Never mind.

[smallhagrid]

I posted a few questions here today.

Oddly, the only one anyone replied to has been used as a perch for those aiming to argue.

I do not need to have 'help' in seeing how as time marches on and more and more tech gear allows children to TXT mom for a glass of water (using mangled abbreviations, of course) and how so many folks never even turn off their TVs anymore so that it is obvious to me that going whole-hog for newer and newer stuff does not equate to anything 'better', necessarily.

Yes - I tried Vista - for long enough to see it was an abortion.

2 M$ paint jobs later, with more and more cartoony stuff replacing words in the GUI, the trend is obvious to me.

No need to reply. No need to even bother reading the OP, thanks.

I'll keep the OS & AV I've got, which gives me ZERO problems.

I did ask for opinions though, and I sure saw what sort I'll get for asking.

Mistake made - acknowledged - will not be repeated.

I'll leave the OP rather than cleaning it out in case anyone is curious what brought on the replies=> but I no longer seek any further opinions - enough unfriendly slaps for one day, thanks.

Peace out.

(Just ignore the below, don't waste your time.)

My PC is a few years old with only a dual-core CPU - and it gives me no troubles so I'll keep it that way until it gets cranky; then whatever system I have next will run Linux & also XP inside a VM for the apps I want to keep using from XP.

I've got no interest in anything newer than XP SP2 - it's going to be the last M$ OS I installed.

Our home NW has an IPFire firewall, and I also run a s/w firewall and always some AV with on-access scanning, etc.

I stayed with NOD32 v2.70 until they killed it off - it ran nice & light & didn't nuke anything without asking first, which I like alot.

Lately I'm using v3, and it's good also.

Here's why I'm posting:

I've used alot of different AV's before, usually to get a good deal so it'd stay updated on it's own.

Kaspersky was great up until an update to v7 that made it throw BSODs endlessly; Bitdefender was bloated and slowed my PC to a crawl; Panda was just plain awful.

So lately I've been reading about how Bitdefender has a free one that's 'sposed to be very lightweight; NOD v6 is out, and there's a bunch of names I've never tried like (something)-Titanium and so on.

I'm not in a hurry to ditch NOD32 'cuz it's doing fine, but I'd like to hear from the folks here about other AVs that are...:

1. Light & small & fast
2. Don't slow the system down
3. Always asks before deleting or messing with your stuff
4. Gets along good with XP SP2
5. Free or really inexpensive for just 1 PC

Not looking to start any trouble or argue with anybody at all, and if none of the newer ones are any better/quicker/lighter then NOD32 that's OK with me...just askin.

Thanks.

[jimbojet2011]

Try Panda AV http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/#!/free-antivirus-download its light and a good one.

beside that Avast free http://www.avast.com/nl-nl/download-thank-you.php?product=FA-AVAST&locale=nl-nl is a good choice to

Good luck

[rach]

IMO, your processor and OS is good enough, now just depend on how much RAM you have.

for lightweight n realtime protection, just two choices from me, Panda Cloud AV or ESET. hmm, maybe you can try avast! too. :)

[pintas]

CIS is also very light and you can configure it to be lighter. But ESET is really nice, but i hope you have some decent 2gb of ram at least, so your computer doesn't complain.

[nuthut]

I've been using Avast for the past 4 years and have not had one virus problem on my PC

[dcs18]

I've got no interest in anything newer than XP SP2

It's no good taking a machine gun to bed with you when the walls are built of solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . glass!!! :lol:

[smallhagrid]

Thanks for the replies so far folks.

I tried to be clear in the OP, but I guess I goofed at it:

Try Panda AV http://www.cloudantivirus.com/en/#!/free-antivirus-download its light and a good one.

beside that Avast free...

When I last used Panda for a while, I was blown away when one of it's updates from it's own servers came with a virus in it; it was also very hungry and slowed down my PC very badly - so I kind of swore 'NEVER AGAIN' for Panda - has it gotten better, perhaps ?!?

Avast is another I used for a while, but it was like having a screen door on a submarine...protected about that well too, so that was when I got Kaspersky instead, which immediately cleaned all that Avast had missed.

