Ableton Forum

Hey guys,
Currently building a new computer, i7 930/Win 7/64bit......

Looking for some advice in regards to virus protection.
I notice that Avira, my current antivirus program, is no go for 64bit.

I like using Avira because-

1- it is free
2- has a low hit on memory & cpu
3- I can turn it off.

Anything out there with the above mentioned qualities ?

I will pay for something good if I have to.

Please don't tell me to keep my DAW system off the net. It just is not practicable atm.

Thanks,
Si

I use ESET NOD32 (it works on x64 systems despite the name). It's payware but I rate it very highly, use it myself and reccomend it to my clients. You can switch it off, but I never bother as I've never noticed any performance hit by leaving it running
A good free alternative if you are reasonably careful about your browsing/downloading habits is microsoft security essentials. It's low footprint, but I'm not sure if you can turn it off.
On an i7 930 I would have thought you could leave your AV running without problems as long as it's not something like symantec or mcaffee, just set you Live library and temp/cache folders as realtime scan exceptions.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

free, 64bit, optimized for windows better that anything else out there... you wont even notice that is running (it is by MS anyway ;p)

all in one solution (does ms defenders job as well)

IP wrote:http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

free, 64bit, optimized for windows better that anything else out there... you wont even notice that is running (it is by MS anyway ;p)

all in one solution (does ms defenders job as well)

Works for me, no probs at all.

+1 for Security Essentials. Most trouble free bit of Microsoft kit I've ever used to be honest.

Thanks guys,
I'll give MS security essentials a go.

I've tried nod 32 before, and had problems with memory hit if I turned networking/internet connection off.

Cheers

IP wrote:http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

free, 64bit, optimized for windows better that anything else out there... you wont even notice that is running (it is by MS anyway ;p)

all in one solution (does ms defenders job as well)

+1

Avira works great on my Win7 x64 system...

lapieuvre wrote:Avira works great on my Win7 x64 system...

+1 this, using AntiVir 10 on my main workstation with no issues. However I have tested MS Security Essentials and Avast on 64-bit systems (and otherwise), and they are both quite suitable solutions. Avast has some annoying registration niggles though.

This is 2010, I agree that keeping a DAW off the 'net is rather extreme (totally understandable in a professional studio context, of course), so don't worry about it. Stick with the Windows firewall too, btw, it's more than adequate.

I've been looking into free antivirus proggies as I'm tired of paying Trend Micro for six licenses. From what I've gathered, Avast is the only one of these top freebies that has a silent mode that turns alerts off while in DAW mode. Any Avast users that can chime in?

I use ESET/NOD 64 bit version (http://www.eset.co.uk/Products/SmartSecurity).
Barely even know its there except when it finds something. Unlike the old MS defender thing I use to use, doesnt seem to kill boot time either.

Avast user right here... for about 6 years. KICKS ASS.. and has a boot time scan that "just works" when Symantec and McAfee et al just don't. silent mode is a button push... nice and easy. Watch out when if its on and you do catch a virus. biohazard sign flashing on screen and a siren. its not a bad thing, but if your speakers are turned up, I promise your heart will skip a beat.

we use Eset at work. it seems to do an okay job, but root kits have gotten by and were only caught by our webfilter when they tried to phone home.

H20nly wrote:Avast user right here... for about 6 years. KICKS ASS.. and has a boot time scan that "just works" .

Just installed Avast. Boot time scan only works in 32 bit OS Hopefully they'll fix that in a future update?

hmmm, bummer. well look on the bright side. you only really need it if you have a nasty one that you can't get rid of while the PC is on. which is hardly ever. most of the times i used the boot time scan was when i was helping someone else with an infected PC. they either didn't have antivirus installed, it was expired, or it failed to do its job. in those cases uninstalling their AV and installing AVAST off a pen drive allowed me to clean the PC while the little fuckers were inactive. huge time saver. HUGE. but if you're already clean just looking for a better way you should be fine. like you said, they'll probably update it. they've come a long way in the 6 years i've used it.

stay

Sibanger wrote:I notice that Avira, my current antivirus program, is no go for 64bit.

What do you mean?
That's what I'm using on my win7-x64 PC right now o_O