Hey guys. My NAV2k4 subscription is expiring on me and I’m not liking the looks of NAV2k5 (or the new 2k6 beta.) I’ve known about avast for a long time, but there are a few things that make me wonder if just sticking to NAV would be better.
I was reading the avast website and everything looks very promising – but then I found this under the REPAIRING section:
“Limited capability of direct repair (especially macroviruses.)”
Could someone tell me what that means? Does this mean that avast has a problem getting the virus off your computer once it finds it?
Also, I know this would be a dangerous question to ask here on the avast boards, but could someone compare NAV and avast’s real-time protection? NAV scans all incoming files to your computer and detects viruses in real time, making the need for a full virus scan almost non-existant. Is this the same in avast?
Also, if I do make the switch, how should I go about getting rid of NAV2k4?
Resident protection, i.e. the real-time protection of the computer, is one of the most important parts of an antivirus program today. avast! features a powerful resident module that is able to detect the virus before it has any chance to infect your computer.
avast! Home Edition contains resident protection of the computer file system and resident module for e-mails and news.
The file system protection ensures that no virus will be started on the computer. It offers a wide range of settings - e.g. it is possible to specify that files will be scanned during copying, or that the scanning will include files with given set of extensions only.
E-mail/News protection consists of two independent modules; first, there is a generic scanner working on the SMTP/POP3/IMAP4/NNTP protocol level. It is capable of protecting any existing e-mail client that uses these protocols. Second, there is a special plugin for MS Outlook only; the mail scanning is completely transparent, requiring no special settings.
New feature of version 4 is heuristic analysis of e-mail scanners. It is extremely useful in protecting against new, unknown viruses and worms that are not possible to detect by the usual means. The heuristic module performs a thorough investigation of every e-mail message and watches for suspicious signs that might announce virus presence. When the number of those signs exceeds the user-defined level, the message is considered dangerous and the user is warned.
P2P and IM Shields
Avast features a module for the protection of IM (Instant Messaging, “chat”) programs, and a module for the protection of P2P (peer-to-peer) programs. The list of supported IM and P2P programs is extensive (more than 30 programs are now supported).
Not that chat itself would impose any serious security risks in terms of viruses, but today’s IM applications are far from being just chatting tools: most of them support more or less sophisticated file sharing methods - which may quite easily lead to virus infections, if not properly monitored.
In contrary, the P2P protection module doesn’t need much explanation - on today’s P2P networks (such as Kazaa) there are thousands of infected files, and an effective protection is a must.
Network Shield
A new resident protection module was added to avast! 4.5: the Network Shield. It is meant as a protection against known Internet worms/attacks. It analyses all network traffic and scans it for malicious contents. It can be also taken as a lightweight firewall (or more precisely, an IDS (Intrusion Detection System)).
The Network Shield is only available on NT-based systems (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003).
Web Shield
Web Shield is a unique feature of avast! that enables it to monitor and filter all HTTP traffic coming from the Web sites on the Internet. Since an increasing number of viruses (and other malware, such as adware, spyware and dialers) are being distributed via the World Wide Web, the need for an effective countermeasures has also increased. The Web Shield acts as a transparent HTTP proxy and is compatible with all major web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, FireFox, Mozilla and Opera.
Unlike most competitive solutions, the Web Shield’s impact on browsing speed is almost negligible. This is because of a unique feature called “Intelligent Stream Scan” that lets the Web Shield module scan objects on-the-fly, without the need of caching them locally. Stream scanning is performed in operating memory only (without the necessity to flush the contents to disk), providing maximum possible throughput rates.
And if you do switch to Avast i promise you a huge improvement in system preformance(avast uses farl less resources).Does Symantec have such a nice forum like this one?And best of all is that the Home version of Avast is free!
I have been using Avast for several years now during that time I have not had any virus problems. A couple of potential problems were averted this year when my nephew used my system whilst visiting…Saved by webshield. I must be one of the few (or many) who have experienced no problems with the programme at all.
