# Search for a serious NAV alternative



## mariner_5147 (Sep 24, 2004)

I have been using Norton Anti Virus (various versions) for a long time. But it has been a compromise between decent detection performance, popularity, regular updates on one hand and system resources hogging on the other. Recently I installed NAV 2005 on a friend's computer and such was the slow down of system performance that now I am seriously thinking of an alternative. I have tried PC-Cillin, McAfee, AVG, Panda. But I stuck to NAV anyway.

I saw the AV program testing results on www.virus.gr. This site claims to have one of the largest virus collection. There Kaspersky Personal Pro version 4.5.0.58 has the highest rating (99.09% detection) in the most recent tests followed by F-Secure 2004 version 4.71.5 (98.77% detection). McAfee and NAV are ranked 7th and 8th respectively. For detains go to 
*www.virus.gr/english/fullxml/default.asp?id=67&mnu=67.

However I have my doubts as Kasperesky and F-secure  are really not talked about product.

I would like to know:
*1. If the above mentioned site is reliable?
2. Is there any other reliable recent test results available online?
3. Was there any testing reviews in DIGIT recently and if yes which issue?
4. What are your thoughts about Kaspersky and F-secure?
5. Which AV program u think is the best?
*
Thanks

P.S: If there is any discussion thread like this here, please point me there. I searched but too many results came up (258).


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## krazydude (Sep 24, 2004)

F-Secure
AVG Antivirus


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## gamefreak14 (Sep 24, 2004)

I'm using NAV 2005 from the past 4 days. It runs exactly the same as before, though start up time has increased by about a whole minute. Anyway, what I did like most about it is that it has 'internet worm protection' which is pretty nifty. Of course it doesn't come upto Zonealarm's standards, but i've found Zonealarm to be better suited for paranoids. So i find NAV presently as the best of both worlds.


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## GNUrag (Sep 24, 2004)

Hello, 

how about thinking of a serious alternative to your Operating System ??? GNOME - KDE will most surely not let you down....


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## mariner_5147 (Sep 24, 2004)

GNUrag I know ur a big fan of Linux and i do use mandrake, but rite now i am not in position for changing my computing habbits. So I am stuck with virii, so if u have any good suggession regarding this topic i will very much appreciate it.

thnx


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## tuxfan (Sep 24, 2004)

AVG is a nice alternative. Go to *www.grisoft.com or search thru some Digit DVD/CD for AVG. I think it is there in one of the recent ones. Install it and update the virus definitions thru net.


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## cooljeba (Sep 24, 2004)

AVG rlz 

..:: peace ::..
Jeba


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## mariner (Sep 24, 2004)

well u see the other threads then the points go to kaspersky. the the one which got the most revs from ppl.


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## techno_funky (Sep 24, 2004)

yaa me too gave up norton cause it mnade my computer an extinct dino 
so currently using Panda Platinum


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## Jatin_T (Sep 24, 2004)

Hey -I too removed norton coz it just made my PC too slow and the liveupdate on dialup was horrifying-1 hr...

I have McAfee now and i dont know if its really too good-or it doesnt detect viruses at all;coz after i installed it and the McAfee personal Firewall-i just remember having 2 viruses-which it detected of course 

But if u have dial-up it rocks-coz the updates are soooo fast!!


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## Wizard (Sep 24, 2004)

hey...mariner and mariner 5147...any difference ??

twins or somethin


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## mAYHEM (Sep 24, 2004)

Kaspersky and Panda Titanium.NAV 2005 deleted my cr**ks which have norton in their name.  In summary it showed hacking tools..deleted.


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## gxsaurav (Sep 24, 2004)

All I can say about kesperesky that it made me reinstall Winodws,

I also tried NAV2005, it's as fast as NAV2004, I disabled the internet worm protection cos Sygate is better then that, & it eats a lot of RAM (5 mb), I usually disable my NAV when I m not using net, cos then virus can't come to my system

I have removed NAV 2005 & Back to NAV2004, reason, internet worm protection is the only thing notable new, the interface & UI doesn't means a lot, as I never ssee it on my system. & I disable IWM, without that it's simpley NAV2004 + A new look, so if U have NAV2004 with a firewall software, then going for NAV2005 is useless


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## GNUrag (Sep 24, 2004)

Guess, no one is going to listen what a penguin is saying.... Life is not so difficult friends.... When i was last infected by a virus attack, i completely stopped using crappy virus infested software.... 

ps: I was infected by * VBS.Redlof.A * ... i'd created a removal tool myself... anyone wants it ? .... You'll get source code of it also....


