And we just might have a new champion

Tannin

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the latest version of TrendMicro PC-Cillin 2007 loves RAM. (Don't install it on systems with only 256MB of RAM, you need at least 512MB).

I can make that post a bit shorter for you, Chewy.

me said:
Don't install the latest version of TrendMicro PC-Cillin 2007. Ever. On any machine.

Trend 2007 is, in a word, a complete effing disaster. I have had at least 8 customers bring systems in to me to be repaired/formatted/virus cleaned/ de-toxed after they "upgraded" to TMAV 2007. I'm not kidding: people are happily running TMAV 2006, then their subscription expires and they renew online, winding up with TMAV 2007.

Most users are not computer savy enough to figure out what's going on. They plug away, cursing the computer, for a week or three weeks, and eventually decide either of two things:

* (a) There is something wrong with the hardware.
* (b) They must have a virus and/or spyware problem. Some suspect a virus because they didn't renew Trend instantly but let it go for a day or two, and assume that 2 days without AV definition updates must have made them instantly vulnerable. And sure enough, the machine is all of a sudden not working properly.

Either way, they bring it to me to fix. There is, of course, nothing in the slightest wrong with the hardware, no sign at all of an infection, it's just slow as a slug on vallium. Uninstall TMAV and reboot - instant fix! Works every time.

I tell them this, feeling guilty as it was probably me that sold them the Trend 2004 or 2005 or 2006, back in the days when Trend Micro was a good anti-virus product. Then I suggest their best option: replace TMAV with Norman AV, or any of several other decent ones.

"But I just paid $80 for a two year subscription!" they bleat (which is fair enough) "I don't want to buy another anti-virus product!"

Well, I explain, there are four things we can do:

* Get rid of Trend Micro 2007 and install Norman AV. Effect: instant speed-up. Cost: $65.

* Get rid of Trend Micro 2007 and not install anything. Effect: rather risky with your children using it, Mrs Jackson! Cost: zero.

* Keep Trend Micro 2007. Effect: slow as mud. Are you happy with the way it's running? No? Well, scratch that option.

* Keep Trend Micro 2007 and upgrade the hardware. Cost: typically $100 to $300. Effect: slower than it was before you got 2007, but better than it is now. (Trust me: I've tested these combinations: you need to spend a heap on hardware to counteract the TMAV 2007 performance hit.)

Most people wind up discarding their paid-for TMAV and buying a subscription to a competing product. I can't argue with that: it's the only rational choice.

Just a reminder: I have had not one, not two, but about eight or ten different people bring systems into me for "repair" when the ONLY thing wrong with them was switching from Tend Micro Antivirus 2006 to Tend Micro Antivirus 2007. If it's bad enough to make people unplug it and take time off work to bring it in to me to fix, fully expecting to have to pay me around $80 for the "virus removal" or hardware repair, then it's seriously bad.

Is TMAV 2007 even slower and more horrible than Norton? Probably yes. I think Mcafee still shades it by a whisker, but all three are right up there at the top of the table of horribleness. Ladies and gentlemen, we just might have a new champion.
 

mubs

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It's just so sad that another one has gone over to the dark side. It seems to happen to every good software company. Either they go belly up or their belly bloats up.

Thanks for the heads up, Tannin.
 

Tannin

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That's another decent option, Bozo. AVG is a heap better than some of the pay-for AV programs. Right now, my #1 choice is Norman AV, but I don't mind AVG at all. Of course, you can't OEM it and you can't put it on business machines, so it's not suitable to use for everything. It's actually marginally faster than Norman. You'd never pick it on a decent machine, but I tried it out vs VET and Norman on a Celeron 600 the other week. AVG was least slow, Norman next, and VET (Computer Associates) slowest by quite a margin. I didn't even think about trying Trend on that machine, needless to say. If the comparitively sprightly VET could bring it to its knees, TMAV would have locked it up completely. In the end, got sick of trying to make the old thing perform decently and I talked my customer into buying something decent to replace it with, a traded-in P4 2600 or something, I think it was. That ran VET no problems. Seeing as she had a site licence, and VET is a reasonable AV product (given a sensible sort of computer), we went back to that.
 

