I have McAfee through AOL, Norton through my cable company, is that a bad idea? 1 person needs an answerI do too

Yes. Not only is it a bad idea to have more than one *antivirus* application installed and running at one time - some would say either of those would be your worst choice out of all of them to have at all. ;-)-- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP --How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

On Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:39:39 +0000, patedufoi wrote: > I have McAfee through AOL, Norton through my cable company, is that a bad idea? Yes, it's a *terrible* idea, for the following reason: 1. You are running three anti-virus programs. You should never runmore than one. They will adversely impact your performance and createthe risk of problems as they conflict with each other. 2. Although Microsoft Security Essentials is a good choice, the othertwo programs you are running are probably the two *worst* anti-virusprograms available. For an anti-virus program, I recommend eSet NOD32, if you are willingto pay for it. If you want a free anti-virus, I recommend one of thefollowing three: AviraAvastMicrosoft Security Essentials You also need anti-spyware software. I recommend that you download andinstall (both freeware) MalwareBytes AntiMalware *and*SuperAntiSpyware. Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP

I have to agree with my fellow MVPs that using more than one anti-virus program is not advisable .Why? The primary concern with doing so is due toconflicts that can arise when they are running in real-time mode simultaneously and issues with Windows resource management. Even when one of them is disabled for use as a stand-alone scanner, it can affect the other and cause conflicts. Anti-virus software components insert themselves into the operating systems core andusing more than one can cause instability, crash your computer, slow performance and waste system resources . When actively running in the background while connected to the Internet, they both may try to update their definition databases at the same time. As the programs compete for resources required to download the necessary files this often can result in sluggish system performance or unresponsive behavior.Each anti-virus may interpret the activity of the other as suspicious behavior and there is a greater chance of them alerting you to a "false positive ". If one finds a virus or a suspicious file and then the other also finds the same, both programs will be competing over exclusive rights on dealing with that virus or suspicious file. Each anti-virus may attempt to remove the offending file and quarantine it at the same time resulting in a resource management issue as to which program gets permission to act first. If one anit-virus finds and quarantines the file before the other one does, then you encounter the problem of both wanting to scan each other's zipped or archived files and each reporting the other's quarantined contents. This can lead to a repetitive cycle of endless alerts that continually warn you that a threat has been found when that is not the case.Anti-virus scanners use virus definitions to check for malware and these can include a fragment of the virus code which may be recognized by other anti-virus programs as the virus itself. Because of this, most anti-virus programs encrypt their definitions so that they do not trigger a false alarm when scanned by other security programs. Other vendors do not encrypt their definitions and they can trigger false alarms when detected by the resident anti-virus. Further, dual installation is not always possible because most of the newer anti-virus programs will detect the presence of others and may insist they be removed prior to download and installation of another. Nonetheless, to avoid these problems, use only one anti-virus solution. Deciding which one to remove is your choice. Be aware that you may lose your subscription to that anti-virus program's virus definitions once you uninstall that software.Finally, most anti-virus vendors recommend that you install and run only one anti-virus program at a time .http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2000031316555206 <- Symantec's statement http://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=1&nav=0,60 <-Avast's statementhttp://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=441 <- AVG's statementMVPs that using more than one anti-virus program is not advisable .Why? The primary concern with doing so is due toconflicts that can arise when they are running in real-time mode simultaneously and issues with Windows resource management. Even when one of them is disabled for use as a stand-alone scanner, it can affect the other and cause conflicts. Anti-virus software components insert themselves into the operating systems core andusing more than one can cause instability, crash your computer, slow performance and waste system resources . When actively running in the background while connected to the Internet, they both may try to update their definition databases at the same time. As the programs compete for resources required to download the necessary files this often can result in sluggish system performance or unresponsive behavior.Each anti-virus may interpret the activity of the other as suspicious behavior and there is a greater chance of them alerting you to a "false positive ". If one finds a virus or a suspicious file and then the other also finds the same, both programs will be competing over exclusive rights on dealing with that virus or suspicious file. Each anti-virus may attempt to remove the offending file and quarantine it at the same time resulting in a resource management issue as to which program gets permission to act first. If one anit-virus finds and quarantines the file before the other one does, then you encounter the problem of both wanting to scan each other's zipped or archived files and each reporting the other's quarantined contents. This can lead to a repetitive cycle of endless alerts that continually warn you that a threat has been found when that is not the case.Anti-virus scanners use virus definitions to check for malware and these can include a fragment of the virus code which may be recognized by other anti-virus programs as the virus itself. Because of this, most anti-virus programs encrypt their definitions so that they do not trigger a false alarm when scanned by other security programs. Other vendors do not encrypt their definitions and they can trigger false alarms when detected by the resident anti-virus. Further, dual installation is not always possible because most of the newer anti-virus programs will detect the presence of others and may insist they be removed prior to download and installation of another. Nonetheless, to avoid these problems, use only one anti-virus solution. Deciding which one to remove is your choice. Be aware that you may lose your subscription to that anti-virus program's virus definitions once you uninstall that software.Finally, most anti-virus vendors recommend that you install and run only one anti-virus program at a time .http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2000031316555206 <- Symantec's statementhttp://support.avast.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=1&nav=0,60 <-Avast's statementhttp://forums.avg.com/ww-en/avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=441 <-AVG's statementhttps://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&docid=286481&l=en&s=gen <-Dell Support's statementMicrosoft MVP - Windows Security 2007-2010