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## Prashray (Sep 24, 2004)

I too removed NAV.


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## VD17 (Sep 24, 2004)

NIS [Norton Internet Security] 2003 here....
never had any problems and doesnt slow my system THAT much...


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## gxsaurav (Sep 24, 2004)

Although NAV 2004 Pro is eating 18 MB at my system out of 512 MB, but it's not slowing my system, I could'nt find any performance increse in 3D rendering or Gaming with NAV disabled & removed from the task list


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## demoninside (Sep 24, 2004)

Hey prob isn't about system performence when it's 512mb RAM
but the user on 128 or 256 +(worst of all) on dial up then i don't think NAV is good idea
and on opensystem means linux
it's good for working onbut couldn't cofigure my internal modem for even once so for net got to use Windows


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## it_waaznt_me (Sep 24, 2004)

My vote goes to Kaspersky too ...


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## snehal_prabhu (Sep 24, 2004)

i believe there is no need for any present day antivirus softwares.as they are useless and do the work by detecting the virus creating panic in your brains ,eating ur system resources but fail to repair it

whats the useeee!!!!!1


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## [deXter] (Sep 24, 2004)

Yep. Stopped using A/V software myself too. Im just too much into virtualization these days that it seems pointless to use an a/v software.. (although I do use a firewall)

Its sad that I finally failed the need to use NAV and McAfee.. Duing the DOS days - couldnt have survived without them.

There was this brand new a/v program called as eXtendia AVK pro. This a/v used 2 scanning engies- Kaspersky and RAV. The results apparently were so good that it beat each and every a/v in ALL the tests (thanks to the dual scanning engine). According to one of the tests, the program used extremly (I mean extremly ) less resources (ram/cpu). It detected ALL the virii  (compressed/multi levels) in just a few seconds, no false detects, and daily updated defs, plus it was so fast and so good that it was literally unbelieveable. I was convinced too, so I decided to give it a try. Catch was that the trial version couldnt be updated, so I couldnt check for its effectiveness. And when I went onto the site, it looked as if the manufacturers were only interested in getting ppl to BUY the program (no proper links to try the program). Plus they were offering the program at an extremly less price. But if their program was that good, why didnt they mention some of those amazing results on their own site (those tests were carried out by some third party groups/teams). Not only that, the website also mentions nowhere that its buying site has been securely signed (no verisign)- How can I trust my credit card info to some highly suspicious company? I knew it was too good to be true, so I moved on... 

--

I would recommend Kaspersky, but if you want a commercial alternative, then go for Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9. Its basically meant for networks/networked comps, but its damn good for home PCs, as its fast, and uses very less resources.


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## gamefreak14 (Sep 25, 2004)

Hey...thanks for the info [deXter]


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## medpal (Sep 25, 2004)

kaspersky for me

before i used avg

use adaware se and spybot s & d with the av you use.


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## Wildstyle (Sep 25, 2004)

GNUrag: You LinuGeeks rule and we'll all be getting into the realm eventually but most have to stick to Windows for the sake of habit. For now. Well done in creating the Redlof removal tool, a rather simple concept actually and it was time someone executed it.

I use NAV 2004 (used 2003 earlier but upgraded hoping to get a better handling of worms). The case is there aren't too many virus occurrences, but I am paranoid and would rather forsake some performance in exchange for peace of mind. Before NAV, I was a dedicated and loyal user of F-secure, which I think is one of the best antiviruses out there. There was a time when F-secure (then known as F-prot) ruled the DOS world and helped clean my system of the classic 'wild' viruses in India like Die Hard 2. They also have the most elaborate (and even interesting) encyclopaedia on all viruses ever written.

AVG is supposed to be very good, but I dropped it when one day I discovered that my system had MS Blaster but even with the latest updates, it had failed to notice any suspicious activities. Right now it's NAV for me.


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## ShekharPalash (Sep 25, 2004)

Agree with Dexter.... We'r running Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9 in our hostel network... and it works fine...


