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up vote 7 down vote favorite

There are a million different anti-virus software products on the market.

They all have advantages and disadvantages (well, some are just crap all the way around).

Some, though, are easier for novice users to keep up with because they automate updates, and when they provide warnings, they don't "scare" the user.

I'm wondering what superusers are recommending to novice users and why.

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I typically recommend AVG and/or Microsoft Defender. – Nip Jul 15 '09 at 14:42
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This is now very out of date, should be updated with Microsoft Security Essentials - which has very much superceded AVG, Avast and NOD32. – Rory Alsop Mar 22 '11 at 12:52
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There are a million different anti-virus software products on the market. -- I believe there are actually a few more than that. – Bobson Sep 24 '11 at 19:23
A slow CPU combined with F-Secure prodcuts and malware will stay far away from the snail PC. ;-) f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002067.html – Aki Sep 24 '11 at 19:48
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@kronos, then I wouldn't have a place to point people to, which was/is my goal in shaking this question up. Of course if there's a better stable place to point at, I'm listening. – matt wilkie Jul 14 '12 at 5:54
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closed as not constructive by Ivo Flipse♦ Jul 16 '12 at 8:58

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6 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

AVG Free Antivirus is always my first choice. It's free, very simple to setup, and updates automatically. I've also had it find things that Norton Antivirus did not.

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i have recently used AVG 9 and it certainly looks sleek. Its much better that the paid AVs that reduce the productivity to half by hogging resources. – secureBadshah Oct 27 '09 at 8:51
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AVG is a malware: plus.google.com/u/0/114128403856330399812/posts/Csp1aiJJHXH – Shiki Jul 13 '12 at 19:48
@Shiki, That's disturbing. If the accusation against AVG inappropriately mucking with user profile search engine settings has merit it deserves it's own Q&A. – matt wilkie Jul 14 '12 at 5:50
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-1 AVG installs an annoying IE add-on. – kinokijuf Jul 14 '12 at 11:34
Despite its flaws, AVG Free was the best choice until Microsoft Security Essentials came along. – Michael Hampton Jul 15 '12 at 16:20
up vote 24 down vote

Microsoft Security Essentials .

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See my link at the other answer: plus.google.com/u/0/114128403856330399812/posts/Csp1aiJJHXH – Shiki Jul 13 '12 at 19:48
up vote 11 down vote

In answer to the request to bring this thread up to date to 2012 :

Not much has changed since 2009, except that antivirus products have gotten much better (but so have also the hackers).

There are quite a few websites that pretend to compare ease-of-use for antivirus products. Some of them are:

avwars Antivirus Comparison Chart
Anti-Virus Feature Comparisons (Top 25)
2012 Compare The Best Antivirus Software Products
9 Best Free Antivirus Programs

However, none of these comparisons is particularly helpful.

So, if the question is which anti-virus to use for a novice user, my money is on Microsoft Security Essentials for the following reasons:

  • Best and always guaranteed integration with Windows
  • Will always work after any Windows Update or service-pack installation
    Some of the other products sometimes (although rarely) may stop working for a few days because of a particularly troublesome Windows update, requiring manual intervention to restart. At least MSE is guaranteed to have been tested by Microsoft.
  • Clean interface
  • Easy to see if the computer is secure by the icon next to the clock (green or red)
  • It does not advertise a "Pro" version (by now almost every other free product does that)
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It removes a botnet, so it wasn't a false-pos. Anyway, it's the best choice, like it or not. (I've been using Chrome and MSE happily for a looong time already.) – Shiki Jul 14 '12 at 11:49
up vote 5 down vote

ESET NOD32 is very easy to use. It just works, so you don't have to worry about it failing randomly. If something isn't working quite right, it will help you through the steps to get it fixed again.

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I've seen this a mentioned a few times. Is this the correct product? eset.com/products/nod32.php it seems they have a few different lines. – Nip Jul 15 '09 at 14:53
That's the one. If you want more complete protection, you can look at their Smart Security product. – Russ Warren Jul 15 '09 at 14:57
I recommend NOD32 for paying AV customers, but I'm not a fan of the Smart Security: it introduces complexity to the end user that may be a non-starter. (Disclosure: I'm an ESET reseller.) – Randolph West Jul 15 '12 at 18:10
up vote 2 down vote

Avast! has been a nice option for many years, because:

  • it does not scream about cookies and other non-real threats
  • does not suffix its ads to outgoing email
  • sits silently in the background until updates are needed
  • does not send spam to the email used for (free) registration
  • does did not try to fool you into buying some additional software

However, as for the last point, nowadays for some users the recent versions feel like adware, with messages like "Like us on Facebook" and "Get our Mobile protection". Some also find the free yearly registration troublesome.

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-1 Avast is free only for one year, after it requires registration. – kinokijuf Jul 14 '12 at 11:34
@kinokijuf, actually it required registration for the very first installation too, until some time ago. Nowadays the registration is not required for the first year or so, but it's still free after registration, as far as I know. (My parents updated very recently; still free a few weeks ago.) That said, it seems to be a bit more agressive in trying to sell its commercial version nowadays. – Arjan Jul 14 '12 at 11:37
But a novice user won’t know how to register. MSE, on the other hand, „just works”. – kinokijuf Jul 14 '12 at 11:38
I can imagine one does not like Avast, but "a novice user won't know how to register", really? – Arjan Jul 14 '12 at 11:39
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I wouldn't recommend Avast. It's now more like an adware with all it's "Like us on Facebook", "Get our Mobile protection" and such messages. If you turn them off, it'll nag you with the engine update. – Shiki Jul 14 '12 at 11:49
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up vote 2 down vote

Webroot has an amazingly simple user experience, in my opinion. There is literally almost nothing for the end-user to do. The installation is a snap and the default settings are quite good; you don't get popups asking about every single program that wants to access the internet; and it still detects viruses and suspicious activity. It's a pretty quiet program overall with a very small number of false positives, most of those originating from software that isn't malicious by itself, but virus writers often use that software in their viruses.

The main reason I'd recommend it is that it's easy to understand, the UI is fast (unlike most virus scanners), and it has a very low overhead. Scans of the disk are also impressively fast. It even helps protect your web browser from remote code exploits and malicious javascript. Overall it's a good product.

My mom and I love Webroot, but my dad hates it. Why? Because my dad is a paranoid person who actually prefers to see a huge number of nag pop-ups from the virus scanner / firewall every time a program tries to do anything, whether or not the activity is from a trusted program or a part of Windows. He's somehow adapted his user experience to expect and prefer the constant pop-ups that tremendously hinder his productivity, but that's what he wants, at least in his mind. What does he use? McAfee.

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