It has been very well spoken of! Again yes, it's a bad idea to have more than one anti-virus program installed unto one computer. Doing so will certainly cause havoc to your machine, including but not limited to performance degradation, system crashes, computer slowness, and much more.It is recommended that you have only one anti-virus program on your computer. However, you may install more than one anti-spyware program. Now, if you intend to go with one of these freeware anti-virus programs, such as AVG, Avast, Avira, Microsoft Security Essentials, etc., you should consider installing a third-party software firewall such as ZoneAlarm Personal Firewall or Comodo Firewall.Finally, the only draw back to having either Norton or Mcafee anti-virus on your computer is that they consume a lot of system resources. They also tend to slow down system performance during engine updates. If you need real time answers to your security concerns, you can visit this virus removal support resource and chat in real-time with security experts.

May I ask why Norton is horrible? Do you think the same about NIS 2010?I am not being sarcastic but I am just curious because I personally disliked it too but once I tried it it was not actually that bad.Regards

I personally think one should avoid every all-in-one suite. Just because a company is known for their antivirus over the years does not mean they will be good at all security related functions (firewall, anti-adware/anti-spyware, etc.) Usually the product does one thing well and the rest is thrown in for looks. They may even be somewhat effective - but whenever there is a problem - it's harder to troubleshoot and may even be the product in question. Not to mention - NIS in particular (at least older versions) were known to actually crater machines completely if you tried to upgrade or remove the product. In the end - it is all personal opinion. If the possible overall speed reduction and extraneous complication for no extra benefit over just a simple reliable AV software and the built-in firewall combined with common sense works for you - so be it. ;-) Me - I go with just the AV, built in firewall and a NAT router I have secured. Keep everything patched, don't run daily as an administrator and don't do the stupid stuff everyone should have read about by now...-- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP --How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

I personally think one should avoid every all-in-one suite. Just because a company is known for their antivirus over the years does not mean they will be good at all security related functions (firewall, anti-adware/anti-spyware, etc.) Usually the product does one thing well and the rest is thrown in for looks. They may even be somewhat effective - but whenever there is a problem - it's harder to troubleshoot and may even be the product in question. Not to mention - NIS in particular (at least older versions) were known to actually crater machines completely if you tried to upgrade or remove the product. In the end - it is all personal opinion. If the possible overall speed reduction and extraneous complication for no extra benefit over just a simple reliable AV software and the built-in firewall combined with common sense works for you - so be it. ;-) Me - I go with just the AV, built in firewall and a NAT router I have secured. Keep everything patched, don't run daily as an administrator and don't do the stupid stuff everyone should have read about by now...-- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP --How To Ask Questions The Smart Wayhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.htmlThere is a problem with "keep everything patched" and "don't do the stupid stuff". I was one of those who said that a long time ago. I never go to weird sites. I never do anything supicious.One day I went to a site and googled about how I can cut paints in Photoshop (looking for a good tutorial) - and going to tutorial site is not something you find stupid or supicious. I went to a site that was like number six or maybe seventh - not sure how popular. Suddenly I see java icons where the clock is on Windows (at the bottom) and the suddenly I am infected with a ton of malware.I had Windows up to date. I had Java up to date. I had my browsers up to date. I had a working anti virus. I didn't do anything stupid.None of it worked.The same goes for all those trusted sites you visit daily that can contain malware. So basically, you can no longer do "don't do anything stupid" because even if you visit your everyday site it might have malware on it the next day.For example it was a couple months ago the famous football team website Roma in Italia that was infected with malware. How many people would think about malware going in there? Or Jerusalem Post which was infected with malware around the same time? And many, many many more famous and reliable sites.This is the problem. I do not know much about not running as administrator if it will help. Cheers.

No single product is 100% foolproof and can prevent, detect and remove all threats at any given time. The security community is in a constant state of change as new infections appear. Each vendor has its own definition of what constitutes malware and scanning your computer using different criteria will yield different results. The fact that each program has its own definition files means that some malware may be picked up by one that could be missed by another. Thus, amulti-layered defense using several anti-spyware products (including an effective firewall) to supplement your anti-virus combined withcommon sense ,safe computing andsafe surfing habits provides the most complete protection.Always remember that security begins with personal responsibility .You may want to read: How Malware Spreads - How did I get infected <- explains the most common ways malware is contracted and spread Microsoft MVP - Windows Security 2007-2010