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## mAYHEM (Sep 25, 2004)

There is a download link for eXtendia AVK Pro(30 Day Trial).
www.extendia.com


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## gxsaurav (Sep 25, 2004)

Well, if U think on Dial Up NAV 2k4 or 2k5 is bad then don't use Mcafee, it's even worse on dial up


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## digen (Sep 25, 2004)

Kaspersky here.Its not resource hogger  & super fast.


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## krazydude (Sep 25, 2004)

Kaspersky --> Is it a Russian product, nothing against it but just curious


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## mariner_5147 (Sep 26, 2004)

McAfee is considered bad because of its update problems. Otherwise its virus scanner is a good one , at least better than NAV.

After going through this thread and seaching for info in other forums and test sites, I have decided to try Kaspersky Personal Pro, then Symntec Corp. and then Mcafee virusscan Enterprise and may be F-Secure too (just need to get my hand on a full working version). Hope i will find the alternative I was looking for.

BTW @ Indyan: I am not very sure about MKS_Vir and Extendia. Very few sites actually tested them and on others, they are ranked very low( e.g virus.gr).

Anyway thanks to all the people for your valued inputs.


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## GNUrag (Sep 26, 2004)

Oh my gawd. !!!!! I never knew so many Antivirus products ever existed !!!! I'd heard about norton, mcafee and avg only till now....


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## mariner_5147 (Sep 26, 2004)

@GNUrag

sure there is....courtesy of M$

u r better off in ur penguin world...lol


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## #/bin/sh (Sep 27, 2004)

McAfee


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## Wildstyle (Sep 27, 2004)

I have been a NAV loyalist for the past 2-3 years but I think I'll go give Kaspersky a try. I knew it was good but I was feeling lazy about the migration.


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## indranilmaulik (Sep 28, 2004)

Try "ZONEALRM with ANTIVIRUS". You will not regret.


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## theraven (Sep 28, 2004)

yes u will ..
zonealarm security suite antivirus is not that good ..
infact it pretty much sux 
its a good backup to have ard thats for sure. .
i just made a shift to kaspersky from that crappy NAV myself. ...
finally got tired of the slow system and activation headaches ...
and i use the zone alarm virus too in the background
u need a good strong front AV first. .. not even AVG cuts it anymore


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## mariner_5147 (Sep 28, 2004)

Tell me guys if i can have more than one av program loaded. i hav problem with having NAV and Mcafee or other combinations. Can anyone tell me some safe and easy combinations. Of course i will use only one for online scanning and the other for manual scanning.
thanks


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## gxsaurav (Sep 28, 2004)

mariner it is not recomended to use two antivirus at one time, 

All the antivirus products have better enigne & rock solid engine, they all do the work weather it is NAV , kesperesky or Mcafee, it's just the users choice what he is comfortable with

NAV has long histry so it has become the standerd of Antivirus, even Kasperesky made me reinstall Windows, but I don't think it is bad, I mean Indyan is using it fine, besides they know NAV is already domination the market, so their product is if bad then it will be only 10% bad then NAV2005, which they will eventually catch in software level, but they need to do a lot of work when it comes to reputation


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## gxsaurav (Sep 28, 2004)

Hey, everybody I got an idea, Y not everyone writes here, the antivirus they are using, with the names of the services it is running & the RAM each service is using in task manager like this

I M Using NA 2004 Pro, made non Pro so I m running these services

ccapp.exe = 10752 KB
ccevtmgr.exe = 1936 KB
ccsetmgr.exe 3436 KB
NAVAPSVC.exe = 908 KB
symlcsvc.exe = 766 KB

I m not using the norton protected recycle bin things, so I don't have Nprotect.exe running, also I have disabled real time archive scan savscan.exe, cos archive untill extracted don't cause any harm, & if I dwonload or bring archive from somewhere I simply right click on it & Scan, I also don't need password protection, no Symantec password protection service is also off

I M getting no slowdown on my PC with 512 MB RAM, I disable the antivirus when I m not using the internet, it just frees RAM nothing else, no performance CPU wise is incresed, but again even if it is running I get about 345 MB RAM free all the time

This process will clear the confusion of resources usage with each antivirus, now we can find easily how much RAM each Anti virus is using & based on that we can made decision on which antivirus to go for.