CougTek

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Avira Antivir PE Classic. Free. Very agressive virus detection. Few false-positive. Moderate memory footprint. Hell of a lot more efficient than AVG. More efficient than Avast too.
 

ddrueding

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Thanks for the heads-up Tannin. I'm still sitting quietly in the corner with a couple hundred NOD32 installs, hoping they stay on the "good" side a while longer.
 

Tannin

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Coug: thanks for the tip: I'll give Avira a try. Could be good.

Dave, 40 million blowflies ... er ... I mean you, Buck, and about six other people here ... can't be wrong. (Sorry, "40 miilon blowflies" is Oz slang for "lots of people".) I'm sure that NOD32 is an excelln AV product. Unfortunately, as Time has posted here to explain some time ago, their Australian licencing/distribution method is completely hopeless, so time-consuming that you'd lose money every time you sold a copy. So NOD is not on my radar.
 

sechs

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AVG is a heap better than some of the pay-for AV programs.

Such as the paid version of AVG?

That's what's on my machine at work, and it really blows. The machine is a bit on the low side to start off, but opening a Microsoft Office document pretty much renders the computer useless for ten to twenty seconds due to the virus scan.
 

Santilli

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Thanks. The information is great, as is the AVG free version, and, an anti-spam program from another thread.

I lost the installed copy of NOD 32, and, I'm waiting for them to get back to me.
Meanwhile installed AVG.

One thing about NOD 32 is for the life of me, they don't have
easy access to downloading the program, and, likewise, I can't find the code that I used to validate it anywhere on the program on this machine. I bought a 2 computer license.

Other then that, all is good...

GS
 

Santilli

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Thanks for the heads-up Tannin. I'm still sitting quietly in the corner with a couple hundred NOD32 installs, hoping they stay on the "good" side a while longer.

A64 6000+ @ 3.75Ghz, GF 7950GT @ 650/1500, 4GB DDR2-1000, Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4, 3Ware 9650SE-16ML, 2x 74GB Raptors, 3x 36GB Raptors, 6x 750GB 7200.10s, Lian-Li PC-V2000Aplus II, 2x Samsung SATA DVD-RW, Auzentech X-Plosion 7.1, WinTV PVR-250, Seasonic M12 700W, Logitech G15, Razor Copperhead, Vista Ultimate

David: Do the lights dim when you turn on your new machine?
WOW!!!

Or am I just out of the loop, and this is what you need to run Vista now???

GS
 

Tannin

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I had yet another one come in today: it was as slow as pouring the honey in my uninsulated, unheated kitchen last night - it was snowing outside. I unistalled TMAV - the poor basket had just bought a 2 year licence - installed Norman, runs just fine. Didn't get a chance to try Antivir yet.
 

ddrueding

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David: Do the lights dim when you turn on your new machine?

No light-dimming, my UPS is the size of a mid-tower ;). But it seems to be just the right amount of energy, my heater hasn't kicked on in months.

I had yet another one come in today: it was as slow as pouring the honey in my uninsulated, unheated kitchen last night - it was snowing outside. I unistalled TMAV - the poor basket had just bought a 2 year licence - installed Norman, runs just fine. Didn't get a chance to try Antivir yet.

I have this issue with NAV all the time. People are so damn stingy, insisting that I install it regardless, asking if I can do something else to make it run better. They just need to learn that if they are going to make uninformed decisions, they are likely to make mistakes.
 

time

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Tannin, given up on the Oz distributor and now deal with the NZ one (probably not supposed to, but I don't care and they don't mind).

Fully automated website, 30 days credit (!!!). When it comes to renewals, just choose the customer from the database. They also answer the phone and charge significantly less for everything.

Actually, one of my best ever reseller experiences - pity I try not to resell any more. ;) Definitely worth a look, or a chat, anyway: www.chillisoft.co.nz
 
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