mess left behind. I very rarely have a case of a missed virus, or issue afterwards.

I see a lot of people with Trend Micro, AVG, or just NOTHING when they come to me. If they do have something decent it is out of date.....or no subscription left.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I have been using the GFI MAV which is vipre but the only thing that I don't like is that it doesnt have any kind of outlook plugin to check for email viruses......

Any antivirus with real time file protection will check files/links/attachments as soon as the e-mail comes in and gets saved to the inbox...or viewed, or the attachment is double clicked.

Having "plug-ins" is really just antivirus company marketing hype to give a warm and fuzzy.

 

[16k_zx81]

Any antivirus with real time file protection will check files/links/attachments as soon as the e-mail comes in and gets saved to the inbox...or viewed, or the attachment is double clicked.

Having "plug-ins" is really just antivirus company marketing hype to give a warm and fuzzy.

Are you saying you reckon a product like KAV will provide the same level of protection as KIS or PURE?

Jim

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Are you saying you reckon a product like KAV will provide the same level of protection as KIS or PURE?

Jim

The difference in these two, as far as e-mails go...is Pure has an anti spam engine to dump spam....where Essentials doesn't. But if you ignored the anti spam and opened a bad e-mail..you have the same protection as the Essentials.