which antivirus and firewall for netbook?

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sasa110

Disciple
Nov 28, 2009
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hi,
i got this hp netbook, atom proc and all. installed Windows 7 (Ultimate edition) - this one is a stripped down version for netbooks.

I've initially installed avast and zone alarm, things are OK, though i'd want to make it lighter, if possible. following are the choices i got - please advice me on which combo would be lightest on the system (note: i'm only looking for free versions, not paid ones)

AV: avira, avast, microsoft security essentials, panda cloud AV, any other
FW: windows 7 default, zone alarm, comodo, any other
thanks.
 
muzux2

muzux2

ex-Mod
May 18, 2008
1,892
101
152
Srinagar
AV: Microsoft Security Essentials is the lightest one and also supports real time protection.
FW: Windows Default is enough in my opinion.
 
singenaadam

singenaadam

Skilled
Jun 24, 2007
1,638
553
202
you can use the default Windows AV & FW as suggested by @muzux2.

ZoneAlarm firewall is very customizable and gives lot of control over apps.

@mutant: nod32 is excellent but (officially) "paid" option. OP wants only freeware.
 
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SOM1

Disciple
Jun 4, 2007
102
2
78
IMHO ...use Kaspersky Internet Security it is light and fast also .. have been using it for the last 2 yrs...
 
kartikoli

kartikoli

Skilled
Feb 6, 2010
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Lucknow
SOM1 said:
IMHO ...use Kaspersky Internet Security it is light and fast also .. have been using it for the last 2 yrs...
Click to expand...
no way bro its not that light i have an HP netbook [starting range] and faced problem even with avira ... later customized window and now its working good
 
Mechanic

Mechanic

Skilled
Jan 22, 2009
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to be honest there arent any Free Security suite or applications available which has been optimized for netbook's frugal processing capabilities

if you want to install a security suite in your netbook, you have no way but to go for paid

Norton has some netbook optimized versions available, you can check them out for a trial period and decide for yourself
 
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dennis_nail

Adept
Jun 4, 2008
651
73
117
Microsoft Security Essentials is free for use on licensed Windows OS. I am not sure whether it works on ahem versions.

I personally use Avast Home edition on my netbook, it is light on resources. For firewall, default windows firewall would be good enough.
 
prabs

prabs

Skilled
Jul 24, 2006
1,609
464
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Been using Avast and Windows Fire wall alongwith MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on my netbook for over a year.

Question to Avira users: About 2 years ago when I used to Avira the regular updates were very slow. How is the update scene now?
 
W@rrier

W@rrier

Adept
Nov 25, 2010
333
3
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Pune/Cochin
I have tried every single AV you mentioned here on my netbook and
MSE was light , but it takes too much time to scan even a pen drive, stay away if you use a lot of external Drives!
Avira didnt work on my netbook properly, always gave me errors :huh:
Panda doesnt detect a thing :mad:
Avast was very good, but a teeny bit heavy on the netbook!
Tried the Indian NPAV, It was Okeyish, but made the startup a bit slow and not free !
Quick Heal, Dont even think of putting it! My netbook failed to startup thrice after the installation, and worked like a snail!
Kaspersky- Same as above :p
Had Norton installed on the netbook when i got it, It was good for nothing:p !

I have been using Nod32 for six months now and i love it, Its Perfect, but NOT free!

Your best bet would be MSE or Avast :)

Never used a firewall! Isnt an AV more than enough??
 
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sasa110

Disciple
Nov 28, 2009
84
1
0
44
thanks for the replies everyone!

the win 7 FW, as unanimously suggested here, is indeed lighter than ZA. AV, i'm keeping avast free edition for the moment, again, based on suggestions here. not trying MSSE at the moment - shall try it if avast doesn't work out.

had i not asked here, i'd have made the mistake of going for ZA+panda cloud. so, thanks once again everyone. :)
 
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