Which antivirus for Windows?

[heafnerj]

Moved from "Parallels Desktop for Mac"

I suppose I need some antivirus protection for WinXP when I'm running under Parallels. I'm familiar with Symantec, but are there any good free solutions?

Joe

[ender78]

I suppose I need some antivirus protection for WinXP when I'm running under Parallels. I'm familiar with Symantec, but are there any good free solutions?

Joe


I was recommended AVG. They have a free version for personal use

http://free.grisoft.com

[Robster]

Yes, I would go for AVG also.

I ran this under VPC and now have it running fine under Parallels.

Robin

[luomat]

AVG is good, but they are (IIRC) mostly interested in up-selling you the commercial version of their product.

ClamAV is free and easy and works just fine, and (again IIRC) they don't have a commercial version, so the version you get is feature-full.

http://www.clamwin.com/

[Lukasha]

If you want free, PC Magazine recently reviewed Antivirus programs and rated Anti-Vir the best of the free options http://www.free-av.com/
If you want to purchase the same review said BitDefender was the best, being cheaper than Norton and McAfee, but faster, less resource intensive, and better at finding viruses. http://www.bitdefender.com/

I'm running BitDefender on my Boot Camp and my Parallels and it works wonderfully.

Jeff

[DrFix]

I've been using Avast! and find it to work well. Its free to use for personal home use and its updated continuously. Though they, like AVG, would like you to upgrade to their professional version, naturally, I find its more than enough for my basic needs. Symantec products I stay as far away from as possible. I hate having some third party come in and literally "take over" your machine.

[perle]

I recommend Avast too; I've used it for years.

[kaidomac]

I've used a number of antivirus solutions over the years, including Norton, McAfee, Anti-vir, AVG, etc. I like AVG the best; it has a simple interface, is powerful, and does it's job uses much fewer resources than Norton or McAfee. Anti-vir is another good solution, as is Avast. My personal preference is AVG; just find one that you like working with and go with that. The big name ones like I listed here all have pretty much the same virus definitions and scanning capabilties, so you can't really go wrong. I would recommend staying away from the more commercial products like Norton and McAfee because they're pretty bloated and like to suck up system resources and slow down your system a bit.

[nanwat]

I have just changed from years on Norton's to Intego Internet Security Barrier x 4 as it offers Dual Protection.
Apple told me that because it is installed on the Mac and I'm using Parallels, that my vm will automatically be updated. I had to uncheck a box in an antivirus pop up (bottom right task bar) in XP otherwise it kept saying I didn't have protection

[nanwat]

I have just changed from years on Norton's to Intego Internet Security Barrier x 4 as it offers Dual Protection.
Apple told me that because it is installed on the Mac and I'm using Parallels, that my vm will automatically be updated. I had to uncheck a box in an antivirus pop up (bottom right task bar) in XP otherwise it kept saying I didn't have protection

[Purplish]

Intego dual protection is actually 2 separate programs. You have to install the Mac side on the Mac. You have to install the windows side on Windows. It is just a bundling thing.

[Eru Ithildur]

Intego dual protection is actually 2 separate programs. You have to install the Mac side on the Mac. You have to install the windows side on Windows. It is just a bundling thing.
I like Kaspersky, light-weight, and fairly efficient. Norton works well if you know how to configure it. Norton just has a serious hit on the system preformance.

[Quillz]

NOD32 is arguably the best anti-virus solution for Windows. It has one of the best detection and removal rates, and also uses much fewer resources than the competition.

[ariell]

I thought Parallels comes with Kaspersky Internet Security.

[Quillz]

I thought Parallels comes with Kaspersky Internet Security.
It does, but not installed by default, and it's likely just a trial version.