Also, there seems to be some that refuse to work with XP SP2 and require SP3, which I will not bother with.

Thanks:

IMO, your processor and OS is good enough, now just depend on how much RAM you have. for lightweight n realtime protection, just two choices from me, Panda Cloud AV or ESET. hmm, maybe you can try avast! too. :)

I have NOD32 right now, as I said up^ there.

Ayup:

CIS is also very light and you can configure it to be lighter. But ESET is really nice, but i hope you have some decent 2gb of ram at least, so your computer doesn't complain.

As mentioned, I use NOD32 right now - and CIS - is that short for Comodo perhaps ??

I'm glad it's been good for you:

I've been using Avast for the past 4 years and have not had one virus problem on my PC

(I want to be very clear that I don't do anything very exciting - never any pron or random surfing; mostly I do research type of stuff, but even so, there are always sites that have been compromised.

I learned abut this the hard way...)

Mine never even warned me - just sat there while infested web-pages did their dirty work.

It was actual errors that made me use a couple of emergency boot CDs, which showed all that had been let in by Avast.

My OP was NOT:

I've got no interest in anything newer than XP SP2

It's no good taking a machine gun to bed with you when the walls are built of solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . glass!!! :lol:

Intended to bring amusement; and not posted as some sort of joke; I was asking respectfully for info from the experiences of others here.

If anyone carefully looks into XP SP3 it is clearly written up as causing problems on tweaked installations of XP, and it does best when run against new/fresh installs of XP.

My XP is very tweaked and it is also set up just how I like it; also, SP3 makes some changes that I do NOT want at all.

This was an informed decision made after studying the situation carefully.

The left-handed compliment aimed at me is NOT appreciated and also is not helpful in ANY manner.

All the helpful replies are very appreciated, thank you.

[dcs18]

If anyone carefully looks into XP SP3 it is clearly written up as causing problems on tweaked installations of XP, and it does best when run against new/fresh installs of XP.

My XP is very tweaked and it is also set up just how I like it; also, SP3 makes some changes that I do NOT want at all.

This was an informed decision made after studying the situation carefully.

SP-2 has been locked out from Windows Updates and SP-3 should not impact any tweaks that I know of.

I do not make posts to please others - my emphasis has always been (and will continue to be on technicalities.) ;)

My response was made to you without any deceit - take it or leave it. :dunno:

[smallhagrid]

I stopped allowing updates a long time ago - and many folks have made fun of me for it too; that gets old after a while, especially when the devout OS updaters have been re-installing their OS & apps about every 6 months, and mine's survived some viruses and gone a whole bunch of years without ever needing to be re-installed.

An oxymoronic statement:

'Trust mikr0$oft'

I don't trust them and have no plan to ever start doing that.

They can keep their updates and their rotten web-apps and their stoopid 'ribbons' and lobotomized new OSes too.

I have the OS version I want already, thanks.

What I am hoping for is for folks to suggest what AVs they've used until they found a better/faster/lighter one; and perhaps also which ones have been especially bad compared to better ones.

Right now I'm still thinking that NOD32 is very good for me just as it is; and that is why I asked - just in case there's something a huge lot better according to folks who've been using it and who are very pleased with it ??

Thanks.

[rudrax]

Try Webroot SecureAnywhere^TM :wub:

[dcs18]

My father-in-law uses Windows 95 - he doesn't believe in Microsoft updates, either. <post edited by self>

Those who've survived viruses can feel welcome to de-install their NOD32, too - I did.

Those who believe they are above Microsoft updates can just shove it and become a Linux fanboy - I didn't.

[fortheloveof***]

Just switch to Debian since it seems it will have the stability you crave without the potential risk you are currently exposed to and exposing anyone on your network to. Anti virus products have moved with the times and xp3 and vist/7 have underlying changes that effectively make xp sp2 a different OS.