If U guys remember I gave a link to 491 Viruses zip file somewhere in the forum, they are real life viruses, so don't extract the zip, U can also check that thread to find how much effective a particular  Antivirus as we already posted there with the screenshot


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## saROMan (Sep 28, 2004)

i have tryed ....NAV ,Mcafee , AVG, KasperSky, quick heal , Panda , eScan , etc .........i belive that Kaspersky is my choice .........


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## gxsaurav (Sep 28, 2004)

This is a file which contains 594 Viruses, & they are for real, I MEAN REAL, DO NOT OPEN OR EXTRECT THE ZIP FILE TO YOUR PC OR THE AFTERNETHS I DON'T KNOW, IT WILL HARM A LOT, ALL THE VIRUS INCLUDED ARE REAL WORLD VIRUSES

Simply download & then scan this file by right clicking on it & selecting scan for virus or something like that, under any circumstances DO NOT OPEN THE FILE

LINK - *fette-toolz.blackworld4u.de/virus/455VIREN.zip

Just download it & scan with your antivirus, and tell the result here, if U can't download it thn also tell that with th reason weather your AV software halted it or some other problem, BUT DO NOT OPEN THE FILE


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## Gladiator (Sep 28, 2004)

how about avast antivirus.. it seems good


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## gxsaurav (Sep 28, 2004)

plz provide the links externelly


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## Wildstyle (Sep 29, 2004)

You know what guys? I am going to break the tradition and abandon NAV. I'll use Kaspersky if it works well.

The reason is I recently upgraded to NAV 2004 from NAV 2003 (woe to me! A dozen techies talk about it everywhere that NAV sucks more than NAV 2003 or 2002 ever did). 2004 has this irritating feature which pops up a 'file is waiting to be scanned' dialogue box right over the clock. Until  you click OK, it will prevent access to that file. This resulted in a broken download etc. Grrrrr....

And I do think that it makes my computer slower, even with the ample RAM and CPU I have. Why not save more of it, thinks I? 

Now where is that 'wrrrrr**** site' for downloading full software


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## theraven (Sep 29, 2004)

wildstyle .. go for it .. kaspersky is amazin ...
i just made the shift .. it found 10 new viri on my system that norton said was clean
just one problem ... some files require a password to scan ... i dun get whats that all abt


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## medpal (Sep 29, 2004)

kaspersky is amazing and one of the best around do switch over there.

@the raven : i think the password requirements is for the packages (i mean installers) which are supplied by the companies and they are not allowing the thorough scanning (others did not detected it because they do not scan that deep).

so enjoy.


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## [deXter] (Sep 29, 2004)

Indyan, I wouldn't recommend eXtendia to anybody, even if it has seemingly better statistics.. Take a look at my earlier reply, or maybe even the eXtendia website..


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## theraven (Sep 29, 2004)

the password requirement comes up and it says " this file was created with a pwd. enter ped to scan"
and they arent zips or rars .. i think one filename extension was like .scn or something ..
anyways i barely have pwd protected files/archives ... the few i have passed thru without a warning ..
weird


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## theraven (Sep 30, 2004)

dunno .... its ok tho .... those are files for certain programs that i know .... so they cant be a threat 
everything else is scanned perfectly well ...
ive used quite a few AV's .. i was happy with norton till i decided to give kaspersky a shot ...
anyways ...'nuff said ... my contribution to the topic is more than requred


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## tuxfan (Sep 30, 2004)

> May be they r used by some other applications which is password protected or encrypted by da application..



So what if a virus creates a malicious password protected file? Kaspersky won't be able to scan it


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## drgrudge (Sep 30, 2004)

dudes i think nav is the best in the planet, after that we can settle for mcafee


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## peninsula (Sep 30, 2004)

try bitdefender...seriously the best antivirus out there


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## theraven (Sep 30, 2004)

@tux
dude its not password protected files ..
it just says this file was created with a pwd
provide pwd to scan
and this happened with a few files ... but of well known programs ..
so i dun think there should be a problem
and this is like a problem only i have as of now .. havent heard anyone else say anything ... 
the rest of the guys ..well i can show statistics again .. but like i always say
to each his/her own !


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## silverTwins (Sep 30, 2004)

hey anyone has tried mks_vir. it is the best antivirus available around which can just whip the a**es of some of the viruses that even nav and mcafee cant even detect!!!!!!


