Avira 9 to be released this month.

[Medion]

I'm not going to download it though. I think I'll wait until AV-Comparitives does their 2009 roundups. I remember using AVG7 as it was one of the best (and the best freebie). After "upgrading" to AVG8, I found that Avira (previously AntiVir) was now the best freebie, and one of the best overall, so I switched. So, I'll just see who comes out on top this year and move to that.

[shilk]

Thanks for the heads up! :)

Good call on waiting for AV-Comparatives. Think I'll do the same. ;)

[Medion]

Thanks for the heads up! :)

Good call on waiting for AV-Comparatives. Think I'll do the same. ;)

I think what's sad is that their comparisons already include many 2009 editions (those that are already available) and none of them keep up with Avira's 2008 suite. But since I use other products for malware, all I care about is the virus detection rate, which Avira was #2 in for 2008 (Kapersky was #1). looking back at the last few years, here were the winners in that area.

2008 - Kapersky (Avira was #1 for freebies, #2 overall)
2007 - Avira (I don't think it was free this year, could be wrong)
2006 - NOD32 (Avira's first year in the tests, was #6 overall)
2005 - NOD32
2004 - NOD32

Pretty much NOD32's awesome reputation today is based on their earlier dominance in AV detection rates. They're still good, but have fallen way behind. Avira has been excellent the past 3 years, but I'm not sure when they went free. Kapersky came out of nowhere this past year, IMO, but they don't have a free option, and they only beat Avira in detection rate by 1%.

If trends continue, I expect Avira's 2009 product to be excellent, likely top 5, but someone else will probably come out on top. Despite the issues with AVG8, it is a far superior AV program than AVG7. If they remove the performance and linkscanner issues, AVG9 could be a winner. Microsoft OneCare has also been an amazing product, but that's just a couple of examples.

[shilk]

Despite the issues with AVG8, it is a far superior AV program than AVG7. If they remove the performance and linkscanner issues, AVG9 could be a winner. Microsoft OneCare has also been an amazing product, but that's just a couple of examples.

What problems did you have with it?

[Medion]

What problems did you have with it?

I guess they weren't "problems" so much as "things I don't like." It used up significantly more resources than AVG 7, and the linkscanner was something that I simply did not like. To get it to install without Linkscanner, you had to go through a hassle.

Some people here recommended Avira, so I tried it. It was slimmer, faster, and as a bonus, nearly double the detection rate. And unlike AVG, I've never had a false positive with Avira. So, I suppose AVG was ok, but I decided to go with the best free product. I'll do the same this year as well :)

[shilk]

Ah. :)

I think I was like everyone else trying to get a decent AV that was free. I must have run the gamut of AV programs like everyone else did, until I settled on Avira as well. So far, so good. :D I couldn't be any happier with one of the best free AV programs out there. Running it in Vista64 with absolutely no issues what so ever.

Can't wait for the next installment. :)

[CaptNKILL]

I used Avira for a bit and wasn't really impressed. It hardly has any options for configuration and it pops up windows and advertisements to upgrade all the time.

Pretty irritating.

I never get viruses anyway, so I can't comment on how well it actually works but AVG is still far less irritating or noticeable on my system.

[supra]

I used Avira for a bit and wasn't really impressed. It hardly has any options for configuration and it pops up windows and advertisements to upgrade all the time.

Pretty irritating.

I never get viruses anyway, so I can't comment on how well it actually works but AVG is still far less irritating or noticeable on my system.

u can stop the pop up by going to the program folder and set the permissions on avnotify.exe and set it to deny traverse folder/execute file.

[Medion]

Just a slight update for those using Avira 8. If you purchased any version of Avira 8, your license is good for a FREE equivalent version of Avira 9. IE, if you have Avira 8 Premium, you get Avira 9 Premium for free. If you have Avira 8 Professional, you get Avira 9 Professional free.

[crainger]

I used Avira for a bit and wasn't really impressed. It hardly has any options for configuration and it pops up windows and advertisements to upgrade all the time.

Pretty irritating.

I never get viruses anyway, so I can't comment on how well it actually works but AVG is still far less irritating or noticeable on my system.

Yeah, block the popups and it's a great AV. Much MUCH lighter than AVG and Avast.

[einstein_314]

I used Avira for a bit and wasn't really impressed. It hardly has any options for configuration and it pops up windows and advertisements to upgrade all the time.

Pretty irritating.

I never get viruses anyway, so I can't comment on how well it actually works but AVG is still far less irritating or noticeable on my system.
I tried it a while back when it was mentioned (by Medion too I think...) and HATED the popup. So much so I immediately got rid of it. But I've since gone back to it and managed to disable the popup (just navigate to program files and set security on avnotify.exe to deny execute). It's great now.

And regarding AVG8 linkscanner, the original versions required installing from command line with options but in the newer releases if you install and choose "custom..." you can choose to not install it. But it is still a hog compared to antivir.

[crainger]

LOL Look at all us Avria converts.

[Badboy_12345]

nod32 4.0 for me ;)

[Medion]

LOL Look at all us Avria converts.

I just tried the security change that Einstein recommended. Thanks for that, the popup is completely gone now.

nod32 4.0 for me ;)

I recommend that you read this post.

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=1948682&postcount=3

Also, the virus detection rate as of November 2008 was:

Avira - 91%
NOD32 - 57%

I won't slam your choice of AV protection, but I am curious as to why you feel NOD32 is best for you :)

[xavier2k5]

IT HAS BEEN RELEASED NOW!
http://www.avira.com/en/company_news/avira_antivir_9.html

GO GET IT
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/download_servers.php

[Medion]

I'm trying it on one of my machines now. No drastic changes in appearance or functionality, which is a good thing. You can now, if you choose, determine what it scans for and how well it scans (more detections, more false positives). The free version now does a lot of the extra scanning that the premium version did, such as spyware.

[shilk]

IT HAS BEEN RELEASED NOW!
http://www.avira.com/en/company_news/avira_antivir_9.html

GO GET IT
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/download_servers.php

Awesome! Downloading it now. :)

[Medion]

With Avira 8, I've never had to reboot after an update. Twice now, Avira 9 has told me that I' have to reboot after an update. Also, I was wrong, free version still doesn't do spyware. the options are there, but they don't take effect unless you pay for premium.

[Medion]

So far, I've had to reboot my PC after pretty much every other update. I'm not installing Avira 9 on my other systems until they get this worked out.

[crainger]

Reboot because it asked or because it crashes? I haven't had to reboot after any update since installing 9.

[Medion]

Reboot because it asked or because it crashes? I haven't had to reboot after any update since installing 9.

It tells me that a reboot is required after most updates, and then it resets my auto update schedule to once per day. No crashes yet.

[crainger]

You must be doing it wrong.

[Medion]

You must be doing it wrong.

This is what I get every other time that I try to update Avira. Are you telling me that you never get this?

Edit: Fixed, I set the security improperly for AVNotify. Amazing what Google will do :)

[crainger]

So you WERE actually doing it wrong... ::):

[Medion]

So you WERE actually doing it wrong... ::):

Yea, whodathunkit!?