A reality check, you are just making things pointlessy difficult and achieve nothing other than exposing yourself and others to risk. Move to Debian or update to SP3 then try using Bitdefender Free edition. There really is no twos ways about it. Your position is indefensible and not informed. The only good advice you are getting you don't seem to like.

You are more than welcome to research the many common exploits you are susceptible to, though i will cede my position in regards to a few common attack vectors based on your stated usage.

[rudrax]

I tried installing Avast Internet Security 7 in an old PC running Xp SP2, when tried to Activate, Avast did freeze forever..Re-formatted with Xp SP2, experienced same problem..Then I installed Xp SP3 BE (tweaked one) and activated Avast IS successfully..This is just my experience though..Circumstances may differ person to person and machine to machine..

If you having problem with installing any tweaked version of Xp SP3, let me know..I'll try to help you.

[smallhagrid]

Thanks Folks.

I already have (an equally older...and all ready for me to use) box with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS running LXDE which is most like the 'classic' windows setup that I prefer.

Using Paragon Go-Virtual made it very easy to do a P2V of my existing OS, which runs very nicely within VMWare Player.

Since Linux does all the h/w gymnastics in the background I can potentially keep XP SP2...forever; maybe I'll even regress to win2k as I did like that a bit better..just a thought...

I regard the endless march into newer-and-newer; dumber-and-dumber technology as a form of insanity.

When everything that used words becomes only little pictures with no words anymore I can't help but think something is seriously out of whack there.

So much stuff has lower standards while so much fancy tech gear is in so many hands.

3 word emails from somebody's phone just doesn't hit the spot for me.

A great many folks now seem to have lower IQs than their 'smartphones' - and certainly the diminishments in abilities to read/write are showing themselves in a world of twitter-heads who are only possessed of attention spans long enough for a few words at a time.

And staying closer on-topic (which was intended to be about AV experiences...), but was sidelined into the usual absurd sparring match about OS choices, updating and 'newer is ALWAYS better' baloney (yawn)=> in this house there are 4 daily use desktops with XP SP2, 1 file-sharing old win2k 'server', an IPFire box, and a notebook running XP SP3 which uses IE/OE.

ONLY ONE of those has been routinely troublesome and difficult to keep going with anything like reliability and it ain't any of the SP2 or the old w2k or IPFire box - so make fun all you like.

(I don't yet count the Linux box because it's not a daily use system - but as for AV, it won't be doing internet with the VM of XP, so why bother after the switch ?!?)

Best Wishes to All.

[dcs18]

I stayed with NOD32 v2.70 until they killed it off - it ran nice & light & didn't nuke anything without asking first, which I like alot.

This is the one single thing that I really liked - the V2 was my all-time favorite AntiVirus. ;)

[fortheloveof***]

Debian that way --->

You asked questions you already knew the answer to since there is not really much in the way of choice. Like i said if you want stability over progression then use Debian, especially if XP SP3 is something you refuse to do. Any system running XP 2 is a risk to you and the network and your time would be far better spent not perpetuating your current set up.

[rudrax]

Thanks Folks.

I already have (an equally older...) box with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS running LXDE which is most like the 'classic' windows setup that I prefer.

Using Paragon Go-Virtual made it very easy to do a P2V of my existing OS, which runs very nicely within VMWare Player.

I regard the endless march into newer-and-newer; dumber-and-dumber technology as a form of insanity.

A great many folks now seem to have lower IQs than their 'smartphones' - and certainly the diminishments in abilities to read/write are showing themselves in a world of twitter-heads who are only possessed of attention spans long enough for a few words at a time.

And staying closer on-topic (which was intended to be about AV experiences...), but was sidelined into the usual absurd sparring match about OS choices, updating and 'newer is ALWAYS better' baloney (yawn)=> in this house there are 4 daily use desktops with XP SP2, 1 file-sharing old win2k 'server', an IPFire box, and a notebook running XP SP3 which uses IE/OE.

ONLY ONE of those has been routinely troublesome and difficult to keep going with anything like reliability and it ain't any of the SP2 or the old w2k or IPFire box - so make fun all you like.

Best Wishes to All.