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## Wildstyle (Sep 30, 2004)

Moving from NAV to Kaspersky, I am beginning to get that familiar dÃ©jÃ  vu sort of feeling.... like when moving from Internet Exploiter to Mozilla Firefox


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## gxsaurav (Sep 30, 2004)

true wildstyel, it happens, use it for 1 month, no matter how much your mind tells U to go back to NA, if U have below 256 MB RAM, then NAV2K4 or later isn't for U


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## tuxfan (Oct 2, 2004)

theraven said:
			
		

> it just says this file was created with a pwd
> provide pwd to scan


So what happens if you don't have the password? It won't scan it? And who decides which application is reliable and which is not?


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## rajat22 (Oct 2, 2004)

Stck To NAV, till today there is no alternative to it. Add Zone Alarm Pro for better security


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## Wildstyle (Oct 3, 2004)

@rajat: Agreed, Norton Antivirus is awesome. It has served me loyally for the past 3-4 years and kept my system clean from all sorts of virii. It's just that if I can get the same protection from a slightly less resource-hungry AV at the cost of a few lesser features... mmm I'll take it. 
If you open the Windows Task Manager and look at the number of NAV related processes open in the memory, it's a bit scary. Secure but scary. And when you are going to play games, every bit counts. 

I also noticed that in all the recent 'new virus found' announcement, most of them are detected by Kaspersky Labs, like the earlier ones were led by Symantec.

Symantec is terrific no doubt but new players have to be given their chance. We can't forget how Firefox stole the show, silently and gracefully. Or how Linux became a significant alternative.

It's all in the spirit of promoting good software, whether it's NAV or Kaspersky or even F-secure (my personal 'old servant, still a pleasant memory' thing)


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## mariner_5147 (Oct 6, 2004)

Thanks for all these awesome response. Now here is a reversal. Exactly six days back I got hold of NIS 2005 (Full version). As we all know it comes with NAV 2005 bundled and installs it without asking. Now I have seen that this bundled combination (without intenet worm protection as in NAV 2005 Pro) performs better, albeit marginally, than my previous configuration of NIS 2003 (without Antispam) and NAV 2004 Pro. On the other hand I have Kaspersky Personal Edition and Sygate Personal Firewall Pro loaded on Windows Me. 

What I have found out, as others have already pointed out, Kaspersky have some issue with archieved files relating to passwords. Otherwise it is so much faster and leaner than NAV. Though I must point out that it didnot detect as many virus in my collection as NAV. I however disregard this result which is against all other results I found elsewhere.

Basically the problem I am now facing is which firewall to chose to go with Kaspersky, as I cannot have NIS 2005 only, without NAV. I somehow, bit illogically, fond of NIS, probably because of its free update feature. But NIS do not give me the ability to see which program is connecting to which IP nad port in real time. I personally do not like ZA. Sygate is nice, and I am willing to try out Tiny Firewall Pro. 

Can anyone tell me how can I make NIS to show me the connections that various programs are making in realtime.

Thanks


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## gxsaurav (Oct 6, 2004)

I prefer NAV2K4 with Sygate as I m using it, but U can also go for KAV 7 Sygate, I prefer Sygate, set it & forget it & less irritating then Zone Alarm, I m using it from the last 2.5 years

Zone Alarm is not compatible with ANV


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## 144 (Oct 9, 2004)

I use AVG. its small, requires less resources~ and is FREE


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## [flAsh] (Oct 9, 2004)

AVG sucks!! its free version doesn't even identifies virus. 
McAfee is a good option but then it detect simple macros as viruses and deletes the files(in default settings). So I wud say stick NAV2K4 or u can use NAV2K5 when it is out. When usin any AV don't 4get 2 regularly update Virus Database or else whichever AV u use virus attack is not gonna stop


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## enoonmai (Oct 9, 2004)

Well, I've used NAV before, and I used to run into severe problems where I had to reinstall Naughty Norton after a SysRestore operation. Not to mention that if I wanted to play any games, I had to turn off auto-protect to get good framerates (this was before Intel's HT came along though ) So, I turned to McAfee Professional and I've been happy ever since. Combined with ZoneAlarm Pro and the latest Windows Updates, I've managed to lock my system up tighter than before. Did I mention that the AVsignature updates are smaller to download?  Sorry, but I am not about to switch for now. I'll have to check out VirusScan 10 though and compare it with NAV05 before I switch.


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