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Catelli, thanks for the tip about PSI, I’ll try it out. I’ve seen a Microsoft version of something like that before, but have never run it on a home computer anyway.

You’re right on about Foxit too, it’s going to replace my Acrobat next time it wants an update.

I’ve been running it for a while, I’m really impressed with how it can track software vulnerabilities and provide instant updates of how to resolve those vulnerabilities.

Free for personal use as of now, but it appears to be a solid impressive product.

But even AVG free has its limitations. The paid product offers more complete support, and it isn’t free for business use, personal use only. So it is still AV Software, in the same category as all the others.

Symantec AV is Crud. It is a virus itself in how it slows a system down and completely chews up resources. McAfee, no comment. Trend Micro and CA have solid products (I have experience with both) and a buddy SysAdmin was a big fan of Panda.

I also use Foxit PDF reader, because Adobe Acrobat is most definately Crud now. There’s bad shit everywhere, to find the good stuff you just gots to know where to look.

You’re right about Mac user’s pride too. Time. Bomb.
Linux may be in that boat too. Safer for now, but watch out for complacency.

I pay for AV at home, only costs me $20-$30 a year (CAs my-eTrust), but am switching to AVG Free.

Like yourself, I stay uninfected through good usage practices, so the AV software has never had to protect me while I’m using the computer. My wife on the other hand….

The whole Spyware/Malware/AV distinctions by the security companies is horseshit. Destructive software is destructive software, period. On that you are 100% correct, so I agree they are falling down on the job by splitting hairs.

As to the AV update model being broken…

No AV vendor puts out new signatures every hour, or even every day. So I’m not quite sure where they are going with that comment. We do check for updates every hour, but that’s to ensure we get updates as soon as they are released. And it has been working for us. Its quarantined a few viruses (usually brought in from outside on a third party vendors laptop that does not have AV installed on it)

Funny thing is, it appears viruses (using the classical definition) are not being released as often anymore. The whole malware industry has switched to social engineering type threats (spyware, spam) because its easier to trick a user into installing bad software than it is to inject maliciously through a hack.

Hackers follow the easiest path, and writing a good virus is getting harder (though not impossible). However, writing malicious software that you trick a person into installing (on a Mac or PC or Linux box) is infinitely easier, because people in the end are trusting. Its why telemarketing fraud still works.

Or you could just use a Mac….something I wish I’d done a million years ago. No AV, no anti-spyware needed, no nothing

Mac users are gonna get anally raped by malware writers some day. Once they reach critical mass in the marketplace, some enterprising hacker will release something that will take a huge swathe of them down.

And I will laugh, and laugh, and laugh……

So Mac it is…