I'll be setting up a new computer shortly and am taking a fresh look at security software - so I was very interested to read this thread.  The replies to the OP deal with the various AV software's foot print, intrusiveness, blotnisity, cost, etc.  No one (for the most part) comments on the suggested program's ability to deal with viruses and malware.  Doesn't that matter?  Or do we just assume that all anti-virus programs are equal in this respect?  Just saying "I never had a problem" doesn't cut it for me.

Comments?

I have the best ANTI VIRUS solution. Don't use your Daw Online..An Anti Virus software will cost around $60 or more and with the prices of netbooks and used pc's you can pick up a cheap computer for $300.00 and never have to take a risk with your PC.
 Since I took my daw offline I never had a problem, I have multiple computers Mac's and Pc's Desktops and laptops, By far my Pc computers with norton /adaware have seen the reformat process many times.. But I must say My Macs without any anti virus software has never seen a virus, and I go onto sites that would crash my pc's in seconds and it has. If your making money with your DAW there shouldn't be any reason why it should be online ever. Why Take the risk.

Whatever antivirus software you put on, make sure you can configure it to ignore specific files and folders and file types, and turn off realtime protection.

Last fall I switched from AVG to MS Security Essentials after having used AVG for a long time. MSSE has turned out to be a good solution, perhaps not as configurable as other applications, but configurable enough to assure it stays out of the way. I also use the Comodo firewall.

Of course, the best antivirus solution is a dedicated DAW with no internet connection. That just isn't practical for most people. Second-best solution is an alternate profile that allows you to boot into an environment with no network, no antivirus and no unnecessary background processes. Third-best solution is a desktop shortcut to a batch file that kills antivirus software and disables the network in preparation for a recording session.

 
If you have a dedicated DAW, or any computer you need for your livlihood, why hook up to the internet at all. 
 

This is what I did.  I hook up a totally separate computer to the internet to do all my online work.  It is a $450 basic box.
 
Then I run all my studio on a standalone Power i7 not connected to the internet - except for a selective log-on when I do registration confimrations, iLok registries, and operating system maintenance/uprades.
 
Also, Windows has an onboard anti-virus free program I have noticed now?  Any word on that?

 

TStranger

 
If you have a dedicated DAW, or any computer you need for your livlihood, why hook up to the internet at all. 
 

This is what I did.  I hook up a totally separate computer to the internet to do all my online work.  It is a $450 basic box.
 
Then I run all my studio on a standalone Power i7 not connected to the internet - except for a selective log-on when I do registration confimrations, iLok registries, and operating system maintenance/uprades.
 
Also, Windows has an onboard anti-virus free program I have noticed now?  Any word on that?

 

Antivirus has come a long way in the last ten years.  I could never keep my DAW offline to the internet; I'd never get anything done using an alternate computer.  There are far too many things that the internet help me do faster on my DAW.
 

• Watching the Groove 3 videos while Sonar is open on my desktop.
• Cutting and pasting text from the help file or reference guide directly into a forum post.
• Taking screen snapshots or short video clips of the Sonar or Cubase interface, and quickly sharing them via email or forum post.
• Downloading patches and updates.  Some of these come on ISO's which can take 4 or more hours to download.  At least I can continue to use my DAW while the download is happening in the background.  Many updates are automatically fetched, such as those for my antivirus, Adobe, iTunes, and Windows 7 itself.  Disconnecting from the internet would require that I perform a lot more manual processes; yuck!
• Listening to and uploading/downloading music files, with the DAW open in the background.
• Doing web searches to research questions and to find and fix problems.

 
None of these things has adversely impacted my DAW, not since Windows 95.  There's no way I would consider disconnecting from the internet in this day and age.

I have the best ANTI VIRUS solution. Don't use your Daw Online.

And don't use any flash drives, USB memory, CDs or DVDs that you aren't certain about because those can be infected too. Suppose a client gives you a flash drive with his song on it? 

Kaspersky, over last two years. In my view much leaner than Norton. And last version I had from McAfee could not be turned off (this may have changed though...).

When I do Sonar, I close Kaspersky and even disable network connection (so no program will try to see if it can download a 875MB patch while I work...)

This, even though I now have a QuadCore (since a week) - I may eventually join the club of those who claim that this way to go is legacy way. We'll see...

Hi all,

Mostly I lurk here on this forum, but I thought I'd share the joy I'm feeling today.  I have been struggling with all the usual periodic crashes, burps, glitches, hitches and so forth that people have been rasslin' with over the years.  Just seems like I could never quite get the darn machine to settle down.  It'd go for a day or two and then freeze, for no apparent reason.  Nothing you haven't heard before.

I have upgraded, retraded, ****ed and retrograded every dial you can twist, every component of the machine, the operating system and, of course, every conceivable setting in SONAR (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, X1).  Nothing worked.  It's trained me to be a really weird musician, since I've gotten in the habit my files about every 10 seconds.

I'm using all that to introduce the thing that fixed the problem.  [drum roll please...]

Removed AVG from the system a few days ago.  Fixed it.  The trouble with AVG, as others have pointed out, is that it's really hard to actually disable it.  It still leaves several services running even when it's disabled, and now-days you can only disable it for 15 minutes before it wakes up again (at least, in the free version).

Uninstalling that rascal turned out to be pretty hard -- but I finally found an uninstall program by searching their site.  The process and services cruft is now gone and, for the first time ever, I've been able to get through a whole 8 hour recording session without once crashing the box (although I'm still too new to this situation to break my file-saving habits).

I'm going to try Avast and the MS Essentials that others have mentioned (I don't like running the box completely naked of anti-virus software -- they'll sell me if their stuff actually disables all the processes and services when I push the "disable" button).  But I'll run naked and disconnect the box from the 'net if I have to. 

Thanks for the tips folks.

Thanks for this interesting post. I was researching the Microsoft Security Essentials and found a CNET review. This was the final conclusion of the reviewer:
 
Conclusion
Security Essentials is basically a good set-it-and-forget-it security program, but if you want more options and better results from a lightweight security option, Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition 1.3 is the safer bet.
 
I didn't see Panda Cloud mentioned here by anyone and wonder if anyone has used it, and their feelings about it.
 
Michael Lee

bitflipper
Last fall I switched from AVG to MS Security Essentials after having used AVG for a long time.

This. I tried upgrading AVG this past weekend and it totally fragged my DAW. BSOD on boot. I finally got it all cleaned out and switched to MSSE.

MS security essentials is the best, then Eset NOD32

Do not use McFee or norton...

As fo the free ones like Avast and AVG, BkEWARE they may leave more spyware on your system then they remove...
Some of them flag stuff that isnt harmful justso you think its working, 

I have grown up in the computer age and never once had avirus on my machines, and others that i know who have didnt need and AV to tell them or remove it... 


Also panda cloud is good too...

Or you could get a Mac and just not worry about it...lol