is alone one antivirus is enough for the security of computer

[per_shap]

my computer recently caught malware.it take a hectic days of pain to remove at a very high cost .now i have installed spybot-search and destroy free edition and flush the system.now my pc looks good.now i want to know that is this spybot enough for my pc or i have to use some other softwares

[kalniel]

You should use a real time virus scanner as well as continue occasional use of on-demand scanning.

[g8ina]

Spybot is NOT antivirus, get AVG Free as well.

[Dooms]

Depends what you are doing with it.

TBH I think I could get away with running with no AV but I run MSE as it comes built into Windows 8.

[Agent]

http://www.superantispyware.com/
http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Run them both, make sure they come back as clean.

After an infection I'd probably go with the trial of something highly rated such as Kaspersky and run a scan. Even if you uninstall it later.

[andrewhutt]

I have always used AVG. However, NEVER and I mean NEVER get the AVG PC tune-up. It genuinely feels like a virus as it kills your machine that much (speed-wise). If you are lucky, i think i managed to get a full AVG for £9 for a year.

In terms of others, Norton and McAfee just drive the hell out of me (too obtrusive). So a long winded answer - AVG I feel does suffice (even better if you get the full version) combined with Windows Firewall. However if you download a fair bit, or may think you are exposed to potentially dodgy sites often, then perhaps a secondary (or tertiary if you include Windows Firewall), would not go amiss.

[vinnyT]

I like, recommend, and use Eset Nod32 anti-virus, http://www.eset.co.uk/. I also so use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro (but the free version is just as good, just doesn't auto update), https://www.malwarebytes.org/.

[dawkz123]

Use AVG, malwarebytes. Imo, stuff like Norton and Kaspersky just aren't worth it anymore...

[DeArmittE]

Spybot is NOT antivirus, get AVG Free as well.

I agree you should get something more suited like AVG free just top be safe. This combined with windows defender should be fine.

[Scow Captain]

Microsoft's Windows Security Essentials should be enough but I do use Malwarebytes too. Personally stopped using Avast or AVG when they became bloated.

Don't want to come off as preachy but the computer's user is usually the reason a computer gets a virus, my quick 5 tips:

1. Never click on a link in an e-mail where you don't know the sender.
2. Don't download or use pirated software.
3. Only double click on a document file if you created it or have checked there is no hidden .exe extension.
4. If you have anyone on your home network who is not computer savvy; change their permissions so the user can't change how the computer runs without an administrative password.
5. Protect your wireless network with a password.

[watercooled]

In addition to the above, I'd say don't click links on any email you didn't expect or request - it's *very* easy to forge from addresses, and make links look genuine (e.g. by replacing O with 0 or something), to phish details.

As a rule of thumb, banking websites/Paypal, etc will generally address you by name and should *never* request your personal information. If you want to check something on your account, navigate to the website yourself without clicking anything in the email.

Avoid installing software you didn't explicitly seek out e.g. don't install anything from pop-ups claiming to be an update for well-known software, as it often isn't. Although, confusingly, Flash Player can genuinely pop up after boot alerting you of an update.

Don't run more than one real-time scanner, but it's fine to have one decent real-time scanner and a couple of on-demand scanners. Malwarebytes is an excellent free on-demand scanner. ESET and others also have 'online scanners' (which tend to work best in IE) you can also run.

Paid packages like ESET and Kaspersky may offer more thorough protection, but full 'Internet Security' packages tend to be a bit bloated.

It's important to make sure Windows and software are kept updated for security patches etc, regardless of antivirus.

It's important to back stuff up. TBH rather than spending time and money removing embedded malware which can properly trash the system and be hard to reverse, you can just reformat and be sure it's gone, and restore your files from backup. This is especially important considering things like ransomware floating around lately, which encrypt all personal files on your HDD and try to extort money to release them back to you. You may or may not get your files back if you pay the ransom, and there's no other way to restore them.

[richs2001]

Might be overkill but if I ever get one of those hardcore scamware viruses, I'll be reinstalling windows rather than trust an anti virus to get rid of it. Otherwise MCE sorts me out

[munchie]

most online banking or isp give away paid security suite subscriptions for free.

[ik9000]

http://www.superantispyware.com/
http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Run them both, make sure they come back as clean.

After an infection I'd probably go with the trial of something highly rated such as Kaspersky and run a scan. Even if you uninstall it later.

sorry to jump in - if I run a big brand like KIS/Norton etc is there any need to run these? Only reason I ask is wife's bank account saying unauthorised log ins and the scans we've done report no threats, significant vulnerabilities or viruses on the machine. But now I'm paranoid...

[Agent]

sorry to jump in - if I run a big brand like KIS/Norton etc is there any need to run these? Only reason I ask is wife's bank account saying unauthorised log ins and the scans we've done report no threats, significant vulnerabilities or viruses on the machine. But now I'm paranoid...

Not normally.
Norton has always been hit and miss for me - doing really well in detection rates some years and weirdly lower in others *shrug*. KIS seems to generally do better.

The two I linked are much more use for the odd bit of 'nasty' software that isn't overly malicious. For example, tool-bars, popups, redirecting search engines and so on....
They do often include the signatures for common nasties, an the line is certainly bluring between them and fully blown anti-virus.

Still, having them on your system with non-persistent scanning isn't going to do any harm.

[azrael-]

Apart from the anti malware programs already mentioned I recommend Spyware Blaster. They keep a pretty good black list of sites you shouldn't visit.

For a free antivirus program I still prefer Avira Free Antivirus, but personally I use ESET NOD32, which I find is worth every penny.