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What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

BenG
Grafter
Posts: 202
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

hi I am running Vista Home and I know I have only 1GB of memory yer I know that's not a lot but anyway, I been using AVG for years now but on this laptop it seems to slow it seems down eats the CPU like there no tomorrow. programs take years to load, Updating is well painful almost takes out the computer the hard drive light is always seems to be flashing. Anyway I temporary disabled AVG and closed all it's process in task manager and noticed my computer was flying programs that took almost 2 min to load just fired up my CPU was right down only between 1 and 5% with AVG on it like 20 to 60% or more the hard drive light stooped. and the computer as a whole felt so much smoother.
Anyway what do you guys suggest is a good one I can use that is free.
Thanks.
14 REPLIES 14
Mav
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22,371
Thanks: 4,725
Fixes: 514
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

There are many threads here on this subject with no definitive answer.
I use Microsoft Security Essentials for real-time protection along with CCleaner, SpyBot Search & Destroy and Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes always seems to be rated very highly here but there are some who wouldn't touch MSE. At the same time there are advocates of AVG and Avast both of which I have tried and eventually rejected to the high CPU usage.
Of the paid for I have tried Kapersky (I have it free from my bank but didn't like it), McAfee and Norton. The latter two fairing not better/worse than my above configuration.
There are plenty of others available, too.
Probably not the answer you really wanted but I suggest you 'suck it and see' what works best for you.

Forum Moderator and Customer
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear - Mark Twain
He who feared he would not succeed sat still

picbits
Rising Star
Posts: 3,432
Thanks: 23
Registered: ‎18-01-2013

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

I also use Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Smiley
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

Are you doing anything on the laptop that needs anti-virus ?
If you -
Keep Windows up to date (Windows Update)
Run Windows in User mode (i.e. without admin privileges)
Uninstall Java
Setup DNS filtering with OpenDNS, and use it to block proxies and other categories you wouldn't visit.
Run Firefox with "AdBlock Plus" and "NoScript"
Collect your emails from a virus checked mailbox, and setup the bayesian SPAM controls
Set your PC firewall to "public" or "untrusted" mode
Set the Plusnet "Broadband Firewall" to the highest settings.
Disable uPnP on your router.
Then you will be relatively safe, and not be wasting most of your CPU and memory on security.

Or you could install Linux instead and not worry about viruses and discover how fast your laptop really is.
ejs
Aspiring Hero
Posts: 5,442
Thanks: 631
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎10-06-2010

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

"Antivirus killer"
Uninstalling via Control Panel / Programs and Features should work fine. Most antivirus vendors also provide some sort of removal tool to get rid of their product, but you don't really need to resort to those if the usual uninstall method works.
rongtw
Seasoned Hero
Posts: 6,973
Thanks: 1,541
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Registered: ‎01-12-2010

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

PCbits  Wink  spot on same as me best options
Asus ROG Hero Vii Z97 , Intel i5 4690k ,ROG Asus Strix 1070,
samsung 850evo 250gig , WD black 2 TB . Asus Phoebus sound ,
16 gig Avexir ram 2400 , water cooling Corsair H100i gtx ,
Corsair 750HXI Psu , Phanteks Enthoo pro case .
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

With that system and memory I suspect that you would be in trouble with any anti virus but one thing you could try is to remove a lot of the options from AVG and just limit the cover
The latest results on system load by AV-Comparatives don't hold out much hope as they are all pretty much the same in terms of system load
One thing to check.
How much spare capacity have tyou got on your hard drive and what is the swap file set at
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

All anti-virus software will interefer with your laptop, to a major extent.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

Which is why I questioned whether it was really needed, and might be removed if my suggested security improvements were implemented.

1GB RAM might be limiting for Windows Vista, but just for reference, the laptop I'm currently typing on with Ubuntu OS, at this moment has two copies of Firefox open, Thunderbird email, and notepad, using about 410MB RAM, zero swap file used, and 15% CPU usage, and can easily run big applications like GIMP (the equivalent to Photoshop) or run Java intensive games like Runescape, etc. WITHOUT slowing down.
I won't mention Linux again in this thread, as I will have the forum's anti-liinux police trolling me again  Embarrassed
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
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Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

I have a laptop that runs Vista quite well with only 1GB of RAM but that is the exception that proves the rule the Vista runs badly with so little RAM memory.  It's my job to fix computers so I see a lot of them of varying ages and specs.  My experience is that Microsoft Security Essentials is the best antivirus for computers with low RAM; its the one I use on that laptop.
You should be able to buy an extra 2GB of RAM for £20 to £30.  Linux may be the best thing since sliced bread but I think you would find Windows 8 would also run a good deal better with 1GB of RAM than Windows Vista does.
BenG
Grafter
Posts: 202
Registered: ‎22-08-2007

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

Thanks for the suggestions I may try Avast and Spybot, but I have decided I am looking into buying a new Laptop from Curry s and PC world for Xmas not long to wait.
wykehamhouse
Grafter
Posts: 260
Registered: ‎01-02-2013

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

I'd recommend Avast.
thomasjc1
Grafter
Posts: 211
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎04-02-2013

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

Avira is also very good
wykehamhouse
Grafter
Posts: 260
Registered: ‎01-02-2013

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

Vista with 1GB of RAM. How?!?!
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: What is the best Antivius killer that does not slow your laptop.

I have no idea why one particular computer of mine seems to cope with Vista and 1GB of RAM better then most.  But I have not overloaded it with software 'extras' and I used Microsoft Security Essentials as the security software.