The worst antivirus program ever?

metomeya · August 2005

Hey, I'm sure you guys all have opinions about antiviruses, but let me tell you my experience with one.

Moving to the dorms on college I'm forced to install smartenforcer.

It's a program that forces you to do window updates (funny thing I can download but not install updates from that site, but thats the only site your allowed to access tilll you update your computer)

Then it tells you that you have to have a antivius, which of course I did, my favorite Antivir but it only recongizes three Norton, McAfee, and another that I can't remember right now.

So I got McAfee cause they had a free enterprise version to download. And uninstalled my old favorite. Ever since then blue screens of death, screwed up load ups, can not find server errors, can not connect errors partial working internet connections. I'll explain the last one, I can access my university's website but absolutely nothing else! After tons of tech help from campus they told me "uh, we don't know, probably a server thing" coming from some 18 year old punk that I probably know a lot more about computers than him although he likes to talk like he knows it all. I didn't know if it was smartenforcer, or the antivirus, or if my computer was just not ment for campus internet (dell, my favorite computer company). I was staring to think with the blue screens, I needed to update my drivers, I also tired to enable windows services thinking I might have disabled one I need to connect to the network probably.

So I take my laptop home, (i had to do my windows updates from there to access my campus internet), I connect to my wireless. Same darn problem!

My own wireless network I can only access the University's website but nothing else! In my parent's house with their cable connection. I was pissed, and scared my computer was forever jacked. Okay, so I figured now I'll start uninstalling the crapware the university forced feed me. Luckly I uninstalled the real problem first.

McAfee Antivirus! I am so pissed of the utter frustration it has given me!

Now of course I can't use that problem program, but I'm forced to buy either Norton (I've had similar problems in the past with them), or another one (hopefully I can learn what it is before I go back to the dorms).

Oh ya the cable in my dorm was out, the antivirus wouldn't not recongize USB devices, like my external hard drive that has all my MP3s, and no internet! No TV, no internet, no music makes metomeya a very dull boy!

Seriously, anyone else has problems like these with antiviruses?

Is Norton less of a pain? I'll post what the third antivirus I can use, later.

EyesOnly · August 2005

I've never had such problems with norton. I switched to AVG when my subscribtion went out but otherwise no problems. I fail to see though how a virus app could cause those kind of problems. Sounds more like something a firewall would do. Glad you figured it out.

kanezfan · August 2005

Probably was some kind of built in firewall in McAffee. I've never used McAffee except at work when I was forced to. I've been using Norton for the longest time and never had a problem with it, but stopped using it this year because it's just too bloated for my tastes. No reason an AV program should take up as much space as it does. I use AVG (www.grisoft.com) on a lot of installs I do, they have a free version which I think works really well. You can also try what I'm using right now, eTrust EZ Antivirus from Computer Associates. It's only $20 for the full version, and they also have a one year free trial of it. If you open the security center in control panel, then click on anti-virus, if it says windows can't monitor your AV program, there should be a link that says recomendations or something like that. When you click that, it'll take you to a page listing a bunch of AV programs and one of those will be a link to the free year trial of eTrust.

Enverex · August 2005

I dislike Norton as it insists on running 8 different program using like 40MB RAM in total and then not letting you turn the damn things off short of killing the processes.

Armo · August 2005

PC-cillin was pretty bad back in the day, it would allways warn your that updates were avilable, but it would never correctly update itself. i know they still give out PC-Cillin with new mobos, and maybe some system packages, but i dont know if its any better than it used to be, FYI - this was back in Win98 days, lol so you were lucky your machine worked to begin with.

Clutch · August 2005

I hate Norton, and Mcafee. I use AVG myself.

bothered · August 2005

Anything Norton I have installed caused more problems than it fixed. AVG here.

profdlp · August 2005

For any of you who may have missed it, there is a poll up on this very subject.

EyesOnly · August 2005

Armo wrote:

PC-cillin was pretty bad back in the day, it would allways warn your that updates were avilable, but it would never correctly update itself. i know they still give out PC-Cillin with new mobos, and maybe some system packages, but i dont know if its any better than it used to be, FYI - this was back in Win98 days, lol so you were lucky your machine worked to begin with.

That app came with my mobo. Wonder if i should install it.

metomeya · August 2005

Ya, Pc-cillian is the other antivirus that my campus will recongize to let me on the internet.

From the reviews I read now, it seems like it has really changed. It has top rating from lots of sites now.

I don't give norton a chance cause like you said all the other program it tries to load on my computer.