Anti Virus Programs

[Mr.101]

On Thursday, my computer crashed (probably almost fatally) as a result (I think) of a virus deleting some critical files. It ended up creating these problems:

and eventually a BOOTREG problem preventing me from doing much if anything.

I eventually had to boot my computer from a part Linux OS thingy and move all 400GB of files and re-install the OS.
After running a virus check with what was my current anti virus program (Avast! Free AntiVirus) and not finding anything, I switched to a program called Panda Free Antivirus - seemingly one of the best free programs, I managed to find ~10 Trojans which deleted files. (Why I think my computer died).
(And yes I forgot to back up my files :S)

---
anyway (got a bit carried away^), what do you recommend for anti-virus programs? Is it worth investing in a paid for virus checker, or just go with high performance free ones?

Also, what do you all use?

 

[fords8]

No anti-virus program is 100%. You need to watch what you click on no matter if you trust the site/person. You should run anti-virus and a program like Malwarebytes.

 

[Chris Grigg]

Malware Bytes. ESET SmartProtection. MSE(Microsoft Security Essentials).

 

[Napalm]

Bitdefender also does a wonderful job, but I'm so done with Anti-Virus because every program I get, the program seems to corrupt and not run correctly anymore, even if I reinstall it.

Let's just hope Bitdefender last...

 

[Mr.101]

Thanks for the replies.
I am tempted to go and try Bitdefender...it currently seems to be one of the better ones out there at the moment.
So would I be right in saying that having multiple anti-virus programs etc would be more beneficial, or would "too many cooks spoil the broth"?

 

[Napalm]

"too many cooks would definitely spoil the broth"
It's been known for having several anti-viruses to conflict with each other.
In fact, I think BitDefender actually scans for other Anti-Virus software and has you remove it before installing itself.

You see, the programs would accidentally mistake each other for Viruses, Trojans, Malware, all of it. This is most likely because of how these programs have control and use destructive means to clean your computer. It's like a bacteria, but the helpful kind.

but hah hah, if only we lived in a world where Anti-Virus worked together to stop Viruses. I remember as a young child I thought it would work.... The softwares went to war...

 

[FreeHost]

Malwarebytes is good.