What’s the problem … it’s free, it works very well (don’t be put off by my limited posts … been using it for years) and I find it SO good I’m going to pay for it :-*
Well i was in a hurry really but i think i answered a couple of your questions or what(It’s not like there aren’t other users here that can answer you i was just trying to give you some info)?I can tell you that i am using avast for about 7 months and i am very pleased with it(i’ve never used any other AV longer).It has good resident protection which doesn’t eat resources like NAV and again it’s free.So if you wanna give it a try then go ahead cause after all you need to see it and test it for yourself see if you like it right?About the so called “limited repair ability” eddy told you:
What’s the problem … it’s free, it works very well (don’t be put off by my limited posts … been using it for years) and I find it SO good I’m going to pay for it :-*
I too have not made many posts, fact is it is that Avast has been trouble free for me.
Like yourself I ran Norton and was worried about changing. As you will read in many posts using the ‘search’ facility, Norton is a hog for CPU. You will also find very detailed posts on COMPLETLY removing Norton from your system.
Most important thing for me apart from the ‘load’ was having confidence in my layered protection, Avast is still giving me that surety. I have not had a problem since I changed to Avast.
These people here on the forum WILL look after you, they care and know what they are on about. I think I will be backed up by 1000’s when I say there is not a forum to match it for response.
My new computer came with NAV installed and when it expired, I renewed it. That year my computer started acting strange even though I updated daily. I had no idea what was going on at that time and sought help from a friend who removed NAV and ran the avast! “home call” which found not only trojans and worms NAV had missed, but also 2 viruses (virii?)
He installed the avast! home version and from that moment on, my computer ran faster, I had fewer conflicts and to this day, I’ve had no problems with avast! It has kept my machine clean. I like the webshield and it’s caused no problems for me at all.
We are all free to choose whatever AV we wish to use and there will always be various opinions about which is best, but avast! is working well for me and the support is so good I won’t change until something awful happens!
Back in the mid 90’s I used Norton which, at the time was good. But by 98 it became a pig and I switched to PC-Cillen. Was quite happy with it until they decided to change their approach to be an AV and a Firewall combined. Big resources, and $$$.
My father-in-law has NAV 2005 and it has caused more grief than I care to have - I have to support him.
Been using avast for nearly 2 years. Put it on a friend’s system at the same time. Also on my son’s computer. So far, touch wood, avast has caught everything before a problem arose. :). Had one updating problem in a new release but within 2 hours it was resolved by the Avast team. No complaints there.
Also get frequent program updates and up to the second virus def’s. Nav ain’t so good there.
As for the repair - never found an AV that could guarantee this. If you are so concerned about file repair then make backups.
And, to support others - what do you have to lose?
Nothing to add, except I just want to repeat this:
Norton is such a system resource hog, it’s just unbelievable. It will slow your system down, and you’ll realize that only if you uninstall it once for ever… and replace it with another good antivirus. It’s not true what sellers are saying: “…oh, it’s freeware, it means it’s no good at all…” They are just stupid brain washed and they are just trying to sell, nothing else… if you really don’t believe in freeware products, you can always go and buy avast! Professional, which is paid for version.
The other thing… where will you find such a wonderful technical support like in here ? There is 24/7 e-mail support, phone support and support through these forums… all at no charge at all. Next thing - you’ll find a lot of great friends in here if you decide to stick around, so that counts too IMHO.
Norton doesn’t have skins, avast! does have them… ok, if you hate them, you can always choose skinless interface, so something for everyone, right ? But, the most important thing is… skins are there and if you like them, you are free to use them… can’t say that for Norton or any other antivirus out there. avast! is the only one with this option. avast!'s efficiency… I really don’t have to repeat, my friends told you some wonderful things, so I believe it will be enough for you to make your decision.
I don’t know if I can convince you,but I already convinced a lot of other people… ;D
Been an Avast user since Avast32 free,and now I’m halfway of my 3-year Avast Pro subscription…The program had it’s better and worse moments,but problems or bugs were fixed quite fast,unlike some other virusscanners.
A while ago,I had to fix a friend’s computer,which started behaving very weird and unstable…his Norton Antivirus 2004 updated automaticly to the newest definitions,so he was totally convinced that having a virus on his system was impossible…
I uninstalled his Norton,cleaned all it’s traces and installed Avast Home…
SURPRISE…!!! ;D
Avast detected 3 different virii that already infected 11 files/folders…deleted them,rebooted,and his computer ran like a breeze again…
He is convinced now… ;D
Absolutely NUFFIN to lose …
lovelyperson