One antivirus program is better than two

[nsane.forums]

Arcticsid installed one antivirus program on a new PC that already had another. Then he asked the Antivirus & Security Software forum if that was a good idea.

Running two antivirus programs simultaneously is a bit like mixing a fine, vintage Cabernet with breakfast cereal. Each is good on its own right, but the combination may have unpleasant effects.

Before I explain why, let's get some definitions out of the way. The term antivirus has come to mean a program that launches when you boot your PC and stays running in memory, protecting you in real time not just from viruses (which are, technically speaking, passé), but Trojans, rootkits, and all other forms of malware.

Two antivirus programs, both loaded and running simultaneously, will be, at the very least, redundant. And it in this case, you don't want redundancy.

Keep in mind that every program running uses RAM and clock cycles, potentially slowing down every other running program. A well-made antivirus program has a very small footprint, and doesn't slow things down significantly. But two such programs running together will slow it down twice as much.

And it could be worse. The two programs may conflict with each other--remember that every time you download a file, both will try to scan it. Conflicts could result in other programs failing to work and Windows becoming less stable.

If you're worried that one antivirus program isn't enough, you can augment it with an on-demand malware scanner. Unlike antivirus programs, they don't hang around. You load one, update its database, scan your hard drive with it, and close it when you're done.

I use two of these programs--the free versions of SuperAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Once a week, I scan my hard drive with one or the other.

View: Original Article

[eurobyn]

if you play football , you now just one keeper in the goal.

if you place 2 of them in the goal then it is, will you stop it or do i stop it and the ball goes in the goal.

so better one very good keeper then 2 looking at the other.

[stylemessiah]

Funny, i thought id already awarded the most rhetorical post of the year already......and now this... :)

[jtmulc]

I wish I had a dollar every time I heard this:

"I think I have a virus. That's what's making my computer so slow. My Norton ran out, so I installed McAfee..."

I would be a rich man.

Not to mention:

[calguyhunk]

THIS is the actual thread posted by Arcticsid :)

[dcs18]

Most of the time I don't even have any use for a single AV - the only reason for having NOD32 on-n-off is to provide some feedback to ESET through beta-testing.

[VileTouch]

THIS is the actual thread posted by Arcticsid :)

the amusing part is that when lectured the guy says: oh, i just removed MSSE and kept AVG (facepalm)

effectively confirming his utter ignorance on the matter..worst thing is that it is quite common.

[dcs18]

We had somebody at this very Board who was running 5 AntiVirus programs . . . . . . . . . . . . together. :pope:

[Kalju]

We had somebody at this very Board who was running 5 AntiVirus programs . . . . . . . . . . . . together. :pope:

Everyone is going crazy in their own ways. I have spent the past 10 years of 24/7 online and have not yet come across any virus.

What do I need to fight off? I think the only salesmen and advertisements. These are the most unpleasant things in the world.