So you like to live in old times huh..great! There may be some of your own arguments to be in that era, we don't mind but it is not reasonable at all that you are saying new technologies are becoming dumb and dumber..There may be some bugs in new arrivals but they always gets fixed eventually..

[smallhagrid]

OK.

Peace Out.

[dcs18]

Just a little heads-up for folks who prefer the tried-and-tested combination of XP and ESET. Most of the NOD32 editions go well with XP - except:-

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?s=dc0cb1ddb1b74a8bd506f42974173d35&p=1951974#post1951974

Peace to all.

^_^

[fortheloveof***]

define:ivory tower

There is nothing anyone can add to this thread he/she was not already aware of before they created it.

[jimbojet2011]

I posted a few questions here today.

Oddly, the only one anyone replied to has been used as a perch for those aiming to argue.

I do not need to have 'help' in seeing how as time marches on and more and more tech gear allows children to TXT mom for a glass of water (using mangled abbreviations, of course) and how so many folks never even turn off their TVs anymore so that it is obvious to me that going whole-hog for newer and newer stuff does not equate to anything 'better', necessarily.

Yes - I tried Vista - for long enough to see it was an abortion.

2 M$ paint jobs later, with more and more cartoony stuff replacing words in the GUI, the trend is obvious to me.

No need to reply. No need to even bother reading the OP, thanks.

I'll keep the OS & AV I've got, which gives me ZERO problems.

I did ask for opinions though, and I sure saw what sort I'll get for asking.

Mistake made - acknowledged - will not be repeated.

I'll leave the OP rather than cleaning it out in case anyone is curious what brought on the replies=> but I no longer seek any further opinions - enough unfriendly slaps for one day, thanks.

Peace out.

(Just ignore the below, don't waste your time.)

My PC is a few years old with only a dual-core CPU - and it gives me no troubles so I'll keep it that way until it gets cranky; then whatever system I have next will run Linux & also XP inside a VM for the apps I want to keep using from XP.

I've got no interest in anything newer than XP SP2 - it's going to be the last M$ OS I installed.

Our home NW has an IPFire firewall, and I also run a s/w firewall and always some AV with on-access scanning, etc.

I stayed with NOD32 v2.70 until they killed it off - it ran nice & light & didn't nuke anything without asking first, which I like alot.

Lately I'm using v3, and it's good also.

Here's why I'm posting:

I've used alot of different AV's before, usually to get a good deal so it'd stay updated on it's own.

Kaspersky was great up until an update to v7 that made it throw BSODs endlessly; Bitdefender was bloated and slowed my PC to a crawl; Panda was just plain awful.

So lately I've been reading about how Bitdefender has a free one that's 'sposed to be very lightweight; NOD v6 is out, and there's a bunch of names I've never tried like (something)-Titanium and so on.

I'm not in a hurry to ditch NOD32 'cuz it's doing fine, but I'd like to hear from the folks here about other AVs that are...:

1. Light & small & fast
2. Don't slow the system down
3. Always asks before deleting or messing with your stuff
4. Gets along good with XP SP2
5. Free or really inexpensive for just 1 PC

Not looking to start any trouble or argue with anybody at all, and if none of the newer ones are any better/quicker/lighter then NOD32 that's OK with me...just askin.

Thanks.

Hi smallhagrid

After all the answers I hope you find a answer.

For several Antiviruses its best to test them and find which one is the best for you.

Just test the top 5 and make your own decision and be happy with it

And last but not least run malwarebytes beside it then you cant go wrong

Have a good life

[Casper]

I agree with the above. You will have to just try out what works for you.

I am very stubborn in that if I don't like something, it's very difficult to get me to change my mind. Like music for example; I'm often told to listen to this and that, but I don't even bother because I know I won't like it. If I like something it means I've found it in my own time.

Just a heads-up. Don't take things personally on the Internet. Electronic communication tends to cause friction very easily amongst people. People are often offended by what someone has said, even though it was never that someone's intention to offend. Why? Because we are not exposed to the tone, gesture or facial expression of the other party when working via an electronic communication channel (i.e. email, texts etcetera). :)