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? 

I'm not using X1, but with 8.5.3, I've been happily using Avira's free version (and before that Avast free, which also worked just fine).

Avira WILL throw an "upgrade" popup at you, but a quick google search will show you how to turn that off. 

On a couple of my other home computers, I have, in the past, used AVG as well.

At my last job we used Trend.  I am not a fan.

At my current job we use McAfee, which does a decent enough job.

(And I am currently using Avira on all my home boxes)

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...

I have no problems with Avast Free and it is easier to turn off than most other AV programs.

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.

mikespitzer


As a guy who has been very lucky to experience virtually ZERO crashes or freezes using SONAR , I have always followed the #1 basic rule of Pro Recording Studios ....

If you can afford it, your Studio DAW PC should be a dedicated system...

1) No internet access
2) No Antivirus programs
3) Minimal other software applications installed
4) No Windows O/S once you have a rock solid system

Any updates or patches can be downloaded and virus scanned on a separate work computer and transferred to the dedicated Audio DAW PC.

In other words, your DAW PC is 100% dedicated on recording and nothing else.

Use a laptop or other PC for all your web browsing, saving photos, WORD, EXCEL, WI-FI, webcams, graphic utilities, etc.....

This is the most sure way of avoiding glitchy conflicts in a DAW environment

Mike, this is the path I'm trying to follow. I have an "Internet" computer in another room, but can you tell me the best/easiest way to get patches,downloads, etc. and then take them to the DAW computer?
 
Also, when I want to listen to demos or tutorials,etc. online, my "Internet" computers tiny speakers SUCK compared to listening to the same things off the net over my studio monitors...how risky is it to only go online with the DAW computer so I can really *hear* demos of other software?
Thanks
Michael

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

Have you tried TAMIFLU ?

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.

Michael Lee


Mike, this is the path I'm trying to follow. I have an "Internet" computer in another room, but can you tell me the best/easiest way to get patches,downloads, etc. and then take them to the DAW computer?
 

that entirely depends on the company.. some will allow offline authorisation via a file .. while others demand online

with regard to AVG , IMHO it got bloated.. so I dropped it.. I use panda, which I found to be a load better and have used NOD32 in the past